My go-to bike on a clear day is a Fuji Feather. That's a single speed. Yesterday I flipped the rear wheel to make it a fixie. A fixed-gear bicyclehas a drivetrain with no freewheel mechanism, which basically means if the wheel is turning, so are your pedals, so buckle up.
I rode to the Junction, then noodled along the Waterfront Trail, before meeting people at Trillium Park before the BSS/Metric/Stars concert at the Amp (more on that later) and a late-night ride home along Lake Ontario. It was almost 60km and as exciting as it was, it was pretty scary.
You bike one way for 100,000 km and then you ride 60km in a completely different fashion. It was amazing when letting her rip, but when there are sudden stops and intricate maneuvers, it's a whole new ballgame. And when going downhill, where speeds approach 40 km/h, it's nearly impossible to pedal that fast. Remember, you can't coast.
I'm very glad I tried it, as I've always been curious, but I have doctor's orders to not crash on my bike and my spidey senses tell me I should flip the wheel again and bring back the freewheel mechanism.
What blows my mind are the guys who ride the fixie without brakes. On Toronto streets and trails, that's for adrenaline junkies only.
