Who rides bicycles without brakes in the city and why

Adherents of fixed gear ideology have always stood out from the general mass of the bicycle movement. And one of the distinguishing features is the absence of brakes.

The ideas of riding a bicycle with one gear began to go beyond sports facilities. In Japan, track bikes were used by couriers for work. They ran around the city, clinging to cars, breaking traffic rules. The main thing was to deliver the parcel on time.

It was the bike couriers who started to organize informal races “Alley Cat” (Alley Cat) in the cities. It is difficult to call them a “sporting competition”, but a game or entertainment – quite.

Sasha Pest

fixer

When I started riding, the Fix was a stylish bike that was just entering the Russian market. A great way to stand out. No one rode on the highway back then, and mostly everyone had mountain bikes. When I saw the blue Create, I thought, “Man, that’s a cool bike. “One gear. I should build something like that.” At that time, almost everyone was building bikes from scratch: there were no off-the-shelf options. “Fixies” were characterized by simplicity, appearance and the ability to ride on the streets without traffic lights. I don’t know how it is now, but before, no one rode according to the rules.

No brakes

The “fixie” was originally a track bike. When you’re riding on a track, you only have one gear, and you spin it up as much as possible. You’re riding on an oval: there’s nowhere to turn and nowhere to brake. Couriers who managed to get a bike from a keirin rider realized that the machine itself was cheap, and the maintenance was the same. If you had excellent body and bike handling, brakes were basically unnecessary.

According to my personal experience of riding in Moscow, a “fixie” doesn’t need to be serviced at all. Once a season you change the rear tire and that’s it.

But you can still brake

The bike has a fixed gear: you pedal forward and backward. Since physics is involved in every aspect of our lives, you can still brake on a fixie.

If you use your legs or body to stop the chain and rear wheel from moving, you get something similar to applying the rear brake. In fact, this method of braking is not the most effective. There are a lot of variants of skid (braking technique – Editor’s note). It all depends on the situation. In fact, someone who rides a classic “fix”, chooses such a trajectory that the skid is not necessary. In an emergency situation, especially in the rain, it makes no sense to brake like that. Absence of brake is its own zest and sharpness of riding sensations.

It is not difficult to ride a “fixie”

I started riding in 2011. Riding was problematic back then because drivers didn’t have much respect for cyclists on the road. We were not perceived as road users.

Back then, a cyclist on the road was a new phenomenon, but now everyone is used to it and it’s easier. Over time, you will begin to calculate the trajectory of the movement to minimize the loss in inertia and guess the maneuvers of motorists.

By all “canons”

There is no concept of “the right “fix”. First of all, it is beautiful. It should be so that you look at it, turn your head and say: “You have a cool bike, man”. Speed and stuff is not the main thing.

I’ve built six “fixies” for different needs in my life. One was from “bad parts and twigs”, the other I invested a lot of money in. The building process does not limit your imagination. Geometry, fit, budget – everything is individualized. And aesthetics. “Fix” is about beauty. There have been times when guys have collected maximum tastelessness for a lot of money. As in the whole culture of customization, in cars, in interior design there is a theme of “kolkhoz” or “style”. It can be felt and traced everywhere.