Like skateboarding or BMX, the fixie videos are a great way to find out about riders and take part in the culture. There’s just something about street sports that attract budding filmmakers. These fixie videos have a raw style that give an authentic look at their subjects.
Many of these docs and fixie videos are from the hay-day of the fixed gear bike when it was exploding in popularity in the late 00’s. The video quality may not be great, but these are some of the greatest urban cyclists in history caught on camera.
Macaframa (2009)
The one. The only. The Legend. Macaframa.
If you like carbon wheels on street fames, sweet tricks, and completely unsafe hill bombing in SF, this video is for you.
Anyone who’s been into fixies since the early days of MASH SF knows about Macaframa. These guys have had an unmatched status in the underground cycling community from 2009 onwards.
The group includes professional film makers and videographers, so the video quality and shots are great, even for late 2000’s standards. This 2008 film shows off a variety of fixies and riders, so it’s as much bike porn as riding inspiration.
On a personal note, Macaframa got me started with Fixies and inspired me for my first fixie conversion build.
For a long time fans were awaiting a sequel. Macaframa 2 started shooting but the project went dark since Alex Gonzalez nearly died on the first day of shooting. He’s ok now, but the crew clearly didn’t recover from that rough of a start.
You can watch the full fixie documentary here.
Mash SF (2006)
Predating Macaframa by a couple years, this video is the predecessor with equally baller riding and risk-taking.
Many of the riders in this video were on the fixie scene before it blew up big and every trust fund kid had a track bike in Williamsburg. It’s nice to see some authentic love for the fixie from a heap of San Francisco bike messengers that were instrumental in starting the movement.
Bonus: The legendary Massan part is at the 38.16 minute mark. My personal favourite, Dirt, is right after.
Lucas Brunelle’s Line of Sight (2012)
Lucas spent over 10 years recording alleycat races and fixed gear bike messangers. This documentary is the product.
You’ll get to see fixed gear culture around the world, from the American hubs to Europe and Japan.
The tunes are good, and the style is…funky. The first race Brunelle ever filmed was called the Drag Race in 2003.
It’s not what you may expect. All of the riders dressed in drag. In New York. In February. That tells you all you need to know.
And remember. This was before GoPros, people. This guy built a 2-camera rig on his helmet. That’s dedication.
Graeme Obree, Athelete or Genius? (2018)
Graeme Obree, an ordinary British guy, broke the hour record TWICE using a bike he built from scrap metal. That’s some Eddy Merckx level achievement, although where Eddy did it through brute force and strength, Graeme was more cunning.
This documentary explores whether the new riding positions Graeme developed helped him break those records in the 90’s or whether it was his sheer athletic prowess.
Regardless, it’s insane to think that a man who spent $70 on his bike beat out organizations which spend years testing and developing $10,000+ bikes. This is a documentary track cyclists won’t want to miss.
Beasts of Burden (1993)
The throwback on this list, this documentary follows SF bike messengers in the early 90’s. They may not all be rocking brakeless fixies but they were part of the scene that gave this subculture its foundation.
Is it technically a fixie video? No. Is it interesting? You be the judge.
It wouldn’t be for another decade that urban fixed gear would begin to scratch the mainstream cycling world, but it’s interesting to check out where it all began.
Honorary Mention
When it comes to fixie videos online, you can’t miss Terry Berensten’s YouTube channel. He’s a New Yorker who does Lucas-Brunelle-style videos chasing riders in cities around the world.
My personal favourite? Chasing Slum Worm (Matt Reyes).
Reyes himself has a channel which is starting to pop off. He’s a Fixed Gear Freestyle rider, which means he rides track bikes in ways that would make most manufacturers gasps. Perfect.
Check out his NYC fixie video pulling wheelies with the New York crew. Among the riders are Lucas Brunelle and A$AP Ferg. Are fixies making a comeback to the mainstream?
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