Fixie Inc shows off 2009 singlespeed, racer bikes

Read more for lots of sweet, single-speed-licious photos and specs on the bikes…

First, the Five Star.  The ultra-clean looking frame is Columbus XCR Stainless Steel with a Gates Carbon Belt Drive, but the bits are modern “old school” with wood rims and and a wood handlebar (more pics of that here), leather seat.  The dropouts have an integrated chain tensioner…but wait, that’s not a chain, how do you get that into the rear triangle?  Why, an S&S coupler of course!  Located on the drive-side seatstay, the coupler allows you to pass the belt through the frame and onto the drivetrain.

The blend of old and new with the tactile pleasures from wood and leather make riding this bike an experience.

The Five Star uses Fixie’s new Kick Flip hub, allowing you to ride it as a fixed gear or freewheelin’ singlespeed.  The 305g flip-flop hub features a 10-spline profile that allows for mounting of belt drive or sprockets (for a chain) and has adapters to use it with Centerlock or IS disc brakes.  Combine that with it’s ability to be used on or off road and an adjustable chainline on both sides, it’s pretty much the most flexible hub we’ve seen, accommodating any mood you might be in.  Pricing is not set yet.

Regarding the brakes, there’s a hole in the seatstay bridge and fork for traditional road bike brakes, but to run disk brakes would take adapters or a friend that knows how to weld (and, probably, your willingness to void any warranty). 

For the racer types, there’s the Chip Race geared frame made of ultralight Reynolds 953 tubing.  Since Recep at Fixie has put it so eloquently…I’m just going to share with you their blurb on this frame:

“The new generation of steel tubing is light, corrosion resistant and offers extreme tensile strength. With the martensitic age-hardenable structure, super thin-walled, oversized tubes can be made that push the frame weight below the 1400gr limit at outstanding riding performance and high stiffness. Special tube shapes and dimensions in Chip Race have resulted to a strength-to-weight ratio, that even outclasses a premium titanium frame. With his slender silhouette and outstanding appearance, the Chip Race is an outré alternative to the rest of the road racing market and a proof for the competitiveness of steel.”

Frame price for the Chip Race is €2120 (about $3,100 USD).  The custom build up shown supposedly weighs under 6kg (13.2 lbs). Fixie Inc doesn’t currently have a US distributor or importer, but they will ship direct.

Just for fun, here’s one of their test bikes dubbed “Rusty”.  This is the frame they use to test new concepts like the Belt Drive and Kick Flip hub.  Once the frame rusts over (which, by the way, isn’t likely to happen to their production frames), it’s pretty well protected from further rust or corrosion.  I asked them how long it would last like that.  Their response: “We’re testing.”