Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Fixies - the next fixture of Urban culture?

So...

I'm in the car Sunday and I hear the start of the Clash's Guns of Brixton. Ah, I thinks to me self, a rare radio treat (and someone at the station is getting fired). Then, someone starts quasi rapping over the music. This wasn't P.Diddy-esqe sampling, mind you. This was full on "I've made up crappy new words to a really awesome song. Listen to me sing." Turns out it is Cypress Hill's new song.

This disturbing misuse of a great and angry song from the 70s coupled with the bizarre resurgence in the hip-hop popularity of suits and clothes that both fit and button (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/06/fashion/06HIP.html?ex=1077442199&ei=1&en=9038b85ebdcbb1d0) makes me only wonder what could be next.

Will rappers like Snoop decide the bike is cool (again)? Will a know-unknown gangsta rapper spin yarns the hard life messengering - making deliveries, dealing from the benches in Dupont Circle and fleeing from the cops on his fixie?

Is it only a matter of time until pimped out italian frame and any thing Chris King or Phil Woods can CNC will be thrown around the cribs of MTV like the oh-so-passé bling bling of yesteryear?

If this all comes to pass, how will we, as un "cool" a group as your likely to find anywhere, remain cool?

This is keeping my up nights, you know.

Like all good trends, those true to the cause will remain strong through hard times. Think of it like a party: most people will turn up late, have a few drinks, have a bit of fun, get bored and go home or go to an 'after-party party'. But the good people, like us, will buy all the beer and Vodka, move all the furniture and valuables into the garage, find all the CDs (and keep them spinning all night), clean up all the spilled drinks and vomit, and be left with one helluva mess to deal with in the morning. But we'll have the most fun, and be most rewarded with our efforts.

for some reason, i highly doubt it.

and even if that does happen, who cares? at least there'd be more bikes on the road...it's a style of bike and riding, it's not something to protect and keep away from the masses, or whatever the hell...it's exercise, it's feeling good, it's not driving a car!

yeah... if yer into it.. right on.. and ya know what... once something gets popular.. and the demand for it grows... new innovations,a nd technology can come out of it.. now granted, in the fixed gear world, I don;t think you can improve the product all that much...

but how sweet would it be to see a sweet ass Track bike in Snoop's Garage with a mathcing Bentley next to it

You think Rappers might start weqring throback cycling jerseys ?

Jeff

"Gigs, tv shows and pop videos are the shop windows for the warehouses full of the images of revolution. Capitalism has turned revolt into a fancy dress party- where appearance is a substitute for being"
wonderful quote courtesy of a book called Bigger Cages, Longer Chains.

kind of sums it up really. rock and roll, punk, house, irish pubs, che guevara, grafitti. it's not a case of if, but when.


but don't worry...

pr0n (http://www.infoshop.org/blackbloc.html) will save us.

fssb
sparky

eo: cass live

This reminds me of Jethro Tull elevator music, no wonder Ian is a salmon farmer now. Some things just shouldn't be.

Everything changes. I thought for sure I would be spending every weekend at the Metro or Tuts or some Chicago venue watching Bad Brains, 7 Seconds, Black Flag, Effigies, Gorilla Biscuits, etc, until the day I die. Now, I find myself discusiing Fresnal Zones and how bodies of water absorb RF signaling. I look back at what was and see what is in the world (immediate and otherwise) and shudder. The I go online and cash in stock options to pay off my hanging debt from my divorce so I can get on with my good life. This is not what I was supposed to be when I saw myself a 35, yet here I am. And you know what Superchivo: I am still the same smug bastard I was when I saw Husker Du and AOF play the Cubby Bear. I gave a **** about most things then and I still don't now. I have found the important things in my life. The rest can go die. Not people, just their fads. I drink cheap beer, then microbrews. I have Grinders for work shoes, whereas Kenneth Core logos adorn the floor directly in front of the urinals at work. I wear jeans on the El during the coldest days of winter and change at work into my khaki Corp garb. It pays the bills, so I do it. So...I have gotten off track. Ahem.
It doesn't matter because everyone has to die, and believe it or not, the people that mock our style now by making it a fad and discarding it when Ashton Kutcher (sp) find a hipper thing or whatever the hell may happen, gotta die too and they won't be next to me as I go. I will have killed them first. F-ers.
This is mine to defend

7-Seconds...I'm gonna stay young until I die! I can't count the times I saw them as a lad. Saw Bad Brains once too would have been twice but on the second go around HR punched one of his bandmates in Cleveland before they came down this way thus ending his final stint with the band. Oh well, time to take my geritol...

