Why do I ride fixed gear?

If you ride fixed gear, you've been asked this questions many times. It's not super easy to put the answer into words that makes sense. Maybe that's because it doesn't make sense. I don't know. There is a bit of "if you know, you know" mentality about fixed gear, but I'm going to try to put my honest answer into this video. Enjoy!
//Addvurt

[@shanelefevre7840]

you should prolly increase chain tension man, that chain is all over the place

[@addvurtbikes]

yeah, that’s too slack for my taste.

[@tomtrotman6176]

Loose chain is faster

[@benbraceletspurple9108]

It should be loose enough the slack takes up the length of one link placed perpendicular to the slack when pulled up and down.

[@Benfrmbennett1]

If you look the wheel is at the end of the dropouts and won't go back further. Obviously you should throw the skream bike away and get anything else. Perfect fix

[@user-uv1ol7ey2s]

no its not ​@@tomtrotman6176

[@anibalbibal]

I rode XC and BMX for many years in the past. The moment I had my first ride through an empty avenue at 1am on a fixed gear and eased into its movements, I fell in love and in sync with the fixed gear flow. It's the only bike I ride now and I wouldn't have any other type of bike. It's just FUN every. Single. Time.

[@addvurtbikes]

beautiful!

[@johnhatfield1070]

Two years ago I signed up to a bike tour holiday with 15 other people I didn’t know. The tour was Portugal end to end. I was 65 years old at the time. I took my 30 year old Raleigh Pioneer fixed gear conversion. I changed the gearing to 48/22 to enable me to get up the hills. Other participants turned up with their Dogmas and S works tarmacs. The question why always comes up. I just tell them that It’s the difficulty level that gives such a massage sense of achievement and above all I confess to it being a massive ego trip.

[@addvurtbikes]

Sounds like an amazing time! I hope I will get the chance to visit Portugal, and to ride fixed gear at age 65 and beyond! I wish you have a great day my friend!

[@leeroyarts1474]

watching your vids makes me excited riding my own fixed gear!

[@addvurtbikes]

Thank you! That's awesome! Let's ride!

[@Horus-Lupercal]

I'm riding fixed gear atm *because* of the "hard mode" aspect. Everytime I switch to single-speed or geared, it's incredibly easy. Great Skream btw!

[@addvurtbikes]

Thanks! Yeah, I totally agree.

[@connornial8237]

Ironically, the reason I like riding fixed gear so much is because: it’s the wrong tool for the job. Unless you are riding on an indoor track, a fixed gear bike can almost certainly be out performed by the “proper” bike for that particular job (i.e. mountain bike for trails, road bike for streets, etc.) but the sense of excitement you receive when riding a fixed gear bike is nothing like when you ride a regular bike. After completing a ride on a fixed gear, you feel satisfied knowing you completed a ride 100% under your own power with no extra mechanical advantages. Plus, there’s no better feeling than stealing the KOM from your local roadie

[@addvurtbikes]

Yeah, you're totally right! I rode my tracklocross at a mountainbike event last week. It was nuts, but very satisfying. I have never tried Strava, but it would be interesting to see some KOMs. There are lots of road bikes where I live.

[@Sapoguapo]

Couldn’t agree more! Once I got on a fixed gear, I fell in love!

[@addvurtbikes]

human meets fixie. classic!

[@jregulatori4672]

Cool video, I've been riding fixed for a long time and it's one of those deals where you get it or you don't. One thing I would recommend though is adding some bar end plugs. If you have a bad fall with uncapped bar ends, that edge can take a chunk out of your body. Often referred to as "core sample" handlebars.

[@addvurtbikes]

Thanks! Yeah you’re right about the bar ends. I am actually going to install hoods and brakes, and some nice bar tape and plugs, I just have not gotten around to it yet.

[@jregulatori4672]

@@addvurtbikes Sounds good. Or you could do what I've done in the past, stuff a wine cork in each bar end. haha

[@addvurtbikes]

haha yes I should do that until I get the hoods!

[@graphingwhale4585]

Thank you so much for commenting this. I would never have thought about it otherwise.

[@Charleythegod]

My brother only uses the last gear in his bike.. he would love a fixed gear. And he does it also for the fun aspect like you said. He likes to do tricks so last gear he can instantly get moving to full speed and stop and go. It just takes a lot of work on uphills

[@addvurtbikes]

One gear to rule them all :)

[@minhari8040]

Good explanation, no wonder my Lil bro loved fixed gear bike despite he has Road Bike 😌✌🏼❤️🇰🇷

[@addvurtbikes]

Thank you! Lil bro knows what’s up!

