Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Dag, yo

Just now, I heard a breaking bottle and some raised voices outside, so I looked out the window. I see two guys, one older, who is standing next to a patch of wetness on the ground--probably the broken bottle. The second is guy wearing a chain lock for a belt, with a big backpack-style messenger bag, and a brakeless fixed convesion, with platform pedals. They argue. The guy with the bike flips down his kickstand, exchanges some more words, and gets on his bike to ride away.

He goes halfway up the block and comes back. THe other guy (who is older, with greyish hair) stays outside. The guy with the bike flips down his kickstand, and drops his bag. The older guy graps the bag. The bike guy tries to grab it back, they scuffle a bit. The bike guy then jumps back and grabs his chain from his waist. He makes a few false swings like he is only threatening, then he gives it a full swing and CLOCKS the older guy on the back of the head (hard!). The older guy retreats and drops the bag. He yells inside, to a woman in the doorstep: 'call the police.'

The messenger guy walks down to the avenue with his bike, then rides back through the street to the other avenue. It is unmistakably fixed, and making TONS of noise. Poor chainline or something. And no straps. And a kickstand.

As I write this, the cops come. An EMT checks the old guy out, and when the cops start questioning him, he gets angry and shouts "he's got my keys!" He repeats this a few times. I couldn't tell, but he seemed a bit bloody (I'm on the 5th floor). He gets in a squad car and they roll off.

Moral of this story: If you are a messenger in NYC and know a guy who rides a noisy brakeless conversion with flip and chop bullhorns and platform pedals, he is an ******* who takes old peoples keys and then hits them on the head (hard!) with big chain locks. If you think you know the guy, do him a favor and throw something in his spokes, or hit HIM with a chain lock.

yo... dag.

har har.
post it on CL.

I dont understand why you didnt go down and do something while this was happening. Instead you watch it and then post it on Bike Forums, why?

I looooove diffusion of responsibility!

do nyc messengers really use kickstands? my image of cool has just been shattered.

Kitty Genovese.

"Bystander Apathy" (<-Kitty Genovese was already taken.)

I want to say something smartass but I'll wait and see if you have an adequete response for your inaction.

do nyc messengers really use kickstands? my image of cool has just been shattered.

im pretty sure this guy was not a messenger.

im pretty sure this guy was not a messenger.But he had a messenger bag!

But he had a messenger bag!

And a fixed gear bike! C'mon!

If you think you know the guy, do him a favor and throw something in his spokes, or hit HIM with a chain lock.

Or just take his keys.

bikeforums.net != your blog.

you could have at least called the cops. i mean, i hate to get cops involved in anything, but if the alternative is doing nothing...still, i guess it's worth looking out for him.

too long, didnt read

too long, didnt read

dear god, is nowhere safe from tl; dr?

stairs, what can i say

I dont understand why you didnt go down and do something while this was happening.
Seriously folks, give the OP a break. The perp had already assaulted one person. What was generic going to do, go down there and have a Kryptonite chain-duel with the guy? Unless he has a superior weapon (which is unlikely), he did the right thing, since the police were already being called.

Yeah, I thought about going down, but really there was nothing I could have done. If the messenger guy was standing over the old guy beating him, the situation would have been different. But he hit him once and rolled off. I live on the 5th floor, and by the time that I realized that this was somewhat serious, it was too late to get down.

Also, I'm not sure I could have taken the guy in a 1on1, but I DO believe that the ends justify the means. If I see him (and I'm sure its him) trackstanding at a stoplight (unlikely enough), he might get a bit of a shove.

Also, I'm not sure I could have taken the guy in a 1on1, but I DO believe that the ends justify the means. If I see him (and I'm sure its him) trackstanding at a stoplight (unlikely enough), he might get a bit of a shove.

i'd love to see someone put down their kickstand while waiting for a stoplight.

i'd love to see someone put down their kickstand while waiting for a stoplight.

Isn't that how everyone else trackstands, Or is it just me?

kickstanding, yo.

