>"joel metz, ifbma/sfbma" wrote:
> >
>
>> these days i consider "fixed wheel" and "fixed gear" interchangeable
>> though - if you talk about a "fixed gear" everyone assumes you mean a
>> "fixed wheel". but some of us occassional pedant-types will call
>> people on it if were feeling especially uppity. :)
>
>
>Okay, how about this... the word "fixed" (like fixed in place).
>
>A fixed gear = a gear that doesn't move (won't freewheel).
>
>A fixed wheel = a wheel that doesn't move (like blocked).
>
>Comment?
see, ive always thought of "fixed wheel" in opposition to "free wheel" or "freewheel".
honestly, i dont think either one is really more correct than the other, in this day and age.
as sheldon mentioned in the post he just made - i think it largely depends on ones interpretation of the word "gear" - whether you take it to mean "sprocket" or "gear ratio" (as in "1st gear" etc)
and i think defining fixed in the context of "fixed in place" isnt your only option here - "fixed" as an adjective could mean "stationary" as youre reading it, or perhaps "set" as in "a fixed time" or "a fixed amount" - or even "constant" - which is how im reading it (thus my reading of "variable gear" as opposed to "fixed gear", which is NOT incorrect, sheldon :) )
"...lets call the whole thing off!" :)
-joel
--
joel metz : magpie@messengers.org : http://www.blackbirdsf.org/
bike messengers worldwide : ifbma : http://www.messengers.org/
po box 191443 san francisco california 94119-1443 usa
==
i know what innocence looks like - and it wasn't there,
after she got that bicycle...