Street Find: Track Bike Wheel!

Only in New York City would you find something like this in the trash. Something as hip as a track bike wheel and something so pricey just thrown in the trash. For those not in the know, a track bike, aka single speed bike, aka fixie, is a one speed road bike originally ridden on bike tracks, then by bike messengers, and now by by hipsters. Some bikes are specially built for this purpose and others are converted from road bikes. And you see them everywhere in New York.

This is what is known as a "flip flop" wheel because it has gears on both sides. You can turn it around and it can be a fixed gear (where the cranks are always directly connected to the wheel via the chain) or a coaster brake (where you can stop pedaling and coast, and then peddle backwards to stop). The bearings need a rebuild, the tire needs to be replaced and it is seriously out of true, but this wheel is quite repairable. And not cheap to replace. Now that I have the most expensive part of a fixed gear bike, maybe I should build one for myself!