Fixie Vs Geared: Which Bike Is Fastest For City Riding?

Fixed gear bikes are a pretty cool way to get around in a city, but just how do they compare to a normal bike with a selection of gears? Chris and James do a series of simple tests using Jon's cheap fixie to find out.

Which do you use to ride around? Would you leave your bike outside a pub? (it's a very important test here at GCN) 🍺

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Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound:
Björn Skogsberg - British Invasion 3
Cospe - I Need To Know
Staffan Carlén - I Wish That I Was A Mad Man (Instrumental Version)
Luwaks - Octagonic
Fashion - No Cry
Trabant 33 - The Longest Roads

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Leave us a comment below!

[jeffp]

With a fixie you never have to worry about being in the right gear because you're always in the wrong one

[blank]

An old steel conversion vs a carbon road bike... What a fair test!

[oh]

The point about cost is completely spot on - at my flat, we have 'secure bike storage' where twice over the past year it has been broken into and very expensive bikes have been stolen. Mine survived both times, heh!

[duckymomo]

What’s the cameraman riding😂 dudes always a step ahead

[citrOhm]

No straps, wrong chain, and a low-end fixie vs. high-end road bike.
Not fair.

[leow.]

Fixie is always faster because it won‘t be stolen after you bought some bread in the bakery

[Ody-upkg]

My city bike was an old 21" Raleigh Sports 3 speed with 26" steel rims. It had a rear rack, 3 working gears, 2 working brakes. I used a $5 cable lock to lock it up. I kept it locked up in Boston for years and no one bothered to steal it. It was the perfect city bike!

[op]

I use both, Fixed folding and a Geared Gravel one:
- Fixed: perfect to enjoy the city, markets, pubs, parks w/kids, short distances
- Geared: perfect for training in the city, long distances

[bluej]

"We're standing kinda close mate."
"We've been friends a long time."

Classic lol. Great video guys.

[PabloEscobar-jyiu]

I love you guys but stop testing everything against a $9000 road bike.

[AlexGeorgakoulis]

"My legs are my gears"! Once you go fixed you can't go back. It's so much fun

[pete]

I know he has brakes but seeing someone on a fixie without straps just looks so odd

[hoopdoggydogg]

I'm a bike courier in Vienna and I have road bikes for work. Prefer the gears because I can choose how hard I want to push myself on each shift. Of course, nicer road bikes are more attractive to thieves, but I think a thief will steal any bike - fixies too. So I'd say always keep your bike within eye sight no matter what you ride

[jozeftymek]

You can allways combain benefits of this two bikes and ride a cheap old road bike with gears.

[davenet]

You can really see all the power Jon is putting out from the dead stops in that fixed gear. Legs just flexing like crazy.

[tomrodriguez]

I had an aero frame track bike that I built from eBay parts, it was about 17 pounds, very fast and nimble. I rode it when I lived in the city, the bottom line was it was a lot of fun. It's gone, I live in the mountains now, I miss it but it would be totally impractical .

[kittechno]

THE BEST SOLUTION IS :


Take the expensive one and sell it. Then buy a 30 year old Fixie and bank the rest. EASY WIN !

[charlesissleepy]

the practicality of a fixie is that there's almost nothing that can break, if it gets stolen it shouldn't be too expensive to replace, and the feedback you get from the back wheel is helpful in squirrelly conditions. Also, you get really dialled in and pay more attention to traffic around you than your current gear. weightsaving for your buck is better too, which makes it more pleasant to ride than a geared bike from the same price range

[candido]

Thanks for the sharing. My 1st long ride I went as a fixie and my competitors were geared. I didn't beat them up, but they god quite impressed on how I continued to keep steep and hold position with a 52/16. And I must tell, this frame seem to be iron frame, and I'd bet you would win him with with a good distance by using a bullhorn handlebar. They're simple and plain, just better for fixies, as you grip and 'divide the weight' the traction with your arms muscles, switching positions during uphills

[moganfreeman]

Your fixie would be gone before you ordered a drink round here😂😂😂