I am looking to get a fixed gear bike but don’t know anything about them! I am looking for some direction.
I’ve been commuting on my On One Pompino for roughly 10 years.
Good clearance for big/winter tires and cheap. Even manage a little off road stuff too.
It had rack mounts and fender mounts so it cover everything I need.
I’m 5’11" and ride a medium with a long stem a large would also fit.
A few years ago I built one based around a Scattante SSR frame and fork, Velocity Deep V wheels, Surly Track hubs (went with a flip-flop hub so I could run a free wheel from time to time), and an assortment of other parts I bought cheap or had lying around. I enjoyed building it up, learned a decent amound, and it all went together pretty easily (other than building the wheels which took a bit of time since I had never done that before). The ride quality was much better than I expected, it just felt really smooth and was comfortable even when going over cobblestones around my college campus. I’m kinda wish I didn’t sell it, but I was a poor grad student needed money at the time to buy a cross bike
I know a number of people like the Mercier Kilo TT from bikes direct. At $400 its a good price for a new bike - though not all the component are great quality. The older Bianchi Pista is a popular frame and I know a number of people like it (whether it be for the frame itself or just the sticker). The nicest fixed/single speed I ever saw was a Lemond Fillmore built by a guy named “Min” on bike forums (the link below, half way down). I look on eBay/CL every once in a while to see if I can find a frame and build a setup identical to his:
http://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/421565-scattante-ssr-fixed-build.html
Anyway, my advice would be to this:
1.) Decide on frame material
2.) Decide how much tire clearance you want (I could run continental gatorskin 28’s on my bike. A ss cross bike will give you more than a track bike)
3.) Do you want to run fenders/a rack? If so it might be beneficial to get a frame with eyelets (though I ran a rack for a while on mine using P-clamps)
4.) Will you want to switch to a free wheel once in a while? If yet, then look for a bike with a flip/flop hub/rear wheel
5.) I’d go with a 56 if I were you (though it all depends on geometry of the top-tube, seat-tube, how long the stem is, etc - but for the most part a 56 should be a good fit)
I had one but then sold it (Bianchi Pista) when I moved to a hillier location and also realized that I had too many bikes. If you “don’t know anything about them,” then I would recommend riding one a bit first. Can you borrow one for a week? Make sure you actually like it and that it works for your area (hills?). You might also want to consider a “1-by” setup.
I got one of these $300 shipped for commuting.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fixie-record-carbfork-trackbikes.htm
Frame size is the same as for a road/tri bike.
Get a flip flop hub on the rear (trust me).
Get front and rear brakes.
Upgrade stock tires to gatorskins if you are doing a lot of urban commuting.
Nashbar sells a singlespeed cross bike for about 400 bucks, you’d need to swap the chanring for a 39 and swap the rear freewheel for a fixed cog and lockring. Put on some decent fenders and it should be fine, you’ll wear stuff out but just replace it with something from your parts bin and keep rolling.
http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_559086_-1___
dont commute on a fixie… its a fad teenagers/hipsters are doing. just plain dangerous. and I am a bike messenger… having no breaks and sliding through a red light is a risk you take. they will make you a great cyclist on a closed track/road
dont commute on a fixie… its a fad teenagers/hipsters are doing. just plain dangerous. and I am a bike messenger… having no breaks and sliding through a red light is a risk you take. they will make you a great cyclist on a closed track/road
You can put brakes on a fixie. Some people race TT’s fixed and with a front brake.
Don’t get rear breaks if you are getting a fixie. Front only. I got a steel frame with some nice wheels. Just play around and find parts.
I have used a fixed gear and singlespeed a lot for winter training because it’s simple. The difficulty with a fixed gear is getting down steeper hills because your legs can only spin so fast.
I am doubtful that strapping your feet to a machine that whirls them around has some magic effect on a rider’s pedal stroke, so I changed to a single speed that allows coasting. Some riders swear by the fixed gears, I can take them or leave them.
Front and rear brakes make the most sense if you plan on stopping and not running into stuff. Your friends might think you are a cooler guy if you skip them though
I would go single speed vs. Fixed gear for the reasons mentioned.
I ride my SS often, and have some of my best workouts on the bike. Without being able to shift, you have to work up rollers. Its also fun on group rides.
I broke the RD hanger off my old road frame and had it converted to a simple dropout. Went with a cheap sram apex crank and eccentric bottom bracket. Easy to change cogs and retention the BB.
I wouldn’t cheap out on some of the low cost options. I have seen them and they feel flimsy. You can put something together pretty cheap off classifieds and Ebay.
