Reading today's Advertiser article on "fixies", I am a little unclear on exactly what a modern fixed gear bicycle is. Is it the same basic idea as the old Schwinn banana-seat bike that I rode as a kid in the 1970s? According to the article, fixed gear bikes have:
Only one gear, no shifting. Check. That sounds like small kid time.
No brake controls up at the handlebar, you brake by stomping backwards with your feet on the pedals and skidding. Check.
No way to coast - if the wheels are moving, then the pedals are moving too. So if you're going real fast downhill, then your legs are pumping like crazy to keep up. OK, now this one doesn't sound like what I remember - I remember being able to coast.
Only one gear, no shifting. Check. That sounds like small kid time.
No brake controls up at the handlebar, you brake by stomping backwards with your feet on the pedals and skidding. Check.
No way to coast - if the wheels are moving, then the pedals are moving too. So if you're going real fast downhill, then your legs are pumping like crazy to keep up. OK, now this one doesn't sound like what I remember - I remember being able to coast.
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