Are fixed gear bikes faster?

[skyactiv]

I usually ride every nice weekend with my wife and a friend. My wife went shopping so my friend brought his Schwinn Madison fixed gear bike he always bragged about. I rode my older Raleigh aluminum road bike which feels like it weighs less. We both have 700X23 tires and mine are folding, his aren't.

I'm tall and thin while he is about 6', could stand to lose 35 pounds and he is 14 months older.
We rode 22 miles. He blew me away during the ride. I averaged 19 MPH which about
killed me. He would slow down to let me catch up and would sprint ahead 100 yards.
He also went faster on the slight inclines even though he couldn't downshift.

The only physical advantage he has over me are his big thighs.

 

[AlienBug]

Big thighs = more horsepower

 

[dparm]

It might have gearing for speed, but those bikes are not inherently any faster. The good thing about a fixie is that you can very easily swap the cog to make it a low-speed or high-speed bike.

 

[IndyIan]

Fitness trumps alot of technology and even weight on a bike.
And someone who actually bothers to own a fixed gear bike probably rides alot.
A fixed gear bike can be a great training aid as it forces you to sprint more just to get up some of the hills, building your aerobic capacity. You could make your easy rides harder by pretending your bike is fixed grear.

 

[bepperb]

It's a tradeoff of efficiency of the best available speed vs weight. But generally no, single speed bikes are slower. Races that have single speed classes do that because they are slower. Usually people who like single speeds prefer the reliability (around town or off road) or plan to only use one speed, like on a track that is flat, where they would be faster.

I'd also say that 19mph isn't a bad average for a ride. Also, someones body fat doesn't necessarily indicate their aerobic fitness level. I ran a marathon at 205lbs, plenty of people fatter than me finished faster than me and ten times that many skinnier people finished after.

 

[stephen9666]

He's probably in better shape than you.

I have a friend who's way more into cycling than me. After a few beers we went for a short ride. He was casually cruising on his single-speed Bikes Direct bike while I was huffing and puffing to keep up on my modern multi-speed bike.

I know it's hard to acknowledge, but the difference in speeds is not the issue here...

 

[SLCraig]

Faster, no, but they force you to keep momentum or you're not making it up the tough hills. You basically have to push hard when riding a SS. They are insane for fitness training.

 

[cchase]

Are we talking fixed gear or single speed here? Sounds like there's a confusion of terms.

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv


The only physical advantage he has over me are his big thighs.


You can't really "see" cardiovascular fitness. The last Tour de France winner has pretty small thighs... Capillary and mitochondrial density are hard to determine without cutting someone open! He either rides more or just has different genetics. I've seen some really un-fit looking folks who are naturally very strong.

As far as a fixed gear, I ride mine in the off-season a bit as a novelty, but I wouldn't recommend it as an only bike. Gears are nice, even in flat areas since flat places are normally windy. While it may be slightly more efficient (less drivetrain losses) the differences are really, really, small. A derailleur/extra chain length consume less than half a percent of power.

 

[cchase]

Originally Posted By: JOD
Originally Posted By: skyactiv


The only physical advantage he has over me are his big thighs.


You can't really "see" cardiovascular fitness. The last Tour de France winner has pretty small thighs... Capillary and mitochondrial density are hard to determine without cutting someone open! He either rides more or just has different genetics. I've seen some really un-fit looking folks who are naturally very strong.


Agreed. That said, there are definitely instances in which pedal force trumps the ability to put out watts, and single speed is one such area.

I recently did my first singlespeed mountain bike race and although I'm a very strong climber I could not hack it with guys that I suspect were less "fit" than myself but who could grind up a hill at a 30 rpm cadence that I was using up far more reserves to do.

