I'm sure she enjoys you eating her pie as much as you enjoy eating it.

Ouch. Those red and white outfits in post number 8 hurt my eyes more than the hassledork photos from like two weeks ago. I'd rather ride bareassed.

msl

This reminded me of a poem by Galway Kinnell. You weren't talking to Eddy Merckx the other day, were you?:

I eat oatmeal for breakfast.
I make it on the hot plate and put skimmed milk on it.
I eat it alone.
I am aware it is not good to eat oatmeal alone.
Its consistency is such that is better for your mental health if somebody eats it with you.
That is why I often think up an imaginary companion to have breakfast with.
Possibly it is even worse to eat oatmeal with an imaginary companion.
Nevertheless, yesterday morning, I ate my oatmeal porridge, as he called it with John Keats.
Keats said I was absolutely right to invite him:
due to its glutinous texture, gluey lumpishness, hint of slime, and unsual willingness to disintigrate, oatmeal should not be eaten alone.
He said that in his opinion, however, it is perfectly OK to eat it with an imaginary companion, and that he himself had enjoyed memorable porridges with Edmund Spenser and John Milton.
Even if eating oatmeal with an imaginary companion is not as wholesome as Keats claims, still, you can learn something from it. (excerpted)

As far as people not excepting road conversions.........

If you notice when anyone asks, "what should I buy, Pista, fuji, KHS...etc etc", it is ALWAYS met with "build your own conversion for XX amount of dollars less" by the 3rd post.

I think that the "fixed gear lifestyle" becoming a fad is interesting in an anthropological way. AT the shop I work at we built a bunch up for winter riding, tried to get some group night rides going even tried to get some people interested in multi point city racing with no luck. So we kept doing it by ourselves, now four years later I see them all the time (Could be because we are the only local shop interseted and stocking parts) But the shop guys all wear road gear, and helmets, the new guys we see wear cutoffs, logod t's and mostly no helmets. Which is fine, the more the merrier, but I wonder what cultural thing, caused this upsurge. Was there some show or a documenteary that brought "fixie culture" forward?
Messenger bags are getting more poular as well. In 94 I got my first Timbuk2 bag, I thought they were great, carry all my crap back and forth to work, I liked it on my back better than a backpack (I know there is arguement over that) We started stocking them, in all the sizes Timbuk2 offered. You couldn't give them away, now I see them all the time. again, what was the thing that brought them forward? Did some musical talent have one in a video, or was it used in a opopular tv show?

Chocolate pecan pie is the best, with homemade vaniiia icecream.

i have been trying to figure this full-kit roadie thing out for the last couple of months.....i don't get it....i can be simply crusing along, ride along side a road bike, about to say hey whatsup or someting, next thing you know all i hear are gears dropping, which no matter how tired i am or how many sprints or hills i have done....gives me extra fuel in the tank...


but some of these guys, (never has happened with women....ever) really seem pissed when they can't drop me, or heaven forbid i grab the drops and get busy and dump em on a climb. there is this group that with my work schedule and their ride schedule every saturday morning on my way into work we meet, last week they turned off the bike route on cue when they saw me at the light...so i stopped and waited...then they looped back...still remember the look on their faces when i was still there ( i waited through a couple of lights)....i just laughed, then blew through the light so they wouldn't have to try anything else...guess they didn't want to play again....

i tend to think of it like back when i really was into golf...there are those people that you hook up with that are really into the game, you know if you play that there is more to it than simply buying the best clubs and latest innovations that come out....aren't going to help you one bit if you are not putting in work...ie spending time on the driving range, putting greens, par 3's and the whole 9....i had a basic set of clubs that worked for me, and was really developing game...translated into finally shooting in the 90's and every now and then i could really have a desent game. some of my partners that probably dumped easy 5-10 times the amounts of $$$ on equipment to this day do not talk to me....and they still play and i don't any longer...started riding again, can not do both, work and have anytype of social relationship with there being only 24hrs in a day.

its kind of funny, but then its kind of sad, because we are all riding....it shouldn't matter what....

and yes...i have yet to come across a commuter that hasn't been in a great mood, even if the weather is bad, it seems....there is a zen thing with commuting....at least with those i have come in contact with.....

