Prediction on when SS&FG will go out of style if ever?
07-26-11, 09:14 AM
#26
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I state that I am not a hipster. I took up broom dancing on electric scooters because it was cheaper in gas than broom dancing on a sit down mower.
Fixed gear will never be mainstream, just like manual transmissions won't be mainstream. There are reasons that some people prefer manual transmissions but for most people the benefits of automatic far outweigh them. The fact that it will never be mainstream is part of what made these bikes so attractive to hipsters.
I do think that the age of people riding these things precisely because they are not mainstream is almost over.
Fixed gear will never be mainstream, just like manual transmissions won't be mainstream. There are reasons that some people prefer manual transmissions but for most people the benefits of automatic far outweigh them. The fact that it will never be mainstream is part of what made these bikes so attractive to hipsters.
I do think that the age of people riding these things precisely because they are not mainstream is almost over.
Last edited by prooftheory; 07-26-11 at 09:21 AM.
07-26-11, 09:18 AM
#27
Out fishing with Annie on his lap, a cigar in one hand and a ginger ale in the other, watching the sunset.
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. “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”- Fredrick Nietzsche
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." - Immanuel Kant
07-26-11, 09:51 AM
#29
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07-26-11, 11:37 AM
#30
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Style?
I'm 52 and just began riding a fixed gear bike last spring. I don't know about style, because I live in the suburbs, but this bike is great exercise. Period. I can't see not riding it when I feel like a workout...
Who really cares if there's a style or fashion aspect to anything? Just do it.
Who really cares if there's a style or fashion aspect to anything? Just do it.
07-26-11, 11:42 AM
#31
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Love when people act like they didn't know track bikes were in vogue before they bought one.
07-26-11, 11:44 AM
#32
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07-26-11, 12:05 PM
#33
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07-26-11, 12:13 PM
#34
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I am very behind the times and uncool, give me my 50$ TT bike right friggin now.
07-26-11, 12:30 PM
#35
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Seriously.
Also, let's face it....sometimes things are desirable (or not) for reasons other than the fact that they're not mainstream. SS/FG bikes are fun, easy to personalize, and affordable. Alternatively, I think PBR sucks and I don't drink it. Now, isn't that ironic?
Hipsters adopting them has had the effect of making the bikes, as well as the parts and accessories, both more accessible and more affordable for the rest of us. Anyone who is afraid of being perceived as a "sell out" because something they like has become popular can alleviate their concerns and sell me their kilo for $50.
07-26-11, 01:07 PM
#36
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07-26-11, 01:10 PM
#37
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07-26-11, 02:38 PM
#38
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they already are "mainstream". Fixed gear bikes are in TV ads and all sorts of shizz. In my city the majority of riders under 30 are on a FG or SS bike.
If you ride a "fixie" (thats what everyone calls them here) in San Jose, you are not unique or cool or different. You ride what everyone else rides.
A true "hipster" therefor would definitely NOT be riding a fixed gear.
If you ride a "fixie" (thats what everyone calls them here) in San Jose, you are not unique or cool or different. You ride what everyone else rides.
A true "hipster" therefor would definitely NOT be riding a fixed gear.
Last edited by frantik; 07-26-11 at 02:43 PM.
07-26-11, 02:53 PM
#39
:)
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lol i agree. so many people at school ride "fixies" and their bikes are super funny cuz theyre all color coordinated and look like crap imo
07-26-11, 03:00 PM
#40
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I suspect that even in San Jose that at least 80% of the bike riding that actually gets done is not on a fixed gear. I don't really include single speeds in this equation because it may very well be the case that single speeds are to the 2010s as mountain bikes were to the 1990's or cross bikes were to the 2000's. I don't think this will happen with "fixies" though.
I could of course be wrong about San Jose, but I don't think that something is mainstream until Aunt Bertie in West Bend is considering one for her next bike. I think that this will happen to recumbents before it happens to fixed geared bikes and I think that is about as likely as the whole broom dancing on an electric scooter thing taking Brooklyn by storm.
I could of course be wrong about San Jose, but I don't think that something is mainstream until Aunt Bertie in West Bend is considering one for her next bike. I think that this will happen to recumbents before it happens to fixed geared bikes and I think that is about as likely as the whole broom dancing on an electric scooter thing taking Brooklyn by storm.
07-26-11, 03:10 PM
#41
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Fixed gear may go out of style in the coming years, but I feel like single speeds are going to be around for a while.
07-26-11, 04:03 PM
#43
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I suspect that even in San Jose that at least 80% of the bike riding that actually gets done is not on a fixed gear. I don't really include single speeds in this equation because it may very well be the case that single speeds are to the 2010s as mountain bikes were to the 1990's or cross bikes were to the 2000's. I don't think this will happen with "fixies" though.
The bike riding population in San Jose is very diverse.. the largest group of riders is probably poor people on old xmart mountain bikes, but those bikes aren't "mainstream" either.
Biking in general is not particularly mainstream, but one kind of bike has been in the media a lot lately; if a bike is on TV (and associated with someone under 30), it's going to be a "fixie"...
07-26-11, 05:02 PM
#44
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Yea same here. Usually 6 out of 10 people who ride bikes at my school ride "fixies" and out of those 6, 2 of them are riding without foot retention which annoys the hell out of me.
07-26-11, 06:43 PM
#45
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I'm 52 and just began riding a fixed gear bike last spring. I don't know about style, because I live in the suburbs, but this bike is great exercise. Period. I can't see not riding it when I feel like a workout...
Who really cares if there's a style or fashion aspect to anything? Just do it.
Who really cares if there's a style or fashion aspect to anything? Just do it.
Cheers
lverhagen
07-26-11, 08:04 PM
#46
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I wouldn't say fixed riding is particularly in style outside of big cities.
Most of the people who see my track bike around town have a hard time grasping how/why I ride one.
On the other hand, an hour away in the sprawling cesspool that is ATL, they are a dime a dozen.
Regardless, I'd be all for them going out of style.
Cheap upgrades!
Most of the people who see my track bike around town have a hard time grasping how/why I ride one.
On the other hand, an hour away in the sprawling cesspool that is ATL, they are a dime a dozen.
Regardless, I'd be all for them going out of style.
Cheap upgrades!
07-27-11, 05:27 AM
#47
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I really shouldn't say anything about anything being cool. I have no idea what bikes they have on TV. And I'm not under 30.
07-27-11, 05:33 AM
#48
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07-27-11, 05:46 AM
#50
Your cog is slipping.