 

[OneEyeJack]

In the late 50's and early 60's I trained on a "fixed wheel" bicycle. We rode fixed wheel bikes in criterium races. The bikes were light and very responsive and were excellent for changing speed or jumping into an opening. Fixed wheel bikes were banned because of the crashes, things like hitting the pedal in turns and hitting each other in the pack. When riding one you will notice the feel of a bike that responds instantly to your pedaling and being forced to pedal all the time makes for a good workout.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
A fixed gear bike can be a great training aid as it forces you to sprint more just to get up some of the hills, building your aerobic capacity. You could make your easy rides harder by pretending your bike is fixed gear.


Not just that, but A LOT of elite/upper catagory racing cyclists ride the early season on low gear ratio, fixed gear bikes because it FORCES them to pedal in circles, instead of squares.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: JOD
Originally Posted By: skyactiv


The only physical advantage he has over me are his big thighs.


You can't really "see" cardiovascular fitness. The last Tour de France winner has pretty small thighs... Capillary and mitochondrial density are hard to determine without cutting someone open! He either rides more or just has different genetics. I've seen some really un-fit looking folks who are naturally very strong.


^^^YES! And this is before one even gets into; Max VO2 uptake, natural (and trained) hematocrit levels, and blood lactic acid dissolving/recovery differences.

Speaking of Mr. Froome, the only thing that amazes me more than his time trialing ability, being a 'pure' climber, was his team mate winning last year after being a pure, world champion class pursuiter on the track, and then being able to climb the Alps and Pyrenees!

 

[cchase]

He lost a lot of weight in the transformation from track star to star climber though!

 

[Kestas]

I can't understand why anyone would have a fixed gear bicycle, unless they are racing in a velodrome. In some of the velodrome races there is a point in the race where there is the strategy of standing almost still which requires having a fixed gear for control.

 

[whizbyu]

Fixies are not faster. Do not get talked into getting one to "go faster". If you've never ridden one, and are accustomed to a freewheel you will have a few near wrecks. If you go downhill for an extended distance, you better have the ability to ramp up your cadence because if you cannot, you will probably wreck. If you have to go up a mountain and ride a fixie, you will probably regret that because unless you are able to stand and keep a decent cadence you will stall and hate it.

Been there.

 

[cchase]

Yeah, as I mentioned a lot of people in this thread are using the term fixed gear to talk about single speeds.

Single speeds will definitely make a man out of a mouse on climbs.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
I can't understand why anyone would have a fixed gear bicycle, unless they are racing in a velodrome. In some of the velodrome races there is a point in the race where there is the strategy of standing almost still which requires having a fixed gear for control.


ONLY ONE, the Match Sprint, and the UCI (the world governing rule body of cycling) made a rule that the first lap (of 2-4) depending on the track's length, MUST be ridden by the leading rider at least at a 'walking pace', since they were fed up with 'track stands' (to try and force the following rider into the lead) during these races lasting up to a half hour or more in the past.

 

[grndslm]

Fixies are faster than a relatively geared single-speed.

Single-speeds actually have to work faster to keep up with the momentup of a fixed gear bike.

Fixies are also more efficient than geared bikes in the sense that there is no wasted "down time" during shifts, especially improper shifts. Most people don't REALLY know how to shift properly.

Fixies are definitely more fun than anything else.

Flip flop hubs to transfer between fixed gear and single speed are the way to go. Any trip less than 15 to 20 miles, I'd prefer the fixed gear.

You definitely learn better form, which transfers to better gearing.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: cchase
He lost a lot of weight in the transformation from track star to star climber though!


True, but this is the VERY first time this has EVER been done, besides being the first Grand Tour win by a mainland Brit.
Even the muscle cell type/metabolism, and muscle groups used in each discipline
are radically different (less so in pursuiting and road/prologue time trialing, vs. pursuiting and climbing 15+ mile long, 8% switchbacked walls!).

I think the only other one to even come close was Switzerland's Alex Zulle who won the professional pursuit 5K title one year (back when they still had separate pro and amateur track World Championships), and soon after placed second or third in the TdF.