Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Fixies take over cycling...

A guy that I sometimes ride with works for a local bike shop. They are in the process of getting the Bianchi line. In talking with the new rep the other day the subject of fixed gear came up. The rep told them that the Pista was by far the hottest selling bike in their line and that fixed gear was exploding for all the manufactures.

Witness what happened to Specialized and the Langster. I am hearing that they are sold out of some sizes and producing more to meet the demand. If it is true, this can only be good for fixed gear as more manufacturers are bound to enter the market or offer new fixed models.

But, when joe sixpack starts riding fixies will it change the way anyone feels about their chosen obsession? Or, will it still be "cool" no matter how many unwashed masses join the fun... :D

Joe sixpack's fixie will quickly end up in the basement next to the stairmaster.

fixed riding will never be mainstream (again). Your average rider doesn't have the skills or desire for it.

Personally, the more people who ride fixies the better. I would like to think that the minimalist mindset might spread to other parts of their lives. I know I'm romanticizing it a bit but I think the world would be a better place if more people rode bike, no matter what kind.

Cheers
Chris

I agree, if fixie bicycle riding becomes trendy hopefully it will get people out of thier SUV's and off of the couch. We have such an epedemic problem with obesity here in the US, I just don't see how more people on fixed gear bicycles could be a bad thing.



Personally, the more people who ride fixies the better. I would like to think that the minimalist mindset might spread to other parts of their lives. I know I'm romanticizing it a bit but I think the world would be a better place if more people rode bike, no matter what kind.

Cheers
Chris

i've never considered anything brand new from a manufacturer as particularly cool anyway. weather it be fixed gears or not, straight out of the box just cannot compete with a kick-a$$ conversion. i think as more people ride "new" fixed gear bikes, the custom built bikes and restorations will still be appreciated (even more so).

Joe sixpack's fixie will quickly end up in the basement next to the stairmaster.


...Or in his garage sale next spring. Just imagine the windfall of track/fixed frames and parts all over America when the fad blows over! No more fighting each other for scraps on Ebay--just walk out your door and down to the dumpster/pawnshop/Salvation Army. I'm already clearing a space in my apartment for future bike bounty!

iel zingo!
I have been at fixed/SS for over 8 years...I am not going anywhere

I agree, if fixie bicycle riding becomes trendy hopefully it will get people out of thier SUV's and off of the couch.

Their first choice in bikes for these people would either be beach cruisers or geared bikes..... the thought of not being able to coast will scare them off...

Unlikely, I would say. Could get some infiltration of that ilk, but come on, these people don't have enough active brain cells or soul to get some style of their own. We'd be able to pick them out like hores on the street.

One thing I would worry about is the quality of stuff that comes out if mass production starts to happen. Usually stuff goes to shyte when they pump out too much. Afterall, Ford's invention did not come with any bugs. To avoid this, we might stay with smaller companies who chose to stay small and avoid mass produced crap a la the Wangster (not necessarily a diss on this product). Think Gunnar, Surly, DeBernardi, Soma, etc at least until they do choose to do things cheap and easy.

Their first choice in bikes people would either be beach cruisers or geared bikes..... the thought of not being able to coast will scare them off...

Ahh, but think of it this way. If the fad continues, then bikes (hopefully) will get better, prices come down. The fair-whether rides will buy up the products, then garage them. Then they will sell them on craigslist and ebay. So the rest of us can get some good deals later on down the line...

I ride my fixed because I like it. If more people like it then good for them, it won't really affect my choice to ride fixed any more than geared riders do. If you're concerned about being cool and edgy then you've always got tall bikes to fall back on. I'm pretty sure those won't ever catch on mainstream.
Oh, and I really don't think riding fixed takes any larger skill set than riding geared. Riding brakeless in the city yea, but riding fixed with brakes just requires no coasting, not really a hard skill to master.

Their first choice in bikes people would either be beach cruisers or geared bikes..... the thought of not being able to coast will scare them off...


Yikes! That's all we need! Drunk fat dumb*sses stumbling around. Couldn't we arrange for them to do dumb drunk activities like stumbling into traffic after Cubs games?

