I finally got a fixed gear...
 

http://www.daddoes.com/wp-content/up.../cycocycle.jpg

Ok, yeah, it was really for the kids and I won't be commuting on it anytime soon, but it's a lot of fun.

It looks like a trike but I think of it more as a unicycle on training wheels. It's for kids 13 and up but my 11 year old can ride with no trouble. Even my 7 year old can use it as a scooter.

Lol.

Funny.

When I'm flying down the fifty ninth street bridge and some fixie rider is doing the slow down pedal in front of me and I can't get around him, it really grinds my gears.

Usually, if I get past them, I happily do a little free wheel back pedal in front of them just to show them what they are missing. :P

Though the post was tongue in cheek, it wasn't really meant to dis fixies or their riders. The thingamabob in the pic is called the "cycocycle" and is truly fun to ride. It has made me more curious about fixies. Going backwards is cool. ;)

I find riding fixed gear in new york city basically pointless, and inherently more dangerous.

I believe they have their place, it's just not in stop and go traffic, or doing circles in the crosswalk waiting for a light.

Some of these guys are part of the reason for some of the anti bike sentiment in this city....

My experience has been totaly opposite, I love riding fixed in traffic...The only people I see doing circles in the crosswalks are the "roadie crowd" or the "wannabe lance crowd". Most experienced fixie riders just tracstand and wait for the light to change. It's the roadies who give all other cyclists a bad name... most of these posers can't track stand and they are too lazy to unclip and put their foot on the ground and wait for the light to change.. so instead they are blowing through red lights or ride circles in the crosswalk.. stupid fools.

That may be the case in ontario and it's true, the roadies often pull similar shenanigans, but here in new york I see far more fixies circling and blowing lights.

The only thing I have to prove is that I don't have to pay the mta to get to work.

:)

+1 My commuters are a mix of multi and fg. 2 different bikes. I find riding fg in traffic forces me to concentrate 100%. Occasionally, I trackstand at lights, but usually just unclip and put my foot down. Nothing to prove at this point, but I've got some skillz. :p