"fixie culture"
 

I know that I am a caveman... a mental midget... and there are a few things I don't understand and a few observations about this forum.

First off, I am a road biker- but I have two fixed gear bikes and a mtn bike. I do a lot of road racing on a geared bike and commute 40 miles round trip on a fixed off peak racing season (and sorry, but I'm not going to commute that far in jeans and toe clips).

In road culture, there are those who make fun of people who wear baggy shorts, use camelbacks, or use mtn bike shoes on road bikes... and if you use a cell phone for a flat kit, god help you! Reading road forums produces endless debats of Campy vs. Shimano, built vs. custom wheels, weight-weenism, to leg shave or not, etc... riding with headphones or without a helmet results in a flame war. There is also quite an anti-aerobar, anti-tri guy sentiment present... and god help you if you wear a sleeveless jersey. Is it OK to wear a pro-team jersey?... and god help you if you wear a national or world champion jersey (or a KOM or Sprinter's).

Of course, in the mtn bike forums, there is an ongoing debate about the merits (or lack thereof) of lycra- and there is a bizarre anti-skinny tire sentiment that sometimes rears its ugly head: on mth bike forums there have been more than one person ranting the bikes simply don't belong on roads. Of course baggy shorts, mtn shoes, camelbacks, etc. all have their practical places.

My first exposure to fixed gear was as the common fixed winter bike... several team members also race at the local velodrome- so there is some crossover there as well. I have riding friends in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who ride fixed... and some have been doing this for decades.

What I find interesting is how many posts here have an anti-roadie sentiment to them: I've seen anti-lycra posts, anti-flat kit posts, anti-brake posts, anti-road conversion posts, etc... What is this all about?

Just as it may be practical for some to wear street clothes on a track bike, and carry all their gear in a messenger bag, for a long commute or a training ride, it makes sense for me to wear some tech fabrics, use clipless pedals, carry a flat kit in a tiny seat bag, have a brake for some serious hills, ride a road conversion because they are cheap or we had an extra frameset lying around, etc...

The entire pecking order reminds of of Shakes the Clown. Everyone is on a bike, but there is a ridiculous amount of fashion and conformity involved- within whatever sub-group. I'd argue that road bikers are the worst of the lot- and I see much more use of the words "poseur" and "Fred" bandied about in their forums, but I see plenty of perjoratives tossed around here as well- when I'd expect this would be the most "anything goes" arena.

BTW- I'm not looking to "fit in" or change anyone's opinions. I'm too old and stubborn to care. I am just curious about the motivations for people's tastes and values, and curious why some people look down on the "misplaced roadie" phenomenon. We really aren't trying to get in on anyone's game.

Well said. People like to have groups with insiders and outsiders, so it's a natural tendency in any setting putatively based on some shared trait to make fun of those who don't share the trait. Also, you have to admit that it's almost criminally easy to make fun of people wearing brightly colored, skin-tight clothing.

There's an anti-flat kit contigent?

My old dispatcher used to always make fun of me for not changing my own flats before I carried one.

Most of the insults and such here in my opinion tend to be good-natured and not to be taken seriously. Some of us have gears and brakes and what not. I think people are fairly accepting of others in here. Part of the reason I tend toward this forum. It just seems a lot more fun.

Maybe I'm missing something but it seems to me the only things that cause controversy here is bumbike wheels and brakes vs. no brakes.

So true. Much of the kidding we do is because we've been here a long time and/or have ridden together.

"Fred"?

cell phone as flat kit?

I'd feel silly going to toe-to-toe-clip with a cab driver while decked out in a Mapei skin-suit. If you can pull it off, more power to you. Same goes for changing a flat in some of the neighborhoods I ride through everyday. Looking like a lycra-clad peacock would draw unwanted attention. Some of what you express in your post may not be an anti-roadie push as much as an environmental reality. Many (not all) on this forum ride exclusively in urban settings, and pimped-out roadie ***** doesn't seem to play well in the big city. And as MKRG said, we like giving each other and anybody else a hard time, so take a lot of the negativity here with a cow-pasture-sized salt-lick. If you can't mock, what point is there of going on?

