Fold away handlebars

This article was published in 2001, in Newsletter 34.


X-fiX - bike before X-fiX - bike after

The narrow entrance hall of my house is crowded with bikes, and we always have to squeeze past them to get in or out. I’ve found a solution to this problem – a product called the X-fiX.

X-fiX is a device which allows handlebars to be turned relative to the fork for parking, which allows the whole front half of the bike to stand flush against the wall (see picture). The device is operated by a black plastic ‘tap’ in the middle of the handlebars and is very easy to use. The tap secures the handlebars in the riding position and, when loosened, releases the alignment of the handlebars allowing them to rotate. Although the tap is rather unattractive, a variety of new designs are promised. The X-fiX has another advantage: a bike parked with its handlebars parallel to the front wheel would be more difficult to steal.

X-fiX was sent to me from The Hague, together with three pages of translated instructions. I found these quite difficult to interpret and it took a while to figure out how the X-fiX worked and how to fit it correctly. On the other hand, when I sent him re-written instructions, the owner of X-fiX waived the £13.50 cost. The X-fiX is designed to fit handlebar stems of 22.2 mm diameter which are at least 9 cm long. It didn’t fit my Ridgeback ATB or Ammaco hybrid, but worked fine on an ex-Geoff’s Bike Hire bike. For details of how to obtain an X-fiX see http://www.X-fiX.nl.

Simon Nuttall