| Particularly in urban areas, there is a growing trend of | | | | The appeal of a fixed wheel bike is mostly about |
| people liking fixed gear bikes, which are also called | | | | glamour and much less about function, performance |
| "fixies." This means a bike with one single gear that is | | | | or efficiency. The truth is that they are hard to ride |
| directly connected to the wheels meaning that | | | | successfully and many people like the challenge. On |
| whenever the wheels are turning, the pedals will be | | | | the other hand, they can be very dangerous in urban |
| turning too: no coasting is possible. In some cases, | | | | environments. Particularly those without real brakes |
| these bikes don't even have brakes and to stop, you | | | | may have a hard time stopping in an emergency |
| exert back pressure on the wheels. | | | | braking situation. |
| Originally this trend came from track bikes which | | | | Less crazy riders add a pair of traditional brakes or |
| were used for indoor bike racing. These were | | | | even just a front brake for safety. Another way to |
| stripped down bikes which were made to minimize | | | | make them more safe is to use a free wheel hub |
| weight. They didn't need gears or brakes due to their | | | | which will allow coasting and no longer means that |
| use on the track. Eventually people started using | | | | the pedals must always turn while the wheels are |
| these on the streets, probably beginning in the bike | | | | turning. This makes the bikes easier to ride and |
| messenger subculture. | | | | dramatically safer as compared to a true fixie. |