Why a road bike?
12-29-14, 07:52 AM
#51
~>~
Not having the direct experience of a physical activity or access to the mental process of others would lead to Baseless conjecture would it not?
Or one could just accept the fixie-hipster party line's vocabulary and regurgitate the vague pseudo-new age maundering without critical thinking intruding on a lack of direct experience.
Harmony, Contentment, Happiness and Magic via riding a FG bicycle in some Zone: Twaddle.
When the Fixie Fad fades serious club riders and the enthusiasts of obsolete bicycles will proceed as they have for the last century: riding fixed gear on the road without the expectation of Enlightenment.
-Bandera
Last edited by Bandera; 12-29-14 at 01:29 PM.
12-29-14, 10:38 AM
#52
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Have you appointed yourself Popeye's proxy to extol this ethereal Zone's Magical properties?
Do tell, I've never experienced The Zone or any Magical fixed gear Experience, although I've been at it for awhile in good company on the track and road who never mentioned any Zone or Magic going on. One would think that it would come up in conversation over a few decades of cycling, never has yet.
My 1st fixed gear ride was on a wooden rimmed track bike 50 years or so ago. I really liked it: not Magic.
My coach, who raced the board tracks before WWII, never blathered sentimental twaddle about the Zone or Magic or Zen or any such nonsense, nor do I having never experienced any such despite intense prolonged efforts in the saddle.
None of my teammates ever waxed poetic about the experience either, it was race training not mysticism and we had never experienced Magic.
I've spent the ensuing decades riding FG on the road more than my contemporaries considered normal and don't think that "a few more miles" will alter my experience. Perhaps I'm immune, or just rational.
If you are Zoning on FG rides enjoy yourself but I find contemporary "fixie" riders' syrupy faux-Zen hyperbole cloying, unrealistic, more than a bit Twee and will respond to such simpering nonsense as I see fit.
BTW: Here's a pic of the FG machine I've been riding on the road for the last 22 years. It seems to have all of the accoutrements of any of my road bikes: flats kit, bottle mount and pump but no crystals, talismans or good luck charms.
-Bandera
Do tell, I've never experienced The Zone or any Magical fixed gear Experience, although I've been at it for awhile in good company on the track and road who never mentioned any Zone or Magic going on. One would think that it would come up in conversation over a few decades of cycling, never has yet.
My 1st fixed gear ride was on a wooden rimmed track bike 50 years or so ago. I really liked it: not Magic.
My coach, who raced the board tracks before WWII, never blathered sentimental twaddle about the Zone or Magic or Zen or any such nonsense, nor do I having never experienced any such despite intense prolonged efforts in the saddle.
None of my teammates ever waxed poetic about the experience either, it was race training not mysticism and we had never experienced Magic.
I've spent the ensuing decades riding FG on the road more than my contemporaries considered normal and don't think that "a few more miles" will alter my experience. Perhaps I'm immune, or just rational.
If you are Zoning on FG rides enjoy yourself but I find contemporary "fixie" riders' syrupy faux-Zen hyperbole cloying, unrealistic, more than a bit Twee and will respond to such simpering nonsense as I see fit.
BTW: Here's a pic of the FG machine I've been riding on the road for the last 22 years. It seems to have all of the accoutrements of any of my road bikes: flats kit, bottle mount and pump but no crystals, talismans or good luck charms.
-Bandera
12-29-14, 12:27 PM
#54
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Rather: Why NOT take advantage of gears and the ability to coast? Having a machine, but purposely limiting it's capabilities, doesn't make sense to me. I like simplicity, but if i were going to take it that far, I'd just walk. I ride a bike as opposed to walking/running, to gain a mechanical advantage.
12-29-14, 12:43 PM
#55
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How sad - so many years, so many miles, and so little happiness! 
Seriously, you know the difference between merely satisfactory rides and the very best rides rides, the kind some want to call 'magical' - the sort of full-voiced, perfect harmony of road, machine, and ones own best abilities. Some people just care more about pursuing and magnifying that than miles, watts, or anything else one might want to quantify, and it's understandable that harmony might be more readily achieved on a simple fixed gear bike than on a more complicated one. Harmony may not be your thing, but that shouldn't make it bogus mysticism.
Seriously, you know the difference between merely satisfactory rides and the very best rides rides, the kind some want to call 'magical' - the sort of full-voiced, perfect harmony of road, machine, and ones own best abilities. Some people just care more about pursuing and magnifying that than miles, watts, or anything else one might want to quantify, and it's understandable that harmony might be more readily achieved on a simple fixed gear bike than on a more complicated one. Harmony may not be your thing, but that shouldn't make it bogus mysticism.