Sure, their are more larger manufacturers fixed/track bikes now but I highly doubt there will be a mass explosion as there was when mountain biking came into the picture. For the most part, a lot of people are lazy. They've probably sold more of those Land Rider Autoshift bikes than fixies. Most people like the idea of not having to worry about shifting BUT they do not want to work at climbing those "hills". As long as they've got there granny gear and largest cog combo, they're good to go. We fixed/singlespeed riders are a pain-loving bunch...bring on the hill climbs...dirt or road. Whether or not the masses are on fixies or on Landriders or Electra Townies...they're all off their collective asses and on bikes and that all that matters ain't it?

I'm only riding my bike until I can get a Gazelle (by Tony Little) cheap at a garage sale.

Personally, the more people who ride fixies the better.




One has to ask, Why?

One has to ask, Why?
holy crap...you made it out of the Poly-Relig forum!!!!

One has to ask, Why?

Well, the purely altruistic answer would be "the more people on bikes, the better."

It's probably a bit of that, tempered with the thought of being able to pick up cool stuff for cheap once the wave breaks and the kids move on to old cruisers or lowriders or whatever the next fad is.

Yikes! That's all we need! Drunk fat dumb*sses stumbling around. Couldn't we arrange for them to do dumb drunk activities like stumbling into traffic after Cubs games?

as a drunk, fat, dumbass*, i have to ask what your problem is with my stumbling around.


* only a dumbass part of the time.

Their first choice in bikes for these people would either be beach cruisers or geared bikes..... the thought of not being able to coast will scare them off...

hey now...there's nothing wrong with a beach cruiser--i've got three (one SS with coaster, one fixed, and one 4spd nexus)

flames just look best that way.

If you choose to decide what is cool based on what other people think, or is in fashion, then you have bigger problems to deal with than whether riding fixed is 'still cool.' Come on people, ride your bike because it is fun, not because it makes you look 'cool' or otherwise. As others have pointed out, more fixies means more manufacturers getting into the game and more parts, cheaper. If you are into riding fixed because you enjoy it, you will reap the benefits of the current fad after it has passed.




But, when joe sixpack starts riding fixies will it change the way anyone feels about their chosen obsession? Or, will it still be "cool" no matter how many unwashed masses join the fun... :D

The fixie true believers will always ride fixed, whether it's cool or not. There will always be a loyal following of fixies, even if almost nobody else does it.

Look at it this way, thanks to the Ford Model T, cycling itself almost died. It's still hanging in there in the 90+ years since then in one form or another!

i think one thing i love about riding my fixed gear was learning to ride it. it's like learning how to ride a bike all over again and almost makes me forget that i do knnow how to ride a bike. the same goes with me learning stick along with a friend who is preparing for his driver's test. i love my fixed so much it's going to denmark with me and i will probably drop a bag of luggage to take it. it's something i can't live without.

i think one thing i love about riding my fixed gear was learning to ride it. it's like learning how to ride a bike all over again and almost makes me forget that i do knnow how to ride a bike. the same goes with me learning stick along with a friend who is preparing for his driver's test. i love my fixed so much it's going to denmark with me and i will probably drop a bag of luggage to take it. it's something i can't live without.

stinkyonions - i couldn't agree more. i'm one of those new pista owners...and my first ride was awesome. i couldn't stop grinning, and i didn't want to get off of the bike. so smooth and quiet; demanding yet liberating. i felt like a little kid. (i'm 25). i had planned to put a gear on the freewheel side, but said f it! i like this. i think i'll convert my mtb for when its too rainy snowy or otherwise inhospitible to my new love.

you guys know. this isn't just a fad. there's a power and a feeling to it that i've only begun to explore. you won't be picking my bike out of the dumpster next year!

peace

beat the trend... start riding gears... when the masses switch to fixed... you'll be ahead of the curve!

As a dunk fat-a$$ who has punched more holes in DC shrubbery riding from one bar to another than I care or am able to remember - I say bring on the public and fix them right up. They can't be more of a public safety hazard than I already am.

After all, I think there is more than enough cool-aid to go around.

One thing I would worry about is the quality of stuff that comes out if mass production starts to happen. Usually stuff goes to shyte when they pump out too much.

Perhaps some time in the (hopefully) distant future we will be able to walk into Target an buy a fixed Huffy for $150.

I can see it now...

Stupid, morbidly obese American couch-monkey: "Wow! They finally made a BMX in my size!"

