Do Online Forums Affect Bike Scene?
 

There's no doubt in my mind that Hollywood influences American culture. The presence of little White "Gangstas" in Rexburg Idaho convinced me of this back in 1993. But what about the bike scene? I haven't seen anything in Idaho showing fixies on TV, in ads, the local LBS's haven't caught on (yet), but I am seeing a few fixed bikes on the road and many SS MTB's. Im thinking the reason we are seeing the fixed bike craze spread across places like Idaho and Iowa is due to online Bike forums. The first place I really learned anything about a fixed bike was from bike forums. Prior to this, if I had seen one on the streets I wouldn't have noticed if it was fixed. From the way people describe the joys of riding a fixie in their posts, I almost expected to have an orgasm with each pedal stroke. Surely this will impact a guy in Smalltown USA to the point that he will spend money to build a fixed bike without ever riding one? Thoughts? Is there another inluence out there I haven't seen?

it's just like word of mouth. online forums is basically the same, only information doesn't stop at geographical boundaries.

the interesting thing is that information is free to travel, however people aren't (as easily). so, you're still going to have regional differences. perhaps that's why fixies are super popular in urban areas and not so much in rural?? i'm sure someone will have a better more informed idea...

yeah, the notion that the internet helps information spread faster isn't really news. it has a significant impact in a lot of different ways. look at independant media, seattle '99, and artengina '01... look at the music industry in the past five years... and sure, look at bikeforums, fixedgeargallery--definitely things that made me think that i could be competantly self-sufficient with bikes and whatnot.

internet also helps me want things i can't afford and don't need.

I think urban areas have the hangout factor as well- 10 of us in SF can get together no problem, but a guy out in a rural area won't really have anyone to talk shop with, and that's an important part of any hobby (or religion, depending on your point on the scale).

Reading Sheldon Brown's writings on fixed gear was a major influence on me.

I love bikes, and started thinking about building a single speed road bike for the elegant simplicity of it. I think it was stumbling upon Sheldon's writing about fixed that first made me aware that it was even an option. I WANTED to try a fixed gear bike before I committed to owning one, but they are not at all common around here. With the hook set the idea kept recurring in my head until I couldn't resist it any more.

I never read a single post about fixed gear bikes on an online forum until I had already decided to start building one. That was when I came here and tapped into the collective knowledge to help me build a bike I would actually want to ride.

This forum has been a great resource, and it did influence my decisions about things like component choice. I was looking for low cost, and high durability/reliabbility, and the input of experienced and knowledgeable people here has been a great resource, but never influenced my decision to ride fixed.

Another factor that made ME want to ride fixed gear was actually the spinning classes that helped me get through the winter last year. I don't know how many here are familiar with spinning bikes, but they are more similar in feel to riding fixed than freewheel. that's because you are driving a large metal flywheel with no freewheel to it. The momentum of the spin is the same feel as riding fixed, and more than any other factor it was the desire to get that sensation on a road bike that inspired me to want to have a fixed bike. I would also say spinning bikes are good for training in the same way fixed gear bikes are, and they are also great training for riding fixed. When I had built my fixed bike it took very little adjustment to get used to riding it.

I've never heard of anyone else being influenced by spinning class to ride fixed, but it did it for me, and a girl in my class is now building a fix as well.

I think that not only do forums spread the word about fixed gears/peanut butter/ steak/ whatever it is you're into, they also VERY MUCH affect the styles of those things in the areas they touch.

I think the internet homogenizes culture a lot, which can be both good and bad. I think there is entirely too much fixation on what is cool (natural human behavior there, not much to be done about it). Conversely, I get lots of ideas from people elsewhere on new styles of things to try, like riser bars. The more people are forming their OWN opinions about things and sharing their knowledge, the better we all are for the existence of the internet. The more the "cool points" viewpoint holds out, the more people become like everyone else, and who really wants that?

Who gives a crap whether it's cool to ride with a brake or lights or no hands or no bartape on your track drops? Ride what you like, be safe, and for cryin' out loud, let's see pictures!!!

well, the idea there is that a notion can posture as specifically legitimate due to controlling--or appearing to control--space.

and posturing as specifically legitimate does the work of delegitimizing alternatives--which is a fancy way of saying, establishing a hierarchy of standards. which is a fancy way of saying, dictating style. and then alienating those who don't conform--because the appearance of controlling space establishes lines of who's-in and who's-out.

all of which is a fancy way of saying "i studied sociology and all i got was this over-active deconstructing thought process."

