Should You Ride a Fixed Gear vs. a Single Speed Bike?

Fixed gears and single speed bikes are close cousins in the cycling world, except one cousin dropped out of high school, is covered in tattoos, and drinks a concerning amount of cheap beer; and the other cousin signs up for 8:00 AM classes at the local state college on purpose. Fixed gear is the "cool" cousin and single speed is the "successful" cousin, and they both have their pros and cons that will appeal to different types of riders. Find out which one is right for you and whether you should ride a fixed gear vs. a single speed bike.

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0:00 - Fixed Gear and Single Speed are Close Cousins
1:24 - Why ride fixed gear or single speed bikes?
2:45 - Pros of Riding Fixed Gear
4:51 - Cons of Riding Fixed Gear
6:31 - Pros of Riding Single Speed
7:29 - Cons of Riding Single Speed
7:54 - Should You Ride a Fixed Gear vs. a Single Speed?
9:06 - Patreon Fixie Famous Shoutouts

Julian Corona
David K
Robby Andaya
Zane Kolnik
Brandon Black
Scott Palangi

Crash
Epilektrik
M.
Martin Mohr
Michael Greifst
Michael Rutchik
Nick
@nicodache
Seungwan Kim
Young Architect

Connect with me:

#fixedgear #singlespeed

[mikoajjanczak]

I drive single speed and i am proud of it. Simplicity of this solution is the thing I love in it. Honestly I just wanted something more simple than normal bike with deraileurs and this is the easiest solution - bought cheap retro road bike, removed almost everything and it works perfect for me. For now I don't need to try anything else and changing a frame or entire bike to gain horizontal dropouts is too big of a mess for me.

[Dragon_rls]

To y'all; one gear= easier life. Fixed, or free. You enjoy the ride. It's your time to engage with all the joggers, and cyclists, who don't care what you're riding. You can't go wrong. Enjoy your ride.

[paulboggs]

I'm an older fixed gear rider. I went back and forth between fixed and single speed. I know single speed is easier due to coasting and at 61 I like coasting but, I just prefer fixed. I commute to work, mostly flat riding and I love it. Thanks for your channel Zach.

[archierastorguev]

Thanks for the video - generally having a single-speed bike often feels like you're on your own community-wise: you're an alien to both the fixed-gear crowd and to all the other bike 'clubs' (road, MTB, bikepacking, folding etc.).

[yungztarr]

Single speed here my guy. I love to go fast and don't like to stop pedaling but like to coast corners and hills. That fixed gear situation is too much unnecessary evil for my life. Lol

[famousamos]

About to buy a bicycle. I'll probably go with a Single-Speed. I see the appeal behind fixed but the "coasting" feature is a huge win for me.

[-G.e.o.r.g.e]

Ive had a state 4130 for years and it was on the freewheel for 1 day. Flipped it over to the fixed hub and took off the breaks and been loving it since. You get better every time you ride. “If it ain’t fixed, it’s broken” lol

[RJ-cqdd]

My singlespeed cog worn out after 5 years, so i flipped my wheel to try fixed gear. I love how it feels! I can recommend everyone to try it for a week..you won't go back.

[melbutterworth]

I switched from Fixed to single speed when I ruined my fixed wheels in a crash, initially only temporarily but I've stuck with it. As much as I love riding fixed I love going really fast downhill even more.

[babispecial]

I recently converted a vintage bike to a single speed and ride it in the city. I love how easy it is to maintain and how simple it looks. Ride safe everyone :)

[johnbrann]

I love the look of fixed gear bikes, so raw. But I ride a single speed. I bought a new bike this winter that has a flip flop hub and will try fixed gear riding...in a really big, empty parking lot. At 63 the being cool boat sailed quite some time ago so if fixed gear is or isn't for me I'm still just the old guy on the bike. But in all seriousness the biggest obstacle to riding fixed gear, for me, is my knees and the stress on them during braking. If I ride fixed I don't want brakes and if I have to keep the brakes I might as well stay with the single speed.

[spencercharlotte]

Starting with single speed to get my confidence back this season (ended last season with a car hitting my geared bianchi), and once I feel fit and in tune with the roads, I’m gonna flop on over to fixed and give it a go.

[arjay]

Cool video, Zach! I ride fixed here in urban Manila, even in longer city rides. However, when we're off riding to the mountains outside the city, that singlespeed is a Godsend especially on harsh descents with some steep hills right after. Cheers from the Philippines!

[itssimplyjeff]

i actually started my "one gear" journey w/ a bikes direct bike. i tried the fixed side and like you said, i just felt like it wasn't for me. still totally love fixed gear bikes, their look & "the culture". it's probably super weird, like while i don't ride on the fixed side "ya'll get my respect"

i ended up upgrading to a wabi cross thunder and keep it on the single speed side and absolutely love it. thanks for the channel man

[tonyperotti]

Thanks for the great vid. Most of my riding is on a <gasp> road bike but the fixed gear thing really fascinated me so I got a cheap bike ($200) with a flip-flop hub. I tried the fixed gear side for a while but it just wasn't comfortable for me. I love the single speed side and I use it when I ride with my wife since she can't ride like I do on my road bike. Thanks for covering the single speed choice!

[metalheadmalta]

I have a Fuji Declaration with a flip-flop hub... After a recent injury to my back, switched to single speed, and never looked back. Our country is immensely hilly with no more than a couple of hundred feet of level road. It is not the poorer cousin by far. I love fixies for their beautiful build and uncluttered lines, but it is, and will remain, very much a minor interest in the cycling world. PS. Love your channel!

[IDontKnow]

I've been riding single speed for 10 years now and I bloody love it!

[cccycling]

Im full roadie now but I love the simplicity of fixed gear for urban and casual commuting use. A single speed is a good compromise but fixed is just a lot more fun, IMO. A fixed gear track bike with a single speed hub feels weird to me when you run out of gear inches on a downhill.

[davidbee]

There is a road on the way back into town that I ride often. It has 4 rollers short and steep ranging from 10 to 45 kph. I have yet to beat my time with the same bike with gears. At the bottom of one roller, I was turning about 150 rpm and then almost losing balance at the top. We have a track in my city(138m, 50 degree in the corners). When it opened 15 years ago, I rode a track bike it felt completely natural. I have not ridden there in some time but was fun. BTW track gears were 48/16 and preferred road gear 40/16 - and I cheat because I have disc brakes on the road bike.

[irawest]

I tried a fixed gear, and it was ok, but I truly love the feeling and freedom of being able to coast. Thats one of my happy places. As for the secret club snobbiness that fixie riders sometimes exude, you either accept me and my single speed with, *GASP*, brakes, or you don't, no sweat off my back. Those are the people you want to steer clear of anyways.