Cycling With One Gear – Singlespeed, Fixed Gear Bike Bonuses
Riding with only one gear and no freewheel might seem like madness, but there are numerous benefits to riding what is known as a ‘fixed wheel’ or ‘fixed gear’ bike.
Riding fixed wheel bicycles has been growing in popularity worldwide in recent years. But just what is fixed wheel riding, and what benefit is there to it?
Fixed wheel means that the bike only has one gear, and no freewheel, so you cannot change to a lower or higher gear, and you cannot coast on the bike. In the US the term ‘Fixed Wheel’ and ‘Fixed Gear’ appear almost interchangeable. In the UK ‘Fixed Gear’ tends to mean a singlespeed bike (i.e. only one gear, but it does have a freewheel).
But what can possibly be the benefits of something that seems so strange?
Maintenance is Kept Simple
Gears are wonderful things, and the derailleurs that control those gears are little pieces of mechanical genius (and in some cases downright beauty). But they can also go wrong. No matter the weather, ride every day, and you’ll find the gears becoming a little clogged, not changing as sweetly, even skipping or jumping in a ‘ghost shift’.
And then what happens if a gear cable snaps, or you bash a derailleur and knock it permanently out of line?
This is where the simplicity of fixed wheel shines. There’s less to clean, and even if you do let the grime build up, a fixed wheel gear will continue to function much more smoothly than a derailleur. The chains are not designed to be flexible sideways (as they don’t have to be pushed up and down cogs) and so tend to be a little stronger as well.
You Will Increase Your Fitness
There are two primary ways in which fixed wheel cycling may improve your fitness.
Take away the option of a lower gear when you are going uphill and you just have to get on with the job in hand. This will benefit your leg strength, as well as giving you more of a cardiovascular workout; and
Without a freewheel coming down hills you are forced to spin your legs, or slow down. If you spin you will be improving your flexibility, as well as keeping yourself warmed up (with a freewheel you stop pedalling and your muscles relax and cool). This can actually also go some way to limiting the chance of injury (pulled muscle or the like) while cycling.
The Aesthetics are Improved
A bike shorn of a front and rear derailleur will just look better. It’s uncluttered, and can really show off a nice frame perfectly. It can even make an ordinary frame look better, just by making it look slimmer, more athletic. And it should feel slimmer as well. All of those gears can weigh quite a lot.
What this does is let you see the bike, rather than an overpowering amount of paraphernalia. In fashion it may be all about the accessories, not so with fixed wheel bikes (unless of course you count the coloured rims, flash bars, fancy tyres etc. – okay, maybe it is all about the accessories).
You Will Feel ‘At One’ With the Bike
There are certain fixed wheel riders who will also put forward a theory that fixed wheel riding feels more ‘connected’ with the bike. It’s certainly true that the direct correlation between your pedal stroke and the movement of the back wheel, without any chain loops or freewheel, means that you can see what the bike is doing better.
Whether it improves your ‘feel’ and so your control of the bike is entirely up to personal interpretation when you ride.