Why does everything have to be so complicated for such a simple bike!

The social dynamics are more complicated then they appear on the surface. There are definately clicks within the click. There is more "hardline" group and several degrees of spiraling outward. In my observations, it seems the fundamentalists are at the track level, then there are the messengers, who adopted fixed gears for simplicity and responsiveness, then you have the hotrod mentality hipsters, with the rare vintage parts from obscure manufactures and then you have the cross over fellas, who ride all sorts of bikes who just wanted to add a different steed to the collection or just to try another style of riding, then there are the roadies using fixed gears for off season training.

This is my observation, it is by no means complete, refined or true to reality. Please add edit or correct my observations. not meant to offend anyone.

You have encountered a "hammerhead"- a lot of these guys wear a pro kit- but they never actually race. Their jaunt out on the MUT is their time trial... or they try to chase down everything in front of them. Often they will turn off the road as soon as they pass you because they have run out of gas... that is if they actually catch you. Every ride is a competition. I think this is a common phenomenon for many new riders... they all think they are fast and they want to test everyone they see.

I've seen some guys riding around on Zipp 404s or 303s as "everyday wheels." It is hard for me not to be at least a little bit judgmental.

I've been on some nasty club rides that are basically organized to drop as many riders as possible without regrouping. These are the races for these riders- who generally don't actually race. A respectable club ride will regroup throughout the ride.

Most guys I know who actually race know better- they might still be wearing their local team kit, but they know better than to blow their ride into a bunch of junk miles (ridden at a heart rate that does nothing for them)... plus they save the competitive stuff for the actual races.

I can remember the first group ride....and everyone of them after that I brought the fixie. The look they give is the same as if you were to show up in a poop suit. Utterly disgusted. Even more hateful should you bring one that has moustache bars on it. If however I bring out the geared bike, you are "just one of the guys".

I keep threatening to show up with an ice cream bike complete with the cooler on front. Just gotta find one............

I just happened across this today and I think there's a lot overlap between Grant Peterson's Bridgestone and the attitude that many fixed gear riders who "get it" have.

Or maybe not. But it's a good read anyhow.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgest...neepitaph.html

(Did I mention punk rock Rivendell?)

i often ride as a "full-kit roadie", i used to race and i still have a bunch of my old uniforms, figured i'd keep using them rather than buying new stuff.

i like people on bikes, you wanna talk to me i'm happy to talk right back, and if you try to drop me i'll hang on, suck your wheel until you blow up and then cruise on by.

point is, you can make generalizations about any group, and while you may be right most of the time, you're gonna be wrong occasionally too.

i figure, the more people out riding, the better for all of us, and no one benefits from a nasty attitude.

wow, just read what i wrote, talk about inchoherent. i clearly need more coffee.

I only ride a fixed gear bike because it's a total chick magnet.

ok so next time we all get together, bring it!!!....i still have a couple of jerseys...but sadly they don't fit any longer...i think my ex-wife used to put something in the washer to make them smaller, but i was never able to prove anything


i've met more than one of these...usually when i'm out on my fixed conversion which is a set up a bit differently, more like the first fixed bikes i rode..'back in the day' which means 20years ago. one of my favorite conversations was with a local racer who was talking about his masters experince while we shared a beautiful sunset by the berkeley marina.....so i know they are out there...but in my riding through this plantar fasciitis, i have had to cut back my miles and change my routes so that i do not come into contact with the real roadies out there...but see these "hammerheads" by the 100's.....

Creating magnetism with bicycles.

There are a few things I appreciate about this forum:
1) People actively encourage other people to spend less on stuff and use what they have creatively. I think it's awesome that $500 on a Bianchi Pista is considered "kind of a lot to spend." I don't think you can get much in the way of road or mountain bikeage for $500. Not that I'd know, but I'd assume as much. I think it's great that I can start a thread like this and not have a single person question the idea of welding a cracked frame back together in the first place.
2) People seem to really like bikes in a straightforward, aesthetic way. To wit: the insane number of pictures in the "pictures of your bike thread" and on the FGG. Also, that people's apprecitaion of bikes and enthusiasm towards others' rides isn't keyed to how expensive or fancy they are. I like that simple road conversions get as many props as totally haute track bikes or full-blown custom jobs.
3) I find the idea that someone might say, in all seriousness, "ooh! nice stem!" totally totally cute.
4) Anytime anyone gets carried away with toughguy posturing they get shot down pretty quickly. The ******bag factor is pretty low, which is nice.

m.

