This new rear hub from Affix, the convention-challenging sister company of BMX brand KHE, lets you swap between singlespeed and fixed gear with a flick of the wrist.
All you have to do is turn the large dial behind the 16T sprocket and then push it to lock it in place.
UK distributors Raleigh told BikeRadar: "This is Affix's flagship product and it basically does away with the flip-flop hub. You can change from fixed to singlespeed when you get to a hill, at traffic lights or wherever."
Made from 6061 aluminium, the 32-hole hub has sealed bearings and a 14mm hollow alloy axle. Claimed weight is 570g (1.26lb).
It's a neat idea, well executed, and it looks good, but at £169.99 we reckon you'll have to do a lot of swapping between fixed and singlespeed for it to be worth your while.
Affix stems
Also new from Affix are some neat mountain bike stems. Instead of the standard split steerer clamp arrangement, often with protruding bolts that are easy to bash your knees on, they come with a removable seatclamp-style insert.
These are available separately, so you can pick a colour to suit your bike – black, blue, purple, green or gold. This also means that if you overtighten the stem and strip the thread you only have to replace the clamp (£10.99) rather than the whole unit (£42.49).
The standard mountain bike stem is 100mm long with a seven-degree rise and comes with a choice of oversize (31.8mm) or BMX (25.4mm) bar clamp, with a black or polished finish. A beefier downhill version is also available (48mm reach), in both standard (£32.99, 250g) and CNC-machined (£42.49, 236g) forms.
Affix also make a mountain bike stem with an integrated gyro-style mechanism for hydraulic disc brakes. The Hydro Stem lets you spin your bars 360 degrees. It's available in mineral oil and DOT 4 versions, with a 50mm reach. Claimed weight is 322g, and RRP is £119.99.
