fixed-gear bike

noun

variants or fixed-gear bicycle or less commonly fixed-wheel bike or fixed-wheel bicycle

plural fixed-gear bikes or fixed-gear bicycles also fixed-wheel bikes or fixed-wheel bicycles

: a bicycle with a chain that directly transmits motion from the pedals to a fixed gear on the rear wheel hub : fixie

Fixed-gear bikes, originally used for track cycling and then popularized by bike messengers for their minimal maintenance, have become common in Denver's cycling culture …

—Brendan Leonard

This regulation affects fixed-gear bicycles, which usually come without handbrakes and require a rider's pedal resistance to slow down and stop.

—Therese Soh

A fixie is a fixed-wheel bike, meaning you cannot coast on it. The rear wheel sprocket, the chain and the pedals all move as one, so if you want to slow down, you have one hand brake and must use reverse leg force.

—Deke Farrow

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above