With their minimalist, elegant frames and endless customizability, the popularity of fixed gear bikes (often known as fixie bikes) has grown exponentially in recent years, especially in urban areas. True to their name, fixed gear bikes have no freewheel, meaning that they cannot coast and the pedals are constantly moving when the bike is in motion. The rider can slow the bike without the aid of additional brakes by resisting the motion of the pedals. This makes for a completely different experience from riding a normal bike; people either love it or hate it.

It’s no surprise that fixed gear bikes have started to catch on in Beijing, since they’re well suited to life in the capital. Their light frames make them easy to carry up the stairs of your six-storey walk-up for safe keeping at night (a good idea since many fixed gear bikes come in at well over 3000 RMB). The bikes are easy to stop and manoeuvre in the city’s unpredictable traffic and Beijing’s lack of hills means the lack of gears is not a problem.

Of course, style plays into the equation as well. Fixed gear bikes have become emblematic of the “hipster” phenomenon and the trend is spreading amongst China’s hip urban youth. At the recent Beijing Design Week, the Bicycle Library, a double decker bus stocked with stylish bikes to borrow or buy (including fixed gear bikes of course), toured Beijing advocating the suitability of bikes for city life. As China gradually becomes more environmentally conscious, a cool bike is becoming a way to stand up to a culture that in recent decades has favoured status-bound cars.