June 07, 2011

Fixed Gear (Fixie bike)



Fixie For Beginner
bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast — the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving.” -Wikipedia
So the basic explanation is bicycle that have 1 gear and one chainring, you can’t change the gear like mountain bike or BMX and you cannot coasting (so if you turn the pedal forward, it becomes forward too and if you turn the pedal to backward, it becomes backward too).


BASIC FIXED GEAR TRICK


SKID
Basically skid is the first trick to stop the fixie bike or this is just a trick, so if you want to do this as easily by using a small crank ratio and a big scale of cog like a tricker (trick boys) but all of the people that don't used a small crank but a big crank can do this trick too but it depending on the foot power.



 



QICKSTOP
Quickstop is the basic trick that we must used and know when we used "Quickstop" when we do breakless (if want to do this (must used toe clip/strap), that is easier than "Skid" but more dangerous if it doesnt have strong enough to move fastly. We can do a "Quickstop" with the left foot is in front and the right foot is in  back position. Left foot is pull the pedal so that the back tire will be break, and the right foot hold and to lift the fixie bike at the same time until the back tire will get a little bit slam but you may not lift to high because it will make your back tire will get a big slam and it makes your back tire is brake because of the big slam.



LONG SKID
This trick has almost the same with the "Quickstop/Skid" trick, which make the different of the trick is make the fixie bike moving slowly, not like the Quickstop/Skid.

TRACKSTAND
Trackstand is the fixed position and keep standing. First put your foot and pedal in front position, and than direct the front tire with the front pedal, and than step the pedal back and forward for stability. The point is the stability of playing the pedal.


STANDING
Standing is same with "Trackstand" (must have a skill in using of pedal). So steping on the pedal strongly when the position is horizontal than push it and lifting of handlebar. Don't lift it so hard because it makes the jumping to high and hard to control your fixie bike.


BARSPIN
After you are able to do the "jumping" and than you can do the "barspin" trick or spin the handlebar. While you do a "jumping" and spin the handlebar hardly.


TAILWHIP
Tailwhip is spinning on the rear side. This trick is using a break system in front side of wheel in order the rear side is spinning to the front and lifting.




Doing a Track with Fixed Gear
Beside for doing a trick, Fixed Gear (Fixie Bike) is used for doing a race (or we can called from Indonesian people is "Track". Indonesia have a place for doing a track too, named Velodrome.




And the most important think is used a safety tools and also used a toeclip/straps/front brake.

Most of people said that we can look the good quality and the style of fixed gear is from the cost. But the biker said that the good fixed gear is from how the people ride this bike, the expensive or not of the fixedgear depends on the appetite of the people who want to build this bike besides the component/part that used to make fixed gear is quite simple considering from the other bike.


This is the example of my friends fixed gear:

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed-gear_bicycle
http://www.kaskus.us/showthread.php?t=7829072
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html