Fixies are already passe. They were passe in 1932. You're all a bunch of scaredy-cat, retrograde clones. Bunch of sellouts. I swear.

Now shut up while I go ride my singlespeed mtb. *Throws mass produced 'messenger' bag over shoulder*

yeah... if yer into it.. right on.. and ya know what... once something gets popular.. and the demand for it grows... new innovations,a nd technology can come out of it.. now granted, in the fixed gear world, I don;t think you can improve the product all that much...

but how sweet would it be to see a sweet ass Track bike in Snoop's Garage with a mathcing Bentley next to it

You think Rappers might start weqring throback cycling jerseys ?

Jeff

THROWBACK CYCLING JERSEYS!!!!

i smell a lucrative market. i'd for sure rock vintage jersey's if they were the right price or just go on ebay for counterfeits.

THROWBACK CYCLING JERSEYS!!!!

i smell a lucrative market. i'd for sure rock vintage jersey's if they were the right price or just go on ebay for counterfeits.

I saw a thing on HBO inside sports with the guy in Philly that started selling them throwback jerseys to rappers and stuff... a middle aged white guy... that guy is an exclusive dealer now making about 75 million a year... Throwback woolies are where it's at

Jeff

that guys shop was always just sort of a sports dork kind of place, now he must be making a mint.

Like all good trends, those true to the cause will remain strong through hard times.

I realize that most fads will eventually become passé. I'm just glad that the badly-bleached, copper-tinted rat-tail I've been sporting since '84 hasn't fallen into that category.

Melt with you? Indeed.

http://adbusters.org/magazine/49/articles/brand_cool.html

fssb
sparky

eo: way out west live

adbusters, like everything else in our society right now, is selling an image. while they may offer content without corporate influence, the content they do offer is severely lacking in the conclusion department. they point out things that are wrong about consumer culture, but offer no alternatives. i can do that all day for nothing, and so can everyone else who wants to. why pay through the nose to learn things that you already knew? to feel accepted, to feel like there are other people who think like you. to fit in. to be "cool."

adbusters is a load of bull in my eyes. "CONSUMER CULTURE IS BAD!! keep buying our magazine to find out why!" hypocrites.

Whoa....wait a sec. I can buy something that will tell WHY I dno't need to buy anything anymore? I am buying it. CAn I renew at my own leisure? Or can I buy some that will remind me to renew?

You sure can. Send me 50 bucks a month and I'll not only remind you to renew, I'll tell you everything you want to hear. :)

adbusters is a load of bull in my eyes. "CONSUMER CULTURE IS BAD!! keep buying our magazine to find out why!" hypocrites

Hey, for the price of an adbusters subscription, I'll email you monthly and tell you why you are not only cool, but also better than everyone else.

Here's a sample of an email I sent to the White House just last month:

Yes Mr. President, your new suit is beautiful and matches everything. I'm sure everyone in the room will agree. Keep an eye on those Syrians...they look kind of shifty.

I couldn't see some machismo rapper bursting through traffic on a fix...come on now, think of how lazy these people have to be. As far as these bikes being cool to the public...just imagine Carson Daly on one...not gonna happen. These bikes are like punk rock: They're only cool to the people on the inside, and those on the outside don't get it.

Jsut in case you might have some doubts about fixie's and single speeds becoming more mainstream, jsut check out this months Playboy. They have a blurb in there about Spot brand single speeds and how single speeds are becoming more in "fashion."

movie and music stars drive big flashy cars. as do most of the people in the US. just try to get some average joe six pack out on a bike more than once a month...

"why do i need to ride a bike? i've got a car you fairy!"

Jsut in case you might have some doubts about fixie's and single speeds becoming more mainstream, jsut check out this months Playboy. They have a blurb in there about Spot brand single speeds and how single speeds are becoming more in "fashion."


yikes...

movie and music stars drive big flashy cars. as do most of the people in the US. just try to get some average joe six pack out on a bike more than once a month...

"why do i need to ride a bike? i've got a car you fairy!"

I told my girlfriend about my intentions to start commuting by bike...and i got a blank stare and a "why would you do that?" Her thinking is that i have a perfectly good car!

yeah...people don't understand how wonderful riding a bike is. it's basically the only thing that'll get me out of the house.

yeah...people don't understand how wonderful riding a bike is. it's basically the only thing that'll get me out of the house.

