fixie is a bike without a freewheel—think: no coasting—that's often ridden without brakes. It's a simple concept that provokes some serious emotion in the cycling world: Bikers either love fixies or loathe them. To help you decide which side you're on, we start here with an ode to the fixie written by Stephen Regenold, editor and founder of GearJunkie.com. Read on for an anti-fixie screed from Outside Online's editor, Scott Rosenfield, an avid cyclist who's not a fan of the hipster's favored ride.
In Praise of Fixies
The first time I rode a fixie, in 2006, it nearly killed me. My legs locked in motion with the wheels, I built some speed to crest a rise.
On top, I gazed ahead down the hill, and started to descend. In an old habit I stopped pedaling a bici scatto fisso and attempted to coast. Bad move. My cranks bucked sharply and the bike swerved, the pedals forcing my feet in circles as the frame cut air on the steep downhill.
The machine was alive! This horse wanted to run, and I wasn’t about to stop it. I felt a rush, the intoxication of riding on the back of something wild, a little dangerous and, most of all just plain fast and fun.
I haven't quit since.
The fixed-gear experience is like nothing else on two wheels. It's a special feeling, an "almost mystical connection," as bicycle mechanic/muse Sheldon Brown puts it in his well-read "Fixed Gear Bicycles for the Road."
Brown, who died in 2008, was no hipster. He was an old guy with a beard who rode regular and fixed-gear bikes, the latter of which he noted feel "like an extension of your body to a greater extent than does a freewheel-equipped machine."
I go further: Freewheel-equipped bikes, to me, feel broken and limp compared to fixed-gear. By stripping a bike down to its basic design—ditching the freewheel, gears, and sometimes even the brake—you gain ultimate control.
Your body and your riding technique stand in for the missing parts. Your legs are your gas and your brakes. You spin hard for speed, and resist the motion of the rotating cranks when you need to slow down. When you get tired, you can’t coast or shift to an easier gear.
Skeptics see fixed-gear bikes as antiquated or dangerous. Freewheels, gears, and (especially) brakes have become standard for a reason, right?
To be sure, getting a fixie is a bad idea for many riders. Most people benefit from gears and the ability to coast while riding on long tours or commuting in cities with lots of hills. Riding a fixed-gear takes time to get used to. It’s also not for the out-of-shape, and if you have bad knees, riding fixed may make them worse.
But Telemark skiing might hurt your knees, too. Telemark is also harder than alpine. Or how about running in minimalist shoes? Some people are injured, but others gain strength, speed, and (yes) "connection" with the ground by stripping the design down to its essentials.
As for brakes, most fixed-gear riders I know have one on the front wheel. But you can ride without brakes once you're used to the machine. Putting back-pressure on spinning cranks slows you effectively, just like a brake handle can. If you need to stop faster, you can skid to a halt by taking some weight off the rear wheel and locking your legs.
After six years of using them, I ditched my brakes in 2012. I almost never used them, only touching the hand brake when I was tired and didn’t feel like putting back-pressure on the cranks. It’s hard to explain why, but for me, riding without conventional brakes puts me more in sync with the road and my surroundings. I certainly don’t recommend that everyone rush to their garage and remove their brakes (riding brakeless takes a ton of practice, and is illegal in some places). But despite what freewheelers think, stopping without them is rarely dramatic or dangerous.
My current fixie is built off a scandium frame from boutique Wabi Cycles of L.A., and leans toward a track-bike design. At about 16 pounds and with a gearing of 48 x 16, it’s a remarkably versatile bike, a demon of a build that can leap from a standstill to 25 miles per hour like a drag racer and maintain pace alongside my geared buddies for 30 or 50 miles on city rides or country roads.
In the end, fixie haters are gonna hate. Be it the brake debate or the hipster embrace, dissing the "fixed culture" is a popular thing to do. But fixed-gear is not a trend to me. I've been enthralled for years, ever since that bike tried to buck me off in 2006. I got back on the horse, and I haven't let go since.
On top, I gazed ahead down the hill, and started to descend. In an old habit I stopped pedaling a bici scatto fisso and attempted to coast. Bad move. My cranks bucked sharply and the bike swerved, the pedals forcing my feet in circles as the frame cut air on the steep downhill.
The machine was alive! This horse wanted to run, and I wasn’t about to stop it. I felt a rush, the intoxication of riding on the back of something wild, a little dangerous and, most of all just plain fast and fun.
I haven't quit since.
The fixed-gear experience is like nothing else on two wheels. It's a special feeling, an "almost mystical connection," as bicycle mechanic/muse Sheldon Brown puts it in his well-read "Fixed Gear Bicycles for the Road."
Brown, who died in 2008, was no hipster. He was an old guy with a beard who rode regular and fixed-gear bikes, the latter of which he noted feel "like an extension of your body to a greater extent than does a freewheel-equipped machine."
I go further: Freewheel-equipped bikes, to me, feel broken and limp compared to fixed-gear. By stripping a bike down to its basic design—ditching the freewheel, gears, and sometimes even the brake—you gain ultimate control.
Your body and your riding technique stand in for the missing parts. Your legs are your gas and your brakes. You spin hard for speed, and resist the motion of the rotating cranks when you need to slow down. When you get tired, you can’t coast or shift to an easier gear.
Skeptics see fixed-gear bikes as antiquated or dangerous. Freewheels, gears, and (especially) brakes have become standard for a reason, right?
To be sure, getting a fixie is a bad idea for many riders. Most people benefit from gears and the ability to coast while riding on long tours or commuting in cities with lots of hills. Riding a fixed-gear takes time to get used to. It’s also not for the out-of-shape, and if you have bad knees, riding fixed may make them worse.
But Telemark skiing might hurt your knees, too. Telemark is also harder than alpine. Or how about running in minimalist shoes? Some people are injured, but others gain strength, speed, and (yes) "connection" with the ground by stripping the design down to its essentials.
As for brakes, most fixed-gear riders I know have one on the front wheel. But you can ride without brakes once you're used to the machine. Putting back-pressure on spinning cranks slows you effectively, just like a brake handle can. If you need to stop faster, you can skid to a halt by taking some weight off the rear wheel and locking your legs.
After six years of using them, I ditched my brakes in 2012. I almost never used them, only touching the hand brake when I was tired and didn’t feel like putting back-pressure on the cranks. It’s hard to explain why, but for me, riding without conventional brakes puts me more in sync with the road and my surroundings. I certainly don’t recommend that everyone rush to their garage and remove their brakes (riding brakeless takes a ton of practice, and is illegal in some places). But despite what freewheelers think, stopping without them is rarely dramatic or dangerous.
My current fixie is built off a scandium frame from boutique Wabi Cycles of L.A., and leans toward a track-bike design. At about 16 pounds and with a gearing of 48 x 16, it’s a remarkably versatile bike, a demon of a build that can leap from a standstill to 25 miles per hour like a drag racer and maintain pace alongside my geared buddies for 30 or 50 miles on city rides or country roads.
In the end, fixie haters are gonna hate. Be it the brake debate or the hipster embrace, dissing the "fixed culture" is a popular thing to do. But fixed-gear is not a trend to me. I've been enthralled for years, ever since that bike tried to buck me off in 2006. I got back on the horse, and I haven't let go since.
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