Perhaps some time in the (hopefully) distant future we will be able to walk into Target an buy a fixed Huffy for $150.

I can see it now...

Stupid, morbidly obese American couch-monkey: "Wow! They finally made a BMX in my size!"
Why is this even a remotely bad thing? You don't wan't stupid morbidly obese American couch-monkeys on bikes. Why? Why does the idea of fat out of shape people deciding to ride for fun offend anybody? I wish more people did physical activity for fun instead of having this mystique about 'working out'. When we were kids we weren't fat (for the most part) because we spent all day playing out asses off. Why then would it be bad for adults of any size shape and color to hop on a bike and say 'wheeeee' and roll down the street. If that means that they need to be able to buy cheap crappy bikes for $99.99 to get into it then fine. I don't really care if you ride a $30 bike or a $3,000 bike, if you're on a bike then good for you. In fact, around be, the bike being used for real transportation are crap. I belive they ALL came from walmart, but they're what people use every day to get around. In contrast, the bikes I see on the weekends (mine included) are nothing but overpriced excersize equipment that people use as toys or to impress their coworkers. Ironic that the 'toy bikes' from walmart get used as transportation while the 'real bikes' get used as toys.
I say bring on any bike of any kind that will get people off thier asses and riding. Whether it be a fixie or a BMX bike or a road bike or a mountain bike or a three wheeled trike with a wire basket big enough to hold thier super sized meal on the way home from McDonalds.
Some of you need to quit being cycling elite bastards just start being cycling enthusiasts.
God I feel old and angry today.

You sound old and angry today. :D

As a dunk fat-a$$.
were you dRunk when you posted?


cool-aid to go around.
not as good as Kool-aid....I learned that from you and Schiek from last years "drinking of the Kool-aid" threads

As far as the ACTUAL topic, the more money into the bike industry - the better.
Done

"Wow! They finally made a BMX in my size!"

but I thought they already did...

http://www.redlinebicycles.com/modules/adult-bikes/mtb/monocog.htm

but I thought they already did...

http://www.redlinebicycles.com/modules/adult-bikes/mtb/monocog.htm

Nah, this is the real dope - http://www.firemansbikes.com/original.htm

Why is this even a remotely bad thing? You don't wan't stupid morbidly obese American couch-monkeys on bikes. Why?

That wasn't the point of my post. In fact, the one thing this country needs is more exercise; I'm all for people buying bikes, including fixies.



Some of you need to quit being cycling elite bastards just start being cycling enthusiasts.
God I feel old and angry today.

The point of my post was not to come off as elitist, although, in retrospect, it probably sounded that way. I just wanted to satirize the obvious impossibility of the scenario of:
(1) Huffy producing fixies
(2) Fixies being sold in [INSERT CONVENIENCE MEGA-STORE HERE]
(3) Someone mistaking a fixie for an over-sized BMX

For lack of a better example, fixies are sort of like tattoos:
there will always be a demand for them, and they are getting more popular every day, but you are probably not going to be able to buy one at your local Walmart any time soon.

Some of you need to quit being cycling elite bastards just start being cycling enthusiasts.

True dat

God I feel old and angry today.

And I thought it was just me.

:D Starting trouble is fun

was anyone here a skater in the mid-eighties?... we thought over-exposure would definitely kill skateboarding, but the ones that wanted to do it, did it and stuck with it... and the 'poseurs' (always hated that word) were weeded out shortly there after. after the 'boom' I got a lot of barely-used stuff for very cheap.
here it is almost 20 years later and skating is still 'pure' (to me anyway)... so let fixed-gear go 'mainstream'... I'm sure I will be able to use a nice, new, cheap bike in about a year.

I started skating in the mid 80's. Kept it up until 2 years ago. Sometimes I think about starting again but I'm already spending 2 hours a day on my bike and I don't want to take away from that.

was anyone here a skater in the mid-eighties?... we thought over-exposure would definitely kill skateboarding, but the ones that wanted to do it, did it and stuck with it... and the 'poseurs' (always hated that word) were weeded out shortly there after. after the 'boom' I got a lot of barely-used stuff for very cheap.
here it is almost 20 years later and skating is still 'pure' (to me anyway)... so let fixed-gear go 'mainstream'... I'm sure I will be able to use a nice, new, cheap bike in about a year.

