![]() ![]() Horizontal dropouts enable chain tension adjustment. Today, the only place where fixies are common - compulsory, in fact - is in the velodrome, where the ‘keep it simple’ ethos of track racing demands a single gear and no brakes. The earliest bikes were like modern fixies though, with just one gear ratio and no freewheel. But now the tragically hip have moved on, it’s time to reclaim the simplest bike style of all.Īlmost all modern bikes have a freewheel, the ratcheting mechanism in the rear wheel that means you can stop pedalling and coast along. With no gears or freewheel to go wrong, fixies are extremely reliable and a chain running in a straight line lasts agesįor a few brief months in about 2009 fixies were achingly trendy. ![]() To use a fixie on the road it must have at least a front brake, and a rear brake is a good ideaīecause you can slow down a fixed-wheel bike by resisting pedal motion, they give a unique feeling of being intimately connected to the bike The natural habitat of a fixed-gear bike is the velodrome where they're compulsory, and don't have brakes With no freewheel, a fixed-gear bike forces you to pedal all the time, which can help you stay fit during the winter and develop a fast, fluid pedalling action Their key feature is that they have no freewheel mechanism, so if you're moving you have to pedal. ![]() Variously known as fixed-wheel bikes, fixed-gear bikes or just fixies, these are bikes derived from the machines used for track racing on velodromes. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |