If you follow this blog, you probably already know Gadget Explained is a big fan of clever mechanical gadgets like the electric scooter that folds in two seconds and the robot car that climbs walls like a spider. On the topic of urban bikes, I'm also a big bike fan. I own both a fixie and mountain bike and even though my friends tell me to ditch the fixie bike over the geared road bike, I always end up riding the fixie bike almost everywhere! My fixie bike is just so much fun to ride, even with the absence of gears!

I know it sounds crazy choosing a fixed-gear over a multi-gear but with a fixie bike I really feel connected to the riding experience like the fixie bike is just a natural extension of my body. The feeling of the ride on a mountain bike isn't the same and you don't have the same control either. With my fixie bike I can easily and confidently fine-tune my speed while riding hands free (even on a wet road), and all while getting a good leg workout in the process. Also, I can do cool things on the fixie bike like skidding the back wheel, just like I used to do back in the day on my coaster-brake huffy.

It's hard to think that the fixie bike has been around for over one hundred years now, but then again, it's not surprising to see why the fixie bike would still be this popular because of the simplicity of single speed fixed-gear bike design, and the fact that you are in total control of the bike. Not to mention the fixie bike is easier to maintain as you don't have to fiddle with derailleurs and additional bike parts.

A feature that I was thinking would really make the fixie bike complete in my eyes was being able to fold to get on the train or bus. I have been waiting for a bike company to actually make a foldable fixie bike with full-size wheels and it looks like FUBi is one such company that is finally seeing the market opportunity for a fixie folding bike.
FUBi calls their foldable fixie bike - FUBiFixie, which nowhere resembles a modern folding bicycle and that's already one reason why I'm drawn to this fixie folding bike! The frame of this bike is triangular with a loose free pivot design and has a two-way locking system that allows you to lock the bike as well as both the front and back wheels around poles with a single U-lock.
I really like the fact that this FUBi Fixie bike maintains all the characteristics of a “regular” bike, and the fact that you can fit it easily inside the trunk of a car. The bicycle design has evolved massively over such a short period of time, especially when you consider that not too long ago people quite literary scooted along on bikes with their feet on the ground!