Don't trust me - I'm just a blogger

A nice anonymous person just pointed out very politely that I'd completely got my terms muddled. I've been happily banging on about "fixies" as if I knew what they were, but of course it turns out that I don't. I kind of thought that anything on wheels with just one gear was a fixie - but in fact a fixie is one where you can't freewheel and (I now think) has the brake as part of the pedal system ... (correct me if I'm wrong!).

The moral of the story is don't look for clever answers here - it's just a place to air issues to do with biking. I see myself as an enthusiastic amateur who picks up little bits of knowledge over the years. The real experts are out there! I suspect I need you more than you need me!

Love and karma all around. As they may have said in the 70's.

What's the point in a Pusha ... bike?

I was intrigued to see a small group of people in Victoria Park, East London, walking along next to a shiny new looking white bike. There was a woman on the bike, kind of riding it, but making very heavy weather of it. When I looked at the bike more closely (well, it didn't need to be that close, to be honest, as it was pretty obvious) I saw that the bike had no pedals. Just a sort of running board, like a scooter, or on the side of those wonderful old cars. This particular lady was having a lot of trouble making the bike go. I think the principle is that you sort of scoot using your feet on the ground, then glide along.

The big question is ... why? I wouldn't have thought you could pick up any speed, and wouldn't it be irritating to have to keep running along the ground? I'd be interested to know if anyone's tried one, or could throw some light on what advantage they could have over a "normal" bike. The company, Pusha, do have a website though I found it slightly imprenetrable and it froze after a few clicks.