I bought a track bike before I even knew what a track bike was simply because it was cheaper than a road bike for commuting. The sales dude explained what it was to me, installed a brake, and off I went!

This is why I roll my eyes when people tell me I'm a hipster for riding fixed. I didn't even know anything about the trend or the messenger subculture before buying it 4 years ago.

bike magazines can also spread the ss love. dirtrag is all about single speeds and 29"ers as well as lightly covers fixies on the road as well as dirt. i also think bike builders/companies help get the word out by building new models around those more "unconventional" bike ideas...

mostly though, i really think your local biking community has the biggest impact... especially when they see it in action. cycling is pretty huge here; lots of riders know what a fixie is or notice a single speed on the trail... but when they see someone doing it, interacting in their same environment, it helps push them that much further to try it or at least consider why someone wouldn't want suspension or gears or coasting or whatever. i think it's that real world experience that really puts the sparkle in their eye, rather than looking at some picture in a catalog/magazine/website/dumptruck/etc.

Absolutely! Forums help spread the word quicker. Both negative and positive. I think it definitely has an influence on how bike manufacturers do business these days. I believe you will see better customer service too. In the old days ;) 1 annoyed customer would affect 20 people, today they can literally affect millions. Don't think they don't know this. In my opinion this is a good thing, we all benefit in the end.

ditto,
I wanted to learn more about truing up my rear wheel on my mountain bike a few years ago; I found sheldons site, I read through most of it on a wednesday afternoon at work, then by friday night I had bought an old road bike and was going to pick it up from a welding shop that replaced the dropouts..... I was riding it Fixed by noon saturday....... and just like that

(I still love and participate in all other forms of cycling, mountain, road, trials, fixed..... each offers something that the other can't)

I had never seen or heard about a fixed gear bike in person before I set mine up. It was entirely due to reading Sheldon Brown's articles and then reading people's comments here.

boise pedaler? i'm not alone! no...just, there doesn't seem to be a bike "scene" here. am i wrong?

I also think a lot of it is about Sheldon. How many sources, either online or bike shops, would direct people to Sheldon's site, for whatever reason? Out of all those bike fanatics cruising around his site, some of them are bound to read a few articles, get interested, and end up buying a campy cap and going fixed.

there may not be any better advocate for fixed gear road bikes than Sheldon Brown, but I don't think I've ever seen him advocate (or even mention) campy hats...

Through another forum I have helped convert more than a half dozen riders to the world of one cog cycling.

when i worked at a bike shop and got to chillin with the chatty customers, they'd say, "what do you ride?" and i'd say, "a fixed gear." what's that, you mean like the bmx bike i had when i was a kid, oh, no, it sounds difficult but intriguing, where can i learn more? so i'd take out a card and write "www.sheldonbrown.com" and "www.fixedgeargallery.com" on it.

I became a hipster because this online bike forum.

did I just say that?! please don't kill me.

I don't have a fixed gear, yet. But ride SS conversion blah blah blah. I only know 2 other guys in town here who "sometimes" ride their fixed/SS bikes.

I fell for the concept from the online community. Fixedgeargallery and sheldon's site. Even built my own wheelset from instructions on his site.

News does spead fast online.

JG

i learned about them from my friend who is a bike nut and had a fuji track bike 5 or 6 years ago that i tried.

The forums affect the 'bike scene' for the better. These forums in particular have been an excellent resource in helping me with my first build. I'm glad something like this exists, and it's great that so many people participate.

I was sick of dealing with my old bike. I put way too much money into it. I can't say that it wasn't fun, because it was. That thing took me places I never thought I'd travel to and gave me tons of freedom. The cost to maintain it just didn't make sense to me any more. That's when I decided to simplify things and build myself a new bike. These forums were the first place I came when looking for reliable information.

Great resource, great community. Part of the reason my bike came together so well was because of these forums.

I still am unclear on what a hipster is. Is it like a poser with skateboarding? Or just a trendy person?

my friend converted his bike to a fixed gear and I tried it out. He's the only person I've seen riding one in the area, although almost no one rides bikes or road bikes anyways. I was going to convert my current bike but decided to look for a seperate frame..