Re: [CR]Fixed Wheels & track bikes

(Example: Framebuilders:Norman Taylor)

In-Reply-To: <123.2b2af06f.2d6c69e3@aol.com>
References: <123.2b2af06f.2d6c69e3@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 11:54:46 -0500
To: REClassicBikes@aol.com
From: "Sheldon Brown" <CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Fixed Wheels & track bikes
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

Martin Coopland wrote:
>It would indeed be patronising to assume that one countries use of a language
>is more correct than anther's. I do not at any point believe that I alluded
>to that.

You do exactly that when you assert that the distinctly British usage "fixed wheel" is the only correct one, and that the standard American/general usage "fixed gear" isn't.
>
>The list to which I posted is international and as such has speakers spread
>around the world. I sort to point out the correct use of this term to all of
>them. It is equally miss used [sic] in the United Kingdom as any
>where else (I assume,
>as I have not been every where else) and I have no belief that its miss use
>began any where in particular.
>
>I might be bold enough to say that the use of the internet proliferates the
>miss use of many terms.

You have not presented any evidence that this is a misuse, while others have produced many hoary citations of the use of the perfectly standard "fixed gear."

My own tendencies as a soi-disant "cyclexicographer" are prescriptivist, but I rarely criticize casual misuse of terms such as "seat" and "cog" when I see them in postings. I'm a bit of a stickler in my own writing, and generally look with jaundiced eye on neologisms. However the reason I can't let this issue drop quietly is not that I dislike the usage "fixed wheel" all that much, as that you persist in claiming that the more standard usage "fixed gear" is incorrect. It isn't.

This is also an issue close to my heart because I'm a major promoter of fixed-gear riding.

To recapitulate, (and never to capitulate) it seems that there are two fundamental sources of your confusion on this point:

*The two relevant meanings of the word "gear." A. Gear ratio. B. Sprocket.

If the "gear" in "fixed gear" was sense "A", your objection would have some validity, but the actual sense is "B." As others have pointed out, the cognate terms in other languages work the same way. The French say "pignon fixe" not "roue fixe."

*The confusion between "freewheel" and "free wheel"

"Freewheel" is a noun, descriptive of a ratchet or one-way clutch mechanism. It is not the same as "free wheel" which would be the word "wheel" modified by the adjective free. "Free wheel" is not common usage as far as I know.

Sheldon "http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed" Brown Newtonville, Massachusetts +-----------------------------------------+ | Man invented language to satisfy his | | deep need to complain. -- Lily Tomlin | +-----------------------------------------+ --
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