This begs to ask the question, why would anyone want to ride a bike that removes the breaks? Well, it’s because they are pretty damn cool. The bicycles are an interesting combination of fashion and freshness, a new accessory for people to show off.
Although the trend has become very popular just in the past few years, fixed gear bikes have a lot of uses, including in sport, as well as art, and they actually date all the way back to the mid 19th century.
Fixed gears were the first type of racing bike in the United States, originally used in competition in the late 1880’s as well as after the turn of the century.
After losing a bit of steam over time, they regained their popularity in the 1950’s and 60’s in both the United States and the United Kingdom, where they were used for club runs, touring and winter training. After fading out of the scene once again, the bikes became extremely popular in the 1980’s with bike messengers, especially in New York City.
The streets, which are filled with potholes, errant cabs and pedestrians, can be a nightmare, but the simplistic style, low maintenance and light weight of the fixed gear bike eases the chaos for messengers.
Daniel Barnes is a bike messenger who frequents an office in my building where I intern, and he is more than happy with what his bike provides him. The beat up, blue and gold frame has lasted for three years, and Daniel doesn’t think he’ll need a new one anytime soon.
“It’s perfect for me,” he says as he takes his shoulder bag off to deliver a package. “It took me a while to master the whole skid breaking thing, but once I got the hang of it, it was easy.” He laughs, showing me a small scar on his hand. “Although I have to admit I did fall off a lot those first few weeks.”
The bikes are also used in what are known as “alleycat races”, which usually take place in big cities and are often organized by bike messengers themselves. The first actual “Alleycat” race took place in Toronto in 1989, and races have taken place in cities all over the world.
The race is usually comprised of different checkpoints the rider must reach, but can also be based on point collection. Depending on the location, races may be less competitive and designed to be enjoyed during holidays, such as NYC's Alleycat, which is held July 4th. Sometimes they can be extremely tough, with the goal to weed out all but the fastest and best overall rider.
“Monstertrack” is an alleycat-racing event that was started for a small, close group of NYC bike messengers, but in recent years due to word spreading on the Internet and surge in fixed gear bike popularity has attracted riders from all over. It currently is billed as the largest alleycat race in the nation.
As mentioned before, fixed gear racing can be dangerous, and the death of rider Matt Manger-Lynch in the Chicago Monstertrack in 2008 is a sad reminder of the consequences of both riding the bikes and participating in the races.
Many non-couriers have taken to organizing races and calling them alleycats as well. Organizers in urban areas are usually former messengers or part of a larger community of cyclists.
The races can be highly creative and often themed with issues important to the riders like NYC's 4/20:Hip to be Square, and Baltimore's GhettoBlaster. Also, the Global Warming Alleycat was held in 2007 simultaneously on the same day in Toronto, San Francisco, Mexico City, Berlin, and NYC.
Alleycats have occurred in major cities all over and have expanded to smaller places over the last few years. As a result of the dangerous nature of the sport as well as varying local laws an alleycat is almost never a fully legal undertaking, which for many riders enhances the excitement of the races.
Fixed gear bikes are also used for an array of different sports all around the world, including Cycle Ball and Cycle Polo.
Bicycle polo is a team sport that came around in the late 1800’s and is similar to the traditional sport of polo, but instead of using horses, the athletes play while riding their bikes. The sport is officially recognized by the International Cycling Union, and today there is organized polo being played in a slew of countries including Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, Switzerland and USA.
Cycle ball is a sport that is most similar to football (or soccer), but is played on bikes. The two people on each team ride a fixed gear bikes while controlling the ball with the bikes themselves, or by use of their heads.
Introduced in 1893, the sport held its first world championship in 1929 and has become popular in many European countries including Belgium, France, Germany Russia and Sweden.
Fixed gear bikes are also an integral part to Artistic Cycling, which is a form of competitive indoor cycling. The athletes perform tricks for points on the fixed-gear bikes in a format similar to ballet or gymnastics. The exercises are performed in front of a panel judges in six-minute rounds by singles, pairs, four- or six-man teams.
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