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Adulterous glances

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Singlespeed & Fixed Gear "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

Adulterous glances

Old 11-08-04, 12:09 PM
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I've been increasingly finding that as I'm going along the street, I'm constantly checking out all the bikes I see, locked up to rings or cruising down the road.

I first look at the type of handlebars from a distance to grab my attention. If they are drops my attention is piqued, if they are bullhorns even more so. I check to see if there are brake levers on, and if so, what kind and how many. If I can't see any brakes, then its settled, and I stop and have a look at the bike (meaning its either fixed or a coaster brake, but most bikes sans-brakes and with drops tend to be fixed gears) .

After that I immediately look at the chainline. If its got a derailleur I tend to move on. Even on crappy coaster brake bikes I seem to appreciate the rounded pie slice shape of the chain.

Sometimes I'll see some hardcore looking messenger or the like going about his business and I'll notice a straight chainline and think 'cool', then I see his legs stop spinning and think "pshhhht... singlspeed? come on!"

Its gotten really bad, and my friends have been starting to catching me checking out bikes now. Its become sort of an inside joke.

Anybody else cheat on their bikes with their eyes?
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Old 11-08-04, 12:12 PM
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At first, I was thinking you were talking about style checks, but obviously I am wrong. I think you'd be surprised how many people do that. The commuters in SF often do double takes (including myself) when they see a purty fixie. Matter of fact, yesterday, while parking my bike, a guy in a motobecane fixed rode up to park and we talked about each other's bikes for a bit.

Anyway, yes, I do look at other bikes also and sometimes even think, Oh, I 'd like that.
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Old 11-08-04, 12:16 PM
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every single bike i see, i look down at the chain, and if the bottom part is horizontal or sloping downward toward the back of the bike, i stop looking. i mean i need to look where i'm going, right? but if i see that telltale angle, the chain rising up to meet the single cog in the back, well i'm all over it. with my eyes i mean.
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Old 11-08-04, 12:19 PM
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yeh, i've become pretty bad myself.. i won't further embarrass myself by relating just how bad it's gotten but my friends definitely tease me about it...
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Old 11-08-04, 12:21 PM
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Same here.
Nothing looks worse than a nice bike with a rear derailleur dangling off the back,
all stupid.

Like a sailboat towing a jet ski.
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Old 11-08-04, 12:24 PM
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yeah, I'm a total bike voyeur, too. I'm constantly trying to i.d. the manufacturer, etc. I've found must people pretty friendly once I speak up and compliment them or ask them about their bike. If you just stare, they might get a little irritated.

on the other hand, I lock my bike up right outside my restaurant so I can keep my eye on it while I'm working and I love watching people stop and check it out. it's MINE, suckers!!!
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Old 11-08-04, 12:25 PM
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My girlfriend teases me alot because I do double takes of bikes, not other girls.. And my friends tease me because it's hard to keep my eyes on them while talking if bikes are moving about in the city.
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Old 11-08-04, 12:28 PM
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glad i'm not the only one. i always start at the rear cog then work my way up to the bars, making sure to notice paint, decals if any, and wheels. those things catch my eyes first, then i start to examine the smaller components such as cranks, pedals, saddle, and stem. then i take another overview to determine color\style coordination and overall appearance. i'll also make judgements about how\where it is locked up and determine if it's smart to leave it there or not. finally, after making an estimate on how much the bike costs i'll turn back to my GF and ask her again what she was talking about before i saw the bike....
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Old 11-08-04, 12:32 PM
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Anyone who loves bikes looks. I get mesmerized when I see them. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I cringe.
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Old 11-08-04, 12:41 PM
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i get teased by friends for looking at bikes. i always check for a derailer first, then usually bars and dropouts.
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Old 11-08-04, 12:53 PM
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nothing tops a hot girl on a hot fixie....cant decide what to stare at
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Old 11-08-04, 12:54 PM
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When it comes to looking at other bikes, sure, I look.

I actually consider myself a filthy, dirty ***** in that respect. I'll ride any of them!
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Old 11-08-04, 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by legalize_it
nothing tops a hot girl on a hot fixie....cant decide what to stare at

The custom messenger bag?
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Old 11-08-04, 12:59 PM
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Everyone looks at me on my superhot Huffy, especially since I installed Ape Hanger bars...
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Old 11-08-04, 01:06 PM
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i'm too busy riding.
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Old 11-08-04, 01:14 PM
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in complete honesty... if i'm already riding and have nothing to do...

i cruise around with the sole purpose of checking out bikes.

i'm that ridiculous. someday i'll get rid of the god awful single-speed franken-bike i'm riding and finish my fixie. someday.... sigh.
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Old 11-08-04, 01:26 PM
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i tend to look at all bikes, be they fixed or geared. one cold blustery day in boston i was talking with two friends, one a mess'er, and the other, a fellow student. messenger guy has this super hot black HH with colnago flash forks and black phils, i see this bike creeping up boylston, so i check it out from afar, then as it's going past, there's a semi trailer in the street, so i had to bend down to check it out. totally did a little 360 heel turn-crouch to see under the trailer. when i re-entered the conversation, my friend said: "man, you've got it baaaaaad." i think the bike turned out to be some huffy or something that really wasn't worth the look, but the fact that it was pretty much uncontrollable...

