BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I've never even tried SS or fixed, unless you count my very first bike: a single speed blue sears [or schwinn] bike with a coaster brake & banana seat. That was in a town with a very flat terrain.

I suppose I feel ill-informed about why I would choose this mode of cycling in hilly Pittsburgh at the same time I feel saturated with a visual sterotype of the fixie rider that I do not identify with, in part because I am female.

I imagine (without really knowing) that fixed gear would be hard on my knees. Singlespeed seems like something I'd try either as part of a specific workout routine or because from time to time I do enjoy messing with sterotypes -- just for fun but also sometimes as a serious political project.

Stefb, I'm curious what led you to try this kind of riding? Do you recommend it?

[edit] she looked like this...

That is a cute bike!

Well I guess that when i started to date Colin he suggested that i get one for riding around town. I liked it because there are less parts to break/fix, and it has wheels that are bolted on, making it hard to steal parts from if i just lock it up with a ulock. He put bullhorn bars on it and that hand position is a lot more comfy for me than drop bars. It is heavy and the quality isn't the best. I have to avoid really steep hills, alth

i guess the gearing is relatively low, so that is a plus. I think i ran it as a fixed with platform pedals for a few weeks, and even with brakes, I felt that it was probably gonna be too rough on my knees around here.

Sometimes i feel like it makes me work harder... I can tell that I would shift down on certain stretches if i had gears, especially lately with the windy weather. Sometimes I spin out and that is frustrating. I have noticed that i am about 3-5pmh slower on average on that bike on my regular routes as compared to the road bike. I will probably continue to ride it on flock rides, but i just got a redline conquest classic that is in need of pedals that will become my commuter bike once i get fenders, a rack, and panniers.

I understand what you mean about that fixed gear stereotype. Not every that rides fixed is unhelmeted with no breaks or only one brake. No offense if you are reading this and you are one of the guys who come along on the flock rides, but you do make me nervous when you don't wear a helmet and you don't have brakes. I wouldn't ride brakeless even if i was helmeted.. I am not that fearless.

You just blew my mind by using "breaks" and "brakes" in the same sentence!

sorry. i often have typos when i use my ipad. the text boxes in the browser do not let you scroll up and down to proofread.

I've been riding just about everywhere on a single-speed for about 4.5 yrs. I got a single-speed because at the time, I had no idea what I wanted so I decided to start on something with less parts I'd have to learn to adjust/fix. I had been riding a clunky old Schwinn with non-working gears, so the single-speed was a welcome change as I was beginning to enjoy commuting by bike more and doing it more often.

The first SS I got was a green Bianchi San Jose. A car wrecked my bike, so now I ride an orange Salsa Casseroll.

I am finally building a second bike - a geared bike - because after years of riding the single-speed I need some more variety (and a bike I can go touring on should the chance arise).

I agree with what was said earlier about the SS being hard on the knees in the long term because of straining the knees to get up hills. I didn't start getting pain until this past autumn. I'm looking forward to switching up my daily commute with a geared bike, which I think will help mitigate the knee soreness. It hasn't gotten too bad yet.

I know a lot of ladies who ride single-speed, but many of them also have other bikes they ride too. Same goes for men.

I am WAY too lazy to ride anything without some serious gears around here. I just don't like to work that hard at something that's normally pretty fun (even when it's a /little/ work). I don't know that I'd extend my personal reasons to other members of my gender.

Wild Speculation Follows: Around here, I do see fixies as more of a uber-local bike, due to our hills, and could see it as being more one of a fleet rather than sole transport or recreation, maybe if men are more likely to be avid cyclists, they're more likely to have a fleet that could include a fixie, and that might explain it?

Those fixie guys aren't on the forums, they're on Facebook. They made me nervous too because they kept doing those little brake tire skidding things for fun and without notice.

I think some of the FreeRide women ride fixed, but I could be mistaken

Seriously, give a single speed a try before writing them off as not functional on hills. You may be surprised. There's a reason so many people have fallen for them in the past decade or so.

When my wife was in school, she rode a fixed Casseroll. It has since sprouted a rear mech, as she pulls the kiddie trailer these days.

When my wife was in school, she rode a fixed Casseroll. It has since sprouted a rear mech, as she pulls the kiddie trailer these days.

i think there are a good number of women riding fixed or ss, they just aren't on the message board.

i personally like gears, so i don't ride fixed or ss.