Love this bike:
I would also go single speed over fixed. I recently bought a Felt Bougham -very good value for money-, and it rides much better than my previous single speed (Mongoose Maurice). As I log close to half my bike miles on it commuting, I replicated my road bike position, and upgraded the tires and the pedals.
If you plan to spend some time on it, I would avoid the cheapest options that can be quite crappy bikes.
http://www.wabicycles.com/index.html
Jere B
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i own a SS/fixed bike brand so know the business, check out Aventon (great deals at citygrounds.com)
they have great quality frames with nice welding, and different models that adapt your budget.
i have a Mataro and commute on it daily, it’s an awesome bike.
best,
dont commute on a fixie… its a fad teenagers/hipsters are doing. just plain dangerous. and I am a bike messenger… having no breaks and sliding through a red light is a risk you take. they will make you a great cyclist on a closed track/road
You can put brakes on a fixie. Some people race TT’s fixed and with a front brake.
TT is a closed course with likely no one in front or behind you. even with the front brake your stopping power is not equal. the best thing for op is to get a wheel that he can flip over for commuting and dual break system, and for training on closed course switch to fixed
I have a $500 Kilo WT from BD. It’s a great bike.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/kilott-wt-fixie-wide-tire.htm
It can fit 35+ MM tires and full fenders, which makes the bike very versatile. I put a set of SKS chromoplastic fenders on it. I flipped the stem and slammed it, as a result the position matches my (racey) road bike very closely. Watch out with sizing, these bikes run very big.
I like riding the Kilo almost as much as my high end road bike (which costs about 10X as much), that says a lot. The Kilo is heavy and a tank but handles well, is basically indestructible and can be used on most any surface. It’s a great late fall/early spring training bike.
I see limited value in riding fixed over single speed and many upsides to single speed. Fixed is interesting but ultimately a unnecessary pain. Flip flop hubs solve the question anyway.
Make sure you get a frame that has front and rear brake mounts.
Try to find a frame with more road than track geometry. Watch out especially for super upright front ends, they typically have very twitchy handling and a hefty dose of toe overlap.
Consider conversions but single speed-specific frames make life a lot easier. Single speed specific frames offer optimal chainlines, make chain tensioning easy, don’t have unnecessary cable bosses and just work better.
You don’t need chain tensioners, the bolts can hold the wheel just fine.
Single-speed specific drivetrains are generally made of thicker materials and last longer than conversion drivetrains. I would also buy a bunch of different freewheels / cogs to find an optimal ratio for your riding. I’ve found Dicta freewheels work just fine and cost ~$10.
dont commute on a fixie… its a fad teenagers/hipsters are doing. just plain dangerous. and I am a bike messenger… having no breaks and sliding through a red light is a risk you take. they will make you a great cyclist on a closed track/road
You can put brakes on a fixie. Some people race TT’s fixed and with a front brake.
TT is a closed course with likely no one in front or behind you. even with the front brake your stopping power is not equal. the best thing for op is to get a wheel that he can flip over for commuting and dual break system, and for training on closed course switch to fixed
Sure, just pointing out there are lots of fixed gear bikes with brakes out there. No everyone’s a pure hipster.
I bought a Specialized Langster recently for $300. It was pretty much brand new and is a pretty well spec’d bike. Keep your eye out on Craigslist.
I’ve been riding it fixed here in Pittsburgh (i.e. we have hills) and I also ride with a front brake. It took a while to get the hang of things but I actually find it pretty enjoyable to ride. On the plus side my cadence has smoothed quite a bit and increased as well. Less maintenance, the low price and the ability to accommodate larger tires and fenders make it a pretty ideal commuter for me.
bought an Aventon Mataro last fall for $499 and it’s nicely spec’d - surprisingly comfy saddle, decent wheels and tires. bar, stem, seat, seatpost, crank and brake calipers are OEM’ed for Aventon, but not crappy.
crank on a 52 was 170 which i switched to a 165(also went for an easier gear set-up, 48x15 → 46x17) one thing: change the brake pads before you ride, the crappy pads stripped the coating off the rims; i swapped them out for shimano(ultegra) much better. also note that fixie shops do not normally install brakes on their bikes, so you may have to make some adjustments to the cables(like cut off almost a foot for the back)
i bought from sgvbikes as i did not get satisfactory communication from CityGrounds( i wanted to know about in-stock sizes, crank lengths, etc.).
i own a SS/fixed bike brand so know the business, check out Aventon (great deals at citygrounds.com)
they have great quality frames with nice welding, and different models that adapt your budget.
i have a Mataro and commute on it daily, it’s an awesome bike.
best,
In the UK at least riding fixed gear for time trials (on the open road) is more common than you might think. I do so on a variety of courses, and train on fixed outdoors as well as using geared bikes.