# Best answers to "Why would you want to ride a bike like that?"



## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

I need more creative answers. Good responses?


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## nate (Jun 20, 2004)

I'm not sure why you need to be creative. "Because I like it." Do you need a reason more than that?

Or you could respond with the well known koan that ends with, "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle."


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

Fixed said:


> I need more creative answers. Good responses?


Are they questioning the type of bike you are riding, or the way in which you are riding it?


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

"It's different."

"It's fun."

"It's hard to explain."

"You have to try it to understand, and some people don't like it. Others do."

"The fixed relationship between leg speed and bike speed is conducive to a heightened mind-body synchronicity that can allow one to access an altered and more intensely aware state of consciousness. It's similar to a runner's high, but much better because you're going faster and not getting pounded."


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## markaitch (Nov 3, 2010)

Fixed said:


> I need more creative answers. Good responses?


you've been around here for years, with thousands of posts & lotsa rep, & yet...

you start another thread rehashing this same ol', same ol' ???

no wonder this place got so desolate...


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## UrbanPrimitive (Jun 14, 2009)

"Camels spit".



nate said:


> "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle."


 +1 Best answer.


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## chocostove (Jan 31, 2007)

Cause I like the silence of the drivetrain.

I like to work on my spin. 

It's good practice for when I go to the track. 

I like to know I have a bike that I can work on with minimal tools and and is easy to repair.

If you like old school, there's nothing more old school than a fixed gear. it's like going back in time to ride the first bikes.

Those are my submissions.


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## DocRogers (Feb 16, 2006)

Yeah, that's about it.

Plus . . . it's wicked fun!


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## SpezTrek (Dec 31, 2012)

[HR][/HR]Let the bike do the talking.

I rode on Saturday with my usual group and the mechanic who works at the shop that the group is affiliated with rode his single speed. 60km round trip including some hilly sections, led the group out and back... Dropped a few newer guys on carbon di2 bikes. Only place he struggled was down hill where his cadence was about a billion but was still freewheeling. He's not a young guy either!

If you are pottering around on fixed/single speed no one should bother you. If you want answers for other riders in your group, tell them to put their money where their mouth is. That's if you have the ability... Otherwise they may be right in asking why would you want to ride a bike like that? (I know I couldn't ride a single and keep up with my group rides - fixed is a whole other level I guess, but my suggestion remains the same).


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## bayAreaDude (Apr 13, 2012)

Maybe just answer honestly. Many people, even those into road or mountain biking don't get why you wouldn't want some extra gears. AND the number of hipsters makes it seem suspicious.


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## onlineflyer (Aug 8, 2005)

Simple enough!

When you walk, you keep both feet moving.
When you run, you keep both feet moving.
When you ride, you keep both feet moving.
It's a body / mind connection.


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## Robinonabike (Dec 8, 2011)

I ride SS both mountain and road. Last year on a 3 day mtb ride from Fruita to Moab on the Kokopelli trail, another rider looked at my setup and said "Damn, you're riding a single speed!" In response I looked down at my rear cog and said, "Oh my god, no wonder this has been so hard"
The best response I have ever heard though was, I ride a single speed because no one ever said - Jeez, you did that on a geared bike?


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## Robinonabike (Dec 8, 2011)

I just remembered something else. A few years back I was doing an organized ride from Carmel to Big Sur and back. I was doing the climb over Nacamiento Rd. toward Fort Hunter Ligget when a rider pulled along side. We had a perfectly civil conversation until he noticed I was riding SS. He just said 'That's just f'ing stupid" and rode off. I laughed til I cried.


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## LAW.S.T (May 15, 2012)

Fixed said:


> I need more creative answers. Good responses?


no reason needed, I just like to ride


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

It is not exactly something I like, BUT, if you like it and enjoy riding it that is all that matters. The nice thing about bikes is that you can easily change or modify to your taste and enjoyment.


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## OldZaskar (Jul 1, 2009)

I was riding my single speed on a fast (A-group) group ride. A guy asked "Damn, what gear are you in?" I replied... "First". I knew what he meant. But it was the way he posed the question. After those in ear-shot stopped laughing, I said "52/16" and got sort of a "oh" response. So I added "Kind of like your big ring and three up from your little cog." "Ooooh"

I have a ridiculously expensive carbon'ed up, power reading, multi-speed... and ride my 15-year-old rebuilt single speed almost as much. Hard to explain... it's not as comfortable. It's heavy. It's not as fast. But I just feel totally connected to the cycling experience every time I ride that bike.


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## BianchiJoe (Jul 22, 2005)

Why does a dog lick his balls? Because he can.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

'cuz the ref says I have to to race it here. 

In the past,
'cuz replacing all the shifty bits I don't really need is too much money to throw at this bike.
'cuz once I threw out the heavy, crappy multispeed elements of the drivetrain, there was a fast, fun bike under them.


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## The Angry Roadie (Jan 31, 2012)

because i like to ride whatever way causes the most physicial anguish. Singlespeed up the most painful hills. You can't wuss out with gears. That way when i do a group ride, i always think of myself as the hardest baddest rider, even if i suck


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## hopatrickz (May 7, 2012)

But all the cool kids are doing it..


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## evanchale (Mar 1, 2013)

Simplicity. I would probably snap back why is it any of your business...


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## 2:01 (May 10, 2010)

For whatever reason, this thread reminded me of (FF to 1:04):

Joe Dirt - fireworks stand scene - YouTube

and

Joe Dirt's Dad - YouTube

I believe the simplest and best answer (pun intended) is:



nate said:


> "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle."


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## Cygnus (Nov 26, 2004)

i get that most won't understand this, but...

...perfect chainline.


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

My bike is quiet and I pedal in my own little world. It is serene.


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## serious (May 2, 2006)

Cygnus said:


> i get that most won't understand this, but...
> 
> ...perfect chainline.


Poor reason! The chainline is always "perfect" on geared bikes.


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## y2kota (Feb 25, 2013)

Try, Because the chicks dig it.


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## ldotmurray (Jun 15, 2009)

Robinonabike said:


> I just remembered something else. A few years back I was doing an organized ride from Carmel to Big Sur and back. I was doing the climb over Nacamiento Rd. toward Fort Hunter Ligget when a rider pulled along side. We had a perfectly civil conversation until he noticed I was riding SS. He just said 'That's just f'ing stupid" and rode off. I laughed til I cried.


The funniest thing I've read in these threads in a long time.


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## Cygnus (Nov 26, 2004)

Serious: are you _serious_. assuming not.

if so, you're not considering a _straight line_ from the chainring to the cog.

very often not at all perfect with a geared bike.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

_It's fun. 

I like a challenge. 

It's something different. 

Hard to explain. You'll understand better if you try it._


I used to say those things when I rode my old track bike on the road. Now that I upgraded I see things differently; I only ride my track bike at the track. I don't take the track bike on the streets for a number of reasons. First, it's on tubulars. Second, it's a track bike! Finally, it's just not comfortable to ride around face-down/ass-up with such an aggressive set-up. 

Here's the bike: Trigger
(click and you'll agree that it is totally inappropriate as a road bike)


But just about the only time people ask is when I'm on my SS 29er. Then I say something silly like, "Beers not gears!" Or "It's not about the bike."


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## Opus51569 (Jul 21, 2009)

It's the purest form of cycling... cycling at its essence. It reminds us of something we knew once, but have since forgotten... the simple joy of turning pedals and riding a bike.


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