In which I try to explain the fixed gear craze:
Welcome to the world of the fixie, where cycling is reduced to its purest essence.
Bicycle racing today revolves around marvels of technology. The old “10-speed” has become a 20-speed or more. Carbon fiber allows bike frames you could pick up with a finger, and racers and bike designers use wind tunnels to improve aerodynamics.
If you’ve got the money, you can easily drop $10,000 on an Italian racing bike. Or, if you’re interested in the fixie alternative, Jacob Klink offers this example:
“One of my friends found a bike on top of Johnson Gym,” the University of New Mexico student explained. “Twenty bucks later, we built him a bike.”
Check out the great photo-sound essay by my colleague Roberto that goes with it.
Great story John.
This old-ish guy with the bad knees would build one for himself if it didn’t hurt so much (and I didn’t like to live in hilly places).
Best,
D
Oh you and Roberto are too good. That’s sweet coverage. Thank you both for putting it all together.
It’s not much, but I threw together a post about it here:
Fixed Gear Madness in Albuquerque
Had one when I was a kid. Great for flat ground, sucks on long hills, but real cool (As I recall the wheel had a gear on both sides and you could flip it when you had big hills to ride.