What am I missing re fixed gear bicycles?

fixed hub you mean? There also called fixies…there typically made from old frames and then fitted with new very classy parts…basically for most its a fashion statement. Usually there used by couriers, in London they all use them…problem is though because its a fixed hub you can’t freewheel so you have to keep pedaling, so careful in the corners! If you have seen velodrome racing those are fixed hub bikes, there more efficient at transferring power and very light. But of course you have one gear more than likely for meating out a nice 15–20mph so hit a hill and unless your a good powerful cyclist your in for a bit of trouble…even if you are you might have to get off lol…for city use I have a Carrera Subway which has a sealed hub gear system, so one cog at either end, nice cruiser and no maintenance but still skinny frame and race tyres :)

What’s a fixed gear bicycle?

Tobotron, could you dumb down your answer for me, please? I’m still learning…what’s a fixed hub?

@basp sure…ok on a bike you have the large sprocket at the front, your cranks are attached here and its the cog you directly turn…this connects by the chain to a smaller cog at the back wheel. Normally you might have several cogs and a derailleur here on typical geared bikes, the ‘hub’ is the bit the cogs connect to, its what transfers the power from the turning cogs to the wheel itself and you’ll notice on a typical bike you can pedal backwards and the wheel won’t turn backwards at the same time…
On a fixie the rear is ‘fixed’ if you pedal backwards the wheel will spin backwards too…although any bike can technically be fixed hub they’ve recently become pretty cool to own, you can get them custom made for you…there fast as hell but also pretty dangerous, imagine banking into a corner, you HAVE to keep your pedals turning, one clips the ground and bang you come off. But there good at lights with clip-ins because you can rock the bike back and forth at lights etc…also if you ask they can put a different sized cog on either end of the rear hub so you can change to a different gear by popping the wheel out, say for racing or cruising.

If you want one try one out at your local specialist first! Also get a motorbike lock because it will get stolen, they really stand out!

Tobotron
Thank you very much. My bicycling skills are very limited, but I am always interested in learning more.