I'm proud to be a Hipster ...I love in Richmond though, not NY ...we're still cool.

Labels mean nothing? I've got a 1982 Huffy All-Pro 10-speed I'm trying to get rid of -mint! I'll trade you a 1974 Masi Gran Criterium for it.

After all, labels mean nothing...

I always cut the labels off if they're in the collar. Too scratchy.

I didn't say "labels mean nothing." My point rests in the fact that these forums are here to talk/learn/discuss/compare about bikes. Labels on bikes aren't the same as labels on humans. But I certainly see no point in harping on the definition of "hipsters."

So what if people ride bikes because they're trendy? So what if it's for exercise? fun? community? knowledge? What difference does it make?

Ride. A. Bike. Plain and simple.

I know you probably meant that rhetorically, but it's an interesting question. One I'd like to explore. This is what I have so far:

I think for some of us on here, it's not whether a person rides or not but it is how and why they ride: any adult (or near adult) on a bike is more or less an ambassador for cyclists everywhere. It's important because the non-cyclists vastly outnumber the cyclists. So a person on the bike is more visible and has a much higher degree of influence upon the non-cyclists (pedestrians and motorists) than say. . . cat owners.

I'm not offering an argument so much as an explanation. What do you think?

I think to make your point you would be saying "So you won't mind if I remove the decals from your Masi, then?"

The things that make the most amount of difference between a Huffy and a Masi would be the frame tubes.

When it comes to situations like these, I'm glad I grew up in a ghetto area in SC and moved to WI as a teen. I've spent time around it all, from thugs to rednecks to typical uppity white midwesterners. No one phases me anymore.

Try Utah. They drink half strength beer there!!

Did someone say 'hipster?' This cat has even ol' Ginsburg beat (heh) by a decade.

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Swpw9yZ5w&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=MLGxdCwVVULXcgYr57ENFQHV6ImhWHQkY1
Oh, as for so-called hipsters and bikes...who cares why someone else rides?

What?!?! OK, that's just going too far! Why would you drink half strength beer?

Actually, I wish I could find a good stout with as little alcohol as possible. I Love the stuff, but probably shouldn't be drinking it all the time. Therefore I don't, but I sure wish I could! And I would if I could find non-alcoholic stout.

Wow, I was way off base. I thought a "hipster' was some one who rides a bike and laughs at other peoples bikes.

...be it a hybrid, mountain, road, fixie or otherwise. I've totally missed the point.

...but after all I'm from Richmond VA ...we're backwards rednecks down here.

Which, I've also totally missed the point on ...but that's another forum.

Peace to all bike riders ...ride what you want and if someone sneers at you for it then you now they're the "winner"

Peace. Bikes. Rule. Cars Suck.

Wasn't there a movie about that? Hipsters evolving from inert monoliths into rudimentary life forms?



-Kurt

It's probably a hipster that got me back into cycling after a 10+ year hiatus. I saw a fixed gear conversion with a front disk brake and flat bar and stopped dead in my tracks. What the hell is that and where can I get one? I'd never seen anything like that before. 2-3 weeks later I was at St Vinnie's bike sale on Willy St, in Madison, waiting in line with my enthusiast neighbour. Walked out with a Fuji Monterey and was riding single speed within a few days. Thank you Hipster.

...sans disk break anyone who owned a BMX bike already had a "single speed" ....the term is lame.

...for the majority of bike owners their first bike was a single speed, personally I think "Fixies" are lame in any kind of bad weather and a "fixie" pause at stop lights is the dumbest thing I've ever seen.

...take your feet off the pedals for Fisher's sake.

Harry "the hipster" Gibson.

(FIFY)

Hipster, hippie, beatnik, slacker, whatever. Whenever there are young people enjoying a bond of a fashion or a similar lifestyle, the old farts who cannot pull that off denigrate them.

Wow dude. Way to make me feel like an idiot. I never owned a BMX growing up, and always had gearing of some kind, 3 at the least. (Raleigh Bomber) - Fixies are awesome in bad weather - I rode through a Wisconsin winter on a converted Fuji Finest and Track stands are convenient when you're clipped in. + they also feel pretty cool. Right now I'm sans fixie, so I'm missing it.

It ain't exactly half strength. It's regulated to 3.2% by weight, which is about 4% by volume, which is a more common measure. I'm pretty sure Guinness has a beer that meets the standard. I think Guinness Draught is 4%. Guinness Extra is a bit more.

EDIT: Nope, I guess Beer Advocate says Guinness Draught is 4.2% ABV. Still a fairly low alc. brew.

There are other places besides UT with the law. Oklahoma's one of 'em. You have to go to a liquor store to get more potent beers.

No BMX, us old farts give you a lifetime pass.

Old age ...don't worry, you're next. It's comin' and young people will denigrate you just the same.

I just go for it and denigrate everyone equally.

You're not a hipster if you're proud of being one. Part of being a hipster is denying that you are a hipster.

I don’t mind being called a hipster by my daughter; although, not knowing exactly what that means, maybe I should. I just tipped over the half century mark, grow a whacky Amish-ish chin beard, drink micro brew beers, and wear jeans & hiking boots 99% of the time, (except sometimes on Sundays when I go butt naked, it’s a religious thing), and try to keep up with the latest indie music. Call it the mid-life swoon, denial, whatever; all I know is, I like ridding and working on bikes. It keeps me healthy with a smile on my face. If that’s hipster….HELLYA!

I can live with that.

I should have have said aging poseur, I sold my Janis because I like my SE Draft better. ...dude those one-piece cranks are the new black.

Thus, based on the OP, I ruin nothing. I will go back to fixie pausing at yield signs and blowing through stop lights.

I meant it rhetorically, but also have my own answer, which is simply that I don't care why somebody rides. It's kind of the mantra my ma taught me: Do what makes you happy, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody.

I think you're right that a lot of us forum users care how and why people ride. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't apply to me. Maybe it's because I'm young and naive, or maybe it's because I'm in a college town. Most people on bikes in this town need to get from point A to point B. At the same time, I know guys who built fixed-gear bikes because their friends did. I know professors who ride to the wineries for fun, and women soccer players who train for triathlons.

But I feel ya, and I think more enthusiasts on here do as well: