The thing I dislike the most about the prevalence of multi-speed bikes is that other riders will look at me like I'm insane when I tell them I ride fixed. The first question I always get asked is "how do you go up hills?" People sell themselves short when they think they need more than 1 gear to go up hills. There was a time my bike was set up with 48x16 and I could go up hills just fine even on such a big ratio.
@@addvurtbikes agreed im out in Seattle, my commute has about 100m of vert in 2 punchy climbs. The single speed still works great it just takes some getting used to
I have a rode single speed since 2011 but got a Brompton with 6 gears in 2021 I think it was and haven’t been on my big bike since I can ride up the hills now but will always love the simplicity of single speed.
Smh I really suffer on the hills and I can't imagine why anyone would ask for more pain. Do you like it when your chest feels like you are being stabbed with multiple knives and your lungs make that weird noise? I have never lived anywhere flat enough to be comfortable with one gear.
Both my daily bikes are single speed. Love them. I ride a Critical Harper and a State Bicycle Co. Klunker. They both have different gearing; one is fast, one is cozy. Both do a minimum of 11 mph. I'll get there when I get there.
They are bomb proof. Definitely worth the $500. I switched to smoother tires and set aside the tires it comes with; knobby trail tires. Absolute butter.
Loving my home made fixie. 39X16=66inch gear. Kinda low but my town is hilly and I'm old. I hope to paint it next Spring. Still working on my other fixed gear frame. Having trouble removing the handle bar stem thing, just like you. Probably take all winter.
Totally agree, Single Speed gives me the most fun and peace. Once you select a gear for your area. And you'll be surprised how hard you can push a single gear. I run a 32/16 for off-road and 42/16 for road.
I don’t care what bike people chose. Cheap. Geared. I just care they smile. It took a a trike to get my partner out and riding. For me I have great fun knowing I can service all of my fixie/ss and I ride that more than my fancy mountain bike. My elbow injury was riding my fixie on mtb trails and I will be back there in 3 more weeks! Ride whatever get outside and smile
I have a 220$ MTB, ended up spending as much money on it and installed a single speed conversion kit along with some more DJ parts - the only weak part about it now are the wheels that need constant spoke tensioning after failed landings, otherwise - a hella simple, lightweight and durable bike! Love them single speeds
I have a 1985 Nishiki Century road bike and a no brand big geared fixie that I have modded over time. I love them both but my fixie will always be my favorite even though, over a long enough time line, it will never be the same bike I bought 5 years ago.
I come from a skateboarding background so i picked up bikes 2 and a half years ago but once i've tried a singlespeed bike, now all my bikes are singlespeed. A fixed gear bike, a DJ bike and a garbage bike with coaster brakes for that sweet grocery ride.
I've been into single speed steel bikes since 2021. Simplicity and minimalism appealed to me. When I got my first single speed (vintage Mercier conversion) I noticed that it just rides so effortlesly. It was also lighter than any of my previous geared bikes. I started riding more than ever and found out that I really don't need gears. With that bike I got into maintaining, tinkering, changing components and all that fun stuff.
@@addvurtbikes Yes, it's my second bike but I ride is less than my main bike, also a single speed, which I built in 2023 from cheap single speed frame I bought from ebay. Since that Mercier has been more of an errand bike with more robust tires.
Single speed riding is fun until I have to go up a hill and then end up at work drenched in sweat, I’ve gone for group rides with people on road bikes with many gears and I’ve been sucking breath in while they’re leisurely riding along.
I went riding a bicycle for the first time and it was an older road bike with the tube shifter and 7 gears with 3 front gears and after 15 minutes I was so tiered shifting gears was nice, my chain slipped once so that wasn't fun, took like 10 minutes away from my day until I fixed it. Also I rather have a 3-8 speed internal hub transmission since the multiuse path I was on had long gradual hills
Single speeding is the BEST. Mountain bike single speeding is an eye-opener. It seems impossible, until you try it ..... Then you realize that 1,700 ft of elevation gain IS actually possible without gears - even on dirt singletrack.
I ride unicycle long distance and only rode unicycle till a few weeks ago. I bought a fixie to get to and from work faster and safer since I broke my foot. I can ride a fixie with one foot and im stoked to lose my boot so i can go back to unicycle. You dont need gears to go fast just small cranks and a big wheel. :)
Wow, unicycling sounds really fun! And riding fixie with just one foot is also really wild. It reminds me of one of the messengers from the messenger documentary PEDAL.
You know your own situation best of course :) Single speeds come in a forms and sizes, I'm sure you could get one that does some of the things you want to do :)
Ribble Urban 725s, if anyone else wants to know :) Unfortunately, it is discontinued. I think I might have bought the last one, cuz this is the demo bike they had in their store. It was on sale online and I was like IT'S NOW OR NEVER :)
Yeah, no, that sounds awful. My knee was actually messed up before I got into fixed gear, but it feels better now that I have been riding for a few years.
The thing I dislike the most about the prevalence of multi-speed bikes is that other riders will look at me like I'm insane when I tell them I ride fixed. The first question I always get asked is "how do you go up hills?" People sell themselves short when they think they need more than 1 gear to go up hills. There was a time my bike was set up with 48x16 and I could go up hills just fine even on such a big ratio.
Its fun… unless you live in an area with a lot of steep hills
Yeah, gears are life in Madrid, my knees already hurt like they are twice my age.
It depends. If you gear it low enough and it has a freewheel, you can kind of deal with the lack of gears. Not the case for a fixed gear, tho...
yeah, but you can still have a lot of fun with a low geared single speed / fixie in a very hilly area. it's totally possible
@@addvurtbikes agreed im out in Seattle, my commute has about 100m of vert in 2 punchy climbs. The single speed still works great it just takes some getting used to
I have a rode single speed since 2011 but got a Brompton with 6 gears in 2021 I think it was and haven’t been on my big bike since
I can ride up the hills now but will always love the simplicity of single speed.
Bromptons are pretty cool!
One fixed gear is great! I'm 66 years old, been riding bikes all my life. I just built a fixie for the first time. I'm loving it!
That's awesome! I hope I can still ride when I'm 66 :)
@@addvurtbikes no reason why you shouldn't be able to. 🚴🚴♂️🚴♀️🚵
@@abaneyone take care of your knees and ride on my man
@@addvurtbikes I am 65, and still commute partly by bike most days. I did more riding last summer than I have since my teens. You can do it.
A 20 mile ride around neighborhoods in my town has 1200 - 1500 ft of climbing. One gear will absolutely not work for me.
One of my ride to work is 18km with 300m of climbing : i wouldn't say it's not fun, but it sure is intense.
Smh I really suffer on the hills and I can't imagine why anyone would ask for more pain. Do you like it when your chest feels like you are being stabbed with multiple knives and your lungs make that weird noise? I have never lived anywhere flat enough to be comfortable with one gear.
@@Xubuntu47 Did you try getting stronger ?
Seriously tho, good foot retention helps a lot for climbing.
get past your mental barrier. your mind will give out way before your body does
@@Xubuntu47 weird noise?... maybe you should see a doctor, seriously.
Single speed fixed is so graceful to ride.
Graceful like an apple tree
Both my daily bikes are single speed. Love them. I ride a Critical Harper and a State Bicycle Co. Klunker. They both have different gearing; one is fast, one is cozy. Both do a minimum of 11 mph. I'll get there when I get there.
Great attitude! The state klunker is really cool, I would love one!
They are bomb proof. Definitely worth the $500. I switched to smoother tires and set aside the tires it comes with; knobby trail tires. Absolute butter.
Happy for you :)
Loving my home made fixie. 39X16=66inch gear. Kinda low but my town is hilly and I'm old. I hope to paint it next Spring. Still working on my other fixed gear frame. Having trouble removing the handle bar stem thing, just like you. Probably take all winter.
Nice to hear! Any ratio is a good ratio if you like it! Good luck with the project :)
Totally agree, Single Speed gives me the most fun and peace. Once you select a gear for your area. And you'll be surprised how hard you can push a single gear. I run a 32/16 for off-road and 42/16 for road.
Awesome! Do you have two different bikes for that or do you switch out your cog/rear wheel?
@@addvurtbikes I switch out the front ring and add 10cm of chain. Takes about 20 minutes.
Completely agree with you, picked up a used steal frame fixed gear a couple of months a go, absolutely love it.
Yo that's awesome! Fixed gear was life changing for me, I hope it will give you as much happiness as it gave me!
I don’t care what bike people chose. Cheap. Geared. I just care they smile. It took a a trike to get my partner out and riding. For me I have great fun knowing I can service all of my fixie/ss and I ride that more than my fancy mountain bike. My elbow injury was riding my fixie on mtb trails and I will be back there in 3 more weeks! Ride whatever get outside and smile
I like this :) Except for the injury, of course. All bikes are good, but some are more expensive and require more maintenance :)
as a unicyclist i am used to only one gear jes and it is very fun, still can do decent distances
Nice! There is another unicyclist here in the comments somewhere! I'm happy you both found this video!
I have a 220$ MTB, ended up spending as much money on it and installed a single speed conversion kit along with some more DJ parts - the only weak part about it now are the wheels that need constant spoke tensioning after failed landings, otherwise - a hella simple, lightweight and durable bike! Love them single speeds
Awesome! Dirt jumpers are hella cool!
