by Vicki Parker

Green, green, green... it’s the new black don’t you know. For our generation, the need to become greener has become a priority, a rite of passage if you will. Everybody’s doing it. When asked to take a fixed-gear bike for a spin, I jumped at the chance. Cutting down on my carbon footprint and riding a highly desirable accessory at the same time - what’s the catch? Well, there isn’t one.

Arriving at Cheeky Transport in Newtown, I was presented with a blue bike with red tyres in a shape reminiscent of the old racing bike my dad still keeps in our cellar. This retro frame may be one of the reasons for the bike's growing popularity across the world.

Having not ridden a bike in over five years (terrible, I know), I jumped on with caution and soon realised that this bike was unlike any other that I had ever ridden before. All preconceived ideas of how to ride went right out of the window. I soon discovered what made this bike so different.

Despite its obvious lack of gears, I was shocked that there was a brake on one wheel only and that did very little (unless you pushed down hard running the risk of flying over the handlebars). Also, the pedals move consistently even when riding downhill, a scary sensation at first but liberating once conquered. The way I found to stop - through a process of elimination - was to simultaneously tug at the brakes while pushing the pedals backwards to achieve less momentum. Thank goodness. I was heading towards an intersection.

So after a little meandering, I’d mastered the basics and it was time to take it for a real spin. Flying down King Street was a breeze. The sense of freedom was amazing. In my head, I was Lance Armstrong leaving the rest of the riders for dust. Unfortunately, in reality, I didn’t get to use my horn once and the traffic lights did slow me down somewhat. But you get the idea.

Even pushing the bike along the pavement when I ran out of puff was a treat. I felt that with the bike in my hands, I had achieved some kind of status. It gave me the kind of appearance of laid-back, eco-friendly cool that is achieved so well by Europeans. It seems that the Dutch and the Danish are certainly onto something here. It was very bohemian, very Newtown.

The "fixie" has been around since the invention of the first bikes; in fact all bikes were fixed-geared originally. These bicycles became popular with club cyclists to develop a good pedalling style. However, their decline came about in the 1960s when their multi-geared counterparts became the bikes du jour.

Michael from Cheeky Transport says, "it is bike messengers that we have to thank for their revival. They began riding them to reduce maintenance work needed on their bikes. They caught on when people began buying messenger bags. This moved onto people seeing the messengers riding around the city and thought ‘hey, I can do that too.’" Another benefit is the fact that many of them can be folded into a small enough structure to take onto public transport.

It’s not just me that’s a fan. All the cool kids are riding them, they are the chosen mode of transportation for kluster’s London office and they’ve become a must-have in both London and New York. These bikes are also making a huge impact with the glitterati. British model Agyness Dean was recently spotted toting one, as was Elle Macpherson, proving that the London A-list have taken to the bikes in a big way. After all, old is the new "new". In fact, their popularity has grown to such an extent there are now websites dedicated to them, highlighting events, bike shops, and forums to discuss the joy of fixed-gear bikes.

So it seems saving the world can be fun, exciting and make you look pretty damn cool. It sure beats taking the bus.

www.londonfgss.com
www.sydneycyclist.com
www.cheekytransport.com.au