In autumn this year, I rode 1300 kilometers from the UK’s most southern tip - Penzance - to the northern city of Inverness in Scotland, on a fixed gear bike.
For the uninitiated, a fixed-gear bike (or fixie) uses a single chainring and single sprocket to provide a single gear. The sprocket has no ratchet system, so the pedals always turn with the wheels and there’s no such thing as coasting, or freewheeling. These are the bikes you’ll usually see used at track cycling events, but they’re also great for commuting and long-distance rides - as long as you get the gear right - because they need very little maintenance.
