Just curious as to what kind of speed difference there is between a fixie and a road or tri bike. What do you fixie riders experience with your average speed on the different bikes?
For me, the point of fixed gear is simplicity. No gears, no computer. So I don’t know but I would guess slower on fixed.
Overall your average speed on a fixie is going to be a lower than on a geared bike. This is because of two main things:
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The lack of gears means that you can’t select the optimal gearing for the conditions - most of the time you are either under or over geared, with is more taxing on your body.
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The lack of a freewheel means that you can’t coast - on a rolling or hilly course, this often limits your downhill speed as well as your ability to carry momentum into the next climb. Combined with the inability to rest, this makes the ride much harder than if you had a freewheel.
Riding fixed isn’t about speed, and for most of us it isn’t even about developing a smooth pedal stroke, the ability to ride with an insanely high cadence, or any other such “skill development” (though they are definitely benefits). I ride fixed because it’s a lot of fun.
Like Khai said, speed is irrelevant when riding my fixie, though I do ride it for a purpose - strength training.
If I had to guess, I’d say its overall slower than geared bike, for reasons Khai spelled out, though since I currently ride without computer on any bike I really don’t know what speed I’m going at any time, and I don’t really care as it is degree and duration of exertion, not absolute velocity, which is the point of my training.
As others have said, most of the time you will be at a disadvantage on a fixed gear. However on the right course they will be faster. Many TT records have been set with a fixed gear. They are lighter, more aero and have lower friction losses. In order for them to be better it has to be a relatively flat course with low wind, and you have to pick the correct gearing.
Styrrell
The reason for my original question is to try and gauge if a fixie is a good option for my commute. It’s about 17 miles one way with a few decent hills. I currently have mtn, road, and tri bikes and have ridden the tri bike in the past to work.
The reason for my original question is to try and gauge if a fixie is a good option for my commute. It’s about 17 miles one way with a few decent hills. I currently have mtn, road, and tri bikes and have ridden the tri bike in the past to work.
The hills will slow you down quite a bit but probably not enough to rule it out. My WAG is that it would add around 10 minutes or so.
I don’t think that the speed differential will be significant enough to make any real impact on your commute, but you probably want to leave a few minutes early the first couple of times you do it to see. While I do descend slower on my fixie I also climb faster - so for a short ride it ends up being pretty close to a wash. Yeah, it probably is a little slower - but not enough to matter. It’s the long rides on the fixie where fatigue has time to build up… That’s when you really notice the difference I noted above.