Seriously, give a single speed a try before writing them off as not functional on hills. You may be surprised. There's a reason so many people have fallen for them in the past decade or so.

+1. I've been riding my geared Bianchi as a faux-SS for a year or so...while I confess to dropping a gear or four when hauling a loaded trailer, my day-to-day riding is fine with one gear.

I also haven't tried a SS because I just don't want to give up the gears. I don't necessarily need to go anywhere fast, I just want to get there comfortably, so going slow on low gears is just fine with me rather than killing myself on hills. On the other hand, I am willing to be convinced that a SS might not be all that bad because you do eliminate a lot of weight. My latest summer bike, a univega mixte, is an old 9-speed so I'll see what fewer gears does for me there.

I'd never consider riding a fixte with no brakes. don't really get what the point of that would be.

IMO, the best argument for a fixie is living in a 36th floor walkup.

Once I get around to buying parts I will ride a fixed gear some of the time. I've borrowed Nick's a few times I haven't had time to fix a flat before class and I like it...also, I'd like to go to the Friday nights at the track this sumer.

its nice for the simplicity AND the variety. it makes the same old rides very different. some parts are easier and some parts are harder. its also nice to have less crap to maintain on your every day workhorse bike.

its also nice to have less crap to maintain on your every day workhorse bike.

It's kinda funny--I maintain my current, geared commuter less than I maintained my fixed gear commuter. Obviously my mentality toward bike maintenance in general has changed, but in two seasons of riding of a geared bike throughout the year, the only time I've fiddled with the shifty bits was when I replaced the rear mech. There is something to be said about having shifters with a friction mode....

Not to "derailleur" the conversation too much further, but I have never been happier since I switched to friction shifting.

I've been riding my geared Bianchi as a faux-SS for a year or so [...] my day-to-day riding is fine with one gear.

That's what I mostly did by the end of last summer. Of course, it's spring just now...

"fixte" = fixed mixte?

Not to "derailleur" the conversation too much further, but I have never been happier since I switched to friction shifting.

Yep. My rando bike has been click-shift-free since 2009. Love it.

I am not a fan of friction shifting. It always feels awkward to me.

Whatever you're not used to using probably feels weird as a general matter

I don't get the big problem with index shifting; my bike's probably one of the crappiest on this board and the most ridden, but it still shifts cleanly

I did enjoy the friction shifting of the bike I had for about a week before I traded it with the guy that was riding my stolen bike

There's a bit of a learning curve to friction shifting, but once learned, it will help you shift better with indexed shifters too.

I have to google friction shifting because i don't know what that is.

what is the advantage of friction shifting? I like my clicky bar-end and downtube shifters. The only reason I would ever switch to friction mode is if the cable goes out of whack and I have no way to adjust it.

The only true way to learn to shift;

http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/petstore/pet-image-large/schwinn-1968-stingray-fenderless-5-speed_120686567422.jpg

I've been derailed since 1969, that should explain a few things. Pseuda, I like your bike.

I liked the way friction shifting felt when I used it briefly, like I was actually shifting the gears, not just pushing a button and hoping for the best. But I'd probably prefer reaching down and moving the chain myself if it were at all possible without killing myself. That being said, my bike came with perfectly good clicky-shifters, which I shall use until they fail. And then replace with friction shifters.

I'm not writing off fixies on hills, I'm writing off ME on a fixie on MY hills. I have two hills I walk the bike up /still/, one I have to push down on the handlebars to keep it from flipping backwards with hardly any load at all (I like to walk the bike down this hill too - it's just not a reasonable thoroughfare by any means other than foot, even then it's not reasonable). There is no way that street should be paved, but silly people built houses on it and the asphalt takes a whole paving season to all slide to the bottom of the hill.

I'm sure the gearing on most fixies make it a thoroughly reasonable vehicle for most places. I just happen to live in an unreasonable place. The above is a worst case example, but not a total aberration.

Indexing vs friction:

My barcons are friction front, index/friction rear. My usual pattern is as follows:

1) Recable shifters, get rear indexing working properly

2) Ride bike until cable stretches enough that indexing is no longer perfect

3) Switch to friction mode. Stay there for next two years until I recable bike.

4) See step 1.