It isn't for the money, no it isn't for the fun
It's a plan, a scam, a diagram
It's for the benefit of everyone
You gotta have a little respect
Subterranean ideals
Traditional neglect
Reflect on how you think it would make you feel
The cause- we're just doing it for the cause
No it isn't for the fortune, it isn't for the fame
It's a scheme, a dream, a bartering
We want everyone to think the same
Because you know what you know is right
And you feel what you can't ignore
And you try so hard to point the blame
Ashamed- what are we doing this for?
The cause- we're just doing it for the cause

Nice opening to a good post.
I see parallels to skiing & snowboarding. On the mountain, skiing is seen as the traditional and (yawn) adult activity.
Snowboarding is claimed by the newer generation but that alone is not enough. The kids have this curious need to set themselves apart even further with baggy pants and XXXXL jackets.
When the snowboarders start to carry messenger bags, the anthropological overlap between fixies and snowboarders will be complete.

She drove a Plymouth Satellite
Faster than the speed of light

Speaking for my self personally and I am sure many others on this forum its pretty simple really. If some one is a jerk you turn around and walk the other way. I played Football and Baseball in High School and though I never dated a cheer leader I was not afraid to go out back with the heads for one either. Today I race road and cyclocross and commute/ride a fixie everywhere. If I am cruising down the road on any bike I am nice to people and expect them to be nice to me regardless of what bike they are on or what threads they choose to wear . If not F'em who cares. Perhaps the fixie culture is just that; more tolerant. Or perhaps it is that for each given population of culture fixie vs. roadie. There are a lot more people in the road culture than in the fixt so there for one sees more ass roadies but it does not necessarily mean that more roadies are asses... blah blah blah. Did some one mention coffee, maybe with a slice of pie ulghhhhhhh

This makes you a player. So what if a roadie drops his chain to a harder gear...why be so concerned about his insecurities.

So, you basically stalked them to challenge them on your commute...maybe, they just didn't want to deal with your nonsense.

Maybe they were hammerheads, maybe they were a**holes, maybe they were just out for a group ride and didn't want to be messed with. And maybe I'm being overly critical, but just let it go and ride.

And as far as wearing a full-kit, how is that any different than wearing a customized messenger bag on your back (or wearing the full "posenger" kit of cut-offs with appropriate hip tee-shirt, chain around the waist and cycling cap) ...there does seem to be a double-standard here.

I wear full-kits on some of my rides for various reasons: comfort, fit, practicality, and I like to support the clothing manufacturers and corporate sponsors that fund professional cycling. Its trickle down theory...where would recreational cycling be if none of these companies invested their money in the sport. We don't live or ride in a vacuum.

I ride with friends, ride alone, and sometimes I hook-up with strangers along 9W or in CP. Its all good. For the most part, people don't give a damn what you're riding or wearing, or at least that's been the case in my experience.

And finally the truth comes out!

My roadie has two sets of wheels, but I don’t get
any monthly flats, my roadie hardly even used
My roadie got lots of extra gears. they took my
cassette and made it cog and lock ring. turning roadie into Fixie
Operation succesfull, but now I gotta pedal through the hills, gotta remember to sprint at the base
and when I ride my fixie up hill I go from
side to side cause I don’t wanna walk it up.
I'll never miss my stack of gears
I trade it for a flip flop hub
Now I got to hang with Fixie forum
Conversion paid up front now
I show all the roadies my new fixie ride
They think I’m kinda weird but that’s
Ok with me cause now I kick their ass wtihout shifting
Nothing finer than having a Fixie!

I love this forum

I am neither Old "Skool" or New School: I am my school.

I have 3 bikes
all three are track bikes
I have owned geared bikes in the past, and may do so again in the future
I like most people that ride bikes
I am glad there are others who ride bikes too
I enjoy riding bikes with others
talking about bikes is good too
I wear what I have
I like most people in here

YEAH....what he said!!! (excpet for the 3 bikes thing, i only have 2)

poseur