A slim and stylish bike that gets the lazy to their destination quickly too

I thought – I’d like to try some light urban cycling. And certainly beautiful! I wasn’t fazed by the overly athletic versions, as the goal wasn’t to go for a crazy workout on the highway in neon bibs. Oh no! I had a different goal – I wanted a stylish and sleek two-wheeled friend to go to work with and meet friends, to enjoy all my usual routes.

Can it be sooner?

The life of a bike owner is a rather repetitive series of lifestyle changes. At first, you’re just driving for fun. Then you’ll get used to waddling everywhere. You’ll fall in love with the better feeling that comes with moving, and the green view of the thing doesn’t matter much either. Sooner or later, the moment comes: but what if you could do it all a little faster? It’s true – the more hours on the bike you put in over a week, the more the benefits of movement start to matter. Even if sport or achievements are not important.
Riding a Fixie is a completely different experience to cruiser-style wheels. It’s not slouching in an armchair, but first you have to get used to the lower position. Then, the fact that even a very light cranking will give you a real boost. Moving and manoeuvring the narrow-bodied fixie is thankfully easy even for those who don’t feel too confident in traffic.

Slim and simple

Lightness and lightness come at a price – there are no extras on the bike. There are no dust traps, so this bike is for those who ride in good weather rather than pushing their teeth through the dirt. I believe that most Estonians are of this kind. However, the every-man-in-the-world rider can freely screw on the powder boards.
There is also no support leg or luggage rack. True, you could add more of them, but then you’d lose that lovely slim line! I definitely can’t bear to give it up, I’d rather get a stylish backpack to carry to work. The airbag will fall down on the handlebars, so don’t bother. Riding the bike, it turns out that you can get by loosely without a support leg – you usually want to lock the bike with a secure hinge lock, and that always creates a fulcrum. And are there few posts and walls in the world!
The bike I chose also had only one gear. A minus for some, but a great relief for me. There are two hills with decent inclines on my working trajectory, and I effortlessly cranked up both of them on the fixie. And I’m not some kind of powerhouse, just an ordinary city slicker! So, at least with my lifestyle, I can manage without the gears.

Let’s do the test!

I’m most interested in how much faster the Wonder Bike is than my regular cruiser. Of course, a sporty person would say that the bike is just as fast as the rider pushes it. That’s right. But I don’t plan to do sport. I decide to ride at my usual lazy, enjoyable pace without adding any effort.
For me, the morning cycle ritual to get to work is sacred. A nice part of the day to clear my thoughts, I want to enjoy it in the normal way. I usually get to work in 33-35 minutes. This includes a troika of stops at road crossings. There are 21 of them in total on my journey – quite a pile of urban space!
I strap on a retro helmet with a fixie design and hit the road. I’ll do everything exactly as usual. I’m watching around, dreaming and waving behind several red lights. When you arrive, your phone says it took 16 minutes. Maybe exactly half as much! Pretty good.

Pay where you want

Now I’m discovering the next chapter – manoeuvring this narrow, lightweight piece of hardware is a breeze. Every modern office today has a bicycle parking. In our media house, it’s in a secure courtyard under guard. But getting there now is not too easy. Fixie’s best character traits come to the fore when you need to carry him – throw him on your shoulder and go. He’s maybe barely 10 kilos, weighing as little as a bucket of water.
There are other bikes parked in the courtyard in quite a tight line, but my tiny vehicle fits in between. I also get the pleasure of weighing the wheel when I meet a couple of stairs and throw it against the wall in the garage – no effort, really.

Less time and money

The joys of cycling include the obvious fact that pounds tend to be lost instead of money. Taxi vouchers no longer accumulate, which is already a significant advantage. And it also takes considerably less time, especially when driving a light and fast fixie. At rush hour, it is sometimes even a pity to look at the cars passing in the bottlenecks, which the cyclist can pass with elegant ease. In those few moments, even I’m willing to move my long legs a little more. And you’ll never get the slightest cloud of exhaust.

Author: Kristina Herodes