This article could have focused on the utility of fixed gear bikes. Many riders, myself included, have built up a fendered fixed gear as the perfect bike for wet-weather commuting in our flat city. The article might have focused on the retro appeal of fixed gears--after all, the original road bikes were fixed gears. The article might have focused on the fixed gear as the road racers' time-honored tool for improving spin and supplesse. But no, of course not. The article was about "fixed gear culture." Skids, tattoos, and running red lights. At least we didn't hear about fixie zen.