Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Arcticle on fixed from an unfixed rider

Fixed riders in the eyes of a 10/12 speeder:

http://web.gc.cuny.edu/advocate/DEC04ISSUE/html/dec04bikehierarch.htm

He sure has some good points though!

Bleah - typical college ranting essay.

Plus he spelled brakes, "breaks".

Come on! Who's editing this stuff?

I couldn't really get through the article, but it does amaze me that

1. a PhD candidate in the humanities wouldn't know how to spell "brake"
2. a publication would not correct his spelling mistake.

edit: damn, absntr beat me to it. Hey naz, you misspelled "this"

yea.. that was awful.. im not against a critical assesment of something.. but without trying it first? its painful to read.. give some credit to the bike and the fact that they are fun and a whole different feel then a freewheel bike, please.. and spare the intelectual banter on whose riding them.. everyone loves to bash the "hip" but every so often, they are into something becaues it is actually good.. isnt that what slightly makes them "hip" ..i know.. there all sorts of exceptions to this rule.. but sometimes they get it right..

edit: damn, absntr beat me to it. Hey naz, you misspelled "this"

What are you talking about? It says "this" up there. ;)

(Thankfully I can edit myself!)

I couldn't really get through the article, but it does amaze me that

1. a PhD candidate in the humanities wouldn't know how to spell "brake"
2. a publication would not correct his spelling mistake.

edit: damn, absntr beat me to it. Hey naz, you misspelled "this"

Yeah, BUT, note the use of 'prima facie'
damn
lends a (pseudo) philosophical bit of credibilty to his argument
(NOT REALLY)

hard to take anything seriously from a social scientist

goddamnit those parentheses are driving me crazy.

Yeah, BUT, note the use of 'prima facie'


yeah that was hilarious.

"chided" was also a gem.

plus this is real undergrad stuff. if "exoticizing otherness" passes for the dizzy heights of doctorate reasoning these days i'll keep my bachelors in cultural anthropology and get on with life in the real world.

but he's on the money, have to admit. still, we know all that

goddamnit those parentheses are driving me crazy.
I hear you! What a terrible article! This guy seems to want a fixie badly. I mean there is something in between the lines that says: Oh, I would so much like to be one of the free spirited fixie riders.

exotic! how exotic!

Well he is "admittedly curious"

Plus he spelled brakes, "breaks".

He'd fit right in around here.

Garbage.



In fact, I almost wrote nothing more. But what utter absolute trash. The guy has by his own admission never ridden a fixed gear for anything like an extended amount of time nor has he actually done any research among the participants in said activity to try to understand why they like it. Further, he conflates fixed gear, track bike, and brakeless with complete obliviousness. Which, I suppose, is to be expected since he didn't bother with even cursory research.

That article might as well have been titled, "My Preconceptions and Why Others Suck."

with a slightly ironic twist..he seems kinda proud of his 10 speed.. in a luddite kinda way.. like his is the new old? track is the old new? what..? its even confusing me to try and say it.. but it reminds me of people arguing about who ripped off planet of the apes first.. and i dont know why....hows that for a clear explanation.. don't worry.. im not a teacher..

I, me (meaning myself, and not any of my friends[who I am affraid to piss off{or otherwise feel less than**],) .......Where was I going with this.........Oh, yeah!.......Uh...."Ad hoc, ad loc, and quid pro quo. So, little time, so much to know!" Me head needs a brake.

I, me (meaning myself, and not any of my friends[who I am affraid to piss off{or otherwise feel less than**],) .......Where was I going with this.........Oh, yeah!.......Uh...."Ad hoc, ad loc, and quid pro quo. So, little time, so much to know!" Me head needs a brake.

Even babelfish couldn't help me with this one. :(

I, me (meaning myself, and not any of my friends[who I am affraid to piss off{or otherwise feel less than**],) .......Where was I going with this.........Oh, yeah!.......Uh...."Ad hoc, ad loc, and quid pro quo. So, little time, so much to know!" Me head needs a brake.

It's written like a third-rate blog entry. I kept reading it waiting for him to throw in an OMG, LOL!

so other than the pointless anti-fixie stance, i think the author has some interesting points about how coolness operates.

I thought the idea of a "modern day corset" was interesting.

