SamHouston

there is already a favourite pink bike rolling around with that crew in DC, maybe they were thinking it'd be fun to have more, I dont think there can be enough pink bikes on the road personally.

alchemist

I have similar experiences as the rest. Usually an older man (50+) who's nostalgia gets the better of him...

"Just wanted to tell you, that is a very beatiful machine... really elegant."

"Haven't seen one of those in years."
-it should be noted that Santa Barbara's fixed gear culture is still adolescent.

Old guy: "You got a coaster break on that bike?"
Me: "No, I can just put some back pressure on the pedals like I want to go backwaryds... see?" (lift the back of the bike up and pedal backwards).
Old guy: "Be careful."
Me: "Have a good day"

I enjoy fielding questions about my bike, and I bask in the stares I get from all of the UCSB students on their beach cruisers upon realizing that I've got no brakes. The attention is nice... perhaps I'll convert a few.

Plinkerton

Santa Barbara! Another fixie! Holy crap man, I know of 2 other people in this town riding fixies. I don't know if I would even call it "adolescent". The culture here is non-existant almost.

I ran into one on the bike path. An older guy, probably 55-60 was fixing a flat, and as I rode by, I noticed there wasn't a derailer, or cables on his bike. I stopped and turned around, and we had a chat.

Other than that, I was riding down the path and I caught a roadie out of the corner of my eye. I started trying to haul ass, and kept in front of him for a while. Where the path split off, he went in the street, rode alongside me, and said,

Roadie: "Man, those things are a lot of fun"
Me: "Yeah, I just finished it a couple days ago"
Roadie: "Sweet, what's your ratio, 52-15?"
Me: "Haha, no way, 48-18"
Roadie: "That's not a bad gear"
Me: " Nope. It's nice for around here"
Roadie: "Well have fun"

And then he proceeded to haul ass away and down the street.

wangster

Normally I don't mind question, in fact I welcome them because that one more person thats a little more educated about bikes. Then there are the ones that just ask at inconvenient times. I was coming out of strand talking to my friend on the phone and unlocking my bike when a guy comes up and starts looking at my bike and I. I ignore him cuz I'm on the phone, but he keeps looking then looks to me like he wants to say something, so after a couple of minutes I get annoyed and told my friend on the other line to hang on.

me: can I help you?
him: is that one of those fixies?
me: yeah...
him: no brakes? interesting ride?
me: ummm... sure...
him: they're really popular now huh? Very trendy.
me: yeah.

and I turn around and get back to my friend on the phone. I wouldn't have minded normally, but to interupt my phone call is kinda annoying and rude.

stevo

whhhoops; update, first time in probably a decade: saturday, outside Bucks Co. Coffee...

guy with girl (to girl) : Thats a messenger bike
guy with girl (to me): Are you a messenger?
me: ummmmmm, no?
guy (to girl): Well it IS a messenger bike.

I should note that my 'messenger bike' sports a wide saddle, northroads and a carradice.

gorn

I was inviting one of my non-biker friends on this group ride and so I offered her my "grocery bike", and explained I had my grocery bike and my fun bike on campus. So she (not a biker as I said) asked if my fun bike was a "ten-speed". "Ummm actually, it's a one-speed." I explained fixed but I'm not sure that she really understood or not.

boots

Once when I was locked up on 81st street on the west side, some 78-year-old dude wearing a camel-hair coat walked past my bike, took one look at it, and demanded that I take my brake off.

Fugazi Dave

Amazing. I'm writing that into a script.

Toasted

The first time I ever rode through downtown during the day was the middle of thourist season and some man with a Dutche accent asked me for a ride when I was waiting for him and his family to get out of my way, and then he tride to jump on my handle bars.

explody pup

People pretty much ignore bikes here. Though I had one guy comment on it. An old racer from what I gathered. He said he was happy to see people still riding lugged frames. No comment about it being fixed. Nice guy.

Plinkerton

I was telling a former classmate about my bike, and how you can't stop pedaling.

He came up to me a few days later and said, "I think I saw one of those bikes where you can't stop pedaling, with the huge contraption on it that makes it so you can't stop pedaling".

I was kind of surprised and baffled by the comment, so I walked him out to my bike and showed it to him.

"OOOOHHHHHHH..." he said, "You're insane..."