Artistic cycling is a form of competitive indoor cycling

Indoor cycling

Indoor cycling, as an organized activity, is a form of exercise with classes focusing on endurance, strength, intervals, high intensity and recovery, that involve using a special stationary exercise bicycle with a weighted flywheel in a classroom setting.- History :Group indoor cycling was...

 in which athletes perform tricks (called exercises) for points on specialized, fixed-gear

Fixed-gear bicycle

A fixed-gear bicycle is a bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast, as the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving....

 bikes in a format similar to ballet or gymnastics. The exercises are performed before judges in six minute rounds by singles, pairs, four- or six-man teams.
The first unofficial world championships in artistic cycling was held in 1888 by Swiss-American Nicholas Edward Kaufmann and was largely a publicity stunt to showcase his trick bicycling.

The first official world championships were held for men in 1956 and for women in 1970.


The bicycles used for artistic cycling are a form of fixed gear bicycle.