I'm not planning on using my ENO fixed rear wheel (when I'm finished with it) on anything but flatish ground on recovery days. I just like the fact that it forces you to keep pedaling for training purposes.

Honestly, he is probably right. The practicality is not great. I'll take a multi-geared bike anytime I expect to be riding under a wide speed range if I'm shooting for efficiency. Exercise isn't always about efficiency though.

Actually, though, it's worth noting that in part II at http://web.gc.cuny.edu/advocate/OCT04_Issue/html%20files/Nov04FixedBikes.htm , you can read how he actually tried riding a fixie for a while and found out that -- surprise -- he really liked it. I still think he's got a weird anti-"hipster" thing going on, but I'll give him credit for putting his money where his mouth is bike-wise.

so, i did rtfa (both of 'em), and part II is a far more coherent (albeit not especially[indeed, barely {at best**])] piece than part I (written [if we are to believe him* {the writer**]) BEFORE part II

nevertheless, and regardless, his points are so buried under an avalanche of extraneous punctuation and stylistic textual posturing that he loses credibility.

it reads like he got baked, read halfway through 'infinite jest', decided that was a GREAT way to write (which it is, if you're david foster wallace) sat down at the computer, crawled up his own Phd. student a$$, and got lost.





*i assume he is male based (in part) on the name on the byline.

Not to mention the fact that he was really trying hard to backpedal (no pun intended) from part I without saying, sorry, I was an ass.

those were pretty load-o-crappy articles. just simply not intersting to read, there were no real points made, and this macho/masochism thing is easily replaced in part 1(2) with some strange ZEN coolness. dolt.

I like the "anti-snob" comment...We might be able to apply that here (maybe?)...

What is a 10 or 12 speed? Both Campy and Shimano both make 20 and 30 speeds- with a 10 "speed" cassette... has this guy been hibernating for a few decades?

Yeah, Part II is much better. :) And, if you notice, he finally figures out how to spell 'brakes' by the end of it!

God u ****ers nit pick the dumb **** and forget the bigger message. The way I see it, there is def. this unspoken or sometimes very vocal elitism that alot of FIXIES hold dear and absolut. My whole problem is elitism of any kind. You're just chasing your tail. Just ride the ****er and worry about yourself. Stop thinking that you are the bouncer or the gatekeeper to this fixed gear culture. Stop trading one type of elitism for another. You all take a **** in the morning and you all spin gears. Grow up!

...

I didn't take the article to be so defamatory to fixed gear at all. He said the same thing that most of us debate here on the boards. He spoke of the huge surge in hipsterism, and said that theres this big idea that track bikes are better and cooler than other bikes which is not true. I tend to agree with that. I guess since the article is writen so poorly and I'm used to communicating with children I can dechipher what is trying to be said.

I mean, its hard for me to get so angry at someone that writes at a 6th grade level, so cut him some slack.

yeah, but he say's that's it's "not intended towards [you friends who ride track bikes]"
i'm all for car-free (or less monopolized-by) cities...but if you're not writing about the masochism of track bike riding towards track bike riders, then who tf cares?

honestly, it's a fart in the wind. masochism? i mean, why ride a bike in the first place? it's hard.

he forgot the number one reason to ride any bike, track/fixed included: it's FUN.

Now correct me if i'm wrong but isn't this whole article bs anyways considering that fixed riding was basically the property of riders from the caribbean (read: not rich white dudes) for years? And, as attested to by this forum, are there not plenty of women who ride fixed? Who let this F*ucker into a phd program?

Even babelfish couldn't help me with this one. :(

jimbo, I think he was paraphrasing the article

"a whole other, convoluted essay," he said it himself

Now correct me if i'm wrong but isn't this whole article bs anyways considering that fixed riding was basically the property of riders from the caribbean (read: not rich white dudes) for years? And, as attested to by this forum, are there not plenty of women who ride fixed? Who let this F*ucker into a phd program?

i think he was suggesting that something "exotic" and relatively unknown was appropriated by "hipster" white males in a city with millions of gazing eyes and standard-issue bikes, partly because its exoticism conferred distinction and coolness. i think that bolsters his argument. why else bother to use relatively unknown, less-than-optimal technology? so riding fixed gear is supposed to be all about the cultural benefit of coolness. unfortunately, his second article undermines his argument by pointing out the non-cultural benefits of riding fixed gear (the zen stuff, lighter bike, and better control).

