Charlie Sorrel
Gear

Fixed-Gear Freestyling From 1899

This movie was shot by (or at least for) Thomas Edison way back in 1899, and shows that the fixie-tricksters are doing nothing much that’s new. The rather dry description from the Library of Congress archive page describes the clip thusly: “Neidert,” of national fame, does stunts on his wheel that are simply wonderful. Makes […]

This movie was shot by (or at least for) Thomas Edison way back in 1899, and shows that the fixie-tricksters are doing nothing much that's new. The rather dry description from the Library of Congress archive page describes the clip thusly:

"Neidert," of national fame, does stunts on his wheel that are simply wonderful. Makes his bicycle rear up, and rides around the stage on his back wheel; besides a lot of other easy things, such as riding on one pedal and riding backward, seated on handlebar.

The second section is from 1901, and shows a fellow riding a bike in almost the exact manner that I do when coming home from a bar at weekends. Except for the bunny-hop / rope skipping part, that is.

[Bicycle trick riding, no. 2](http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/varstg:@field(NUMBER(0836))) [Library of Congress via Bike Hugger]