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What's a "Fixie" you ask?
I'm glad you did. Generally speaking a Fixed Gear Bike or "Fixie" is a bike with out a freewheel, and the ability to coast. So when the bike is moving, so are the pedals.
It's cycling at its most basic. No gears, shifters, derailleur’s, or wondering "Am I in the right gear"
Many riders use just one brake (the front) because leg power is the primary brake (Back pedal) some don't use any (not recommended).
Many people ask "Why would you want to ride a fixed gear".
Some racers ride fixed at the beginning of the season to help improve their cadence, and to help get their legs used to constant movement, in an effort to reduce the desire to coast, and improving their muscle memory.
Most Velodrome or track racing is done on fixed gear bikes.
Some people ride fixed because with fewer parts on the bike, it has fewer things that might need service.
Others just like being very in tune with their ride.
And frankly others do it because it’s fun.
This page is by no means intended to be an answer to all your questions. But maybe it will answer a few and generate some more. As usual drop an e-mail or give a call if you have questions, or stop by. |
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Conversions, What you need to know. Although there are several Bike Companies making off the rack Fixies (Fuji has three, and SE has a few as well). Many people like to convert their old road bike. And why not, it’s fun, and easy. There are a few things to keep in mind when evaluating your conversion potential canidate. |
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| Schwinn LeTour. This amount of angle will do. |
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| #1, rear drop outs (the slot where the center of the wheel meets the frame) need to be fairly horizontal. Since you are taking off the derailleur which usually helps keep the chain properly tensioned you will use the drop out to do that. |
| #2, Chain line the straighter the better. This is sort of complicated but you need to be sure the chain stays in line with the frame of the bike, again this is because you are removing the deraileurs (which help keep things in line) and if the chain isn’t straight, it’ll pop off when you least want it to. You can check line with a measuring tape and some math or you can mount up the wheel, and spin the cranks, if it’s straight, it’ll be quiet. Adjusting chain line can be a little touchy. Consult a pro. You’ll probably need to buy some parts. |
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| Note how chain lines up well with the seat tube |
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| Gear ratio is often measured in Gear Inches |
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| #3, Give some thought to your gear ratio (what gear your in on the front and back of your chain), take your bike out for a nice long ride, and shift into a comfortable gear for a while, can you get up hills, do you spin out in flat land, keep trying until you find a gear ratio you like, your not stuck with it forever, but it’s not terribly easy change on the road. |
#4, wheel considerations. Most new wheels are 700cm in diameter, and most old bikes are built around 27” wheels, the difference isn’t a whole lot. But it’s enough to make your brakes not fit, fortunately a lot of old bikes have “Long reach brakes” and there are some new ones on the market. It’s important enough to mention.
Speaking of wheels, you will need a new set, or at least a new rear wheel, to go fixed, when you get your wheel you will need a lock ring and to know what size cog (rear gear) you want to ride. There are about 4 million combinations available with Hub/rim/spoke/nipples/lacing pattern/tire to consider, so if you are hoping for something that’s special, just ask we (and many other shops) will build custom wheels just for you. Remember you want your fixie to have bolt on wheels, not quick release, not only does that make it harder to steal but the pressure put on fixed wheels is higher then on free-wheels. |
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| This is not my picture, but you get the idea. There are a wide variety of wheel choices |
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| All the red things on this hub are spacers. |
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What about single speeds?
A single speed is sorta like a fixie, and sorta not.
Like a fixie, it’s a pared down bike that has just one gear.
Not like a fixie, you get to coast.
Many of the things pointed out above do apply to single speeds, but some of them don’t, you can use a chain tensioner on a single speed (if you really want to) so #1 is not as key. we would strongly recommend using both front and rear brakes on a singlespeed. You can often get by with your existing wheel, it’s not always the prettiest conversion, but it’ll work. You take off the extra cogs and add spacers. |
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Whats a Flip /Flop? A flip/flop hub has spacing for a drive mechanism on both sides of the wheel. Because Free wheels and Fixed Gear cogs attach to wheels differently there is a variety available. So you could get a wheel that is Fixed gear on one side, and Single Speed on the other, fixed/fixed (different size), or free/free (again different size). |
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| Surly Fixed / Free hub, Waiting to be mounted into a wheel |
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There are volumes of information available on line on this Subject, everything you could want to know can be found on Sheldon Browns website |
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