Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Cycle Snobbery

let me just say I am not a messenger have done side work but not a pro by far nor am I a usac athlete that out of the way

if I wave at another cyclist ont he street roady messenger or other wave back don't snub me I am a nice guy and I like to build goodwill in the cycling community

usually if I see someone broke down I will help em out

just cuz we're not all athletes or full time messengers don't be a snob

+love

seriously. i get this a lot in my community as well.
even my fellow fixed gear riders never talk to me.

OK. I am obviously new to retem's posts. Just so I get it right, it was

"If I wave at another cyclist on the street [whether its a] roady, messenger, or other, wave back don't snub me. I am a nice guy and I like to build goodwill in the cycling community."

If so, yeah. I get snubbed by reckers going 14kph on their $200 MTB. Roadies are fine, they say morning. Its the fat old people who ride their cheap giant bikes slowly, taking up 2 lanes on whatever path forcing us to the road pissing off drivers who tell us to get on the path, that are the problem.

understandable I hope you read the disclaimer

understandable I hope you read the disclaimer

yeah. There was more helpful advice in that post than [insert appropriate analogy, dunno, something like the popes last speech???]

Maybe its the new englander in me, I don't wave at anyone. It doesn't matter what I have in common with a person. I just doesn't happen.

in downtown cleveland there were about 7 fixed gear riders in total during the day. all but me where messengers. they all waved and had a conversation when they had the time and our bikes were locked up together. in philly, you can't piss on the street without hitting a hipster on a fixed gear... no one waves or says isht.

i think it has to do with being a minority or something. black people in boston will wave, but black people in philly (where there are plenty) wont say isht to you just because your black.

sorry to bring it to race.

It seems like in PGH the brand spankin' new fixed gear hipsters won't wave, but most other folks are cool.

I think brand spankin' new fixed gear hipsters are probably concentrating too hard on not dying on their brakeless track bikes. Because brakeless, like, totally makes you like, more Zen with the bi...*WHACK! INTO A BUS!**

*Not saying brakeless is always bad, just run a front brake for let's say, a month when you first start riding, then try brakeless.

Thank you. This thread's obligatory brakes vs. no brakes debate has officially begun as per BFSSFG law.

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HA!

I will wave or give 'the nod' whenever my brainpan is clear enough to register that another person is in my vicinity. Whether you be a cyclist ped or even a car/truck.

I just assume people are preoccupied if they don't wave back, it's not gonna stop me from saying hi.

I am a big supporter of carrying tools to help riders with mechanical problems, giving out spare tubes to strangers and talking bikes with whoever will listen, but the wave thing has never bothered me much. Some folks wave and others do not. I am not sure that it is an issue of snobbery all of the time.

i used to try to be cool and say whats up to other bikers or try and race a stranger just for fun but iv been snubed too often . now its just like because 2 people ride dosent meen we have anything else in common so they can shove it i have my agend and um ohwell maybe its because all i ride are beater conversions or somthing. maybe ill buy a pista and everyone will want to be my friend.

Maybe it is a population thing but if I were to spend time waving at all the people I see on bikes, I wouldn't be riding. There are a lot of cyclists in Toronto.

i tend to nod and smile

let me just say I am not a messenger have done side work but not a pro by far nor am I a usac athlete that out of the way

if I wave at another cyclist ont he street roady messenger or other wave back don't snub me I am a nice guy and I like to build goodwill in the cycling community

usually if I see someone broke down I will help em out

just cuz we're not all athletes or full time messengers don't be a snob

i totally agree with this post

just please use periods and commas, and work on your typing.

thanks!

I find that almost every cyclist will smile or wave if you meet them in particularly foul weather. You can make an instant friend with the person across the street because you're both crazy enough to go out in the same blizzard or whatever.

It's hard not to get excited about seeing other people ride in this gridlocked hellhole. Texas is so "you're nobody if you don't have a car" it's not even funny. Here's to wishing more people would hit up the streets instead of driving to the lake for a couple laps.

i don't really nod or anything unless i recognize the person... there are plenty of cyclists in boston. but otherwise i don't really go out of my way to acknowledge anyone.

it's just another mode of transportation, though. would you wave to someone else if you were walking down the street in opposite directions? nah.

it's just another mode of transportation, though. would you wave to someone else if you were walking down the street in opposite directions? nah.

