nah, 22 and didn't exactly "just start"...what, are you saying i'll get weaker over time, instead of stronger? hasn't been the case so far.

anyway, that post didn't say what i meant to say, and thinking about it now, even what i meant to say was questionable.

**** you. you're talking about someone else, that doesn't sound like me at all. hey, glad you know sooooo much about me after one goddamn (admittedly) stupid post.

sorry everyone that it came out wrong. sorry to hurt anyone's elite feelings.

one?

me thinks you haven't been here long enough to judge other people's posting histories.

i don't really agree with what HC posted in here, but he apologized for it. the rest of the **** he throws out to the board is worthwhile. maybe you should think twice about talking that kinda **** when your join date is within the same week of the post you're critiquing.

edit - and this means a hell of a lot coming from me because i sure as hell ain't one of those newbie bashers.

i agree. don't start talkin' too much ***** about humancongereel! the dude's a-ok. be cool.

thanks guys...like i say, it was stupid...there were a lot of factors i didn't take into account when i posted that ****. those were pointed out to me, some not so politely, which is what got to me.

and right, to put things in perspective, i do need to race people. i know i'm pretty quick, but i need someone to kick my ass to really show me the reality of it. good thing i'll be starting at the velodrome come march. that'll show me.

without attacking my character.

Hmm.. Jim-Bob are you saying that SF mechanics are the root of this crazy fixed gear craze? I would rather agree with the poster who gave street cred to NY messengers.

My brother split NY with his track bike in early 1994 and was considered muy loco by just about everyone he came across in Frisco for working there on his fixed/no brakes.

When I went to LA to messenger the winter of 95/96 the kids thought my fix had a coaster brake!
The Cycle Messenger World Champs 95 in Toronto and 96 in Frisco spread the style quite a bit. There was even a fixed/no brakes street race at the SF Worlds.

European messengers were pointing and laughing at the first skid competition to take place at a CMWC (Barcelona/97). Just three years later at CMWC in Copenhagen close to half of the 400 competitors were rocking fixed/no brake!

Then there is the picture by Alice Austin from 1896 that is titled 'Messenger by Wheel' and has a western union messenger kid posing with his fixed/no brakes(!) on 30th St. and Broadway.

So, that's my 2 cents on the topic :D

No, I'm not trying to claim any credit, just adding another data point.

As a shop rat, I built my first fixed gear up in 1991 with a hub that some messenger bag guy brought back from Japan for me. Another wrench gave me a pair of track bars that he'd had hanging around since his junior days, and I had the stylingest nishiki in my high school.

I know E.Zo and some of the king boys were already riding fixed by that point, but yeah, like I said, most of the messengers I saw downtown were riding mountain bikes with the full metal baskets up front, although some had realized that they could chop the sides and front to make a sort of basket/rack thing.

I've never ridden in NYC. For all I know, it could've been a hotbed of fixed activity since the dawn of time. I'm just sharing what I've seen.

OK- If I ever get my hands on another print of that Alice Austin pic I will post it. (some cretin stole it from the CMWC art show in Seattle :mad: )

I tend to think fixed in Frisco is crazy with all those hills!? But hey, to each their own. If you ride NYC bring youir fix cuz I swear this town was built for that bike, flat and fast. With all the weather/grime it is just that much easier to maintain year round.

i'll lap you 6 times, then attack your character, then make fun of your wheelset. i'm cool like that.

no! not the wheelset!

Bike commuting is a lifestyle as well.

peter sutherland is cranking out great product lately. autograf was a great group of portraits and a nice experiment in printing.

can't wait to see the book/film.

what are you band camp meistro?

This be the one you mean?
http://nybma.com/1896photo.jpg

I like this one, a Lewis Hine circa 1911, Norfolk, Virginia
http://63.251.54.141/images/Messenge...ePhoto1911.jpg

what are you, the new guy trying to form his badass image? i can picture you now. your hair is all greased back and your smokes are rolled up in the sleeve of your white undershirt.

get off of my internet.

thats pretty damn close. but dont forget the teardrop tattoo.

That,s it! Hell Yeah if I could go back in time and bomb Broadway from Central Park to the Battery on an old skool fix!!

Ha! You rule HW. We should drink beers in Boston.