For me, it's not a question of friction being better; it's a matter of indexing not being better enough to be worth the trivial amount of time it would take me to adjust it once out of whack.

In other words, laziness and a general preference for simpler technology.

[Edited to add:] I suspect that, if/when I have a bike for racing purposes, I may care more about indexed shifting. But I don't, so I don't.

Haha, this thread is making me realize that I came to cycling in reverse order from "most kids these days". My first bike, similar to one pictured above, was a fixed gear with a coaster brake (I remember the pedals whacking the back of my legs on a few out-of-control descents). I remember briefly having a friction shift 10 speed as a teenager (probably something cheap from JC Penny or Sears). Then about 10 yrs ago I bought a modern bike with indexed shifters that completely befuddled me at the time. My car has a manual transmission and I remember the index shifters seeming like the equivalent of an "automatic". Felt like I was cheating somehow, but got used to them pretty quick.

I've earned my hipster stripes through sheer inertia - YEAH!

[edit] it could be fun to have some kind of bicycle jamboree in the summer where we could all meet and try out different bikes to get a feeling for them? I have a friction shift 10 speed.

And back to the original topic....If we ask our mothers and grandmothers about their first bicycles, we might have a different snapshot of the population of females on single speeds/fixed gears.

it could be fun to have some kind of bicycle jamboree in the summer where we could all meet and try out different bikes to get a feeling for them? I have a friction shift 10 speed.

This == good. (I was planning to organize something similar for last year's BikeFest, but Life Intruded.) I'll supply a variety of lazy bikes to the cause, should such an event occur.

^ that would be fun! I'd love to try a recumbent, a tandem, an adult trike, a serious road bike, etc.

The only true way to learn to shift - stick;



I've been derailed since 1969. That should explain some things. Pseuda, like your bike.

i like the idea of a bike rodeo where we try each other's bikes. riding someone else's bike, or even just a new bike, is SO WEIRD. its like putting on someone else's shoes. i rode someone's fixed gear once and it was the strangest sensation.

a good venue for this would be at the track in the middle, as long as no one is using it. that way you can take some laps and feel another style of bike, and if you totally feel like you have to bail, there is grass. not that youd feel that way... but riding fixed was shocking!

Pseudacris: PM sent. Hopefully, not swallowed by Intertubes...

First time I rode fixed it was with toe clips and straps and was incredibly awkward. Clipless pedals, though, make a world of.difference to me.

I guess this holds true for any type of bike for me though. I'm just much more comfortable with clipless than without.

@Peirce:

We fixie guys are on this forumn. I could name at least 3 or 4 that I know personally, 2 of them have commented on this thread. I ride fixed almost exclusively (I have a few other bikes but they get far less play than the fixie). I wear a helmet religiously and I have a front brake just in case of emergency. If those "little brake tire skidding things" scare you perhaps you shouldn't follow anyone on any type of bike so closely because obviously you don't understand that it is the trailing cyclists responsibility to avoid crashing into the cyclist in front should the lead cyclist have to brake, swerve, or otherwise make any erratic movements. I feel that your comment that the fixie guys are on facebook is designed to stereotype all of us as irresponsible hipsters only riding because it's the latest fad or fashion. I and most of the fixie riders I know are experienced riders and have been riding for years for the love of cycling. Comments like yours propogate the notion that somehow there is something bad or wrong with riding fixed and perhaps that's why some women never give it a try and miss out on the pure exhiliration of it.

Good for all of you ladies out there riding fixed. Encourage your female friends to give it a try and crush this bullshit stereotype!

@Pseudacris:

Fixed with a coaster brake? I'm not entirely sure that's possible.

yeah i would have to say john and i are pretty much the opposite of hip or hipsters. old dorks can ride fixed too!

man, I am SO vulnerable to peer pressure. I'm starting to wonder if I should try fixed...

@chefjohn, Thanks for your comments & encouragement.

RE Fixed with a coaster brake? I'm not entirely sure that's possible.

I might not understand the terminology then.

The bike I'm referring to was very similar to the Schwinn Fair Lady pictured near the top of the thread. Can you tell from the photo?

In my memory, the pedals spun whenever the wheels moved, put I could be mis-remembering.

Curious. Would it have to have a freewheel in order to have a coaster brake?

Would it have to have a freewheel in order to have a coaster brake?

You have to pedal backward to engage the coaster brake, so, yes.