'Yo momma's got a fixed gear, WITH A KICKSTAND!'

What a weird situation.
I wonder what the smashing bottle had to do with it.
..and whether chainlock/kickstand guy really had the old guys keys.

kickstanding, yo.

I think I'm going to start having kickstanding competitions with my friends....we'd have to ban those cool double kickstands like they use on mopeds.
Anyone know where to buy a good NJS kickstand?

I think I'm going to start having kickstanding competitions with my friends....we'd have to ban those cool double kickstands like they use on mopeds.
Anyone know where to buy a good NJS kickstand?

yeah, buy a rensho or kalavinka frame and a hacksaw....

Just now, I heard a breaking bottle and some raised voices outside, so I looked out the window. I see two guys, one older, who is standing next to a patch of wetness on the ground--probably the broken bottle. The second is guy wearing a chain lock for a belt, with a big backpack-style messenger bag, and a brakeless fixed convesion, with platform pedals. They argue. The guy with the bike flips down his kickstand, exchanges some more words, and gets on his bike to ride away.

He goes halfway up the block and comes back. THe other guy (who is older, with greyish hair) stays outside. The guy with the bike flips down his kickstand, and drops his bag. The older guy graps the bag. The bike guy tries to grab it back, they scuffle a bit. The bike guy then jumps back and grabs his chain from his waist. He makes a few false swings like he is only threatening, then he gives it a full swing and CLOCKS the older guy on the back of the head (hard!). The older guy retreats and drops the bag. He yells inside, to a woman in the doorstep: 'call the police.'

The messenger guy walks down to the avenue with his bike, then rides back through the street to the other avenue. It is unmistakably fixed, and making TONS of noise. Poor chainline or something. And no straps. And a kickstand.

As I write this, the cops come. An EMT checks the old guy out, and when the cops start questioning him, he gets angry and shouts "he's got my keys!" He repeats this a few times. I couldn't tell, but he seemed a bit bloody (I'm on the 5th floor). He gets in a squad car and they roll off.

Moral of this story: If you are a messenger in NYC and know a guy who rides a noisy brakeless conversion with flip and chop bullhorns and platform pedals, he is an ******* who takes old peoples keys and then hits them on the head (hard!) with big chain locks. If you think you know the guy, do him a favor and throw something in his spokes, or hit HIM with a chain lock.

That was CHUCK NORRIS!

Seriously folks, give the OP a break. The perp had already assaulted one person. What was generic going to do, go down there and have a Kryptonite chain-duel with the guy? Unless he has a superior weapon (which is unlikely), he did the right thing, since the police were already being called.

good point, i guess doing something could have just been asking for trouble and made the situation worse.

It would also be nice to know what precipitated the encounter. Did 'old dude' try to run over 'messenger dude'. If 'messenger dude' was on here posting a story about how he rocked chain-lock justice on some guy who tried to kill him, how many of you would be congratulating him for standing up against an evil car driver? I think we should have learned by now (and at least from the last week with all of the torrin drama) that 1/2 a story is never enough to draw a conclusion.

that'd be laughs, a kickstanding competition! you have to trackstand, deploy your kickstand while trackstanding, then lean into it...then off into nohands etc I guess

It would also be nice to know what precipitated the encounter. Did 'old dude' try to run over 'messenger dude'. If 'messenger dude' was on here posting a story about how he rocked chain-lock justice on some guy who tried to kill him, how many of you would be congratulating him for standing up against an evil car driver? I think we should have learned by now (and at least from the last week with all of the torrin drama) that 1/2 a story is never enough to draw a conclusion.

say word. that's why i rarely comment in these types of threads.

Call me crazy, but how do we know that the biker didn't take the keys from some drunk who was about to get in his car and drive?

Call me crazy, but how do we know that the biker didn't take the keys from some drunk who was about to get in his car and drive?

REally there are hundreds of scenarios that I could imagine making the biker the innocent party. When in doubt, I side with the biker. And I'm in doubt here.