Just finished my first fixie yesterday. Made from an old 5-speed. I've only test rode it. Looking forward to learning to ride it longer, later today.
Nice!! Do you have pedal straps or something else for foot retention?
@addvurtbikes Yes, I put toe clips on it.
I have a 1985 Nishiki Century road bike and a no brand big geared fixie that I have modded over time. I love them both but my fixie will always be my favorite even though, over a long enough time line, it will never be the same bike I bought 5 years ago.
Sounds like a great combo! I love retro road bikes, actually.
I come from a skateboarding background so i picked up bikes 2 and a half years ago but once i've tried a singlespeed bike, now all my bikes are singlespeed.
A fixed gear bike, a DJ bike and a garbage bike with coaster brakes for that sweet grocery ride.
Sounds perfect dude! I started googling dirt jumpers now, they look really fun!
I've been into single speed steel bikes since 2021. Simplicity and minimalism appealed to me. When I got my first single speed (vintage Mercier conversion) I noticed that it just rides so effortlesly. It was also lighter than any of my previous geared bikes. I started riding more than ever and found out that I really don't need gears. With that bike I got into maintaining, tinkering, changing components and all that fun stuff.
That's awesome! Are you still riding your Mercier? :)
@@addvurtbikes Yes, it's my second bike but I ride is less than my main bike, also a single speed, which I built in 2023 from cheap single speed frame I bought from ebay. Since that Mercier has been more of an errand bike with more robust tires.
Single speed riding is fun until I have to go up a hill and then end up at work drenched in sweat, I’ve gone for group rides with people on road bikes with many gears and I’ve been sucking breath in while they’re leisurely riding along.
Yeah, you're probably not going to keep up with those roadie friends on a single speed, but it's cool that you tried!
I went riding a bicycle for the first time and it was an older road bike with the tube shifter and 7 gears with 3 front gears and after 15 minutes I was so tiered shifting gears was nice, my chain slipped once so that wasn't fun, took like 10 minutes away from my day until I fixed it. Also I rather have a 3-8 speed internal hub transmission since the multiuse path I was on had long gradual hills
Internal hubs transmission sounds pretty cool, yeah. Good that you have stuff that works for you now!
The gears are good for bike touring. Single speed are great for the city
Yeah, long long range cycling probably justifies gears ever for me :)
Single speeding is the BEST. Mountain bike single speeding is an eye-opener. It seems impossible, until you try it ..... Then you realize that 1,700 ft of elevation gain IS actually possible without gears - even on dirt singletrack.
Yeah! And the extra challenge is pretty fun, right?
I ride unicycle long distance and only rode unicycle till a few weeks ago. I bought a fixie to get to and from work faster and safer since I broke my foot. I can ride a fixie with one foot and im stoked to lose my boot so i can go back to unicycle. You dont need gears to go fast just small cranks and a big wheel. :)
Wow, unicycling sounds really fun! And riding fixie with just one foot is also really wild. It reminds me of one of the messengers from the messenger documentary PEDAL.
@@addvurtbikes ah yes I believe I know what you're talking about. :)
Got a steel ss 700c beater bike....and a 27.5 10 speed full rigid mtb. Both fun for me. 😅
that sounds great! nice range with those two
how many gears if i want to be sad
All of them
Zero gears would make me sad. It would be hard to ride at all without at least one :(
@@addvurtbikes The dandy horse gang would like to disagree.
As a heavy rider I have to disagree. having a single speed would be cool though.
You know your own situation best of course :) Single speeds come in a forms and sizes, I'm sure you could get one that does some of the things you want to do :)
Come here to my neighborhood and say that again.
I hate bike industry but thank you greedy companies for creating 1x12.
im guessing you have some nice hills! where do you live? :)
Unfortunately I like in a hilly place
Yeah, some areas are more demanding than others.
what bike are you riding?(never mind i figured it out)
Ribble Urban 725s, if anyone else wants to know :) Unfortunately, it is discontinued. I think I might have bought the last one, cuz this is the demo bike they had in their store. It was on sale online and I was like IT'S NOW OR NEVER :)
Let's see how happy you will be when the knee will need surgery.
Yeah, no, that sounds awful. My knee was actually messed up before I got into fixed gear, but it feels better now that I have been riding for a few years.
Just learn how to set up a derailleur.
I would like to learn, but I'm not going to get one until I need or want one for something
@@addvurtbikes Cool mate, what ever feels best. Don't mind my stupid first comment. Just trolling
Dreadful things derailleurs. Maybe IGH?
@@simplexicated For a city bike a 1 by with no indexation. Really easy to maintain and gives you much more flexibility. At least in my opinion