Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - fixed gear site launched - fixiewiki.com

howdy fellow fixers, i've started a wiki site just for fixie riders.

the content is pretty sparse right now, but that's where you come in! you can add your own pages to the site, or edit what i've already added.

anyhow, check it out: http://fixiewiki.com (http://www.fixiewiki.com).

and of course post your feedback here...

Cool, maybe we should put up a brake / no brake debate? Only kidding :)

Good idea. well done.

What of everyone who hates the term "fixie" ?

your site opened on my birthday. i somehow feel obliged to add content....

The first step is to get Sheldon's permission to organize all his content into the wiki pages.

The first step is to get Sheldon's permission to organize all his content into the wiki pages.

Wicked! Duplicating material just for the sake of looking like you have content!

What of everyone who hates the term "fixie" ?

how could anyone hate the term fixie?! i had no idea...

well, if peeps don't like fixiewiki.com, they can type in http://fixedgearwiki.com (fixedgearwiki.com) instead, although i prefer the shorter name.

so is this site unbelievably inaccurate because of cluelessness or has it been the victim of vandalism already?

The first step is to get Sheldon's permission to organize all his content into the wiki pages.

:D

so is this site unbelievably inaccurate because of cluelessness or has it been the victim of vandalism already?

probably both, not to mention it just started last night.

the whole point of a wiki is that if you see something inaccurate, you friggin' fix it!

so... what's inaccurate?

all the 1/8" stuff at least. I don;t see the point in the wiki since Sheldon already has a great write up on making a conversion.

What's wrong with the entries on the real wikipedia?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixie

i'm all for this. sheldon brown has an amazing resource, but trying to navigate it leaves something to be desired. that being said, it will only work if you contribute your knowledge. (psst, more on bb threadings, less on ways to make "your fixie unique")

Wicked! Duplicating material just for the sake of looking like you have content!

wait, have you ever been to sheldon's site? That guy needs a little php...

Ouch

how could anyone hate the term fixie?! i had no idea...

well, if peeps don't like fixiewiki.com, they can type in http://fixedgearwiki.com (fixedgearwiki.com) instead, although i prefer the shorter name.


i hate the term fixie. it makes me think of people who say words and phrases like "duder" and "i like phish" with a straight face. blegh.

and i keep seeing "fixiewiki" and thinking..."fixie wixie? now THAT's some junk."

but anyways. i think it's a good idea to consolidate information.


thanks for the alternate link. now if you could just remove the word "Fixie" from the title and the main page, i'd be happy.

i was about to say "since making you happy is such a priority for everyone else", but then i realized that i also hate the word "fixie" and so do most fixed riders.

LOL the fixed gear article on the Wiki is Wikipedia's

What's wrong with the entries on the real wikipedia?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixie

there's nothing wrong with it, but you have to admit wikipedia aims to be general. for instance there's no page for doing a skid: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skid

whereas on fixiewiki site there is, and there's no ambiguity about the term, you know what skid it's talking about: http://www.fixiewiki.com/index.php?title=Skid, or at least you can assume it has something to do with our lovely bikes.

P.S. i did learn something from the wikipedia.org's skid page:

"It can also be a term used to refer to gangs of disenfranchised, delinquent youth, often blue-collar, who live in middle class suburbs and linger on the fringe of society. The original skids were from the West End in Long Beach, New York."

I think this is an excellent idea. When I was starting to research Fixed Gear bicycles, I learned the most by hearing people's comments on new threads in this forum.. but if people aren't here to read the whole context of the discussion, they wouldn't be able to know it or search for it.
Bike Forums has a ton of great information but it isn't organized. Since it is a discussion, most of the 'answering' posts are one-liners, which makes it hard to find them in the search, such as:
1st post: "What are some ways to take care of my leather straps?"
2nd post: "oil it"
10th post: "I use murray's english knee lotion. It works excellent!"
Searching for "leather" or "straps" MAY find the first post, but good luck finding the informative post on the second page.

A wiki page would put everything under catagories and dedicated pages (in this case, to straps and their care).
I found Sheldon's site to be helpful, but it wasn't as well organized as a wiki page could be. Additionally, we must wait for him to update the page. If I want details on a specific product, most places like Re:Load or TrackStar don't post detailed descriptions on their products.

A wiki would allow groups of people to give tips about specific items of fixed gear.
I think an excellent example is the discussion on how to install drops without scratching recently.

This is a great idea. I'll be working on some stuff tonight(mainly the suicide hub entry). I just need to get wiki editing figured out.

all the 1/8" stuff at least. I don;t see the point in the wiki since Sheldon already has a great write up on making a conversion.
Sheldon has lots of great info, but his site sucks. It is very cumbersome and clumsy.

Sheldon has lots of great info, but his site sucks. It is very cumbersome and clumsy.
I'll bet you a million dollars that it would take you ten years to get this wiki to show up in search engines as well as sheldon's site. You don't HAVE to be able to navigate it... just go to google and type "sheldon gear ratio" or whatever. What's ironic is that Sheldon's word linking works just like Wiki.

Would I arrange his site differently? Yes, but I certainly wouldn't make it yet another half-hearted wiki.