No argument here FS.
I have 13 bikes. Road, MTB, fixed, cruiser etc.
I would rather see someone riding a Huffy than an Escalade.
I think it is human nature especially among weak personalities to slam other groups until they find which one you fits them.

My impression is that this board generally just doesn't care about "roadies" or whatever you want to call riders of various other types of bikes. We're into fixies, that's just our thing, and whatever else, well, whatever. I think the worst offense I've encountered here on the Fixed & SS board is the general propensity towards asking questions that could easily be answered if people posted less and rode more.

ahhh but filtersweep...all that verbage, and we dont really know where you stand on the most divergent of all cycling debates...

where EXACTLY do you stand on the pie issue???

man can only be judged by his love for pie!

pie macht frei!

so is quiche considered a pie? i've been wondering.

Why?

Well said, filtersweep.

I am myself a jeans or cutoffs rider but it's a practicality thing. With 20 miles each way I can't slight you for going with something a little more task oriented.

I think in general the fixed gear "culture" (is there such a thing--I suppose there is, sadly) likes to think of itself as practically oriented. I don't know if it's true, but there you have it. It's generally urban-centered which gives you all the attitude that such cultures have or want to have. That also means that a lot of gears often aren't worth the trouble since heavy urban traffic tends to make it more difficult to stay in the right gear and most cities are built on the flat.

For some it's an appreciation of the heroic age of cycling, the 60's and 70's. There's a romance to that period and we celebrate it. The last 30 years of innovation have been the classic 90% of the cost for a 10% improvement. 10% wins races but it doesn't get you to work any faster.

It's a reaction against the bicycle industry that tries to sell us a pair of $17 dollar socks when for 95% of my riding I can be just as comfortable with a run-of-the-mill cotton sock that comes 5 pairs for $3. A guy doesn't need a bunch of technical clothing to go out and have fun on a bike and we don't appreciate the super technogeek roadie attitude that says that if you're not pulling your jersey tight and stapling it in the back you're about as aero as a VW bus. We don't care.

Of course not all roadies are that way. Just the other weekend when me and a few similarly dressed dirtbags were working our way back downtown after catching some breakfast we were passed by a dude on a training ride in a full skinsuit and all the necessary accessories on some ultralight unobtainium ride while we're tooling around in jeans, jackets, and sweaters. My man gave me a friendly smile and nod as he went by. He knew what it's about.

It's sort of like punk rock Rivendell.

Then there are those that don't get it. Just as there are roadies who don't understand that people were having fun on bicycles for a century before they invented lycra and that most of the giants of classic cycling did quite well in toe clips, there are those who don't realize that there are times when a guy needs to go get some tighter clothes, get some clipless pedals, use more than one gear, and ditch the shoulder bag.

Some people try to inject some kind of artificial purity into a thing that was originally about simple practicality. Like a road frame better than a track frame, that's fine. Want to run a brake? Hey, if it works for you... Dig some clipless? Sure, why not?

Me, I like a trackish geometry for the pedal clearance and the responsiveness. I like a brake because I like to go fast and stop quickly and a brake allows me to do that to my satisfaction. A run toe clips because I like to be able to walk around in street shoes when I reach my destination. It's the solution that works best for me.

I'm not suggesting that I'd be caught dead in an all pink T-Mobile kit either (and these sorts often are roundly flamed in the road forums anyway)... there are certainly more discreet clothes out there- like basic black ;) I also realize the practicality of riding- especially while I'm commuting. BTW- I DO have quite a self-deprecating sense of humor... I have to- ;)

What is this "pie" you all speak of ? And "stash pockets" ? I just don't understand... ;)

Here, here to your observations. I for one hate to see such divisions between people. I've seen this occur in everything I've done - Rock Climbing (Traditional vs. sport vs. bouldering), Snow sports (skiing vs. free-heel vs. snowboarding), archery (compound vs. traditional), etc. etc. etc.
I've been a committed cyclist since 1978, and I've had the privelidge of experiencing (and enjoying) just about every form of the sport. I used to ride in a competetive format (e.g. rides were for training purposes) - which I attribute to youth, and I now ride for the sheer joy and functional simplicity (or is it simple functionality?) of it. I am doing my best to commute by bicycle (3-4 days a week at present), and I love the bicycle as a form of transportation and as a vehicle of enjoyment.
I just have to quietly smile to myself when I see people exchange heated words on such trivial perceptions, because (as Ya Tu Sabes observed above) we humans seem to have a natural tendency to cling desperately to our perceptions.

