Martin,
You might be correct, Sheldon's comments notwithstanding.
On the other hand, in the foreign languages that I'm able to
speak on the street (I would hesitate to say that I'm actually
fluent in Spanish, French and Italian) the term for freewheel
is a direct translation of the English (e.g. roue libre) and
the term for a non-freewheel mechanism are, resepctively,
"piòon fijo", "pignon fixe" and "pignone fisso".
These _roughly_ translate to "fixed gear", which may prove
the point that it is more appropriate than "fixed wheel". Then
again, it might not because I believe a better translation
would be "fixed sprocket". To my ears, that happens to be the
least ambiguous of all the terms. Can we agree to use it in
future discussions? If not, I'll still manage to go on living
and accepting all 3 terms as being synonomous.
Best regards,
Fred Rednor - living with uncertainty in Arlington, Virginia
> Twas me who kicked this one off, on another list.
>
> It is one of my most irk some missed used phrases.
>
> I have now been told in no uncertain terms, by Sheldon, that
> I am wrong.
>
> However I do not see it that way. Several things suggest
> otherwise to me.
>
> We (English speakers) call a freewheel a freeWHEEL, because
> it not a fixed
> WHEEL.
>
> If we were trying to distinguish a freewheel from something
> described as a
> fixed GEAR, a freewheel would be know as a Free GEAR. It is
> not.
>
> So despite Sheldon's posting, containing several sophistries,
> I believe the
> correct term to be Fixed wheel.
>
> I will freely accede that the term "fixed gear" is widely
> missed used and
> widely misunderstood. This is as much in print as in everyday
> verbal use.
>
> I once read a cycling manual that advised me to "sleep on my
> back, with the
> window open and wear goggles" if I wanted to be a racing
> cyclist. Print is not
> proof.
>
> The term "freewheel" is not really applicable to direct drive
> (ordinary)
> bicycles, because in their heyday, before the common up take
> of the non direct
> drive (safety) bicycling, freewheels were not generally used
> and there was no
> need to differentiate between fixed and free wheels.
>
> A Sturmey Archer ASC, is a three speed hub, providing a fixed
> wheel in each
> gear. It is not a fixed gear.
>
> This may be a little off the wall, but surely a track bike is
> one that is
> used on the track. Irrespective of how it is constructed.
>
> Most tracks and indeed the UCI have rules requiring certain
> conditions (no
> brakes, no engine!). Incidentally this usually includes the
> rule: No freewheel.
> (as opposed to no free gear)
>
> Regards
> Martin Coopland, Scotland, http://www.BatesBicycles.com
> _______________________________________________
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