Never let it be said that I’m not at the cutting edge of bicycle fashion, but I do like to think that I’m occasionally in the vicinity.

Of late, there has been a move for the super trendy in London to buy fixed wheel bikes. For the uninitiated, this is a bike that only has one speed. Furthermore, because the cog on the back wheel is fixed and cannot freewheel, the pedals have to go around whenever the rear wheel is turning. This makes for a very simple, efficient and maintenance free bike, but one that requires a certain skill, because you have to keep pedalling no matter what!

Aficionados love them, they say that you feel as one with the bike, and that your focus is one hundred percent on your pedalling. You have to focus, forget that you can’t stop pedalling and a trip over the handlebars is imminent.

It’s their efficiency that makes them popular with track riders like Sir Chris Hoy, and with London bike messengers like ‘Wild Bill’ Chidley. In fact, Wild Bill was one of the first couriers to use fixed wheel about six years ago.

These days most bike messengers favour fixed wheel, which in London traffic, must merit a platinum award for bike handling skills. And this is where the fashion angle comes in, what could be cooler than using a bike like those used by the fighter pilots of the street, the bike couriers.

A whole culture has grown up around the bikes and the look. What was generally custom built or home made has gone mainstream, many bike manufacturers have one or two in their range. Thankfully though, they sell them with a freewheel which makes them much safer.

So aside from fashionistas, are they suitable for you? Before now, I’d have probably suggested that one single gear won’t be enough for the ups and downs of local cycling, however, I do know that there are quite a few riders out there, that don’t change gear much, if at all.

If your daily commute is along the Cycle Track, the Railway Walk or somewhere relatively flat, they might well make an ideal low maintenance mount.

Even if they didn’t, with a courier bag on your back, ¾ length lycra shorts and a ‘radio feed’ in your ear, Library Place can become Kensington High Street any day of the week.

Braking(hard) News

Freestyle BMX for London 2012
Hot on the heels of BMX racing at last year’s Olympiad, remember British girl Shanaze Reade, comes the news that freestyle BMX is on the cards for the next Olympics in London in 2012. Want to see some freestyle? Get down to the skate park on the North Quay.

Demonstration Towns get Funding
Colchester, Exeter and Leighton-Linslade are likely to receive a further one million pounds to help them in their efforts to encourage more people to cycle. All three towns are part of the Department for Transport’s ‘Cycling Demonstration Town’ scheme.

Fall in Road Traffic
High fuel prices and the recession are thought to be the root cause of the first downturn in road traffic for 30 years. In 2008, the average British motorist drove 90 miles less than the previous year and the total fall in road travel amounted to 3.1 billion miles less than in 2007. The really good news is that this has been accompanied by a record fall in road deaths.

And Finally
I’m sure that you were wondering what type of shades Lance Armstrong was sporting at the Tour Down Under last month. I can reveal that they were the new Oakley ‘Jawbones’, due to be shown to the public at the end of this month, they should be in the shops by the middle of the year.

♦ Arthur Lamy is the manager of Boudins for Bikes, in Sand Street, and author of Jersey Cycles. He has spent 15 years as a tourist guide and writer, and is also a keen photographer. More information can be found on his website: http://www.arthurlamy.com/