Does Riding A Fixie Really Make You A Stronger Cyclist?

Fixed gear bikes, or fixies, are single-speed with no freewheel. They make great town bikes and are also used as track bikes in the velodrome, but should you be using one to improve your cycling? Conor looks into the training and fitness benefits of riding a fixie, including strength efforts and improving pedalling technique, testing it on the flat, as well as up and downhill!

00:00 Intro
00:45 What is a fixie?
01:13 Why ride a fixie?
01:42 Fixed gear benefits
02:20 Getting started
03:07 Pedalling technique
05:11 Climbing
06:41 Descending
08:41 Conclusions

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📸 Photos - © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Sprint Cycling Agency

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[fabioslopes]

I commute over 50 km every single day on São Paulo-Brazil to go to work and back to home at the end of the day... the happiest moment of my daylife!!

[r.s]

I've been riding my Langster for a year, 46x15.. I'm looking to go into a 48x15 soon. I love it.73 yr old dude.

[sorenmeyer]

Suggestion from a long time fixed gear rider: ride a ratio with which you can accelerate quickly at lights and get up easy on your local hills.
For the flats you just have to spin, the best cadence training there is. Picking a too high gear ratio is a thing many "beginners" do, because they want to ride as fast as possible on the flats. But it's all about the cadence on a fixed gear

[cliffordromina]

Suggestion: Ride it for a whole month. Only that bike and nothing else, even during GCN videos. That will show weather it realy is beneficial or not.

I ride fixed for almost 15 years now, with some breaks in between but also did some fixed gear crits and other races. I actually spoke with one physiotherapist once and he told me he's riding fixed as well, because the lack of dead point in pedaling actually decreases risk of knee injury!

[wallacegrooms]

Fixed riding part of my training/fitness regime for years. It has made me a better cyclist overall by teaching me to spin more efficiently and anticipate changes. Back on a geared bike you immediately realize how much you coast. But please, install a break! Be safe out there.

[kennethward]

Love a fixie. I've had a fixed gear bike in my rotation for over 30 years. I use brakes on the road, because dogs, children and cars can exceed my non-Jedi reflexes. No brakes on the velodrome, obviously. Smaller gears on road than track, 72" is my go-to road gear. In my humble opinion, those who ride fixed gears tend to be smooth on geared bikes, as they don't stop pedaling to stand, sit, shift gears, or corner, so they're easier to draft closely.
P.S.-Future video Connor should try a "tracklecross" fixed gear off road race- a niche sport where the "spirit of gravel" may or may not live.

[kitka]

Track bikes on the street are a beautiful thing. They teach you the most important thing in cycling outdoors - awareness. And help with cadence (remember guys - spinning is winning!). Oh, and they look the absolute best. Nothing beats a gorgeous, brakeless track bike in the looks department.

[hardcheese]

I have been commuting to work since 2009 on my Boardman fixie (usually 50-70 mins ride). Now with bombproof wheels and 32mm marathon plus tyres on a 48x18 set up. Just the perfect way to ride to work and almost never be let down with a mechanical, plus all the benefits discussed.

[hiattriver]

At 72 I now ride my fixie exclusively. Raced (road, Mt. bike, gravel & tandem) for 25+ years. Came to the fixie late in my cycling but fell in love. It is so much more “in the moment” than any other cycling I’ve done (except maybe criterium racing on a tandem).

[nooneeft]

Story time: I have tried fixed gear and crashed. That was my friend's bike. It was homemade using some cheap details, frame from 70s and had no brakes, so if you want to stop you should push pedals the opposite direction. Wether it was my inner insanity or thirst for speed I wanted to break my own speed record. We met on one of the most popular places in Kyiv among the cyclists, as there was everything you can dream about: flat and good quality road surface, speed limit for cars and magic feel of a pine forest surrounding the road. At that point I had tried a fixie before but had only few rides on my road bike. So we swapped our bikes and I gave it a try. I started speeding up and it went absolutely smooth. I honestly liked it and wanted more. During the ride I stepped on the pedals but I lost my inner feel of balance and bike leaned on the left side. I crashed. I can describe my condition as adrenaline planning about how to get away off the road as there were cars behind me. I quickly got up and started inspecting injuries. To my suprise I had only big scratches on my legs and my left pocket of the shorts was ripped by the keys laying there. I checked the bike then. And it made great. I only ripped the leather on the saddle and handlebar wrapping. We went to McDonald's and I checked strava. Turns out I crashed on the speed of 44km/h. The fact that I was not wearing any protection and got no major injuries fascinates me till now.

