brunop

how many ya'll estimate there are? i mean urban fixed riders--not roadriders usin' fixed as trainers. i know there's no way of findin' out for sure, but what ya think? i mean in the usa. i have no ****ing idea.

mattface 

what's the difference? A fixed rider is a fixed rider. Is it somehow more "pure" to ride fixed because you are "urban" wtf THAT means.

brunop

"pure"? kinda. i mean fixed riders who don't sport too much spandex and those logo jerseys which is what trainin' guys generally do. what's up with those things anyway? i see dudes with big ol' guts hangin' over their bib things with logos all over the jersey. it's funny the ben and jerry ones! and the beer ones on fat dudes. why they wear those things? you know they ain't sponsored by anyone on the jersey. hell, they BOUGHT the jersey! if i was gonna sport all sorts o' logos all over my gear, i better get it free or get paid.

i guess i mean an estimated census of riders whose primary bike is fixed.

ya think it's in the low thousands or higher? i tend to think thousands as i'm in boston and nyc and they're probably the hotbeds of urban fixed ridin'. from what i see in these two places, i'd extrapolate and say maybe 4 to 5 thousand "pure" riders. (but i'm terrible at math )

fixedpip

Didn't we start this in this thread (or at least something very similar)?
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...&highlight=map

We got about 142 peeps on the map, may be all you newbes should catch up

For those too lazy to open the thread link, theres a google map showing where everyone is:
https://www.frappr.com/bikeforumsssfg

But for the census thing, I'd guess for every rider on the forums theres at least 20 non forum riders (probably higher in some places). See lots of fixie riders around London but there are only a handful of us on the board. Same is probably true in the states.

same time

Good question - I think we can get a good estimate if we take all the people on this forum, and consider what percentage of those folks represent X number of cyclists per city. Then add a few more for error.

So I can say with some confidence that there's more than 15, maybe as many as 20.

dabern

So let me get this straight...if I ride my front brake and bike computer equipped track bike for fixed-gear training whilst wearing lycra shorts and a Molteni jersey then I'm not "pure?" Geez, I think we need another which-messenger-bag-should-I-buy thread for you purists.

mattface 

wooo wooo someone call the fashion police!!!

I agree with you that logo jerseys when you're not sponsored are kinda stupid, and bibs look awful, and even worse if you've got a gut, but no one appointed me the fashion police, so I figger what people choose to wear when they ride their bike, and what kind of bike they chose to ride is no business of mine, and certainly has no bearing in my mind on wether they are a real fixed rider or not.

You'll have plenty from "urban culture" who just ride to the coffe shop, and plenty from road culture who buy all the kit, and don't really ride. You'll also have riders from all niches who are serious about riding, and whatever that means to them is a personal thing.

I couldn't begin to guess how many fixed riders are out there, but when you add in arbitrary qualifications like fashion choices, and populaion density, it would be impossible.

MKRG

I think we all know that anybody who rides wearing cycling specific clothing isn't a real biker. It's clear to me anyway, that those who wear that stuff are just out to show off on their little metric centuries and all that. They're just trying to get people to look at them.

geog_dash

If you had lots and lots of time you could probably ask the bike shops how many "urban style" fixies they sell per month. Then make assumptions about what percentage see actual use and how long they last. The result would be yet another bicyle statistic. "Statistics" about bicycle use are dubious at best. Further refining them for a particular genre and application would take either lots of faith or lots of money, IMO.

brunop

naw matt, dude! i'm no fashion police as you oughta see some of the get-ups i ride in! i just think it's funny is all. especially the fat dudes "sponsored" by ice cream companies and brewpubs. it's all good. anyone on a bike is a hero for at least the time they're on the bike. even geared bikes.

squeakywheel

I'm not so sure. You might be pure if you aren't fat. This pure thing is just too complicated. So if the fat guys in lycra aren't pure, does that make them the counter culture? All the lawyers and vice president Lance wannabees wearing expensive cycling jerseys should be over in the Alternative Bike Culture forum?

12XU

If you start as a "strictly urban" rider, are naturally competitive, and get excited about cycling as a whole, you'll eventually buy a bib and start road racing. I used to rag on roadies so much when I started over a year ago, and while I think a "bike jock is still a jock," cycling is my life and commuting cycling is just one aspect of that. I'll wear my kit while racing and my street clothes while commuting. A uniform is a uniform, regardless of how "true" you think you're being by not changing your clothes from one situation to another. I'd like to see you compete in jeans and a T-shirt with a U-Lock hanging out of your back pocket. Hell, if you think that's possible, then you probably aren't training and are going to get straight-up dropped anyway...

For those of us into the whole vintage roadie look, we swallow our flagrant unpaid advertising and wear the jerseys of the greats (Molteni, 7-11, Mapei, Cinzano, etc)

In regards to volume of fixed riders, I find myself thinking there are TONS of them that either lurk on this board without registering or don't bother with the internet geekiness of the culture at all. I lived in Pittsburgh all summer, built a really poorly rigged fixed gear at a bike co-op, saw others doing the same, came to this board, and saw hardly anyone from Pittsburgh, let alone anyone I knew from my travels around the city. There were over 300 people at the Critical Mass in June, many of which were riding fixed. There were yet more fixed riders that are either jaded by CM or don't like the whole scene and weren't there. Still we have tons of people that I can't possibly hope to count that I know personally and who aren't on this board. I won't hazard a guess at how many fixed riders are in cities I've never been to, but I'd say there are at least 250 dedicated fixed riders in PGH alone...

brunop

?? everyone on a bike is a hero! "pure" or not!!!
happy everything to everybody!!!!

mattface 

I need a HEEEEEERO!!!
I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night
he's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
and gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light
He's gotta be sure and he's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
Larger than li-i-ife

brunop

no one estimated how many! i estimate 5000 or so (including the "purest" rider there is: pistaboy). but who knows?

mattface 

I think your estimate is way low. but I don't think anybody knows

Aeroplane

I'd say around 5. Most of the people on this forum don't actually ride fixed, and many of them are the same person registered under different accounts (dolface=Ceya, etc.)

queerpunk

actually, the number is lower than 5. it's closer to two. I know i'm the only pure urban fixed rider because i can find reasons why other people are impure. I'm saying two just to leave room for error.

mattface 

so you estimate 2 with a +/- 2 accuracy

I get somewhere between 4 and 0

msneeri2@hotmai

i am actually tandem stoker Expatriate. comin' clean y'all.

queerpunk

no, you misinterpret. i'm saying one that i know of. with the possibility of another.

mattface 

I beleive the correct spelling is stroker, but a lot of people get that wrong.

koyman

I hate fat things.

32:17

I woke up at 5am and biking from my house rode 15 miles, climbing 3,000+ feet, on my fixed mountain bike. Rode home and switched to my fixed road bike and rode 25 miles, climbing 1,500 additional feet, for my ride into work. At 5:50 tonight I will get on my road bike and ride 20 miles (short cut) climbing 1,800K home. This is a typical week day for me. I do wear bibs and lycra/spandex but no logos. I do ride through 5 cities on my way to work but none of them are 'urban'. I don't ride my bike to the coffee shop or pub because I would rather spend my time/money on my bikes and family.

Both my bikes are fixed (hell I'm even fixed)
Being 'impure' is just fine with me.

baxtefer

i like spandex... i like how it cradles my, uhhhh, nevermind.