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-   -   Is it a bad thing when commuting is hip? (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/823240-bad-thing-when-commuting-hip.html)

ben4345 06-06-12 10:10 AM

I used to live with a bunch of hipsters, they're not so bad... As long as you stay in your bedroom. :P

tjspiel 06-06-12 10:13 AM

I like the video. What I don't know is how "hip" is it really? Is that a subculture that a lot of 20 somethings relate to or do the majority of people in that age group find the clothes, the bikes, and the lifestyle as unappealing to them as it is apparently to some of us?

Again I liked it. Anything that promotes bike use over cars among a younger crowd is a good thing. When I was that age people were more into cramming thousands of dollars worth of audio equipment into a $200 car.

ThermionicScott 06-06-12 10:13 AM


Originally Posted by tsmvengy (Post 14320968)
Look, we may have our differences but I think we can all agree that those people who dress up in seersucker/tweed and tool around on social rides are the worst. ;)

HEY, THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS!

http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e2...g/IMG_2729.jpg

;)

groovestew 06-06-12 10:20 AM

The only thing I didn't like about the video was some of the camera work; I kept wanting to shout, "Pan over, you idiot!" when the cyclist was drifting out of the frame. But maybe that's a hip new filming style that I don't understand. :)

But no, it's not a bad thing when commuting is hip. As long as un-hip guys like me are still welcome! And really, most of the people I see riding their bikes to work are dressed a lot like me anyway. The video seems like it was aimed at a particular demographic, and I'm okay with that.

Steely Dan 06-06-12 10:26 AM

bikes are cool.

by association, people who ride bikes are also cool.



ride it if you got it!

weshigh 06-06-12 10:31 AM


Originally Posted by AdamDZ (Post 14319855)
Yes, it does. I don't want to look at some guys's skinny buttcrack.

Makes it difficult to ride when you are that aroused?

kookaburra1701 06-06-12 10:32 AM


Originally Posted by tjspiel (Post 14321040)
I like the video. What I don't know is how "hip" is it really? Is that a subculture that a lot of 20 somethings relate to or do the majority of people in that age group find the clothes, the bikes, and the lifestyle as unappealing to them as it is apparently to some of us?

Again I liked it. Anything that promotes bike use over cars among a younger crowd is a good thing. When I was that age people were more into cramming thousands of dollars worth of audio equipment into a $200 car.

IME as a 27 year old, bikes are not, in the larger non-hipster young-adult culture, becoming more cool. Cars are, however, becoming less cool. There are still people who have their identity bound up in how hot/big/noisy their car is, but they're a minority, and it's viewed as an eccentric quirk rather than the default. Transportation choices are evaluated on an economic/utilitarian scale, rather than a "how can I show off my earning power/virility" scale, and thus cycling is gaining in popularity.

YMMV, and all that. This is just what I've observed among my peers.

globie 06-06-12 10:35 AM

I'm not going to gripe about the commuter in the tight miniskirt and high heels I occasionally encounter. Riders like that can do a lot for our cause!
But I also see a lot of folks so inappropriately equipped that I know they got into it because it's the hot new thing, and unfortunately they won't stay with it for more than a couple weeks unless they get more practical.

huhenio 06-06-12 10:42 AM

I live in a pretty bike friendly city.

Hip or not ... I rather see more people riding than less.

dnuzzomueller 06-06-12 10:45 AM


Originally Posted by KevinF (Post 14320181)
I use my Ksyrium SL wheels for commuting. They're the only ones I have, as they're on the only bike I have (my road bike).

And I use Kysirium Elites on my commuter. IMO there is a difference between good wheels, and commuter overkill. S80s would be murder in crosswinds. If it is your only bike then I understand. One thing is that anyone who has deep-dish [carbon] rims should probably have a second set of shallow wheels.

But that is just my rant for the day since I had to work on a TT bike with S80s the other day and I was ready to beat the bike to death (Aero TT bikes are horrendous to re-cable, they take the simplest parts of the bike and then "aero" them which makes them damn near impossible to work with, then the S80 wheels didn
t even have the valve extenders installed properly, ughhh)

One thing that kills me is when ive got "poseurs" who come into the shop, who have got the total "wannabe" bike messenger thing going, in order to get a flat fixed. Hell, real messengers come into the shop all the time, I was a messenger at one time, and while there is an okay number who actually fit the stereotype the real thing that makes a messenger a messenger is that their bikes are scratched, dirty, most of the time broken in some way and considered disposable.

But in general I would answer the over-arching question by saying: no. There was this one girl who came into the shop who didn't even know how to fix a flat, she asked for a lesson and then a month later she comes in, she has fixed her flat tires multiple times and is doing a 13 mile 1-way commute every day on her hybrid. I was truly impressed, if bike commuting being "hip" brings out more people like her then I say bring it on.

What annoys me is when bike commuters don't want to spend ANYTHING on their bikes, they wont buy a pump, a lock, a half-way decent bike, lubricant, or anything. Then they act with outrage when you tell them that; yes, bike commuting does indeed take maintenance and money, less then a car, but it is not an eternally free transportation mode.

keystothekid 06-06-12 10:51 AM

Who cares? The more people riding, the better. Hipsters to grandmas and everyone in between, get them all on a bike! :D

flipped4bikes 06-06-12 11:04 AM


Originally Posted by AdamDZ (Post 14320508)

I must be unhip, for I have no idea what APC is...

acidfast7 06-06-12 11:31 AM


Originally Posted by flipped4bikes (Post 14321344)
I must be unhip, for I have no idea what APC is...

