dwguy

Hi, i'm just a guy living in brooklyn. So i have a bike which i commute on, basically to school and work which is about 15 miles, give or take. Its a fixed steamroller (which'll go up on fixedgeargallery as soon as i get it up, well, not 'it' up, but it up), with no brakes as of now and i'm also thinking about getting a chrome bag. Non of this really seems to make sense, as i should be commuting on a road bike with gears and brakes and everything, and it might make more sense if i get a backpack instead of a messenger bag. Anyway, my point is, does this thing with getting a chrome messenger bag make me a poser, or do i just recognize quality?

Oh, and maybe i should include a bit of background. I've worn a messenger bag (a manhattan portage, that slides around all over the place) for like 6 or 7 years already since i started high school (didnt commute on bike back then, just did it for looks like all the other teenagers were). I'm also thinking about whether i should get a messenger bag as i've realized that over the years, my left shoulder (the shoulder that holds the bag) is slightly higher than the right one. I dont know if anyone else gets this but if you do, please share so that i dont feel like im alone on this. I didnt get a geared bike because i had one, which i got into an accident with and wanted to try a fixed single because it looked so cool and simple which is why i have it now. Also, i've always thought it would be cool being a bicycle messenger, and i'd probably be one if i hadnt taken a job at retailing. Anyway, back to the point, am i a poser, and is it wrong, or do i just like nice things?

notfred

You care too much what other people think about the way you look.

Ride what you like, wear what you like.

jeff williams

I get asked if I'm a mess' all the time. Well, mostly when I'm posing.
Must be the knickers...no Chrome bag.

dwguy

im sorry, i just read what i wrote down and it didnt seem to ask the right questions. Thats why you should always make drafts, like my english teacher always told me.
anyway what i wanted to know is...
Do i really need a chrome messenger bag to carrry my stuff or would i do just as well with a cheaper bag? Is this all a bit excessive?
Does all this stuff with a track bike for commuting and a chrome bag make me a poser?(i get the idea that mostly messengers ride track bikes on street and wear chrome bags)
If it does will people laugh at me for being one?
And the main question...
Is this all wrong, will i just look like a foolish little boy with nice things that dont make sense for me?

Does this discussion seem like something that would make a good seinfeld episode?

dwguy

one more thing, i got a friend that wears skateboarding shoes but does not skateboard at all, and i make fun of him about it all the time.

jeff williams

Does he ride platform pedals? Or boink tweekers? >bump sneakers<?

notfred

Get whatever bag you want. Personally, I like to buy the best stuff that I can afford, I don't like to own cheap crap. Chrome is known for making good messenger bags. If I was going to get a messenger bag, I'd get one from Chrome or Timbuk2 or another quality manufacturer as well.

Will you look like a poser? No one will even know that you look like a messenger except other cyclists anyway. How many people even know what a fixed-gear bike is? Will other messengers laugh at you for riding the same kind of bike that they do? I doubt it.

I wear skateboarding shoes and I haven't skated in years. They're comfortable shoes and they look nice. They also work well for mountain biking on platform pedals and they're super-durable.

J-McKech

Hey jeff where can you get knickers online?

phidauex

Prana makes some cool knickers called the Mantis. https://www.prana.com, its in their climbing line. REI has had them on sale recently for 40$.

I'd say wear whatever you want, and be happy with it. If you were trying to look like a messenger because you want people to think you are hardcore, then thats lame, but if you end up with the same sorts of products because you like them and find them practical and fun to use, then don't worry about it.

peace,
sam

el twe

Do whatever. Riding a fixie doesn't make you a messenger, neither does wearing a mess bag. I'll be doing that once I get my fixie built, but I'll do it to get around town and carry stuff like you will be. So go for it.

jeff williams

I don't know, I steal mine from girlfriends. https://www.my-knickers.com/ Hotdamn!

dwguy

thanks, that all makes alot of sense, now...

where can i get discounts on chrome bags? anyone know?

Retro Grouch 

It's wrong, wrong, wrong to pose as a messenger or anybody whose not you.

It's cool to pose as dwguy when you happen to be dwguy. If dwguy likes fixed gear bikes, ride that. If dwguy likes chrome messenger bags, fine, get yourself one of them. The hard part comes when you try to sort out what you really like personally and what you only like because somebody else thinks that it's cool.

roadfix

Don't worry about a thing....... when I shop at Home Depot people always come up to me asking where they can find such and such item...... before they charge me for coffee at Starbucks, they ask me if I work for the department......???. I ask them 'what department'??? I should just say yes, get my free coffee, and get on my way on my fixed gear lugging my new Manhattan Portage bag.......