[@exp1396]

here in the philippines fixed gear is a loved or hated community, u can be build anything , for commuting, lifestyle, tracklocross, criterium race, alleycat race, dragsprint etc.

[@addvurtbikes]

yeah it seems like the Philippines in an amazing place for fixed gear!

[@gregorysteffensen3279]

I've been riding fixed gear for about six months now, but with brake assist -- I live in a very hilly city with tight corners and aggressive drivers, plus at age 30 my knees have a hard time with backpedaling for now. Working on a brakeless criterium racer though (will probably run it on the street with a hidden MTB lever to start!)

[@addvurtbikes]

I hope you’re enjoying it! I actually ride with two emergency hand brakes most of the time, but I have not gotten around to installing them on this bike yet. when I wrote “no brake assist” I just mean that the riding style doesn’t use brake assist, but you can totally have emergency brakes if you want. you probably should :)

[@zacharyk7006]

For a while there I scoffed at fixed gear bikes, but now i build and fix so many bikes I decided to make one. I get it now, although I'm still not getting my coffee from starbucks. I had a bike once that needed so much tweaking and maintenance that it almost killed cycling for me. A fixie is the antidote to that. Aside from that the connection to the drivetrain feels entirely different from a normal bike, and also the momentum in the wheel makes one specific gear feel different. IE a 50x16 with 700c wheels on a geared bike while pedaling feels different from the same setup fixed. I would say the momentum of the wheel makes that one gear feel slightly easier, so a 50x13 fixed would feel like a 50x16 with freewheeling.

[@addvurtbikes]

That's cool to hear, that you were into other bikes and the maintenance became overwhelming, but you found peace in fixed gear. Also very interesting that you can compare the different ratios for fixed and non-fixed. I'm going to quote you on that! :)

[@flipfonte4069]

I've been riding fixed gear for several years now, in a city that isn't flat. I don't regret it at all, but I use two brakes. It helps me feel confident and in rainy weather, i end up with three brakes. Can I ride without brakes? Sure, but I don't think it's responsible. I always have a responsibility towards others, which is why I use brakes primarily. On the other hand, I respect my knees. However, it's still a fixed gear bike, the fixed cog is there. good video =)

[@addvurtbikes]

Hi! Thanks! I actually also have two emergency hand brakes on my fixed gear bikes, I just have not gotten around to installing them on my new Skream Anodiz :)

[@nv2940]

what helmet are you using? Really wanted to get a fixie but I had no road bike experience so i got a used one instead. Hoping to get my first fixie next year!

[@addvurtbikes]

My white mountainbike helmet is a Specialized Tactic. I really like it! Hype for your first fixie!

[@pablo97vs]

I don't know how to explain it, but riding fixed gear makes me feel in danger in a good way. I love the way it feels.

[@addvurtbikes]

haha yeah it's the thrill of a good ride, same as with a skateboard or anything else really. I think there is a word for this.

[@MarchuxProductions]

Hell yeah brother, I feel ya! For me, I can't (well, don't want to, actually) ride anything apart from fgb. Fixed gear is peak.

[@addvurtbikes]

Absolutely! I went to a MTB event the other day with my tracklocross, taking a chance on it being doable, but it wasn't really. Pretty technical terrain, I was out of my league, but I still don't want to get a normal MTB to be able to ride stuff like that, I would rather just suffer through it, or just ride easier sections :D Always fixed!

[@MarchuxProductions]

@@addvurtbikes Oh, I wouldn't dare to touch actual MTB events with my bikes, however, I do hit the lightest MTB trails, and am currently building a "tracklocross" bike out of an old soviet road bike conversion to hit the slightly less light ones. Nothing will get me back on a freewheel, let alone gears haha If you ever come through Latvia for some reason, let me know, I got a couple of fixed gears you could swing a leg over :D

[@addvurtbikes]

@@MarchuxProductions oh heck yeah, thanks! when you least expect it, i'll show up! I traveled through the Baltic countries in 2016, and I think my strongest unique memory of Latvia was the insane "highway" traffic, with trucks and busses overtaking in the middle of the road! I stayed one night in a hotel in Riga's old town, but can't say I saw much of the city except for that area.

[@MarchuxProductions]

@@addvurtbikes Oh, so you lived the E67/Via Baltica reality lmao, that road is especially sketchy :D If you come by, I'll show you around for sure!

