Fixed-Gear Bicycle

A fixed-gear bicycle, often called a fixie, is a bicycle built with a drivetrain that has no freewheel mechanism, so the pedals are mechanically locked to the rotation of the rear wheel and turn continuously whenever the bicycle is moving. This design, inherited from track racing bicycles used on velodromes, means the rider cannot coast and can slow the bicycle by resisting the pedals with their legs, with many fixed-gear bicycles built with no separate hand brakes at all. Fixed-gear bicycles moved beyond the racing track into everyday urban cycling from the late twentieth century onward, becoming closely associated with bicycle messenger culture in cities such as New York, and later with a broader recreational and commuting subculture.