12-29-14, 01:40 PM
#56
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You certainly don't need a 33 speed bicycle if you're never going up any hills.
I have never ridden a non-freewheeling bike (coaster brake bikes still freewheel), so I suppose I don't understand that attraction. I'd go ahead and at least add a freewheel+brakes to a single speed.
As far as gears, I might select an old 5-7 speed cluster, and skip the front double/triple rings. Even on the flat, I tend to shift occasionally (select different gears depending on whether I'm tired, or have a headwind/tailwind). I also like to shift down before stoplights (a high road crown from a dead stop is often a pain). I also vary my speed based on the amount of cargo I'm carrying/pulling.
Heaven forbid, perhaps one might even consider a Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub on a narrow tire, drop bar bicycle.
I have never ridden a non-freewheeling bike (coaster brake bikes still freewheel), so I suppose I don't understand that attraction. I'd go ahead and at least add a freewheel+brakes to a single speed.
As far as gears, I might select an old 5-7 speed cluster, and skip the front double/triple rings. Even on the flat, I tend to shift occasionally (select different gears depending on whether I'm tired, or have a headwind/tailwind). I also like to shift down before stoplights (a high road crown from a dead stop is often a pain). I also vary my speed based on the amount of cargo I'm carrying/pulling.
Heaven forbid, perhaps one might even consider a Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub on a narrow tire, drop bar bicycle.
12-29-14, 01:49 PM
#57
~>~
Just as Sturmey Archer developed the Internal Gear Hub for cyclists in 1902 I have designed the Enlightenment Gear Hub for new age cyclists in 2015.
This magical device is a Fixed Gear bicycle drivetrain that spins attached prayer wheels, rings sacred bells and plays MP3s of mantras through the rider's earbuds. Accessories include crystals, talisman's, charms and a toaster that imprints the image of a Bodhisattva on gluten free bread.
Available Spring 2015 at an Ashram or LBS near you.
-Bandera
This magical device is a Fixed Gear bicycle drivetrain that spins attached prayer wheels, rings sacred bells and plays MP3s of mantras through the rider's earbuds. Accessories include crystals, talisman's, charms and a toaster that imprints the image of a Bodhisattva on gluten free bread.
Available Spring 2015 at an Ashram or LBS near you.
-Bandera
12-29-14, 02:12 PM
#58
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Can I lock this thread or something? I didn't post my question so you guys could play cranky dude vs millennial. Please stop 
12-29-14, 02:19 PM
#59
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Why is it so offensive that someone described riding a bicycle as "magical"? I would wager that the overwhelming majority of BF posters are only riding for entertainment, so they probably enjoy what they do. And if that is their magic, good for them. To the world at large, we cyclists are the fringe minority, doing something that everyone else gave up in childhood. So there has to be some draw, right? If someone describes that draw in a way you don't like, that is your problem, not theirs.
I ride SS 90% of the time, if not more. If I had only one bike, it would be a single speed. I find it far more enjoyable than riding geared bikes. I tour SS, do group rides SS, do FTP tests SS, and do essentially all the things some one can do on a geared bike. Would I ever call an SS magical? No. But I would call them serene, and I see far more of the country side SS than geared. IMO, geared bikes are for optimizing every moment, and always being in the right gear. SS is about always being in the wrong gear.
And Mr. Hamilton, just not shifting a geared bike is not the same as riding fixed. It is the same as riding SS. As much as I like SS riding, I dislike fixed an equal amount.
I ride SS 90% of the time, if not more. If I had only one bike, it would be a single speed. I find it far more enjoyable than riding geared bikes. I tour SS, do group rides SS, do FTP tests SS, and do essentially all the things some one can do on a geared bike. Would I ever call an SS magical? No. But I would call them serene, and I see far more of the country side SS than geared. IMO, geared bikes are for optimizing every moment, and always being in the right gear. SS is about always being in the wrong gear.
And Mr. Hamilton, just not shifting a geared bike is not the same as riding fixed. It is the same as riding SS. As much as I like SS riding, I dislike fixed an equal amount.
12-29-14, 02:26 PM
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...But I would call them serene, and I see far more of the country side SS than geared. IMO, geared bikes are for optimizing every moment, and always being in the right gear. SS is about always being in the wrong gear.
And Mr. Hamilton, just not shifting a geared bike is not the same as riding fixed. It is the same as riding SS. As much as I like SS riding, I dislike fixed an equal amount.
And Mr. Hamilton, just not shifting a geared bike is not the same as riding fixed. It is the same as riding SS. As much as I like SS riding, I dislike fixed an equal amount.
12-29-14, 02:28 PM
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I will admit that I haven't raced since I was a Midget. However, bicycling for me is more for transportation and "free exercise" than entertainment.
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