Freestyle fixed gear

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Freestyle fixed gear is stunt riding on a fixed-gear bicycle. It’s an extreme sport that mixes tricks from BMX, artistic cycling, dirt jumping, and trials. There are two main styles: Trick-Track (also called Tarck), which is flat-ground tricks like those in artistic cycling and flatland BMX, and FGFS (Fixed Gear Freestyle), which is street and park riding more like BMX.

Riders often describe it as doing BMX-style tricks on fixed-gear bikes. The sport grew from the blend of freestyle BMX and track cycling. Around 2007, riders began pushing track bikes with skids and other tricks. Because fixed-gear bikes must be pedaled all the time, these tricks require constant pedaling and precise control.

A 2015 survey found about 12% of fixed-gear riders use their bikes for tricks. The earliest bicycle tricks were done on fixed gears, with evidence dating back to 1899. Most modern freestyle disciplines use bikes with a freewheel, but artistic cycling still often uses fixed gears.

The fixed connection between rider and wheel lets people perform stunts that are hard or impossible on bikes with a freewheel. The basic trick is the trackstand, typically done on fixed-gear bikes. Bicycle messenger culture from the late 20th century onward helped inspire this style. Fixed gears go back to the mid-1800s, and New York messengers kept them as sturdy city bikes. Only in recent years did skaters and BMX riders push the limits of tricks on fixed-gear bikes. The scene stayed largely underground, though movies like Quicksilver (1986) and Premium Rush (2012) showed fixed-gear stunts, and tricks on fixed gears appeared in Rad and Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.

Red Bull ran a fixed freestyle competition from 2011 to 2014. Specialized offered a fixed-gear freestyle bike called the P.Fix. In 2001 X Games, Trevor Myer used a direct-drive BMX to compete in flatland.

Bike details: FGFS bikes are usually 26 inches or 700c wheels and are built for tricks. Trick-Track bikes are typically 700c, with geometry that resembles track bikes and enough clearance to spin the bars and fit wider tires. Bar-spin clearance can be measured by how close the front tire gets to the pedal, or by the front-center distance from the bottom bracket to the front axle with bars in different positions.

FGFS bikes are typically 26 inches and resemble a large BMX bike. They often need a higher bottom bracket to allow double peg grinds on rails, and frames designed for a strong 14mm axle.