Its therapy for me. No matter what i have going wrong or that is stressful in my life, i hop on the bike and it suddenly goes away. I stop thinking about everything that is bothering me, and i focus on how great it is to be outside, in the fresh air, in nature. I was riding my mountain bike, and i saw a deer. The deer was not afraid of me, the deer was curious. I stopped my bike, put a foot down and waited, locked into a stare with the deer. The deer curiously walked up to me, and got about 10 feet away. We stayed there for about 2 minutes, then the deer got a spook and bolted. It was amazing. I think the deer hadn't seen a bike, so it didn't know to be afraid of it. That was the coolest experience ive ever had on a bike. I felt like i was one with nature, if only for a few minutes. truly an amazing experience.

I swear I saw this year's Bianchi Pista on a chain around some rapper's neck when I was flipping through the channels today. I knew all that chromey bling would popularize biking. Now I just have to figure out a Fixed Gear symbol to make with my hands that I can flash when I'm not on my bike so other people know how cool I am. Am I allowed to keep my geared bike anymore or do I have to sell it?

I swear I saw this year's Bianchi Pista on a chain around some rapper's neck when I was flipping through the channels today. I knew all that chromey bling would popularize biking. Now I just have to figure out a Fixed Gear symbol to make with my hands that I can flash when I'm not on my bike so other people know how cool I am. Am I allowed to keep my geared bike anymore or do I have to sell it?


hmm how about a Dura-Ace track cog hanging from the end of a length of chromed out bike chain ? :-)

ahh yeah baby... that'd be da shizzy

Jeff

i have a 13T cog attached to my wallet...and also tattooed on my right forearm.

am i fashionable?

You were in 1993. =] Now everyone just points and snickers.

Not all is lost though - just wait 15 years for the fashions to come back around. Behold my stretch acid wash jeans!

i have a 13T cog attached to my wallet...and also tattooed on my right forearm.

am i fashionable?


Bling Bling!

i have a 13T cog attached to my wallet...and also tattooed on my right forearm.

am i fashionable?

Thats like so 2003. 11T is all the rage now. Poser.

Now go get that tattoo laser removed and get up with the times.

not that anyone asked...but here it is anyway...

oh yeah, my camera sucks sometimes...especially when it doesn't focus.

i was almost planning on using the left over links fom my metwire cables as a bracelet or something...

[do men wear bracelets or is there a more macho word that i'm ignoring?]

fssb
sparky

eo: badmarsh & shri - mathar

If this all comes to pass, how will we, as un "cool" a group as your likely to find anywhere, remain cool?

Dude, I dunno about you but I'm cool as hell. Ha ha ha...

You sure can. Send me 50 bucks a month and I'll not only remind you to renew, I'll tell you everything you want to hear. :)

Will you tell me winning lotto numbers?

i have a 13T cog attached to my wallet...and also tattooed on my right forearm.

am i fashionable?I eat one every day......

teeth of steel, stomach of iron?

teeth of steel, stomach of iron?

So, then, excrement of oxide?

Ring of rust?

You were in 1993. =] Now everyone just points and snickers.

Not all is lost though - just wait 15 years for the fashions to come back around. Behold my stretch acid wash jeans!
The sad and funny and cool thing about this statement:
Thylacine is telling the truth. Along with his artfully torn and tied Dokken concert jersey.

Thylacine, I'll trade you my Def Leppard painter's cap for a nifty custom, one-off, made in the land down under track frames. It'll go great with that Dokken shirt.

Thylacine, I'll trade you my Def Leppard painter's cap for a nifty custom, one-off, made in the land down under track frames.
Does it have the flaps down the back that double as sun guards. Is the bill of the cap done in checkers? Do you have the wrist sweat gaurds to go with it?

Does it have the flaps down the back that double as sun guards. Is the bill of the cap done in checkers? Do you have the wrist sweat gaurds to go with it?

Sadly, no it doesn't have any of those upgrades. It was a painter's cap made for the common painter. Not one of those fancy golf course versions that you could color coordinate with Izod shirts and member's only jackets.

Though I can suggest instead of relying on those wimpy sunguards you do what any true man would do and grow out your mullet. Also instead of using those outdated wrist guards you could show how modern and punk you are by wearing socks on your hands ala Avril Lavigne "The Punk Princess". With the aforementioned combo of style you will endear yourself to several generations and ensure that you will have no problems with meeting young women who want to run their little sock clad fingers through your luxuriant mullet-man-mane.

i just shuddered.

The sad and funny and cool thing about this statement:
Thylacine is telling the truth. Along with his artfully torn and tied Dokken concert jersey.

Dokken?

Stryper man.....it's all about Stryper. Or was that Whitesnake? :rolleyes:

Now, I wonder if I can get this titanium 12t sprocket from this doomed Tioga Titanium cassette I have surgically implated somewhere? Like maybe my right buttcheek?

*scoff* oh yeah baby! I'm farken cool now. How cool? Just ask me.