Sheldon "No Doubt On This One" Brown wrote among other things:
> "Fixed" means not coasting.
> the opposite of freewheel is fixed gear.
The best language to demonstrate this meaning is German where a freewheel is called a 'Freilauf' which translates to 'free walk' with no mention of wheel. This is however not the same as to say that a fixed gear is defined by how a sprocket is attached to the hub. Shimano's front freewheel system is an example of a freewheel where the cogset can be attached just like a sprocket on a fixed gear bike, i.e. with each of the cogs making one revolution for every revolution of the wheel. It is therefore my belief in agreement with Sheldon that a fixed gear bike can only be described as a bike that does not freewheel.
> "Pignon fixe." "Pignon"="sprocket", "gear" and "fixe"="fixed."
>
> (Ze leetle pignon, he is male, zo eet ees "fixe" and not "fixee.")
Sheldon is however making an error here, so his sign-off would need to be modified to say something like 'with at least one doubt about this one'. Fixe, when used as an adjective in French is invariable, it is therefore always fixe, no matter the gender of the noun that it modifies. The extra 'e' is only used when you use the adjective fixé with the accent.
--
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ
> +-------------------------------------------------------------+
> | I still feel that variable gears are only for people over |
> | forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength |
> | of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? |
> | We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear! |
> | --Henri Desgrange, _L'quipe_ article of 1902 |
> +-------------------------------------------------------------+
> --
> Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
> Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
> http://harriscyclery.com
> Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
> http://captainbike.com
> Useful articles about bicycles and cycling
> http://sheldonbrown.com