What is a fixed-gear hub?

Flip-flop hubs, also known as double side hubs are rear wheel hubs that allow either two fixed gear cogs on both sides or fixed gear cog on one side and freewheel on another side.

What is a cassette hub?

Newer bikes tend to use type hub called a “cassette hub.” The cassette hub uses a “freehub” sytem, which is a type of clutch mounted to the body of the hub. This cylindrical mechanism ratchets counter-clockwise for coasting, and locks clockwise for driving the bike when pedaled. See a typical cassette hub below.

What is freewheel fixed-gear?

Single speed bikes are fitted with a freewheel, whereas fixed gear bikes are not. On a fixie the rear cog is joined with the rear hub, so when the wheel turns, the cog will turn too.

Why do fixed gear bikes not have brakes?

A track bike has no brakes because braking would cause a pile up. When a fixie on the road has no brakes it is because someone is being macho. They will insist they can stop just as quickly or they can always see the road and path ahead. The former being easily disproven and the latter generally being optimistic.

What does a flip flop hub do?

There are several different types of flip flop hubs available for different applications. Their main purpose is to allow changing between two different size gear ratios on one rear wheel without the added complications of a derailleur or internal hub gear, or between a fixed and freewheeling option.

Is single speed better than gears?

Life is much easier when things are kept simple and this is the same when riding a bicycle. Since there are no gears on a single speed bicycle, you don’t have to worry about shifting. A single speed bicycle is much easier to ride and allows you to focus on enjoying the ride rather than shifting your gears.

What’s the difference between fixed and freewheel?

Freewheel is what most riders are familiar with. If you pedal forward, you will move the bike forward. Fixed gear means that the motion of the pedals is directly connected to the motion of the rear wheel. If you pedal forward, the bike will move forward.

Do you have to keep pedaling on a fixie?

The short answer is no. On the fixed gear bicycle pedals and rear wheel are directly connected, meaning when the rear wheel is spinning, pedals are spinning as well. Due to this, you cannot coast on the fixed gear bicycle and have to pedal every time the bike is moving.

Can you pedal backwards on a fixie?

On a freewheel, if you pedal backwards, nothing happens. On a fixed gear bicycle, if you pedal backwards (from a standstill), you’ll go backwards.

What kind of cassettes are compatible with freehub?

The road version (XD-R) is compatible with mountain cassettes if you add a 1.85mm spacer. There is no spacer required with a road XDR cassette. As it relates to the freehub, there is no compatibility difference between 11 and 12 speed Sram cassettes.

Can a Shimano cassette be converted to fixed gear?

If not, a front brake failure followed by a sudden extra effort at “resisting” could break the sprocket loose at the worst possible time, and you’d be toast! It is also possible to convert a Shimano cassette Freehub ® for fixed-gear use.

What kind of spacer do I need for Shimano cassettes?

If you want to run your Shimano 10 speed cassette, you can add a 1mm and 1.75mm Mavic spacer. If you want to run an 8-10 speed Sram HG or Shimano 8/9 speed cassette, you can run a 1.75mm Mavic spacer. When Shimano mountain cassettes grew to 12 speed, they introduced a long-awaited freehub revision – MicroSpline.

Why are Track hubs not suitable for fixed gear?

Track hubs generally come with solid axles and track nuts. This is because most velodromes have rules requiring this type of wheel attachment. As a result, it is widely believed that quick-release axles are not suitable for fixed-gear use.