The pursuit of this "culture" is only the concern of insecure children.

I know exactlly what you mean about the vinyl, I just mentioned that in my previous post. A lot of underground rare punk and metal bands have been putting their old LP's out on newer labels, that being said, the records are available everywhere. But thankfully, people who dug them in the 80s and whatever have the originals. Still, seeing people being able to buy the expensive originals on ebay but never listen to the record is irritating. I just wanna shout give it to me!

But with bicycle snobbery, I dont understand

only half?

i have been losing weight for sure. i dont really exercise much otherwise, so it makes a big difference going from nothing to something, whatever the something is. lifting weights is so mind numbing to me, i want to throw them through a window after 5 minutes. thankfully i found a mens league to play in nearby and i will be playing at the start of next season.

in terms of what youre saying about vinyl, there are many parallels you will see like this across subcultures. the closest thing i can compare to is sneaker collecting. over the past few years, nike has taken into account the incredible demand for sneakers that were released anywhere from the early to mid eighties to the late nineties. as such, they have been re-releasing many of them.

for example, in celebration of the 23rd edition of the jordan sneaker line, nike has been releasing all the previous models from the last 23 designs. people go nuts over this ****, and the sneaker collecting obsession has blown up over recent years.

so you have the same god damn shoe, almost to the t, one released in 87 one released in 08, and one is worth 600 and the other is worth 200 because of rarity, and the fact that one is the "original" and one is the "re-release" blah blah, fine i get that, its like buying an original work of art versus a print or poster i guess. but what kills me is the people will the ones from 87 think the people with the ones from 08 are poseurs cuz they havent been collecting sneakers for 20+ years. gimme a break. some of these kids collecting now werent alive when the original sneaker was released.

its all the same BS everywhere you go.

like anything else, you just be yourself and do what you love and **** the haters. **** em!

by the way, if any of you are unfamiliar with the sneaker collecting obession, take a gander at www.flightclubny.com its a consignment sneaker store, meaning the shop doesnt actually own anything it sells, its just a broker for deals between buyers and sellers, taking a nice cut off the top. some of the nikes in there run as much as $5000! GTFO. but, in their defense, some of that stuff truly is art. game recognize game.

I only have to listen to people snobberizing about me on my bike as I'm leaving them in my dust. Once they get fast enough to talk **** to me, then I'll care. Until then I'll just continue enjoying riding my bike.

Snobbery comes from the desire to feel good about yourself. Some feel that to do that, they have to put others down. Riding fixed gives an opportunity, because those of us who can ride fixed have a skill that others don't have.

This isn't everyone's motivation, for sure, but it explains a few people.

I rode 20 miles yesterday on my fixie. I think that was the longest I ever rode on it. I was apprehensive, but it went just fine. Yes, it definitely is more of a workout than riding a freewheel. I won't use this bike as my primary bike, but it is fun.

Thats pretty much what got me riding. I started out ss, and moved to fg after a friend talked me into trying it. I feel like a shmuck sometimes though, because every other goofball on campus started riding fixed about the same time.

Im sure its some peoples motivation, it makes sense. Congrats on the riding 20 miles! I think id be dead halfway. I ride about 10 miles a day to school but midway through that Im in class and resting up, and thats when I had a 10 speed. I rode my IRO yesterday to school and it was pretty hard (like I said, I got some junk in my trunk), but...I got here in MUCH less time. Its usually about 25 mins (traffic, stops, obstacles, etc) but with the fixed gear its cut my time down to 15 mins. Stoked!

male social circles-- especially ones based around physical activity-- are cliquey. always have been.
urban cycling is no different. the newest new jack will get snubbed or mocked until everyone finds out he's got a 35mph sprint in traffic. if you don't have prowess, then you have to pay your "dues" within the social structure.
that's just how it goes.
in highschool, you saw it with jocks. every group has it, it's nothing new.
females aren't nearly as common in circles like these, so they're usually quite surprised when they encounter it, as OP is.
it's been around for tens of thousands of years.

