Fixed-Gear Bicycles Gaining Popularity

Check out this article!   Explains how the awesome fixie bikes are catching on Big Time! "Fixies have become a pop culture phenomenon all over the world!"


In the minds of fixed-gear riders, brakes and gears take away the purity of riding. “Fixies,” a term for fixed-gear bikes, are bikes stripped down to their purest form, their clean lines uninterrupted by gears or brakes.
Fixies have a history “rooted in track cycling, in the velodrome,” said John Coleman, a bicycle repairman at Banning’s Bikes in Fullerton. Bike messengers in urban areas adopted these styles of bikes for their simplicity and low maintenance.
The first time Karl Muhs, a student at Cal State Fullerton, heard about a bike that had no gears or brakes, it intrigued him. It sounded “mysterious.”
The lack of hardware is what makes fixies stand out from traditional bikes. They are very durable, “the only things getting worn out are the tires and chain, which are relatively inexpensive,” said Coleman.
According to Coleman, the way a fixie works is that the rear wheel is directly connected with the pedals, meaning a rider can not coast. Coasting is when a rider stops pedaling while the bike wheels continue to spin. On a fixie, the rider is constantly pedaling. The way to slow down or stop is with leg power, resisting the forward momentum of the pedals. The most popular way to stop is the “skid”. A bike goes into a skid when the rider stops pedaling and locks their legs, preventing the back wheel from turning.
Fixies have become a pop culture phenomenon all over the world. This has happened with the help of movies, advertisements, celebrities, and major clothing companies, said Willie Andruss, the sales representative of Backward Circle Bike Co.
When Muhs and a group of his friends rode from Huntington Beach to San Diego on their fixies, people could not believe that they were able to ride that distance without gears or brakes.
People who ride fixies not only ride them because they are different, they ride them because of the challenge and they love how they feel.
Muhs rides a fixie because he feels like he has, “the most control” on one. He said riding a fixie has made him a much better rider because it caused him to become more aware of what is around him.
Stephen Moreno, the art director of Backward Circle Bike Co., said he “feels safer,” on a fixie because on traditional bikes he doesn’t have as much control.
The growth in popularity of fixed-gear riding has made it more appealing for high school and college students to get on a bike and ride. Students are willingly choosing to ride fixie bikes because of their style as well as their cost efficiency.
“It makes more sense to ride. There is not enough parking, the price of parking is ridiculous and you can buy a bike for the price of a parking permit. You also don’t have to worry about parking tickets or gas,” said William Chen, a senior at CSUF.