Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - don't you just love it when...

an ordinary pedestrian smiles at you and says, "your bike is beautiful" ???


sometimes it's the little things :love:


edit: or anything else that highlights their attention to a bike, period

i like it when drunken people cheer me on during snowy rides. happens a lot and always puts a smile on my face.

i like it when drunken people cheer me on during snowy rides. happens a lot and always puts a smile on my face.

yea...and that too!...people are often in extreme awe to see a bike rolling during imperfect conditions

an ordinary pedestrian smiles at you and says, "your bike is beautiful" ???


sometimes it's the little things :love:


edit: or anything else that highlights their attention to a bike, period
i've had a few of those :beer:

A bunch of hookers and junkies behind King's Cross station whistled at me and yelled something to the effect of ride that thing baby the second week I had my bike here in London. I still feel validated at life.

just today i was skipping to a stop at the bottom of a hill...and i saw a middle-aged guy in brown dickie coveralls crossing in front of me. he turns to his friend and says "dude on a fixed gear", not thinking i can hear. but it was cool, he saw me skipping and knew what was going on.

A month or two ago I got tailed by a car full of drunk middle-aged women who were hooting at my bum.

Even more awesomer was the old British man dressed from head to toe in various degrees of tweed who asked, somewhat incredulously, "is that a fixed wheel?" While I was locking up at work. I answered in the affirmative and he chuckled and wandered off, smoking a pipe.

i got pulled over the other night for not having a headlight and after the cop drove off some guy across the street yelled to me that he had my back and told me good luck

When randon ped's smile at you. Almost never happens walking, but happens all the time when i'm on my bike. Now if my bike were as slow as someone walking a dog i'd be set.

don't you just love it when ... a plan comes together.

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/tv/a-team-gp.jpg

I have ridden some nice bikes but my lame, heavy, low quality, brakeless, tig-welded, track bike gets more compliments than anything else I have ever owned. It is strange what non-cyclists are impressed by.

/edit

Just think of how cool it would be if chicks were impressed by practical wheels, full fenders, and cargo racks.

Ive gotten quite a few compliments and it never gets old. Ive been surprised to see how many people actually know what kind of bike it is any everything. The other comment I usually get is "where are the brakes on that thing"?

ohoh..

and the other best thing is when your bike is locked up and your a good distance from it and you see people check it out while they walk by.

A few weeks after I got my first fixie, I was commuting home from work. While waiting at a red light in North Philly, a man driving a blinged-out, huge Ford F-150 (possibly Harley Davidson Edition), dubs and all, blaring rap music over a system while talking on his cell phone, yells to me, “Hey! Is that a fixed gear?” This was very surprising to me, because he was about as far from the stereotypical fixed gear rider (i.e. posenger/hipster) as possible. I said “yes,” and asked if he did too. He informed me that fixies look awesome, but he currently rides a Canondale road bike that he had Bicycle Therapy (http://bicycletherapy.com/) custom-build for him. Very weird conversation.

I evesdropped on some guys having a lengthy discussion about my bike in the gym locker room one morning. The one guy who knew something about bikes was saying things like "the guy who built that really knew what he was doing". He never knew I was shaving and brushing my teath around the corner beaming with pride. It was quite gratifying.

I've only had one comment (eh, my bike has fenders), but it was great.

I was coming out of my building with my bike, and this construction worker at the place next door says "woah, hey, that bike is old school. Looks great." Then he told me that I looked fast :)

I was shaving and brushing my teath around the corner beaming with pride. It was quite gratifying.

I guess I should stop brushing my teeth, and start brushing my teath.. I need some gratification in my life.




:p

i had some mountain bikers come up to me as i was taking my jacket off in a parking lot, thier bikes were strapped to the roof of thier car, and after a few seconds of looking at my bike the one guy says "nice bike"(it's not a bad bike, good frame but a cheaply done conversion) i say "thanks, i ride it everywhere", they look at me, look at thier bikes(maybe expecting me to say something) and then the one says "yeah we ride alot too, i guess probably not as much as you do though"

good experience

Overheard last night in Humboldt Park, while locking my Porter to schloe moe's Carlton:

"That's some nice-ass bikes, man."

Ive gotten quite a few compliments and it never gets old. Ive been surprised to see how many people actually know what kind of bike it is any everything. The other comment I usually get is "where are the brakes on that thing"?


last night, when LeWhiteRabbit wiped out on the railroad tracks, it was right by a motel, where a couple people saw and brought out some ice. i'd pulled the bikes aside, and one guy saw mine and said "well, no wonder you fell. your bike has no brakes." i told him it was mine and gave him the briefest definition i could of fixed gear, but i think he thought it was a coaster brake and then he told me about an 800 dollar mountain bike he'd purchased, and i didn't want to tell him that was a dumb choice for trying to get places in the city, unless he's superman...anyway. i didn't feel like talking, so the conversation didn't last long, though he tried to make it last longer. i kind of thought lewhite's nose was broken, so, you know...not in the mood to talk about mountain bikes.

