One of the weird aspects of riding ‘single speed’ is the popularity of the double-sided hub, which surely renders the whole exercise redundant. The flip-flop hub is, after all, just about the oldest type of variable gear in cycling, its simplicity and reliability evident to the pioneers of the Heroic Era and, in fixed wheel form, still winning admirers in Britain during the 1930s, when the rear wheel of my ancient but sturdy Raleigh Record was made.

Of course, the vogue for the flip-flop is not too hard to explain; it offers variety. Doesn’t matter whether that means a choice between fixed or freewheel or between gear ratios; when whatever you are riding isn’t quite what is wanted, you have an alternative.

The question then arises; is the alternative the one you really want? Or, to put it another way, how best to make use of the possibilities. For many urban fixed wheel or gear riders, the question barely arises; if both sides are in use, they often seem to have the same size sprocket, one being fixed.

Back in the really old days, of course, road race stars used a freewheel on both sides, later versions having a double freewheel on each side as a precursor to the derailleur, since a fixed wheel was never much good for road racing as distinct from time trialling. Having two differing freewheel ratios today only makes sense if you have but one bike, it’s a ‘singlespeed’, you wish to go touring and don’t want to struggle in hilly country. It’s still a silly idea.

Is fixed/free any better? I guess it makes some sort of sense for the newbie to riding fixed who has also just taken up cycling, since getting used to the exigencies of the modern bicycle, including clipless pedals and riding in heavy traffic, take as much getting used to as the lack of a freewheel. But, then, once you start riding fixed wheel, the freewheel sprocket is surely surplus to requirements.

Nope; the only defensible reason to have two sprockets has to be for training. Fixed wheel is supposed to be an effective training tool, right? The gear is either too hard or too low, you are either doing resistance work or honing your cadence… Why not take advantage of twice as many opportunities to be in the wrong gear?