Originally Posted by pitboss

Breathing is obviously super popular in many bigger cities, and gaining popularity like crazy. One of the biggest reasons for our population's collective fascination with breathing is the romanticized association with what it sees as remaining alive. The manufacturing of lungs to facilitate the inhalation of the components which combine to make air represent a rejection of the trend to die prematurely for lack of breathing, and will push biodevelopmentalists further on the path of creating carbon breathing apparatus that will then be forced with blatant over-marketing and hype on teenaged asmatics who walk the sidewalks path on weekends. The "breather" image for most people, is the individual, exotic, stripped-down thoroughbred nose breather. The impossible conglomeration of years of evolution and adaptive radiation. Combine that with a few well-worn videos of people breathing via non-host "air induction" kits and you've created a monster. A marketer's wet dream. A largely fictional idea of a subculture ready-made for corporate co-opting. It happened to sleeping, and now it's happening to breathing. Pre-built alveoli? Oxygen tent campouts? All they need now is to come factory-direct with smoking scars and tar build up.

To be clear though, I have absolutely nothing against people who breathe unassisted--there's already way too much snobbishness in the air world to get caught up in that. Just as most people will never fully maximize their VO2 Max, like most people on iron lungs do not really have iron lungs. Hell, most people in a brass-helmet salvage suit will never truly salvage anything that is cool. My point is only that this gradual corporate takeover of our biological functions is happening right now, and it is somewhat sad to see what used to be a rejection of bland consumerist values subsumed by them. It seems to me to be against the spirit of what self-breathing used to be.

So your own lungs for all the other reasons you got it, but not because it's edgy and cool--make no mistake, lungs are on their way to being as mainstream as any other kind of vital organ. I would hope Wal-Mart never starts selling them, but they have gotten into self-cleaing diapers, so who knows.

Originally Posted by pitboss

Breathing

Originally Posted by geoGraphicFTD

I didn't even know it was a sport. or well, I didn't know that the act of leaping over fences and tumbling between buildings had a specific name. then again, I also didn't know that riding a fixie made me an auto-hipster until after I got mine. guess I'm just fulfilling my position as a disgrace to pop culture.

Originally Posted by I Like Peeing

Never heard of Soap shoes, the ones with the grind plates on the bottom? Freestyle walking 4 lyfe! I felt the same way about "auto-hipster" after building my first fixed, but those people would probably think I'm an ******* anyway.

Originally Posted by chillywater

"So ride your fixie for all the other reasons you got it, but not because it's edgy and cool--"

I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in south Florida that thinks my bike is edgy or cool(It's not very edgy at all actually). "Fixies" will become mainstream in South Florida when they come complete with air conditioning, an engine and a cell phone holder.

Originally Posted by joshuastar

come on ppl. i only read teh first post, but that's all i needed to read. you people are all elitist jerk-snobs. if ppl want 2 ride bikes, they should, no matter where they come from or where they going.


it's a free country and no ppl has teh right to tell other ppls what 2 by or not.

i 4 1 am going to my high school tomorrow and i'm going 2 talk to all my preppie friends about fixed gear bikes and get them to coem to teh next allycat race! so there!

Originally Posted by jamey

"this bike is a ******** bike so get over yourself!!!" anyone interested in a sticker?

Originally Posted by shapelike

I just noticed how badly Nathan needs to do a load of laundry.

Originally Posted by jblon

Fixed gear bikes are obviously super popular in many bigger cities, and gaining popularity like crazy. One of the biggest reasons for our population's collective fascination with fixies is the romanticized association with what it sees as a punk, DIY messenger culture. The bikes represent a rejection of the trend and profit-seeking bike industry . . .My point is only that this gradual corporate takeover is happening right now, and it is somewhat sad to see what used to be a rejection of bland consumerist values subsumed by them. It seems to me to be against the spirit of what fixed gear bikes used to be . . . So ride your fixie for all the other reasons you got it, but not because it's edgy and cool--make no mistake, fixed-gear bikes are on their way to being as mainstream as any other kind of bike. I would hope Wal-Mart never starts selling one, but they have gotten into carbon fiber, so who knows.

Originally Posted by Bikkhu

Yeah, a few months ago I wondered if it is about time someone to sprayed "LOCALS ONLY, DICK!" on Helsinki velodrome wall