A fixed gear removes the option of choosing later: one ratio carries every commute, every headwind, and every hill you walk. That constraint is the appeal — and the gearing decision deserves more thought than any drivetrain purchase.
The bands
| Gear inches | Character | Who rides it |
|---|---|---|
| 62–66 | Easy spin, walk more hills | Flat cities, beginners, couriers carrying loads |
| 66–72 | The all-round band | Most riders, most cities |
| 72–78 | The classic 46/16 zone | Fit riders who accept walking steeps |
| 78–85 | Sporty-fast | Flatland specialists, strong legs |
The 46/16 legend
46×16 on a 700c wheel is 77.5 inches — the most-copied fixed gear in history. It sits at the fast end of comfortable: flats feel powerful, 20 km/h arrives at ~78 rpm, and hills over 4% become negotiations. Its ubiquity makes it the reference: riders say "one gear easier than 46/16" and everyone understands.
Choosing by your terrain
- Map your hill: the steepest regular climb decides the ceiling — if you will not walk it, the gear must get you up it (fixie climbing is cadence-driven; below ~50 rpm it stops working).
- Map your flats: the gear should reach your natural cruising at 80–90 rpm — the development calculator runs this backwards.
- Split the difference honestly: the perfect fixie gear is always slightly too easy. Riders who gear for the sprint never gear for the bridge.
The skid and the swap
Skid patches depend on cog and chainring tooth counts (coprime pairs maximize them — 46/16 gives 8 patches). And because fixed gears wear one cog spot, flip-flop hubs with a second cog (usually 2–4 teeth easier) are the traditional answer to "what if." Run candidates through the ratio calculator, live with one for a month, and the one-ratio life starts making sense.