Clearly the originator is concerned more with top tube pads, seat reupholstery and skid patches than the practical/mechanical information someone like Sheldon has. Go for it, but realize that focusing on that content means half your market won't want anything to do with it.

This page was enough to make me never go back

http://www.fixiewiki.com/index.php?title=How_to_build_a_fixed_gear_bike

Re: incorporating Sheldon's material: How about asking 11.4's permission to collect all his tech posts on here? That guy is a frickin' encyclopedia.

BTW, I have no problem with Sheldon's site. It's certainly not very decorative, but practical enough. And he has a million shortcuts (listed in the mechanics forum). So you can make pretty good guesses about where you'll find stuff. sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild or .../brakes /wheels /cranks etc.

I hate the term fixie too. It's like when girls call frogs "froggies" and horses "horseys", cute and feminine.

Sheldon has lots of great info, but his site sucks. It is very cumbersome and clumsy.
If you have any constructive suggestions, I'll be glad to hear and consider them.

Generally, the best way to approach my site is to start at the Bicycle Glossary...that links to all of the articles.

http://sheldonbrown.com/glossary

Also, http://sheldonbrown.com/articles lists all of the articles, and there's also a grid of sub-directories for different categories.

The built-in Google search engine on the site works well too.

So what more do you want from a site with over 2,000 pages?

Sheldon "Always Looking To Improve" Brown

If you have any constructive suggestions, I'll be glad to hear and consider them.

Generally, the best way to approach my site is to start at the Bicycle Glossary...that links to all of the articles.

http://sheldonbrown.com/glossary

Also, http://sheldonbrown.com/articles lists all of the articles, and there's also a grid of sub-directories for different categories.

The built-in Google search engine on the site works well too.

So what more do you want?

Sheldon "Always Looking To Improve" Brown

Sheldon Brown is my hero.

HAHAHA, classic.

Sheldon has lots of great info, but his site sucks. It is very cumbersome and clumsy.

If you have any constructive suggestions, I'll be glad to hear and consider them.



hey sheldon, love the site! that's where i learned how to build my first fixed!

but here's a constructive suggestion:

a yellow table on light brown background (as seen on http://sheldonbrown.com/) isn't very pleasing to the eye, at least not mine.

i realize you're shooting for content over flashy graphics, but you could really breathe new life into your site with a little CSS.... i'm no expert but that's my $0.02.

P.S. to clarify some previous comments, i never copied any content from sheldonbrown.com for http://fixedwiki.com, nor am i trying to 'replace' your site. i guess some people only shop at wal-mart since it's 'got everything'.... but there's always room for a family-owned corner store, right?

I hate the term fixie too. It's like when girls call frogs "froggies" and horses "horseys", cute and feminine.

I like the word fixie ok, but then again sometimes I call my cats Kitty :eek:

I think its cool matt so dont take all the ranking out to personally (you probably should have expected all the "tough love" though:D )

hey sheldon, love the site! that's where i learned how to build my first fixed!

but here's a constructive suggestion:

a yellow table on light brown background (as seen on http://sheldonbrown.com/) isn't very pleasing to the eye, at least not mine.

Back in 1994 when I started out on the Web, colored backgrounds seemed pretty cool, but I agree that this is an idea whose time has gone to a large extent. I've removed most of them from my site, but I guess I missed that page. I've just fixed it.


i realize you're shooting for content over flashy graphics, but you could really breathe new life into your site with a little CSS.... i'm no expert but that's my $0.02.
You're not the first to suggest that to me, and I've looked into it, but I really don't see what it would accomplish that I would want to do.

Generally when I see CSS, it is used to specify particular fonts or colors, but my Web philosophy is that the user's font preferences, as set in whatever browser, for whatever display, should be respected, so I'm generally opposed to hard-coding font faces or font sizes.

Other aspects of global site management I'm able to handle quite easily with the global search/replace function of the BBEdit software I use to maintain my sites.


P.S. to clarify some previous comments, i never copied any content from sheldonbrown.com for http://fixedwiki.com, nor am i trying to 'replace' your site. i guess some people only shop at wal-mart since it's 'got everything'.... but there's always room for a family-owned corner store, right?
It's not clear to me why it needs to be separate from wikipedia though...?

I'm a big Wikipedia fan, and have a local copy in my Treo 700p PDA/phone, which is a never ending joy to me.

Sheldon "Classic HTML" Brown

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| Most things having to do with fixed-gear/SS are bone stupid, |
| and folks who usually work on modern bikes aren't used to |
| thinking at that caveman level. -- Aaron Meberg |
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It's not clear to me why it needs to be separate from wikipedia though...?

Ahh yes, then Mr. Brown comes in. How's the knee sir? I remember you being down off bike for a while.

Anyway, some people want to create something new, different, and see what life or perspective they can put into it. Some times the best way to do something is start from scratch. If I understand it, wikipedia has a lot of people who "make entries to make entries" kind of like building a post count. That can dilute the purpose of something from it's original purpose.

Just like there are fixed gear forums for specific cities. Why leave here? Because there is a desire to build something unique.

Conolidation is for big buisness. Keep the web open and growing.

And now, where is Jimmy Hoffa?