Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Philly inquirer fixie article

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_stories/20070528_Give_riders_a_brake__No_thanks.html

Saw this in the paper today.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.. interesting

So you're saying people are riding bikes without brakes?

so you're saying the uarts kids ride without brakes and almost run into me due to their inability to stop JUST because of sheer simplicity? hot damn.

that dreadlocked guys handle bars are WICKED TINY

that dreadlocked guys handle bars are WICKED TINY
He's a messenger. It makes riding around on them ALL DAY LONG a lot more comfortable.


(where's the 'gagging' emoticon?)

He's a messenger. It makes riding around on them ALL DAY LONG a lot more comfortable.

And climbing hills a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch!

Read like a pretty good, simple article to me.

But like bonfires and a cappella, the fixed gear is so fundamentally fun that anyone who's felt the love has a hard time imagining the world without them.

[emphasis mine]

What?

It's all about the sing-along man.

i do have a hard time imagining the world without them

whoa....

why the hate?

how would you peeps compare this one to th nyt article
?

i hate it cause its from philly fyi

if i see one the word "fixie" in print one more time i'll hurl.

How easily your sensibilities are offended.

it's a phenomenon that's definitely reached a tipping point

anyone want to tell me what the hell this means?

other than that cool article! isn't that dude in the picture the wheelie king (super blazed guy who rules the best trick comp at lots of alleycats round here)?

anyone want to tell me what the hell this means?

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

http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/

These fixie articles all imply that nearly everyone who rides fixed rides without a brake, which is simply not true. I dislike seeing false info in news articles.

^^thank you! I keep thinking the same thing.
I <3 my brake.

two people in that article say they use brakes.... i know trophy would definitely recommend one to any greenhorn buying a fiixed gear from them! any bike shop that doesn't really is asking for a lawsuit when rich little jhonny gets run over by a bus cause he couldn't stop his bike.

other than that cool article! isn't that dude in the picture the wheelie king (super blazed guy who rules the best trick comp at lots of alleycats round here)?


not unless they got the name wrong. wheelie king is named jay (jayson i think) and rides a 650 bike

if i see one the word "fixie" in print one more time i'll hurl.
Seriously. Use a thesaurus, or at least find out if there are other words... Fixed gear, track bike, trackie, anti-coaster, direct-drive, etc. Hell, make up a word. Just don't use "fixie" 530 times in one article.

well, theoretically, a fixie is not by definition a track bike. My bike is fixed gear, but not a track bike, as it is a road conversion.

Some things are inapropriate to use, but i understand your sentiment.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ....... huh?





























oh. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

I do not buy the line that fixed gear bikes are way easier to maintain. Whether you have derailers and brakes and pawls, if you ride your bike every day you have to look after it and tinker with it a lot. Turning an adjustment barrel or checking pad wear doesnt add significantly to this required daily maintenance though its part of it. And besides it's offset by the need to obsessively tweak chain tension and install ghetto ass boots in all the holes in your skidded out rear tire.

It's funny reading an interview and knowing the person they're interviewing. I kind of added Andy's accent in my head while I was reading.

that dreadlocked guys handle bars are WICKED TINY

He needs some long bar ends on there or something, I'm cool with the narrow bars but you gotta get some extra leverage somehow.

He needs some long bar ends on there or something, I'm cool with the narrow bars but you gotta get some extra leverage somehow.

Think about what you are leveraging and try again.

I do not buy the line that fixed gear bikes are way easier to maintain. Whether you have derailers and brakes and pawls, if you ride your bike every day you have to look after it and tinker with it a lot. Turning an adjustment barrel or checking pad wear doesnt add significantly to this required daily maintenance though its part of it. And besides it's offset by the need to obsessively tweak chain tension and install ghetto ass boots in all the holes in your skidded out rear tire.

:rolleyes:

Think about what you are leveraging and try again.

Have you ever heard of aero bars? Narrow is ok as long as you get some forward reach going on.

You don't get leverage on aero bars.

At least not the kind of leverage you are talking about.

Traffic Bars!
(very helpful for weaving in and out of cars)

ohh blickblocks my friend you are heading for disaster

I think by trying to get leverage on aero bars (although I've never tried it myself) you'd end up whipping the front wheel from side to side

Have you ever heard of aero bars? Narrow is ok as long as you get some forward reach going on.

Ah man. He's going to get you. By your statement you could get better leverage by using longer pedal axles, rather than longer cranks.

edit: dang Mander called it first.

Have you ever heard of aero bars? Narrow is ok as long as you get some forward reach going on.

Yep. Have you every used them? The ****ty leverage is the precise reason they are usually clipped onto wide bullhorns.

Traffic Bars!
(very helpful for weaving in and out of cars)

yeah except your legs won't fit through anyway and you'll have ****ty control over the bike. The bars serve no purpose except to advertise how much of a ****** the owner of the bike is.

The bars serve no purpose except to advertise how much of a ****** the owner of the bike is.

Quote of the day.

yeah except your legs won't fit through anyway and you'll have ****ty control over the bike. The bars serve no purpose except to advertise how much of a ****** the owner of the bike is.

Yea, I have never been able to understand the benefits of bars that aren't as wide as your legs...

Yea, I have never been able to understand the benefits of bars that aren't as wide as your legs...

stand up and turn your hips for a second. bars not as wide as your pedals is a different story.

stand up and turn your hips for a second.
How does that work while riding a 'fixie'?

stand up and turn your hips for a second. bars not as wide as your pedals is a different story.

it's a nice thought but you can't do it with a bike between your legs.

I've got bars cut to the width of pedal to pedal. I've never had any trouble with my hips/legs.

I've got bars cut to the width of pedal to pedal. I've never had any trouble with my hips/legs.

then you wouldn't have had issues with your bars if you have left them longer either. And as an added bonus the bike would be easier to control and not make you look like a ******.

^lol i havent heard from ol dutret in a while

then you wouldn't have had issues with your bars if you have left them longer either. And as an added bonus the bike would be easier to control and not make you look like a ******.

here you go.

http://www.departmentstoreonline.co.uk/shop_images/GG-Super61039.jpg

you're welcome.

^lol i havent heard from ol dutret in a while

Yeah, awesoming up BF like he has for the past year. Think of all the worth while threads! Horray! :rolleyes:

+1 on ****** bars.

Also, as far as synonyms for "fixie," fixed gears aren't direct drive either by virtue of the very fact that they have gears.

either way, it's waaaay less stuff to clean, and way less tuff to tweak. who really *needs* to obsessively tweak chain tension? even if some do, you don't have to on a properly set up bike, once the chain is broken in. as for the tires, that's why a front brake is a good thing. less skidding = less frequent replacement of tires. sure, now you gotta maintain the front brake, but that's a the very occasional tug of a cable, bit of lube, or replacing of pads...no big deal.

but, yeah, fixed bikes still need love, too.

-rob



I do not buy the line that fixed gear bikes are way easier to maintain. Whether you have derailers and brakes and pawls, if you ride your bike every day you have to look after it and tinker with it a lot. Turning an adjustment barrel or checking pad wear doesnt add significantly to this required daily maintenance though its part of it. And besides it's offset by the need to obsessively tweak chain tension and install ghetto ass boots in all the holes in your skidded out rear tire.

It's funny reading an interview and knowing the person they're interviewing. I kind of added Andy's accent in my head while I was reading.

andy has an accent? goodness.

i was way creeped out reading all the mcgettigan commentary...he's, like, the only philly shop owner who'll talk to the mainstream press, for some reason.

-rob