my girlfriend gives me crap for it sometimes. not so much in the last year and a half though. and she knows that if we see some girl on a bike while we're out together, and i say "oooooooh, damn!" 99% of the time, i'm looking at the bike and not the girl.

it actually happened last week. this woman on a bianchi something-or-other (geared, with ultegra), pulled up next to us and i was just looking at the bike very intently, examining each part of it...what kind of cassette is that? what are the gears? aww, triple, bummer, nice saddle, hey!, her handlebars are at the same angle as mine! it took me like, 5 minutes to realise the woman had the same shoes as me. it happens a lot when i'm riding in the car. i'll sit up in my seat and totally rubber-neck some dude on a bike, to check to see if he's got campy or what.

i didn't used to be so into road bikes, but that's mostly what there is in berkeley...i have been seeing more fixed gears lately....nothing fancy though. mostly conversions.

this guy came into my shop the other day with an older converted raleigh. chrome lugs, gold campy cranks, campy hubs...looked super nice, and i told him so. he worked at another shop, so he was just all like "oh. thanks." some other guy came in later in the week with a '70s PX-10 set up pretty much period-correct (as a road bike). i stodd there, oggling the bike for a few seconds and i asked "is that a..." and at the same time we both said "PX-10." and then he said he probably had one in my size at his house, among his 50 or so bikes. hopefully, next time i see him, he'll let me know and then i'll have a new PX-10!!!

anyway, yeah...bike sickness...i think we all have it to some degree...
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Old 11-08-04, 01:26 PM
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i too check bikes out. and sometimes i make comments. like this exchange, yesterday, on the flat-n-fast haines point loop:

me (to guy on fixed w/brakes): Brakes, eh? You don't really need 'em.
guy: Yeah, brakes. Some of us like not dieing.
*I pass him*
guy (to girl riding next to him): She had a really nice bike.

I *stare* at bikes near me, and I've seen others stare at my bike. But I really see few grrls on fixed. I mean, I can count only like 10 that I've seen in town. So I guess we stick out a little.
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Old 11-08-04, 01:35 PM
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Originally Posted by chimblysweep
But I really see few grrls on fixed. I mean, I can count only like 10 that I've seen in town. So I guess we stick out a little.
yo come out to ny one day and you will see us EVERYWHERE!
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Old 11-08-04, 01:58 PM
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I do the same as everyone here. The girlfriend has gotten to the point that she doesn't make fun of me anymore, she actually points them out if I haven't noticed yet.

I have almost crashed on several occasions from craning my neck to get a better look at some bike locked up on the side of the road.

And as far as the chain goes, I feel that it looks more or less like an iconic snowcone, rather than a slice of pie....
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Old 11-08-04, 02:29 PM
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I do this all the time. And it's not limited to when I'm on my biek either. If I'm walking, I'm pay close attention to the messengers and their rides. If I'm driving, I check out the bike on the roof rack first, then the person driving the car. I also look at people's bikes as I pass them or they pass me when I'm driving. My wife gives me crap too. I should be watching the road and not the bikes on the car in front of us. She makes fun of me most times too! "Oooohhhhh, look at that bike. Look at it's wheels!! Aww shucks... too bad, it's got gears!!"
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Old 11-08-04, 02:36 PM
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Yeah, I too have it pretty bad. My gf takes the piss out of me all the time for it - no mercy. I'm currently building her up a fixie and I'm sure she'll get hooked too (I hope).

As for girls on fixies - I have seen none. That's right, ZERO, in Glasgow. They remain some sort of urban myth perpetuated by the internet and other such heathen tools of visual communication.

My staring is more or less limited to the courier hot-spot along from where I work. Pretty much the only place to see fixies in Glasgow......
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Old 11-08-04, 02:37 PM
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Any bike has a chance at love with me, many gears or only one. My wife and I compare it to the dog's obsession with squirrels. I've been sick the last few days (which really sucked because yesterday would have been a FANTASTIC day to go for a ride) and I took the train to work this morning. Well there's a bike path that runs right past my train stop into downtown and there were just a metric ass load of bikes going by as were walking down there. I think I might have sprained my neck.
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Old 11-08-04, 02:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Wierd Beard
As for girls on fixies - I have seen none. That's right, ZERO, in Glasgow. They remain some sort of urban myth perpetuated by the internet and other such heathen tools of visual communication.
a friend of mine is currently putting together a photo book of girls on bikes around nyc (hope he doesn't kill me for spilling the beans!) but the shots he's gotten so far are HOT! i'm going to have to get him to do another one of me once i build up this other track frame i'm getting..

also, another friend is going to be putting out a magazine real soon.. but i know i'm definitely going to get in trouble if i say anything more about it but believe me it's going to be right up all yer alleys
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Old 11-08-04, 02:49 PM
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if i saw a pretty lady on a rad fixxie in my town i'd probably crash. then again there's only a hand full of fixxies here anyhow.
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