[@danielphilipnavarro4061]

Well said

[@addvurtbikes]

thanks!

[@salzhaltigersalzhaufen586]

I don´t always ride fixed gear I also ride a roadbike etc. and mainly use my fixed gear as a commuter but I gotta agree sometimes I do an extra loop in my commute to a parking lot to practice fakies or something or I go ride my fixed gear after my roadbike just for fun. Due to the lack of gears I don´t feel the need to go as fast and hard as I do on my roadbike and navigating traffic is so much more fun but everyone should ride what they like. Well and I love the fixedgear community it´s not the crazy elitst community as with roadcycling I mean sure they exist with fixed gears to but I think people care less about what kind of jersy you wear or how lite your bike is because it dosen´t matter as much (except for crit races etc. obviously). Well and I like the whole fixie courrier community which feels a little like a subculture but I´m pretty sure everyone who rides a fixed gear has seen the videos of courriers navigating traffic.

[@addvurtbikes]

Fixies are hella fun :) And yeah, the relaxed attitude is a major plus for the fixed gear community.

[@Flashback_Jack]

That chain looks hella loose though.

[@addvurtbikes]

yeah it was too loose for my taste, I moved the wheel back a few millimeters now

[@randomdudecommenting6817]

I ride fixed gear because of…. WINDBREAKER (manhwa)

[@mafty_x]

Yooo same windbreaker got me into fixed gear

[@addvurtbikes]

that’s awesome! I have read like the first volume, but I should keep reading!

[@mafty_x]

@@addvurtbikes honestly yea it only gets better you can check out the recent chapters and see the improvement in the art

[@addvurtbikes]

heck yes!

[@lefterovdaniel]

Why? It's fun. It makes me happy. It makes my mental state controllable. Idk cuz why not.

[@addvurtbikes]

Good reasons!

[@Psp-id7uw]

What wears down on fixed gear

[@addvurtbikes]

Chains, tires, and knees :)

[@juliann267]

My main questions is where are your grips

[@addvurtbikes]

I put some tape on now :)

[@714SNF]

I use gears because I'm not strong enough for a fixie!

[@addvurtbikes]

If you really want to, you could ride fixed with a low gear ratio, but that would limit your top speed. Either way, very insightful of you! nothing wrong with gears if you need or just want them :)

[@koopalibrary]

1 speed fixed gear bike is perfectly fine for me. But i still want brakes.

[@addvurtbikes]

yep, same for me. I didn't communicate that very well in this video, but I normally have hand brakes, even though I don't use them.

[@haruna4193]

that tension looks a bit loose, could skip and chain drop :(, anyways i mainly ride fixed gear since it's a lot more fun and going fast feels more rewarding than road bikes because it's more risky, and going faster takes more skill than just moving up gears and sprinting at the same cadence, rather than going flat out at super high cadence feels a lot more fun to me. and yes skids, being a public nuisance is also in there but just not too much 😅😅

[@haruna4193]

also slowing down on hills is terrifying when you're trying it for the first time, especially on a very steep hill, as if you can't skid or whip skid to both sides, you're in trouble... without a hand brake of course

[@addvurtbikes]

it was a bit too slack for my taste, yeah. more fun and rewarding, good way to sum it up!

[@user-uv1ol7ey2s]

no bar ends or tape ?

[@addvurtbikes]

At that point I hadn’t put it on yet, but now I have some.

[@user-uv1ol7ey2s]

@@addvurtbikes ok okay nice👍

[@kieftoker]

Some bar plugs would be nice, getting impaled by the handlebars in a crash might be fatal G. Just google no bar plugs bike crash!

[@addvurtbikes]

oh hell nah that sounds like nightmare material! I wrapped some tape yesterday and put plugs in :)

[@ivanjerganoff280]

I bike to work on a fixed gear coz its low maintenance.

[@addvurtbikes]

big brain move

[@romanofner8781]

my number one question is: where is the bar tape :D

[@addvurtbikes]

as of yesterday, on the bike :)

[@humansweredesignedforbikes]

speaking straight facts

[@addvurtbikes]

spread the word

[@user-jm7kc4bm8m]

I fell for Ebikes.

[@addvurtbikes]

Sounds good!

[@JohnnyTheCache]

manual transmission car also less components can fail, less likely to break, easier to repair. modern stuff is generally wasteful, thats why we are we we are.

