by Safety Third

Created on: March 02, 2007   Last Updated: April 27, 2007

Fixed gear bicycles are the purest form of cycling there is. You don't have to worry about fixing your derailleurs or fixing your breaks or rebuilding your free-hub because you don't have any of those things. A fixed gear is exactly what it's name suggests. It's a bicycle with no gears, no brakes (usually) and no coasting.
Most fixed gear bicycles (fixies) have unusually high bottom brackets. This is because you can't coast, therefore, if you have an average height bottom bracket, you're likely to hit the pedal on the ground around turns.

Fixies are a good idea for anyone who wants go get into racing, or who already races but wants to work on things. Number one, it works on leg strength because you only have one gear, so you can't shift up for climbs or down for descents. This is where it comes in handy again. Since you can't coast, you have to pedal constantly, even down hills. This improves leg speed, which is very important to good racing. Plus, it's likely to improve your pedal stroke to be more efficient.
Most bicycle messengers in big cities use fixies because of their simplicity and because there's less parts to take care of. You may have seen them weaving in and out of traffic to get their stuff where it has to go. Many businesses use bike messengers because, in big cities, they tend to be faster than cars.
Fixies for beginners usually have brakes, but usually only one. The one brake it has is the front brake because 70% of braking power is in the front brake. With brakes is a good way to learn, because you can slowly ween yourself off the brake as your legs get stronger and you become able to slow the bike by slowing the rotation of your pedals,
Fixies are not for everyone, though, because they are a challenge to ride, and it takes some getting used to after riding geared bikes for most of your life. But it is a good choice for anyone who wants to get an edge on the competition.

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