LOL....I still have my old Gator somewhere in the garage. Damn I loved that deck. I think the old blur wheels are still coned. I stopped skating when I got a car. Wish I hadn't.

Roll on (with whatever wheels you choose)

Yea, I always though my Rob Roskopp Santa Cruz was where it was at. Wonder where it went?

Yea, I always though my Rob Roskopp Santa Cruz was where it was at. Wonder where it went?


I used to have one of those too, I think I broke it. Roskopp is now designing full suspension frames for santa cruz.

Oh, I've seen it before, happens ALL the time. Didn't you watch the education\ warning films in school?

It starts pretty innocently, as friend, a peer introduces you to the idea of removing a chain ring, perhaps a front dérailleur.
No harm done, everything smooth.
Then it starts, the craving...speed.
Soon you are calling into work sick, your bike under a bed sheet in the corner laughs cruelly.
More stripping, brakes? Live fast, die young is the motto of the diseased mind.
Soon you have no job, you bother strangers in the alley beside the LBS..
"PSSST! buddy- wanna buy a cog set, good stuff, cheap...listen buddy I need the cash- gotta get a FIXED!"

Your family, friends no longer can relate to you, your obsession clouds all cognitive thought.
A cycling junkie, knees trembling, your only desire- getting your next fixed.

Ya-you fixed it good buddy, living in a one room tenement, crying over worn hubs- empty bearing cups scattered on the scarred linoleum.

Sad.

I used to have one of those too, I think I broke it. Roskopp is now designing full suspension frames for santa cruz.And Gator is in jail for murder.

LOL....I still have my old Gator somewhere in the garage. Damn I loved that deck. I think the old blur wheels are still coned. I stopped skating when I got a car. Wish I hadn't.

Roll on (with whatever wheels you choose)

Me, too. Still have my Alva John Gibson to cruising old skool style and do masssssive slides and ollies because that's about all I can do now.

I used to have one of those too, I think I broke it. Roskopp is now designing full suspension frames for santa cruz.


Side note: no connection between SC boards and bikes. I asked the LBS guy.

http://www.effection.net/hosoi/

Sometimes I miss the 80's

Side note: no connection between SC boards and bikes. I asked the LBS guy.Well, the connection is Roskopp (who rode skateboards for Santa Cruz) and his business partner Richard Novack, owner of Santa Cruz skateboards parent company.
The skinny (http://www.cyclingforums.com/showthread/t-47709.html)

And Gator is in jail for murder.

I heard that. There is a movie out about him as well. Anyone out there seen it? Sorry about the blatant stealing of the tread.


Chris

Gator movie. Haven't seen it. I want to see it. http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0271211/combined

Gator movie. Haven't seen it. I want to see it. http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0271211/combined

Cool! Gonna see if I can find a copy locally.

was anyone here a skater in the mid-eighties?... we thought over-exposure would definitely kill skateboarding, but the ones that wanted to do it, did it and stuck with it... and the 'poseurs' (always hated that word) were weeded out shortly there after. after the 'boom' I got a lot of barely-used stuff for very cheap.
here it is almost 20 years later and skating is still 'pure' (to me anyway)... so let fixed-gear go 'mainstream'... I'm sure I will be able to use a nice, new, cheap bike in about a year.

Started skating mid 80's. We would skate at lunch over in the church parking lot. someone who lived nearby built a launch ramp and we would go to town on it every day. Weekends were reserved for skating downtown or entering contests. People started to quit towards the late 80's...that's when I tried out for football. Didn't skate as much though. Then I went to college and skated then, more for transportation. Now I'm all growed up with a wife, 4 boys (2, 6, 7 & 9) and a mortgage...but I still have my skate in the trunk of my car.

On a side note, My sons and I were watching several skaters last week whilst waiting for my wife. They were trying to nose and tailslide and grind on a waxed curb. They couldn't even ollie! But they had the "skater attitude" and skater dress code" down though. I kinda muttered under my breath "they suck!" One of my sons then said "yeah, they DO suck! Can't even grind!"

I guess the whole moral of my story is all sports, whether they be basketball or NASCAR or cycling has it's posers. Just be true to yourself and all will be well in the fixie world.