text: Circus bikes A fixed gear bike is also used in the circus arts (artistic cycling). When the saddle and handlebars are at the same height, an acrobat can stand on the handlebars and saddle and perform acrobatic exercises, sometimes involving multiple people, while continuing to circle the circus ring. It can be found as a niche sport in many countries. In addition to better speed control, the use of a fixed gear bike allows the artist to ride the bike backwards and/or only on the back wheel.
  In popular culture
  The 2012 film Premium Rush uses a "fixie" as a running plot device. Wilee, the lead character played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, works as a bike messenger in Manhattan, and his fellow riders rib him about his enthusiasm for his fixed-gear steel-frame bike with no brakes. He avoids one confrontation by pedaling the bicycle backward, and he successfully weaves through dangerous traffic, but he also gets into accidents because the fixed-gear style abets his avidity for speed. Wilee says, "I like to ride. Fixed gear. No brakes. Can't stop. Don't want to, either."
  In its early years the Tour de France only ever featured bikes with a fixed gear. Once coasting and gears were developed, the Tour founder Henri Desgrange is quoted to have said: “Come on, fellows! Let’s say that the test was a fine demonstration – for our grandparents! As for me: Give me a fixed gear.”