MrCrassic 

In the Bronx, yes.

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zacster

On a good day for me it is just a speed bump. On a bad day it's a hill. I'm over 50 after all.

And the Bronx does have a few good hills. 225th/Kingsbridge and up Riverdale come to mind.

botto 

you've never been in a 3 man break, and had to go up 110th street hill, have you?

MrCrassic 

Nope.

It's not as bad as a lot of stuff in Jersey. That's why I said that.

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Hobartlemagne 

Whats really fun is riding a fixie uphill and passing roadies. Ive done that a couple times.
Im mostly a roadie these days anyway.

banerjek

Don't be such a curmudgeon. That's just what 20 year olds do. Think back 30 years when you were 20. If you wanted to show how rebellious you were, you'd get some piercings, sport a mohawk or some other crazy hairstyle, listen to some angry music, accessorize your mostly color free wardrobe with chains/spikes, and maybe get a tat. You would have thought all 50 year olds were idiots or sellouts. We've come a long way, baby...

botto 

did you dial it up to 400 watts?

banerjek

It's more fun on a bent. I've done that many times. But passing people who are not in race shape shouldn't count.

EDIT: Come to think about it, the only way to pass anyone when you're on equipment that gives you a significant disadvantage is if the other rider is slow. That never counts unless you are riding a loaded touring rig.

Hobartlemagne 

Its just another challenge for me- in my club group rides, we know who we are passing.
Some of us try to out do each other when climbing. Its helpful motivation to make us
better climbers.

DataJunkie

I ride a SS\FG at 42X16. If I am passing roadies on my commute home with loaded panniers then there is something seriously wrong with their skills.

Hocam

OP,

To many people, riding a fixed gear for transportation is not about practicality, it's a fashion statement. I see people riding them around campus in the middle of bum-**** MA, as if they're not trying desperately to be an urban cliche. Of course, the only places I see fixed gears is where it's flat around campus, not out on the hills surrounding it.

Daytrip

Hey, the girl on the top looks like Angelina Jolie!

Flatballer

No, she doesn't.

I like the Asian in the center; too bad she's smoking a cigarette and is probably 60 by now.

roadiejorge 

I wouldn't be patting myself on the back for passing a race-shape roadie on a fixie unless we both drop the hammer. I've flown by roadies on a beach cruiser but didn't think anything of it because they were probably just on a recovery ride or sight seeing. Some fixie riders in the city seem to enjoy passing roadies as if it means something.

oboeguy

<stuffwhitepeoplelike>When speaking with a hipster on a fixed gear bicycle, or "fixie", it is important to not mention anything about shifters or gears, but rather talk about "ratio". This will make the hipster feel comfortable and more open to conversation.</stuffwhitepeoplelike>

Grumpy McTrumpy

1. riding
2. racing

these are not the same thing

markwebb

I sold my fixed gear when I turned 10 years old.

nayr497

Very, very true. Go to a major city and find the cultural/cool center of it. See how many people you see riding extremely nice track bikes. Watch/ask/see how far they ride and if they ride up anything. Then move out of the city and see how many track folks you see. I'd really love to see a map of the U.S. that shows fixed gear concentration by location. It really is an incredible indicator of the power of culture, symbols, and consumerism that people who can't change a tube will spend $3000 on a bike to ride it 1.8 miles to the bar on Saturday night.

KiddSisko

Alternate conversation:

You have a very high gear on that thing!

It's a fixed gear bike.

Yes, I can see that. I've been around a block or two. (smiling)

Hehe, sorry. It's like, totally new to me. My boyfriend told me riding this will strengthen my legs.

He told you that, huh? (frowning) And you believe everything he tells you?

Why? Isn't that true?

The real secret to strengthening all muscles is to use them alot. When it comes to riding a bike, the more you ride, the stronger your legs will get. Now, if you're having trouble riding because the gearing is wrong for your current level of conditioning, then you won't be motivated to ride more, which is what you need more than just riding a fixed gear bike.

Wow, that makes a lot of sense! It sounds like you know what you're talking about. Thank you so much for explaining that to me! You look like you're in great shape, so I guess you know what you're talking about. My boyfriend also thinks my butt is too big, so I'm trying to lose weight.

No problem sweetheart. I'm here to help. And I don't think your butt looks too big (smiles).

Younger guys can be a bit dopey sometimes. (Sigh) I wish I had an older boyfriend like you...

mazdaspeed

If you can go up it in the big ring it's not a hill IMO

cparekh

I think your only problem is that you spell skillz with an 's' at the end. Other than that, you should be fine.

cparekh

For those of you interested:

https://hydeparkrecords.net/files/htpug/picking_up.htm


Okay, I've been listening. Holy crap is this thing amazing!!!!

caloso

From what I can tell, the Official Hipster Gearing is about 88 gear inches. Which is fine if your knees are only 20 years old. My 41 year old, totally anti-hipster knees prefer about 70 gear inches.

cparekh

My bike shop recommended 73-74 gear inches on my $100 fixie that I built up.

dmb2786

get over it. hipsters and fixed gears are faster. it's science.