I don't know APC either :( Nor, do I know BK ... but, NYC seems to do their own thing (fashion-wise), mostly.

Where in Coastal Maine? I grew up in Wells.

HardyWeinberg 06-06-12 12:05 PM

Do those pants have batteries in them or something?

tjspiel 06-06-12 12:24 PM

The only thing I can really compare hipsters to from my generation are yuppies. Equally lambasted. Different set of values. I think the hipsters are an improvement.

various styles 06-06-12 12:51 PM

I want to be hip too. These dang hipsters riding bikes and wearing clothes how annoying.

kookaburra1701 06-06-12 01:04 PM


Originally Posted by various styles (Post 14321889)
These dang hipsters riding bikes and wearing clothes how annoying.

actually with hipsters the clothing part is optional

http://gothamist.com/2009/12/16/bike...ed_to_save.php

CenturionIM 06-06-12 01:34 PM

agreed. i am contemplating a move to either ATL or CHI. what made me lean more toward CHI is the reason stated.

erg79 06-06-12 02:16 PM


Originally Posted by tsmvengy (Post 14320968)
Look, we may have our differences but I think we can all agree that those people who dress up in seersucker/tweed and tool around on social rides are the worst. ;)

I can't tell who annoys me more, but yeah...the tweed ride crowd is a contender.

swoody 06-06-12 02:47 PM


Originally Posted by Project88 (Post 14319580)
The only issue i have with said neon rattle can ss/fx hipsters is that they run red lights, ride on the wrong side, dont have breaks, dont use lights at night.../

This ^^

I am not just applying this to the hipsters, and honestly I don't have anything against them in particular. Anyone who is out riding like an idiot just perpetuates the bad view of cyclists in general. I don't know if they think they're being cool and 'sticking it to the man', or if they're just uneducated about having to follow the rules of the road and the same laws that apply to cagers. However, if one thing really grinds my gears, it's seeing any kind of cyclist acting like a jerk.

AdamDZ 06-06-12 02:47 PM


Originally Posted by weshigh (Post 14321135)
Makes it difficult to ride when you are that aroused?

This must be the most moronic response I have seen in a while... Does everything associate with sex in your head? How old are you?

weshigh 06-06-12 02:59 PM


Originally Posted by AdamDZ (Post 14322409)
This must be the most moronic response I have seen in a while... Does everything associate with sex in your head? How old are you?

Butts turn a lot of people on. It is a pretty common thing. I guess that is not the answer. Hence the question mark.

To answer your question, no everything does not associate with sex in my head.

gna 06-06-12 03:17 PM

http://www.thatsmyshirt.com/product_..._84742_std.gif

Booger1 06-06-12 03:50 PM

No.....But it's a GOOD thing when it's not.......

I'm not wearing any pants I have to lay on the floor to get into.....but I like it when women do it....:)

Igo 06-06-12 06:48 PM


Originally Posted by dynodonn (Post 14320388)
In the one photo, the woman cyclist looks like she could crush whole cars between those cheeks. :eek:

Bentleys, Maseratis, Porches.....

Igo 06-06-12 07:01 PM


Originally Posted by tjspiel (Post 14321040)
I like the video. What I don't know is how "hip" is it really? Is that a subculture that a lot of 20 somethings relate to or do the majority of people in that age group find the clothes, the bikes, and the lifestyle as unappealing to them as it is apparently to some of us?

Again I liked it. Anything that promotes bike use over cars among a younger crowd is a good thing. When I was that age people were more into cramming thousands of dollars worth of audio equipment into a $200 car.

They don't do that anymore?!

When I was that age.......ah........I forget....man.

velocycling 06-06-12 08:24 PM


Originally Posted by swoody (Post 14322405)
This ^^

I am not just applying this to the hipsters, and honestly I don't have anything against them in particular. Anyone who is out riding like an idiot just perpetuates the bad view of cyclists in general. I don't know if they think they're being cool and 'sticking it to the man', or if they're just uneducated about having to follow the rules of the road and the same laws that apply to cagers. However, if one thing really grinds my gears, it's seeing any kind of cyclist acting like a jerk.

Would you prefer them to be driving in a car instead?

swoody 06-06-12 08:26 PM


Originally Posted by velocycling (Post 14323604)
Would you prefer them to be driving in a car instead?

Not at all. An idiot with 2000lbs of steel is worse than an idiot with 20lbs of aluminum ;) Either way, I wish common courtesy was more common regardless of what people use on the roads.

mrleft2000 06-06-12 09:34 PM


Originally Posted by kookaburra1701 (Post 14321964)
actually with hipsters the clothing part is optional

http://gothamist.com/2009/12/16/bike...ed_to_save.php

That's so cool. Not the naked protest. Well that's not so bad either. But repainting the bike lanes. You just have to admire their energy and passion to fight for what is important to them.

Thumbs up for the naked women too.

bragi 06-06-12 11:21 PM


Originally Posted by acidfast7 (Post 14319611)
I find this quite funny, if you mean tighter/slim/skinny jeans.

Everywhere else I've been in the world, refers to looser jeans as "American" jeans, however, you guys refer to slim jeans as "girls jeans." I think you've seen too many Miller Lite commercials or can't fit in slim-cut jeans?

Why would anyone want to ride a bicycle in tight jeans?


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