Vocab clarification for new rider, please????

[Zen]

A fixie is a "fixed gear" the when the gear turns the chain has to turn, the pedals have to turn - so no coasting.

Think 'front wheel of a tricycle'.

[CrystalClear]

Tricycles.....got it. I was right, you can't use them interchangeably!

[Torrilin]

Well... a lot of commercial single speed bikes have a fixed/free hub. One side of the hub has a fixed cog, so if that's hooked to the chain the bike is a fixie. The other side has a freewheel, so if *that* cog is hooked into the chain, the bike is a singlespeed. So these bikes can sort of be both at once, since you can use them either way. They also come with brakes, which some fixed gear riders think is heresy. I like being able to stop, so I like brakes.

[Eden]

around here if you want your fixie to be street legal you have to have at very least a front brake on it. (a single speed must have brakes otherwise - no way to stop!)
What Torillin is referring to is called a flip-flop hub, fixed on one side free on the other, so you can choose depending on your situation. You can also set them up with a different gear on either side.

[lph]

Think 'front wheel of a tricycle'.

I am, and I'm shuddering.

Nope, fixies just aren't for me.

Hey, CrystalClear, nice avatar!