Yeah, I get that sometimes, rather often actually, living in Berkeley. And it's frequently from people who I don't think know much about bikes. I think it has to do with the fact that w/o all the accesories found on road and mtn bikes, track bikes look like a sort of average/composite image of what people think bikes look like. Sort of related to the theory that averaging human faces makes an attractive face.

Link (http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/durchschnittsgesichter/durchschnittsgesichter.htm)
http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/durchschnittsgesichter/w(01-64).jpg http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/durchschnittsgesichter/m(01-32).jpg

wtf?! those hairstyles suck

Take a straight on shot of yourself.. or anyone.. cut it down the middle and then take say.. side 1 and duplicate it.. flip it over and that side will be either the feminine or masculine side..
I think I just slopped that explanation up.. and it's WAY off the subject.
carry on.

Yeah, I get that sometimes, rather often actually, living in Berkeley. And it's frequently from people who I don't think know much about bikes. I think it has to do with the fact that w/o all the accesories found on road and mtn bikes, track bikes look like a sort of average/composite image of what people think bikes look like. Sort of related to the theory that averaging human faces makes an attractive face.

Link (http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/durchschnittsgesichter/durchschnittsgesichter.htm)
http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/durchschnittsgesichter/w(01-64).jpg http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/durchschnittsgesichter/m(01-32).jpg


there's nothing outstanding about either, and something strangely compelling about both.

and the other best thing is when your bike is locked up and your a good distance from it and you see people check it out while they walk by.

I actually kind of like when I'm close by. It's the best when there are two people checking it out, and one is trying to explain stuff on the bike to the other. I like to walk up and get into the conversation then. "No, that's not entirely correct - it is a single speed, but it's actually a fixie. A track bike to be exact. Note the lack of brakes and the mm of clearance between the wheel and the fork?"

Usually happens when I leave my Bianchi outside of a bar and go out for a smoke...

By far my favorite is when the messengers check her out. I've had a couple times where my bike was free-locked outside of a coffee shop downtown that some of them hang out at, and seen one of them walk towards their bike, turn, give mine a good couple of minute look, then remember they had a run :D

As far as random compliments from peds/cars/whoever - they're always about my lights...

whats up with your lights?

I have two blinkies on my drops facing forward, CatEye Opticubes. I had them on the top by the stem close together and never got a comment. I moved them, and haven't had a problem night riding since...

Except for having drivers stop and compliment them, or ask me where they can get them... Or having peds jump out into the street so they can say 'Man, if anyone hits you, they owe you like, a million dollars!'

Sometimes it's hard to tell why the peds and cars are doing what they're doing, and I'm way more worried about a slow moving, erratic car than I am one that's just driving along...

EDIT:

Here's an older pic. One light is kind of dying for batteries, but you get the idea:

http://www.werstnet.com/site_images/blog_images/12_15_05/Cross_st_2.jpg

My coolest bike moment was one night when I was out on my steelhead jumping off **** in downtown portland. We were in this park across from the opera/ ballet hall and I was doing a drop off a five or six foot conrete ledge after bunny hopping up on the beginning of it (about a foot and a half). Anyways, I nailed it just as the opera was getting out and people were streaming across the street and up the sidewalk and this dad and mom were walking with their little kid (probably about 10 or so). He see's me land, gets the biggest grin on his face and turns to his dad and asks if he can get my autograph. It seriously gave me the chills because I remembered what it was like to be that age again, when everything was so exciting.

ssfg content: the urban bike is a SS and absolutley destroys my knees everytime i ride it...i still love the **** outta the ****er.

one time this dude gave me thumbs up for trackstanding!!!!!!!!!!! and this other time i got hit with a snowball.

i got a 'nice clean trackstand' one time at an intersection from some guy. and a couple generic fixed gear comments (dood, its a fixed gear). it always makes me smile, or at least feel kinda cool.

i just thought about the greatest bike comment ever. 2 guys a friend of mine knows were riding this beat to hell brakeless singlespeed tandem. some guy on the side of the street sees them and yells "go back to france ****!"

i just thought about the greatest bike comment ever. 2 guys a friend of mine knows were riding this beat to hell brakeless singlespeed tandem. some guy on the side of the street sees them and yells "go back to france ****!"

:roflmao: ... America...don't you love it!

i just thought about the greatest bike comment ever. 2 guys a friend of mine knows were riding this beat to hell brakeless singlespeed tandem. some guy on the side of the street sees them and yells "go back to france ****!"

Oh yeah. I have a friend who knows those guys too! Small world I guess.