Unknown Manufacturer, 51 cm red/chrome aluminum diamond frame, single speed fixie, 700c X 28 steel wheels, Kenda 90 psi tires, side pull Tektro brakes, quick release seat post & front wheel, Origin 8 crank, kickstand, bottle mount. $175
A fixie is a fixed-gear bike, which means that if the back wheel is turning, the crank (& thus the pedals) are turning. Other bikes freewheel, so you can coast without pedaling. Track bikes are usually fixed-gear, but in recent years they have appeared on the street. We don’t sell many fixes at the Hub – they’re not for everyone. They have several advantages over conventional drive trains:
- More efficient linkage, because no energy is lost in the freewheel racheting mechanism.
- A simpler drive train with fewer parts that might malfunction.
- You can ride backwards!
There is one major disadvantage:
- It can be really hard to stop.
It is sometimes convenient to stop, such as when approaching a red light at a busy intersection. Many fixies & all track bikes have no brakes. You stop by attempting to pedal backwards, by skidding or skipping, or by colliding with pedestrians, cars, buildings & etc. This amusing & somewhat optimistic video illustrates some of the techniques. No problem if you’re immortal & are pretty sure nothing is going to go wrong (that is, if you are a 22 year old male hepped up on beer & Red Bull), or want to star in YouTube fail videos, but the Hub thinks the wiser choice is to add a brake up front. So we did.
This bike’s frame has long lost any attribution, so who knows who made it originally, but the aluminum frame is light & responsive. The unique two-tone color scheme is perfect for this ride. You have to love how the red & chrome crankset echoes the frame.
