Originally Posted by
PlatyPius
(Edit: this is a general rant, by the way, not a rant specifically at the OP and his singlespeed Paramount)
Things that amuse me....
Converting an old road bike to a fixie because everyone else is. (And I'm sorry....but it IS a fad currently. It WILL go away, and those people will move on to other things, leaving a junkyard of devastated classic steel in their wake.)
"My singlespeed is much more reliable and easy to ride since there aren't any gears!" - uh huh. Of all of the mechanical failures I see as a bike mechanic, maybe 2% are related to the fact that the bike has gears. Broken chains happen no matter is it's a fixie, a single speed, or a 33 speed. How often - REALLY - do you think a rear derailleur hurls itself into the spokes of the rear wheel in an emo outburst of suicidal energy?
Here's an amazing observation on my part.... if you want to ride in only one gear.... DON'T SHIFT. I know, I know....a bike with no gears LOOKS cleaner and WEIGHS LESS. Ummm.... then why use an old-arse Schwinn? The frame weighs more than a new road bike. That argument carries no weight. (Pun intended)
"I want a bike that expresses my individuality! That's why I want to massacre an old road bike."
There are these amazing things called "Track Bikes". They already come with a fixed gear. They already come from the bike shop with no brakes on them. They ALSO accept Velocity rimmed wheels in Antifreeze Green or Burlwood patterns. They are also usually steel. They already have Pista bars on them. They hold paint just as well as an old bike if you decide to paint it chartruse with white polka dots.
I sometimes think that the problem isn't the bike at all.... it's the person tarcking it out. Followers of the fixed-gear-as-fashion-accessory crowd ARE amusing. They amuse with their occasional stupidity (tarcking out a Colnago Mexico, for instance) and they amuse with their "different-just-like-everyone-else" cookie-cutter selves.
Newsflash - Fixies aren't rebellious or even fashionable any longer. When TREK offers a fully built fixie that looks a lot like some of the homemade fixies I've seen, the movement is dead.
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...rict/district/
I'm in sync observation wise...
1. Yup...the fixie stuff is mostly a fad.
2. Trying to be different - yet ending up the same - now where do us teachers see that all the time? Hell, us IT guys as well...
3. And of course, most of 'em you see are into this "culture" thing gothic looks and nose rings and all...
4. Fad has run its course? I suspect - it'll be over within 2 years.
Why? One thing I've noticed since 1984 is that a sure sign that a fad is running out is the following:
A. Even with generics and pre-mades priced to sell...
B. They resort to digging junk out of a recycle yard and insist on trying to build it. I.e., walking in with a rusted frame and fork bent back to the the point of no return.
Basically most of the folks now are late comers and followers who want the same but aren't willing to spend the money - because secretly they know their money is best spent elsewhere. They know the fad has run its course.
Surly makes a very decent fixie for 675.00...hardly sell. They look...but walk away. Now I'm seeing folks digging Velocity Deep-Vs hoops out of a trash can that are tacoed - and trying to convince shops to build 'em a wheel - totally ignoring pairs of brand new Velocity's built up on sealed cartridge bearing hubs @ 120.00 a set in any color combo you want.
2 years my friend...you hear it here first!
=8-)