kids whose parents are willing to give them $300 for an Aerospoke, $700 for the Bare Knuckle and $x for a Deep V w/ phil wood are obviously better, and if you have a question they cant answer it because if its not a chris king headset then its not worth looking at (unless its njs of course cuz their next bike is gonna be NJS) its just ppl thinking their better than you cuz they have the parts, same as when i was a kid and i wouldnt play pokemon w/ kids who didnt have all the holographics...ppl who are snobbish to you dont bother, i got into the fixed gear thing because of the hype, now im one of the only kids i know who commutes 99% by bike (some times RT sometimes i borrow my little sisters car ;]) and also rides my road bike x amout of miles a week, theres more to bikes than fixed gears and theres more to fixed gears than composite wheels

on top of that, alot of the ppl who may be 'snobbish' may be the ones who have been into cycling for years, and think that you're only in it for the fashion accessory, so i can understand the whole "your not serious so stfu" aspect, until you become serious and actually have the bike due to interest in the sport/form of excercise/mode of transportation

there's a culture?

**** I am old

I dunno about a drop in fixed riders, but I'm certainly seeing quite a few hipster-types on old mopeds in Portland. "Hey wait a second, biking is hard!"

grammar, you should use the proper variety.

(if only grammar was NJS stamped...)

This is pretty much true! Thats good insight on it...

I am new to riding. I don't have a fixed but ride my vintage italian roadie. I love the thing to death but also want a fixed gear because of the hype. I will customize it to my liking (call me a hipster) but I really truely love the art in customizing your own bike. Don't get me wrong. I rode 24 miles today in about an hour and 45 minutes but really think this fixed gear bike will give me a more fun and exciting ride. I drive stick because it gives me more pleasure and enjoyment over automatic. I have heard and from my understanding can see the similarities between the two.

I don't have a single penny to afford the parts i'm looking at the current moment but know how i want to build my bike. I won't ride it to show off. I will ride it to ride it. Those who are snobby will call me a poser because i got into their "subculture." I have never felt so good in my life with all this working out from my road bike. It relieves so much stress and I feel so much stronger!

Here is my bike:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/520727-1986-giubilato-campy-equipped-100-original.html

You = my hero.

radiocontrolhea, fantastic bike. What a place to start.

Beautiful bike! I love how people customize thier bikes, I dont know why or know how that makes you a hipster but..whatever, I dont think it does. Its a fun aspect of having a fixed gear that you cant have with a geared bike.

Like others on here have said, there's snobbery everywhere.

Music, sports, film, even in academics.

Just ignore it, be yourself, and enjoy whatever it is you do.

As far as snobbery in cycling goes, you haven't met many roadies have you?

Thanks you guys!

I started riding track 5 years ago in Montreal. I bought a Fuji which I had to special order because nobody sold track bike back then. I rode for myself and enjoyed the simplicity. I encountered a few oddities like the guy who told me I was not a true track rider because I ran a front brake. I used to go from the bottom of the city to the upper town on a daily basis. I appreciated the safety of a front brake and could not care less.

I met a few fashion victims who had a very loose chain, I explained to them it was dangerous and they thanked me. I always found cyclist to be a fun crowd to hang around and I include all cyclist.

I now live in Japan where track bike are the ultimate fashion object. For some mysterious reason, I never see anybody ride, the bike are always parked in front of fashion boutiques. I now ride a very expensive Kiyo frame that was spray painted black by his previous owner. The bike really looks like **** but I still enjoy riding track just as much as I did in Montreal. I get odd looks by the few track riders I meet on the street. They are riding color matched bikes with matching messenger bags. I just smile and leave them in my shadow.

Thats interesting I thought in Japan people were really into riding fixed gears? like religiously

Track bike is a religion of some form here. I've been to Keirin race and it's the closest to an official ceremony it will get. Keirin might be the purest expression of track bike riding since the bike are pretty plain and simple. Dura-Ace everything, Araya wheels and the rest is Nitto with a dash of Kashimax for the saddle. It's funny, but the people who attend those races don't care the less about the bikes, it's a multi billion yen betting game. The racers care about the bike and they are great.

I have seen a couple of bike messengers in Tokyo who seem to be serious about track riding, but from what I could see, it's a big fashion thing. There is a magazine about track bike, track bike are covered in all major bike publications including some that are partly fashion magazine. There is a track rider look which I clearly don't fit it. I am a rider, I could care less for the hip hop type wear. I will ride wearing basic black shorts and a tshirt.

kinda like kids with modded cars and neon lights?