brakeless and unnoticed
 

After gettting those new syntace bars, I decided not to attach a brake to them immediately (which turns out may not happen at all). I was leaving for a beer last night (not just an excuse to go for a ride) when my downstairs housemate catches me and says "Wow. you don't have any gears!" I smile and think to myself that she moved in 6 months ago and my bike has been locked to the banister in front of her door every night of those 6 months... and she never noticed? She then proceeds to tell me that I don't have brakes either, asking me "what do you do with that thing?" I respond "go fast" as I again try not to think about her SUV and her love of Bush.

I know there was another thread about getting noticed... I guess this one is more about not getting noticed. Anyone experience this?

i get noticed a lot, since most of my co-workers drive, but it usually takes people quite a while to notice my lack of gears or brakes

people notice that i have a bike...or that i dont hesitate to carry it up and down stairs but nobody has ever noticed on their own that i dont have breaks or gears...bah

I live in central Vermont and have never seen another fixie on the road up here, though I've heard rumors of a guy who rides to Montpelier, 60 miles away, for lunch. When people do notice, they don't get it. They can't conceive of a bike with only one gear and no freewheel. My commute is 25-50 miles, depending on whether or not I drive part way. It's along a river valley, so the hills aren't as bad as they might be. My favourite part is riding through the local "Miracle Mile," where I regularly beat cars from one end of the strip to the other.
Some teenagers sprayed me with a Supersquirter last summer, then didn't notice me catch up to them at the light until I hosed the shooter with my water bottle.

at 2am on my way home from Whitehall I had the same car throw waterballoons at me twice, about 10 min apart. They missed both times, but when I caught up with them at the light i was sans water bottle to seek revenge with...

If you are referring to the silver Syntace bullhorns I just mounted the same ones last night and rode them to work the first time today. I too decided to take the front brake off along with the old drops..."just to try the bars and make sure I like the fit". I pull in my building and the door guard and the mail guy (who I see everyday, and they know my bike) say " wow, you got nothing on that bike...it looks naked".

I was like SWEET. :D
I may leave the brake off as well and avoid any big hills!

Indeed I am. I'm happy, although I need to wrap them still. Aesthetically they really don't need it, but my hands get sweaty here in Florida.

a gaurd at my college once talked to me about my bike, he said "that bike must be some racer bike, there's nothing on it!"

it got me stoked.

So maybe if I took off my front brake I'd have a better chance of being noticed and they would actually see me in their right hand mirror which I KNOW they are checking when they make right turns..... just kidding, I think drivers only use that mirror 5% of every right turn....