Possibly you had sticky grease in the hub, though. I wouldn't be surprised if the pedals moved when your feet weren't on them -- mine did. Probably the word you're looking for is single-speed.

Thx, Lyle! The bike had zero maintenance done on it and was surely left out in the weather a lot.

I'm just an innocent bystander here, but I was curious about what is so offensive to chefjohn when pierce said the fixed riders are on facebook? Is that code for something?

(Disclosure: i'm an old fart, I have gears on my bike, and no opinion on single speed/fixed riders, other than the bikes scare the hell out of me and I am certain I would kill myself on one.)

ALMKLM, not pertinent to your actual question, but I have a SS/fixie because I had an old steel Basso racing frame that I dearly love, but it has super short wheelbase and a steep head angle that made it monstrously un-enjoyable as a "10 speed". I have another bike with modern gearing that is light years better anyway. I could have hung it on a wall and stared at it, but that would be a horrible end for a loved bike. When set up as a ss/fixie, with flat bars and deep V wheels, it is a thing of beauty, and fun again (I did install brakes, GOOD brakes). I am an old fart as well, and you would almost certainly not kill yourself if you were to ride one.

I am certain I would kill myself on one

This is myth that should be dispelled. You will not, at all, kill yourself on a fixie simply because it is a fixie. If you spend 20 minutes riding around a parking lot, you will survive on the road. Yes, you will get bucked a bit the first few times you try to coast, but unless your legs are made of steel and you don't have knees, this won't be too big of a deal.

Riding a brakeless fixie may be flirting with injury[1], but with a brake or two, you will absolutely survive, and probably have a lot of fun.

[1] Yes, I rode brakeless for several years, and survived two mishaps: dropping a chain on Baker Street, and having a crank arm fall off on Mount Royal Blvd.

Well, maybe if they end up having that bike rodeo thing where people can try other people's bike's I'll take one for a spin - just not on a hill! Not yet, anyway.

@AtLeast:

I felt that Peirce's comment about people that ride fixed being absent from this forumn but present on facebook was meant to suggest that if you ride fixed that you are not a serious cyclist. In other words, as a fixed gear cyclist an online forumn such as this one that's concerned with bicycle advocacy and community wouldn't concern you. No, Facebook, where you can show off pics of your new track bike (that you can barely ride and will sell after your first Pgh. winter), that's where you'll find the fixed gear crowd. Maybe I'm reading too much in to Peirce's comment, but I feel it just serves to bolster the image that riding fixed is not serious cycling. That there is something negative or wrong with it, just a fad, etc. This stereotype has kept some people, especially women, from trying what I consider to be one of the most pure, and exciting cycling experiences and I simply felt compelled to speak out about it.

I work with a lot of young people* who use facebook as a primary utility for a lot of things (including things it's not very good for, like file transfer). I took Pierce's comment to be about the preferred venue for community and perhaps age, rather than level of seriousness.

my 2 cents

reddan and I would like to make the try-a-bike / rodeo thing happen this summer. stay tuned (& speak up if you want to help us).

[edit]* by which I mean people in their early 20s.

I am totally up for a bike rodeo! I have several different bikes I can offer.

In addition to letting people try types of bikes that they haven't ridden, it would be an excellent opportunity to invite people who don't ride at all, or who haven't ridden since they were tinies, to get some instruction and give it a shot. Keep that in mind. I have a couple of bikes that would be perfect for those folks.

^ That is great, thank you!!!

re: the rodeo, I am hoping to be in Montreal from 6/3 to 6/5 and on the GAPCANDO from 6/18 to 6/26, obv would not be able to help those dates!

Edmonds, I'm sending you a PM right now...

I'll bring the unicycle to our Viking ride. It's the ultimate fixie. And after all, it was my sister who got me into it in the first place.

I want to try the unicycle.

I like the idea of simple maintenance, but I live on a big arse hill and don't like the idea of tackling it on a single speed let alone a fixie. I want to copy cat Colin and his wanting an internal hub with a few gears...for my winter riding at least.

AND YES uni's! I've always wanted to try one out...I think it would complement the juggling if I can figure out how to do both at the same time...

I'd be interested in trying out a Sturmey-Archer S2. Though I think that's catering more to style over function.

The S2C is pretty awesome, I really want to try to one without the coaster brake. I used the S2C for a month or so, highly recommended.