Hip Hop Skid Bikes / Hipster Sleds / HHSB

Fixed is better than singlespeed for climbing, granted, but it's not as good as gears. Being able to vary your gearing in relation to the climb is far more important than having a bit of inertia through the dead spots. If you're loosing power through the deadspots when you're climbing, you're doing something wrong or you're going much too slowly.

I was talking specifically about fixed vs freewheel as Marc was talking about coaster hubs not gears.

I do enough riding to understand to benefits of gears. I pretty much only ride fixed at the track these days because of knee issues, but I still enjoy looking at bikes etc. I don't understand why people are so prescriptive, a derailleur isn't some kind political stance, it's just practical.