Yeah, but bicycle culture is just as geeky/obsessive/whatever as the motorcycle culture, who wave to each other - unless they are dicks. I waved to everyone on my sporty bike, even cruiser riders who would ignore me half the time.

I think any group who is using the road for something besides driving feels marginalized in some fashion, so waving to another rider is just saying "hey, we are doing something that not many people are doing anymore, and we are part of a larger culture of transportation, good lookin' out." If there were 95% bicycles and 5% cars, drivers would be waving to each other. :)

if you're hurt because a bike messenger didn't wave at you, then you really must have self esteem issues.

nah this was more the pack or two of criterium riders rolling up and down my street yesterday I just think it is a nice thing to waive at other cyclists

and no I am not hurt I am just making a statement about the community and ****** bags like you!

It seems like in PGH the brand spankin' new fixed gear hipsters won't wave, but most other folks are cool.

I think brand spankin' new fixed gear hipsters are probably concentrating too hard on not dying on their brakeless track bikes. Because brakeless, like, totally makes you like, more Zen with the bi...*WHACK! INTO A BUS!**

*Not saying brakeless is always bad, just run a front brake for let's say, a month when you first start riding, then try brakeless.

Thank you. This thread's obligatory brakes vs. no brakes debate has officially begun as per BFSSFG law.

this is so true it hurts!!!

but I only own one bike with brakes on it and it is my touring bike however; I have been doing this for some time and it is really flat in sacramento I have also geared down so I can skid in the saddle if need be

I do the 1 second head dip, and (jeac) think of retem's typing as an interesting dialect.

well atleast I am unique on the interwebs can't say much for in person

snubbed = the ****** bag acting like they didn't see you and turning away when you make eye contact

it's just another mode of transportation, though. would you wave to someone else if you were walking down the street in opposite directions? nah.

You're obviously not from the Midwest.

I find that almost every cyclist will smile or wave if you meet them in particularly foul weather. You can make an instant friend with the person across the street because you're both crazy enough to go out in the same blizzard or whatever.


Hah! That happened to me last week. This guy and I were both dressed like nuts because we were the only people riding in 20 degree weather. He saw me and laughed, nodded, I nodded, and we were on our way.

avid yeah I have me a pretty sweet job it works well for me couldn't make it as a musician but I sure can make crappy sounding people sound better

fred heck I am pimpin like fred flintstone

people like you take the fun outta cycling

have you ever played bike polo or done anything that wasn't serious on a bike jees lighten up and enjoy life you only get one man much love

Yep, I understand. I nod or say hi to every cyclist I see. Most don't even acknowledge. The people who do say hi are the fixed riders and messengers.

I had a cool evening a couple of weeks back. Me, my wife and kid are having dinner and three seperate fixed riders came by, saw my bike and had a chat. My veggie burger got cold, but hey, I had a ball.

Generally put, the riders who respond to being acknowledged by others are those who are acknowledged by riders doing the same thing they are. When I'm commuting on my SS, I always nod, wave, or say good morning to the other commuters, and almost always get a responce in kind. Likewise, serious cyclocross riders acknowledge one another moreso than a cyclocrosser and an average commuter/crosser/tourist/fitness guy. Hardcore roadies always seem to be in thier own world's though. I never expect some guy deep in a focused training zone pushing his big gears and maxxing out the heart rate to lift hands from the bars and interupt some serious tounge wagging to break a smile for a SSer like me casually pedaling in the ooposite direction.

I hate to say it but I am probably pushing a higher gear than most of em half the time and have no problem being friendly but thats fine when the cycling community cant agree or act as a single minded body on anything at a city council meeting I will know why

Maybe its the new englander in me, I don't wave at anyone. It doesn't matter what I have in common with a person. I just doesn't happen.

do you nod? i'm a new englander and i nod knowingly at people to greet them--I hate waving.