[jorgepro]

big thumbs up for this content. As a fixed gear rider, i enjoyed very much to see you talking about fixed gear bikes. GCN should create more fixed gear related videos. Bring Mannon back with her super track bike ⚙🔥A Bike Vault Special with only fixed gear builds, would be awesome, right?

[nuttycommuter]

Don’t know if it makes you faster, but it certainly makes you cooler

[magicknight]

In my cycling club there was always one guy who turned up on a fixie in the fast group (in the Surrey hills so very lumpy in places). He always kept up, must have been so fit.

[grantbeerling]

Been riding Fixed wheel on and off on the road for 40 plus years; Lessons learnt;
1) Crank length 165mm, for ground clearance, easier on the thighs at high cadence, ie smaller circles
2) Gear choice; in old money anything from 66" to 77" depending on average terrian, age/strength. At present Winter gas tubed bike (12Kg) 72"- 48/18, Uni Bike 10Kg 73.5" -49/18.Favorite fixed gear/Summer, Campagnolo Record, 8kg 75" - 50/18
Terrain; Kent short steep hills and long 6-8% drags, ok for a 65Kg old git who likes climbing, when in Dubai (flat) 78" - 49-17
3)Descents; try not to bounce, when you start to max, use brakes.
4) Two brakes for those slippery days when front only, can lead to disaster
5) It takes about 3 months for you not to forget, once in your brain, got it for life
6) Try not use back peddling for braking, not great for the knees
7) When you've stopped, pull the front brake to lift the rear wheel and then spin the crank round to your starting position, comes second nature after a while
8) In traffic plan you stops so the cranks are not in the wrong position for a quick start.
9)Roll up to speed rather than stamping on the cranks, no rush.
10) For old gits who lose muscle mass, this is the perfect resistance training to retain and increase mass. (I'm 59 )
11)Use 1/8th chain, the most heavy duty you can afford, which means 1/8th sprockest and rings, you can ride 3/32 rings with an 1/8th chain but it gets noisey. IZUMI HD track chains/Euro sprokets, cheap Stronglight track C/S
12) Slack; about 15mm at the tightest point (remember the more expensive the rear and front sprokets/rings the rounder they are the less variance in tight to slack spot.


Good; What is does for me is strength on climbs, when back on a geared bike, no fear of grinding, and can spin into a head wind rather than get clobbered. A weird sense of being at one with the bike, which is why I continue to ride fixed, along with something different to ease potential boredom of the same ride, especially a commute. Virtually zero maintenance. Cheap to build recommend steel over anything else, that steel spring/flex aids comfort.
Second hand Early Genesis Flyers (two bottle cage model, you can get them for about £150-200) All my bikes have 165mm cranks

Bad; When back on gears; I have to get used to fast cornering on descents, remember that I have gears, and can actually freewheel. Get through brake blocks on hilly terrains, rear wheel punctures are a pain. Hard to get lightweight track wheels (Purchased from the US; WABI sub 15's 20/24...nice)

[JDoubleEww]

I always enjoyed climbing on a fixie. Despite never being in the correct gear on a incline, the forward momentum turning the pedals makes it easier to keep them turning. Descending on the other hand…😬

[filipracek]

Riding brakeless fixed gear bike with steep track geometry and waxed chain is one of life's simple pleasures :) Truly immersive experience. I got into road cycling via riding fixed gear around town, then doing longer road rides, climbing hills and later installing front brake to tackle more technical descents before buying my first road bike. I actually did a 180km/2000m brevet Rapha Prestige Bohemia on my Standert Umlaufbahn and the organizers in the finnish were amazed and told me I was crazy doing it on a fixed gear :D

[richdodman]

Rode my fixie for a good few years, did three century rides on it and rode the London to Paris ride on it much to the disbelief of the full roadies that I went with. But I ended up in the lead group because with a fixie you have to attack the uphills and hold your pace so you end up getting away from everyone but they then catch you on the downhills. Loved it and still love having a cruise/blast on it.

[tonyflorio]

Web bike expert, the late Sheldon Brown, got me curious about fixies so I had an old Raliegh 10-speed frame built up and that was my main commuter for about a decade. I now ride it weekly. I quite like it. It's a simple bike that doesn't require a lot of maintenance. A straight chainline feels nearly frictionless. And the flywheel effect of the rear wheel makes lower cadences when climbing managable. And spinning out to 120 rpm + on the downhills without bouncing is a great way to smooth out your pedal stroke.

Not my only bike, but I do like having it in the mix.

[Velomoon]

My commute bike is a fixed gear bike & I love the simplicity & feel of riding it.