Looking for a fixed gear bike under $300

[carlford]

Hello everyone,

I am a newbie to this forum and was hoping if I could use help of you people for purchasing a bike. I am not so much fitness freak and hate to go to gym, therefore, I was suggested by an old man to ride a fixed gear bike as it is good for legs, is it so ?
And if it is so, then where to get such a bike, I am looking over the internet and still my quest isn't over. Therefore, I decided to head towards such a group of people who are experienced and have great knowledge of these things. I hope I am at the right place. So please give me your valuable feedback regarding a fixed gear bike which doesn't cost me more than $300.
Thanks in advance

[DaveM]

Riding a fixie will make your legs strong, perhaps a bit more so that riding a normal geared bike. Since you only have one gear, it forces you to work harder than you would to start up, go uphill, etc. On a geared bike, you can switch to a more efficient gear depending on speed/conditions. They're fun to ride and I like them. They're not the most practical bike always. Rough if you're in a hilly area. Top speed is limited. The bike that will really help your fitness is the one you will ride the most. For me, I try to ride as much as I can for practical trips since I don't have much time for fitness riding. I'd say get a bike that you'll get the most use out of. That said, one nice thing on a fix is that you can get decent quality at a lower price.

I don't have any specific recommendations for you. Here's one big online seller that has choices :
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/trackbikes.htm

A couple general notes:
- Get something with a "cromo" or "chromoly" frame if you can. This is better quality steel and will ride a lot better. If it just says "steel" or "TIG welded steel", etc. it's a low quality frame.
- You have a choice of drop bars (like racing bike) or upright. Personal choice. You'll be a lot more stretched out on drop bars.
- Look for stainless steel spokes, double wall rims
- Most bikes will come with a "flip-flop" hub that lets you ride fix or single speed freewheel. Some will only come with a freewheel installed. You would need to buy a fix cog and install. Not expensive, but one more thing to buy.
- If you can buy from a shop, do so. But your choices may be limited. Buying online probably isn't any worse than buying from big box store.

[carlford]

(01-28-2014, 02:11 PM)DaveM Wrote:  Riding a fixie will make your legs strong, perhaps a bit more so that riding a normal geared bike. Since you only have one gear, it forces you to work harder than you would to start up, go uphill, etc. On a geared bike, you can switch to a more efficient gear depending on speed/conditions. They're fun to ride and I like them. They're not the most practical bike always. Rough if you're in a hilly area. Top speed is limited. The bike that will really help your fitness is the one you will ride the most. For me, I try to ride as much as I can for practical trips since I don't have much time for fitness riding. I'd say get a bike that you'll get the most use out of. That said, one nice thing on a fix is that you can get decent quality at a lower price.

I don't have any specific recommendations for you. Here's one big online seller that has choices :
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/trackbikes.htm

A couple general notes:
- Get something with a "cromo" or "chromoly" frame if you can. This is better quality steel and will ride a lot better. If it just says "steel" or "TIG welded steel", etc. it's a low quality frame.
- You have a choice of drop bars (like racing bike) or upright. Personal choice. You'll be a lot more stretched out on drop bars.
- Look for stainless steel spokes, double wall rims
- Most bikes will come with a "flip-flop" hub that lets you ride fix or single speed freewheel. Some will only come with a freewheel installed. You would need to buy a fix cog and install. Not expensive, but one more thing to buy.
- If you can buy from a shop, do so. But your choices may be limited. Buying online probably isn't any worse than buying from big box store.

Hey Dave,
I really appreciate the time you took to provide some valuable feedback on what to actually buy. I'll definitely consider your points and visit that website too, apart from that I got a nice collection of bikes on http://www.criticalcycles.com/ . I particularly liked this bike [attachment=4847]
I comply with you that buying from inline will be much better as My search doesn't restricts me and I can get it shipped from anywhere. I will be riding this bike a lot especially for workout purpose, moreover, I could also use it to commute to work.

[wwwalterrr]

Hello.
This is an older thread, but this lazy Wednesday afternoon I thought about refreshing it with some actual fixie brands from 2020, six years later. You can find solid, min good quality fixed gear bikes + / - $300 from:

6KU -- https://www.6ku.com/
Fyxation (from $329) -- https://www.fyxation.com/collections/bicycles
Golden Cycles -- https://goldencycles.myshopify.com/collections/all
Retrospec -- https://retrospec.com/collections/single-speed-fixie
State Bicycle (my favourite) -- https://www.statebicycle.com/collections/core-line

Someone might find this useful Comment if you have other fixie brands in mind. Moose Bicycles are also great but listed above $400.

[CharleyFarley]

(01-27-2014, 05:31 PM)carlford Wrote:  Hello everyone,

I am a newbie to this forum and was hoping if I could use help of you people for purchasing a bike. I am not so much fitness freak and hate to go to gym, therefore, I was suggested by an old man to ride a fixed gear bike as it is good for legs, is it so ?

Just one more thing to think about, Carlford: You can't stop pedaling if you wanted to cruise and rest for a few seconds at a time. Those pedals will keep turning. A single speed will at least allow you to cruise, perhaps down a gradient where you don't need to keep pedaling.

[ManBearPig]

I gave my buddy this link to the reviews section a few weeks ago: https://www.bikeride.com/best-single-speed-bikes/?fwp_price=0-300

He ended up buying Golden Cycles fixie for $249. He's very satisfied so far ...

[Nikko]

(05-12-2021, 12:44 PM)ManBearPig Wrote:  He ended up buying Golden Cycles fixie for $249. He's very satisfied so far ...

Golden Cycles have nice stuff - agreed on this