I do not currently own a fixie, but I'm in the process of planning to build one up for my commute. I like the general demeanor of the fixed gear "subculture", as they generally tend to be more open minded and less tied to their own egos.

Keep it real,
Michael

Msngr, do you guys wear jeans on your Sunday rides to Nyack?

i have been thinking about this whole quiche pie thing...it has had me rather perplexed for a while. this is where i am in my formulation.

real men dont eat quiche (arguable...but given)

you cant be a real man if you are a cake eater

life is wayyyy too short to not eat cake or pie

therefore

pie is not quiche

an equally valid conclusion is "life is too short to be a real man"

ahhhh then ergo...it must be acceptable to wear the pink tmobile team kit and shave your legs!


BRILLIANT!!!

(i'll check back later my bubble bath is almost drawn...whered i put that damn razor!)

well said bostontrevor

My actually observations while riding are this:

*Of course prefaced by the fact I am making gross generalizations and that there are always exceptions to the rule*

full-kit roadies hate everyone especially if you are riding a fixie. I think there is a lot of jock-mentality going on there & they think that my track bike makes their double chainring 11-23 drivetrain look...small. they will not aknowledge you & will treat every mile like its the last 10k of Paris-Roubaix.

fixie-riders tend to be cool to everyone, except occasionally if your "ride" isn't "hardcore" enough you will get the sneer. I only get this in Urban riding & only after buying a pista. Poser! :)

mtn bikers tend to hate roadies because of the above & will be wary of you until you show that you are just a chill biker in which case you become another member of the brotherhood.

commuters love everyone!

As for the board: the fixie forum is definitely the best. we keep each other in check & call people out, but never in a totally mean way. and i don't see any of the other sections going on group rides.

jeff

It's kinda tricky defending your own group's inclusiveness while at the same time criticizing all other groups.

I do a few forums and I consider the Singlespeed & Fixed Gear forum very humorous, informative, respectfully irreverent (whatever that means), supportive, encouraging, in-your-face-and-I-hope-you-don't-like-it, reflective, pie, and use-the-search-engine.
With all respect, I consider the regulars here the mentally healthiest people I meet on the internet.
Sorry about that.

I ride 365 days a year, regardless of weather.
On cold days, I wear some trick stuff to stay warm.
People call me superman and space man, and I embarass my wife.
On pleasantly cool days, I wear regular street and work clothes.
On hot days I get trick again, but I stick to basic black and white.

Some tourists came up to me yesterday and said, "Hey, Bianchi-man, can you give us directions?".
In the course of the conversation they told me everyone in Portland rides fixies now - "You see them everywhere."
I could tell they saw me as someone riding a fad, the "latest rage."
That almost bummed me out, but I decided not to let what other people think ruin a good thing for me.

We have a lot of world class road bikers in this town.
They come here to train and to compete.
Yesterday or the day before I saw a roadie in a super slick outfit, with logos and all of it color coordinated to his $7000 bike.
He didn't have any body fat and one could see from the way he rode he had clearly mastered his game.
I would have felt silly dressed like him; maybe as silly as my wife thinks I look in my cold weather stuff.
But this guy made it look good, and the few seconds I saw him flying effortlessly on his bike have stayed with me in my mind.

To me, my wife makes the best pie in the world.
Out of respect for her pie, I will eat no other.
I do like oatmeal, though, and the other day I got to talking to one of the mechanics at my lbs about oatmeal, and we talked for an hour about oatmeal.
How did this happen?
How did I get to the point where I could hang out in a bike shop and talk about oatmeal for an hour?