[@addvurtbikes]

Oh, that makes the analogy even better! Yeah, we tend to make things more complicated because we want them to be more simple. Pretty ironic.

[@casualpr]

YES

[@addvurtbikes]

Yep!

[@Lego4KilIer]

Is your chain to long?

[@addvurtbikes]

it’s just not tensioned very well in this video, but I don’t need to cut any links off of it

[@snakejuice8962]

I think what he attempted to tell you. Your chain is too long sir. Have a bike mechanic verify it.

[@addvurtbikes]

Actually I might be able to shorten it, cuz I have a smaller cog now than when I cut the chain. Maybe. Otherwise, it'll be fine if I move it back a few millimeters.

[@johnhenrysantos396]

nice fixed gear

[@addvurtbikes]

Thank you very much!

[@selfactualizer2099]

it makes you feel interesting and the bike looks sleeker other than that idk why, pedal breaking skills vs random acts of strangers + the fixie community always saying crashing is part of it. no thank you

[@addvurtbikes]

I really don’t think crashing is part of it. I didn’t communicate it well in this video because I’m currently building the bike, but I usually have emergency hand brakes. But if you don’t enjoy it, there is no point to it, of course.

[@IgorNV]

Why would asking questions and making comparisons to other bikes "give you the hint you're never gonna get through to that person"? ngl sounds a bit cult-like lol

[@addvurtbikes]

This is actually a good question. Let me get back to you. There is a chance that I simply expressed myself poorly, but I think my point was that a lot of people have a hard time understanding what I like about fixed gear, and at some point in a discussion I start feeling that I wont be able to convey it even if I keep trying.

[@addvurtbikes]

I forgot to elaborate here. You’re right. There is nothing wrong with asking more questions and comparing. Thats a good thing. But if I’m trying to explain the joy of fixed gear, some people will never get it, and that’s okay, but there are certain give-aways that this person is or is not open to this kind of thing. That’s all.

[@IgorNV]

@@addvurtbikes I was only teasing, but thank you for your thoughtful response!

[@igorpust6400]

Basically you don't need to justify yourself, why, what is the reason, and so on. But you do 😂 These bikes are more limited than regular ones IMHO. If you want to ride something really different and delightful in a strange way, try Yedoo or similar kick scooter. This feeling is different and even more unique and exclusive. And it's completely gearless! Next level, no chain, no problem! 😉

[@addvurtbikes]

If you like kick bikes, that’s great!

[@igorpust6400]

@addvurtbikes really, jokes aside - if you'll have opportunity, just try it. It's a lot of fun. Actually I'd like to try fixed gear bike, but my area is hilly as hell.

[@addvurtbikes]

@@igorpust6400 i would try anything with wheels! I’ve had a lot of fun with simpler kick bikes in my life. The bigger wheels look like fun.

[@shinra7911]

i just say its cool

[@addvurtbikes]

I’m not cool enough to get away with that :)

[@shinra7911]

@@addvurtbikes if you ride fixed you are

[@addvurtbikes]

oh damn, I’ll take it!

[@ThaCyNiQ]

Because you can control the speed with your legs? Why not ride BMX? 😂

[@addvurtbikes]

a bmx has a freewheel. bmx is not fixed gear :) also they are very small

[@fcardini]

"If you know, you know", "if you don't know, you don't know," both pretentious tautologies.

[@addvurtbikes]

did I ever say the other one?

[@birbgamg]

i do not recommend riding fixed gear because once you learn everything about the parts you'll always want to spend money and upgrade it and that makes you broke 😭

[@addvurtbikes]

can’t argue with this. I thought I made a one time purchase with my first fixie two years ago. I’m now on my fifth bike…

[@jesseellis3126]

Is that not the same for any other cyclist and there bikes?

[@addvurtbikes]

it probably is, more or less

[@bimbobaggypants4820]

But there's less parts on a fixie to upgrade, no derailleurs, single chainring etc.

[@luxinterna3370]

A cyclist near us was killed because he didn't have brakes on his fixi. Seems like a pretty stupid death to me.

[@addvurtbikes]

that’s awful

[@HUSS_BOSS]

You just can't afford it 😂

[@addvurtbikes]

maybe not

[@hasanuguz6868]

Who cares

[@addvurtbikes]

some do some don’t

[@shrimpdickwilly3091]

I ride my coaster build the most even though I have geared bikes

[@addvurtbikes]

simple and elegant

[@liam_dawson]

Well said

[@addvurtbikes]

thank you!