A fixed-gear bicycle (or fixed-wheel bicycle, popularly known as a fixie) is a bicycle that has a drivetrain with no freewheel mechanism. The freewheel was developed early in the history of bicycle design but the fixed-gear bicycle remained the standard track racing design. More recently the 'fixie' has become a popular alternative among mainly urban cyclists, offering the advantages of simplicity compared with the standard multi-geared bicycle.
Most bicycles incorporate a freewheel to allow the pedals to remain stationary while the bicycle is in motion, so that the rider can coast, i.e., ride without pedalling using the forward or downhill momentum of bike and rider. A fixed-gear drivetrain has the drive sprocket (or cog) threaded or bolted directly to the hub of the back wheel, so that the rider cannot stop pedalling. When the rear wheel turns, the pedals turn in the same direction. This allows a cyclist to apply a weak braking force without using a brake, by resisting the rotation of the cranks. It also makes it possible to ride backwards although learning to do so is much more difficult than riding forwards.
As a rule, fixed-gear bicycles are single-speed. A derailleur cannot be fitted because the chain cannot have any slack, but hub gearing can, for example a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed fixed hub. Most fixed-gear bicycles only have a front brake, and some have no brakes at all.
Read more about Fixed-gear Bicycle: Uses, Advantages and Disadvantages, Brakeless, Conversion, Competition, Maintenance and Upkeep, Circus Bikes
Famous quotes containing the word bicycle:
“Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever he is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it. That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society of living things.”
—William Golding (b. 1911)