Eureka

I just spent 3 days in Philadelphia and I have never seen so many people riding fixed, single-speed and 3 speed coaster bikes.

I couldn't walk down Market Street without stopping to look at bikes - riding by or chained to meters.

So what is it? Bike friendly? Flat? Busy messenger town?

Whatever it is, it was great to see.

bonechilling

You don't travel much, do you?

Yoshi

Try DC, Baltimore, NYC, Boston, SF, etc. etc.

Pretty much any major city.

doomkin

actually i would think op's hometown would be full of 'em.

Yoshi

He lives on Long Island, not in New York City. Though presumably he's been to NYC so it is a bit surprising.

time bandit

Actually, yes, it is. Thanks for noticing!

the ratio of fg/ss bikes to geared bikes here is seemingly a lot higher than i've seen in most cities in the NE.

The two guys who own the Mexican spot next to my work rode in last week on some converted SS road bikes. That is after rockin walmart mtbs for years now....

raster

An article in a paper around here (i think) said the ratio was something like 40%. Which seem a little low to me. Some days, the only people I see riding geared bikes are wearing ties. And even then, half the people wearing ties are riding SS/FG bikes. I really hope that when they get home, they rip off their business attire in one smooth movement to reveal their ironic t-shirt, crack a PBR, and breathe a sigh of relief. Because that's what I'd do.

Igneous Faction

Ironically, whenever I see a working messenger in Philly they're usually riding a geared bike.

They're typically mad-maxed to hell, but geared bikes just the same.

goldenskeletons

apparently there were over 230 people registered for this years reload april fools race. i was part of a pretty large group that didn't get to register.

good job philly!

asherlighn

Man I knew I should have taken the internship in philly instead of boston

babychris

odd. I only know of about 15ish or so that ride geared bikes.

I Like Peeing

That figure is probably about right...although some days it seems I see nothing but singlespeed bikes. Other than where I work, that is.

I do the smooth movement minus the PBR and ironic t shirt. and the relief sigh now that i think about it.

Eureka

Actually I do.

I've been to all of them and not noticed what I noticed in Philly.

Born and bred in NYC but, with the exception of Williamsburg, I'd say Philly has NYC beat.

NeilMonday

Philly maybe the fixed capital of the US, but what about Japan? Does anyone know how major cities in Japan would compare to major US cities as far as concentration of fixed gear riders?

Yoshi

Much lower. Almost everyone rides a bike in Japan but they are typically cruiser/towner bikes. A very small minority of riders have fixed-gears, though it's gaining in popularity.

dblock

I think since philly is smaller you probably see a lot more fixed to non fixed. nyc's way bigger and you see a lot of bikes but not as many fixed as densely as you'd see in philly. i see a lot in nyc though.

eureka, where on LI are you? i'm obv the only fixed rider in my part of suburban wasteland

vuduchyld

Anybody else in a college town?

Lawrence, Kansas is teeming with fixies. They are all over the place. You can't swing a dead cat by the tail without knocking somebody off their fixie and spilling the contents of their mess bag into the street.

Yoshi

I can't speak for Philly, but NYC doesn't have much of a "**** gears!" mentality. A large number of fixed-gear riders here also have road bikes and many who don't are interested in them.

crushkilldstroy

^Really? Granted, I haven't been to Lawrence in like 3 years, but the last time I was around there I don't think I saw a single one.

Eureka

I am in Melville and ride the LIE service road - but singlespeed - old Italian steel! I only see one fixed rider out here - looks like a grey Langster maybe. The guy is too fast to really tell. Is that you?

curiousincident

I think all college towns have an exploding fixed population. Last year I can count on one hand the number of times I saw somebody on campus here in East Lansing riding fixed who wasn't one of a small group of about 5 of us. This year I see a couple every day.

vuduchyld

There are a lot now. There is a bike shop in North Lawrence next to Johnny's that sells some cheap-o new no-name fixies and also does conversions. As the above poster says, it has really exploded.

Every Friday evening, there is a fixie ride that starts at the Camponile.

666pack

my college town actually has a decline in fixed gears from last year. i used to see three or four other fixed gears around town last year, but this year mine is the only one i've seen so far.

... although i think more people know what they are this year. i usually get "fixxxedd geeeeaaarr" yelled at me at least once a day on my bike.

jdms mvp

i'm sure the ratio in NYC is smaller thought because of their large population

andre nickatina

eh, the college town i'm in is mostly garbagey walmart mtn. bikes, straight gauge cruisers, "comfort" bikes, and vintage junker 10 speed road bikes. the minorities are fixed gears, singlespeeds, modern road bikes and bmx. seems pretty appropriate to me considering just about everyone in the majority category a) has their seat too low / crappy fit b) locks up with a cable or improperly positioned u-lock and c) does more riding on the sidewalk than the street. not exactly an enthusiast demographic, more like the "i can't wait till i can drive again in 4 years" people.