I was watching Premium Rush and noticed that my BMX bike doesn't always go that fast. Could I get a fixie like that and go faster? Maybe even win some races doing bar spins at the finish line? I want a really fast bike like that.
?
Will a fixie make me faster than my BMX?
==race of the tortoises
maybe
do you mean uphill or down>?
I was watching Premium Rush and noticed that my BMX bike doesn't always go that fast.
==right
special EFX
Could I get a fixie like that and go faster? Maybe even win some races
=against other turtles maybe
doing bar spins at the finish line?
===ludicrous
I want a really fast bike like that
==ok then don;t get a fixie or a bmx
?
So what makes you think a fixie is fast - besides something you saw in a (fictional) movie? Oh sure...you can get one up to speed IF you have enough space to do it & IF you have legs of steel & IF you have a tailwind.
A fixed gear (or Track Bike) is FAST one place & one place only...on a Velodrome track. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velodrome
The vast majority of them are INDOORS - away from the wind or hills or traffic. Even then, it could take the rider several laps to build up speed. Why? Because it's a bike with only ONE gear or speed. Would you own a car with a one speed transmission - geared high at that? Taking off from a dead stop or climbing a hill would be a b****!
Meanwhile...on a road bike (with GEARS) you would simply start off in one of the lower gears & progressively upshift as you speed up. Pedaling would be EASIER! If you needed more POWER to climb a hill or ride into a stiff headwind, you would simply downshift into a lower gear again. There are NO lower gears on a fixie. Read this... http://sheldonbrown.com/gears.html
Imagine what it would be like to pedal ALL the time. On a fixie, you'd pedal EVERYWHERE - uphill, downhill - on flat terrain - even attempting to slow down & stop - you keep pedaling. If the bike moves - the pedals move. NO COASTING. Getting the idea of the FIXED GEAR bike now? Got good health insurance for your knees? You'll need it.
?
Depends on the ride and the riders.
A full sized fixie, or a full sized SS, or a full sized geared bike will most likely have a higher gearing than an average BMX.
So, with two even riders, one on an average BMX and one on almost any other average full sized bicycle, on a course that's long and straight and flat enough, the BMX rider will spin out - not be able to pedal any faster - a lot earlier than the rider on the full sized bike.
winston
Haha Great question.
Edit:
There's no need to coast when your riding a bike. Unless your making a sharp turn.
Coasting slows your momentum and makes you work harder to get started again.
I never coast, unless I make a sharp turn.
Not even when I ride down hill
In fact I shift to my biggest chain ring and pedal as fast as I can. If it's a big enough hill I'm passing some of the slower drivers.
Go to the link hippie gave you and find the fixed gear section. Very useful information.
Sheldon brown loved fixed gears. And so should everyone else.
If it gets people riding bikes why hate? In my personal expiriences, people I saw who started with fixed gears now strictly ride road bikes. Everybody eventually switches, but if you don't let them have fun with bikes they wont get serious about it