the fact that there are both cultural and non-cultural benefits complicates the issue, but could explain why joe blow or non-hipster women start to ride fixed. the question is, what social groups ride fixed primarily because its cool to be different, and what social groups ride fixed primarily because its a different cycling experience (for psychological advancement or training).

there are problems with what he wrote, some simply factual, that many pointed out. but i think there are some interesting points in there. my main complaint is that he should have done more theoretical (as well as factual) research before "expounding" on the issue. as it is, he's on the path to re-inventing bourdieu.

goddamnit those parentheses are driving me crazy.If I read one more parenthetical asside, I'm going to crap (really)!

If I read one more parenthetical asside, I'm going to crap (really)!

in a way, the parenthetical aside is a sort of mental (in the cognitive, non-physiological sense) dump (making your comment quite apropros).

He'd fit right in around here.

I'm feeling some jabs here and there :rolleyes:

i think i was a cool hipster bike messenger in 1990, but now i'm a nerdy, washed-out dad guy with faded, fuzzy tattoos. still totally un-zen though.

i only read part two, and it was horrible.

that said, there is an unsettling and pervasive whiteness in most arenas of hipsterdom that i've been a part of, whether it's punk rock or the collective restaurant i used to work at or fixed gear riding. the problem, i think, is in villifying these activities based on their unfortunate demographic makeup. that seems to be going on here a bit.

also, while i don't choose to ride a road bike, i'm glad when i see someone doing so, even if they are a weekend warrior or whatever. despite the fact that i ride brakeless and rather despise derailleurs, i find it disappointing when i see bikes on the fixed gear gallery with stickers that say "brakes are for *******." in that way, he might be on to something, though if he'd seen those stickers he might have known how to spell brake.

finally, i find it hard to take anyone seriously who says "towards a car-free NYC." i mean, really? you're in a phd program and you think that's a plausible goal? look. cars are pretty awful machines. i drive one. granted, it's a hybrid, but in a lot of ways, if we're honest and practical, for many cars are a necessity. not everyone lives in manhattan or whatever. i wish our world was less reliant on cars, but statements advocating the absolution of cars just seem so ridiculous to me. they actually remind me of the green anarchists and their belief that we should return to a hunting and gathering lifestyle, to which i say, hey, best of luck...let me know how that works out.

i guess i just think we could better focus our energy by having more realistic goals that don't alienate the people from whom we seek credibility.

The first article was terrible. I haven't read the second yet. From an academic perspective, his methodology is terrible. Sociology is hellbent on statistics and empirical data, and yet the author makes all his conclusions--many of which are highly questionable--based on very simple anecdotal evidence (i.e. when he says that fixed gear bikers are less likely to wear helmets). He essentially cloaked a blog-worthy personal tirade in academic language, hoping to make a persuasive-sounding argument. Very poor form.

Breaks. Goddammit. Anytime someone uses this spelling instead of brakes, I think of a few things I'd like to break.

Elitist anti-hipsters are almost as frustrating as elitist hipsters.

Hmm. I just read the second article. Admittedly, it was much more well written. Perhaps the last few months of his PhD included a rudimentary english class.

That said, I agree with the above comments that he essentially avoids making the apology that was actually owed for the first article. He also becomes much more caustic in the second article, flinging insults about considerably more freely, which is in particularly poor taste given that he is essentially withdrawing his previous argument (though still clinging to it). Maybe it's a 'macho' thing ...

Whatever the case, I'm glad he's happy riding fixed. However, I'm even happier that he ruined his pants in the chain.

"breaks"
...heheheh

What is a 10 or 12 speed? Both Campy and Shimano both make 20 and 30 speeds- with a 10 "speed" cassette... has this guy been hibernating for a few decades?

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/bik/87863080.html

thats what i meant about my luddite comment..he was obviously one of those "why would i ever replace my 85 pugeot?" types

Hey!

I have a DX-4000. 1987, I think--though mines has first gen aero brakes and SIS 105 DT drivetrain.

I don't ride it enough.

Errr... 12 speeds is all you need?