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TECH NEWS

Eurobike trends: Fixed for the foreseeable

Fixed, singlespeed, road, track freestyle and much, much more it's all at Eurobike

From Eurobike 2009, I can safely say that fixed gear bikes are no longer a trend. That doesn't mean that you won't find fashionable hipsters swanning about town on them, but what it looks like, at least from Eurobike 2009, is that they are here to stay in their newly established strains. Yes, fixed and singlespeed has gone mainstream, but so varied are the new strains of fixed gear and singlespeed riding that are emerging that there is no one type of fixer here… there's loads.

We see BMX companies like Volume fabricating toughened-up bikes capable of taking the punishment of the emerging freestyle scene. Kona producing steel bikes with intricate lug work (Grand Wagon) that any Italian manufacturer would be proud of. Giant manufacturing a track bike reminiscent of its 1984 machine, but built for the road.

Then you have straightforward, no-fuss town bikes either dressed in vintage leather accessories or sharpened up with brightly coloured modern fabrics. The point is, you aren't going to look like a courier any more. Colour looks like it has made a comeback. Minimal graphics and a non-offensive, subtle palette are a welcome departure from black.

One note of warning from Eurobike old hands: three years ago, this place was rammed with cruisers and they were really big in Germany and in the States, all those BMX companies had one in their line, now there's none to be seen… the Hawk Classics are an echo - watered-down cruiser style as a single speed/fixed. Fair does, nearly all those cruisers were singlespeeds, too. The big difference is that unlike the cruisers, fixers are for riding, which is why they are here to stay and why there's such a variety too. 

Oh, and we've got loads more fixed pics to upload too, so keep it locked to road.cc

For all your MTB Eurobike needs, check out the coverage from our good chums at Singletrack

road.cc's founder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.

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CycleDan | 15 years ago
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One of the bikes I thought to be very interesting is the Montague BOSTON single-speed/fixie folding bike. I believe they said it's the first 700c single-speed folding bike, and it has a flip flop hub so it can be converted to fixed gear. That's pretty cool. I've been getting into singlespeed and fixed gear bikes, but having one that's a full-sized folding bike is awesome. If anybody wants to check them out, the Montague booth is in the Zeppelin Hall. Here's the site too: http://www.montagueco.com/boston/

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