I hate to say it but I am probably pushing a higher gear than most of em half the time and have no problem being friendly but thats fine when the cycling community cant agree or act as a single minded body on anything at a city council meeting I will know why

that's like saying all drivers should act as a 'single minded body' since they all have car-ownership in common.

maybe if all us cyclists agreed to disagree and got over this utopian notion that we're all out there for the same reason than we could accomplish something other than *****ing about how roadies are all dicks or how much timbuk2 bags suck.

i was going through this thread and one thought really stuck out. wow botto u are one obnoxious loser

I smile and nod at anyone riding a bike.....even if they're going the wrong way in a bike lane.

that's like saying all drivers should act as a 'single minded body' since they all have car-ownership in common.

maybe if all us cyclists agreed to disagree and got over this utopian notion that we're all out there for the same reason than we could accomplish something other than *****ing about how roadies are all dicks or how much timbuk2 bags suck.

see you are missing the point when you go to a city council meeting with a even cross section of the cycling community and lobby for bike lane and route changes things tend to get done faster because they see i tis not only commuters or roadies or messengers but it is everyone from the community

motorists don't need to lobby for road changes the oil and auto companies do all of that for them

I am not complaining about any one group I am stating that we should all try and build a sense of community and hell maybe even have fun

i tend to never be paying much attention to my surroundings, but when i'm riding i'll usually atleast give a nod to other cyclists. oddly enough, the people who ALWAYS, without fail, wave/smile/nod/etc at me when i'm going on 18mile rides around the charles river are old people (i.e 60's and 70's) on their bikes, which i think is awesome, to see people still riding at such an age.

I usually throw a handful of tacks at anyone who waves at me.

Retem, i think we are basically saying the same thing, but the point i'm trying to make is that there is a limit to the scope of any 'cycling community' and that's why you don't see roadies, messengers, commuters, mtbers all showing up to city council meetings.

-you can't expect somebody who drives to the trail-head to go mtbing to have any interest in more bike lanes for commuters, or get a bunch of roadies who rather ride on rural highways to support a neighborhood bike trail. that's why you get so much separation within cycling lobbies; MBAA, IFBMA, League of American Cyclists, etc...but all of these organizations serve a specific subset of cyclists since beyond that subset, they are no longer lobbying for similar interests.

I usually throw a handful of tacks at anyone who waves at me.


throwing stars are much more effective


people on bikes are still people. and most people pretty are mediocre if not pee pee heads.

yeah thats what I like about alot of my cycling friends is we are messengers/roadies/cycle tourists/ cross racers/ bmx/ mtb / commuters
ya know there are many facets to a person I love the street and the dirt equally so ya know it is humbling when you are riding the trail from downtown sacramento to folsom lake and you break down ~ along come a group of trail-riders or cross riders and they help you out or vise versa being a cycle tourist I know the pain of being stuck 50miles out without anyone around to help and I hate seeing someone else in that situtation

I understand that there are alot of sub groups but we all use the street eventually we will all eventually cross paths

keep rolin wether is two three or four wheels aslong as its human powered I will see ya

keep rolin wether is two three or four wheels aslong as its human powered I will see ya


sounds good to me

throwing stars are much more effective
Maybe. But they're also more expensive. I have all the tacks a boy could ever want for free at work.

fred
1) n. a person who spends a lot of money on his bike and clothing, but still can't ride. "What a fred -- too much Lycra and titanium and not enough skill." Synonym for poser. Occasionally called a "barney".
2) n. a person who has a mishmash of old gear, does't care at all about technology or fashion, didn't race or follow racing, etc. Often identified by chainring marks on white calf socks. Used by "serious" roadies to disparage utility cyclists and touring riders, especially after these totally unfashionable "freds" drop the "serious" roadies on hills because the "serious" guys were really posers. This term is from road touring and, according to popular myth, "Fred" was a well-known grumpy old touring rider, who really was named Fred.


yeah I guess the latter does apply to me well then thanks for the compliment there botto

y'know, the term ****** always creates such a graphic image in my mind...

(ohwhycan'tweallgetalong?)

****** bags like you!


man, you really want to make friends and build community, don't you? :rolleyes:

didja read the rest of his post he was being a jerk but much love to all man don't worry I am nicer in person

meh, i just thought there was some irony there, sort of funny....

this sounds like the bikeportland forums... people gettin' all uppity about being nice. i don't get it.

..i give the nod/wave to people i know, or people who for some reason deserve acknowledgement (understanding traffic patterns, riding in horrendous weather, are obviously at work, something like that). other than that, i second what squid said. the acknowledgement is pretty much arbitrary.