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The simple act of getting from point A to point B has become a bit more fashionable recently. Bicycles have been around for ages. The chosen vehicle of pre-teen kids, riding enthusiasts, park visitors, and local delivery guys is a common, eco friendly way to travel. But in recent years it's not just regular ten gear or mountain bikes that have caught on but instead fixed wheel bikes, or free wheel bikes, have started to become the craze.

Simply, a fixed-gear bicycle (or fixed-wheel bicycle) is a bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast — the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving. If you’re trying to ride up a hill, you have to push through it, and if you’re trying to ride down, don’t let those pedals move too fast, or there could be trouble. There’s no shifting gear and the chain is a bit shorter than on your normal bicycle. Oh, and there’s another difference, a fixed gear bike, or “fixie” as they are known by some who ride them, have no brakes. On fixed gears, the sprocket is screwed directly onto the hub, so when the rear wheel turns, the pedals turn in the same direction. This type of framework allows a cyclist to stop without the use a brake, and also to ride in reverse.

The way to stop the bike leaves the rider with an interesting choice: slow down gradually by reversing the pedals, or pulling a skidding stop. This leaves the old adage of “it’s just like riding a bike” something to be desired. What it means is that it’s pretty hard to ride gracefully on your first try, let alone safely. The skid stop is popular among veteran cyclists, and requires the rider to shift their weight slightly forward and pulling up on the pedals. The rider then stops turning the cranks, thus stopping the rear wheel, while applying his or her body weight in opposition to the normal rotation of the cranks.

This action causes the rear wheel to skid, which acts to slow the bike. The skid can be held until the bicycle stops or until the rider desires to continue pedaling again at a slower speed. Since sliding friction is less than sticking friction, once the tire begins to skid, you will usually be able to maintain the skid until you've stopped or at least slowed down as much as you want too. Mastering the skid requires a little practice and using it while cornering on a street is considered dangerous.