A Meeting of Dervishes With Fixed Gears (New York Times)
Inspired by skateboarding and BMX, daring cyclists get together to perform acrobatic tricks on fixed gear bikes. Playing polo on two-wheeled steeds (Austin American-Statesman)
The cyclists wheeled and maneuvered around the tennis court with surgical precision, whacking away at a rubber ball with homemade mallets and trying to drive it between two cones. Mail/Letters/Commentary (Boise Weekly)
Everybody had something to say about a one-liner we re-Tweeted from CNN on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin stepping down. One from the good old fashioned snail mail inbox I'm writing in response to Dave Fotsch's opinion piece (BW, Opinion, "Bikes vs. Cars," July 1, 2009) and the statement "Fixed Gear Bikes: You may think you're super cool, but you're really just a dumb ass." Rather than targeting a ... Outdoors Calendar (Asheville Citizen-Times)
Submit items one week in advance for the Outdoors Calendar, a weekly listing of hiking, mountain biking, paddling, running and other activities in Western North Carolina. International Move To Ban Fixies (NBC New York)
The fixed-gear bicycle has become one of the more ridiculously useless trappings of hipsterdom. If you think about it, you probably see someone walking alongside one of these bikes more often than you... Berlin Subdues the Fixie Menance, Can Boston Follow Suit? (Bostonist)
Image of the fixie menace tagged "Bostonist" by Flickr user Trevor Geofrrey . Fixies are a pain in Grandpa Bostonist's neck. Fixies are European fixed gear racing bikes that don't have back brakes, designed to teach racers "pedal discipline" in the velodrome. On the clogged streets of the big city, however, they are little more than a pathetic compensatory status marker?the bicycle equivalent of ... Bicycle races: Manufacturers struggle to keep up with the boom (Independent)
Europe is running out of bikes thanks to a British cycling boom that has caught the world's biggest bike manufacturers on the hop. Massachusetts' Fitchburg Longsjo Classic is celebrating its 50th anniversary ...
Art Longsjo was the first American to race two Olympics in one year. When he was 25, the Fitchburg, Massachusetts, native was a speed skater at the 1956 winter games in Italy and raced his bike at that year's summer games in Australia. Longsjo qualified for both Olympiads in an era when officials strictly enforced athletes? amateur status. Because it might be construed as a professional version ... Long Beach Launches Bicycle Sharrows with a 'Green Lane' (LAist)
Last week Long Beach did something that, by all appearances, no other city has ever done : they painted sharrows --a common practice to educate motorists that bicyclists get to legally share the road--with a five-foot green lane--a new and inventive way to grab everyone's attention and help cyclists stay out of the door zone . The .6 miles lane runs along both sides of 2nd Street in ... Nutrition: Fuel to go (BikeRadar)
The humble sandwich makes perfect cycling food
A fixed-gear bicycle, also known as a fixed-wheel bicycle or a fixie, is a bicycle on which the sprocket is screwed directly onto the hub of the bike. Fixies have no freewheel mechanism, and therefore offer no ability to coast; if the rear weal is turning, the pedals are turning in the same direction. To stop a fixie without the aid of a brake, the rider can resist the rotation of the pedals. The term “skidding” is used to describe the use of this technique to the point of stopping the rear tire completely. Because of this type of riding can use extreme force in both directions, a reverse-threaded lock-ring is usually fitted to prevent the sprocket from unscrewing.
While fixed-wheel bicycles usually have one gear ratio, some models, sometimes referred to as “flip-flop hubs” offer the rider a choice of two different gear ratios. “Double fixed” (two fixed gear ratios) and “fixed-free” (which offer a fixed option as well as a free-wheel option) are examples of these. Changing gears on these bikes require minor mechanical work; the rear wheel must be removed, reversed, and refit so that the chain ring may be attached to the alternate desired sprocket. Each gear on a double-fixed bike will typically have a different number of teeth, causing the bike to be geared higher or lower by a set percentage on each side, if using the same chain ring.
Sturmey Archer, now a part of SunRace Sturney-Archer, has, in the past, offered a fixed multi speed hub gear in the model ASC, which allowed the rider to change gears while riding. The company plans to produce an updated version of the ASC, which will be called the S3X.
There are a few difficulties associated with getting used to this type of bicycle. Descending, for example, challenges the rider to either keep up with the rapidly turning cranks (maybe 150 rpm or more!) or to resist the motion of the wheels and ride more slowly down hills. Also, many cyclists are naturally used to coasting on a free-wheel bike when approaching obstacles or turns. This tendency can lead to something as minor as a “kick” to the trailing leg or even to loss of control of the bike.
Despite the learning curve, there are many reasons that riders may choose a fixie. In general, these bikes tend be more light weight and simple, requiring less maintenance than other bicycles. The lighter weight and continuous feedback through the transmission can translate to increased performance in some conditions, such as a better sense of control on slippery surface. The advantages for a freewheeler who integrates a fixed-gear bike into his or her routine include a more effective pedaling style, giving the rider more power and efficiency when he or she changes to a freewheel. Also, the enforced fast spin on descent of a hill is said to increase “souplesse”, or suppleness of the body, which improves pedaling performance on any type of bicycle.
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