Some posters earlier mentioned how single speed riders are looked down upon. I couldn't agree more. I'm like some kind of pariah for having two brakes, and taped road bars. Not only that I don't run it fixed so i get attitude from fixed gear riders. I keep hearing how they shouldn't be judged, but they are just as guilty. also, my bike came set up with a bash guard. keeps me from having to roll up pant leg.

whoa. what's the big deal? even if it's for the wrong reasons, track bikes are simply getting more people on bikes. in a few years, the posers will get road bikes and overall be more influenced in life by the bicycle. and that is a good thing. right?

and of course i've been through my fair share of angst and animosity, realizing one sad day that i too must be a hipster by default. even though i have been doing this for a long time. that definitely contributed to a bummer life. then i wondered, what can i do about all this? i can stop being so proud.

from the back of the XTC album -apples and oranges "do as you will, harm no-one"
crashing into things because you came unprepared to stop doesn't fit in this window. maybe in heaven, there are no emergencies requiring braking, but i doubt it. i'm with stevil, bikes are good. (chumpy major attitude is bad)

for all you kids out there taking up space on this blog - or whatever it's called
I used to

Most cyclists are wankers.. be they fixed,SS or gearies. Some of us just ride bikes.

a year and an half after this was written, which was a year and an half after the trend got sold out, and people are still debating if fixies are acceptable or just hipster/barney sh!t. just do what you want and stop hating those that are doing the same and enjoying themselves while they're at it.

wow, i must've missed this one....

i have been riding in the city brakeless to prove that it can be done...i will compare it to snowboarding or skiing (which has a parallel trend-hating as well) once you learn how it is fun and challenging. i also have proven that you can go long distances on a brakeless bike (russian river ride + cheesefactory = man's man). to me doing tricks on a stock, dropbared bike was the challenge. todays tricksters have adopted the bmx style and incorporated it into there riding...which is how the progression goes anyway in cycling, right?.

the news blurbs or articles in the paper on "fixies" is just as trendy as the bikes themselves....i'm just surprised he didn't mention the one line the others always include "these bikes have questionable legality on the streets" and then they ask the police if they are legal (which none of them know...haha...they are in fact legal....only if you really know how to stop your rear wheel)

i have been in quite a few of these such "news" stories and thats usually in the first paragraph.

what i find funny is this dudes attitude, did his boyfriend break up with him or something? sheesh!

there are soooooo many trends in big cities (clothes, cars, technology and even bikes too)....get over it. i'm not gonna scream "trendy" if i see some dude riding his full-suspension downhill rig in the street....

i cant wait for the trend haters to start bashing the 29'er...haha

Isn't riding a bike with a box in your hands almost just as dangerous as riding a fixie with no brakes?

first off: yes, i ride a track bike on the street. i refuse to call them "fixies" just like i refused to call Sunny Day Real Estate "emo". one is a bike, the other is rock n' roll. simple as that.

second: i ride a fixed gear because the city i live in (tampa, fl) is completely flat, and there's really no need for gears. after struggling with my geared bike for years, i came across an old track bike and loved the simplicity.

i can imagine how precarious it must be to ride a track bike in SF with no brakes. unless you're a seasoned veteran, you're gonna end up hurt on those monster hills. if i were in the bay area, i'd run both a front AND back brake. sure i'd get called a pussy, but i'd be a pussy with all his limbs intact!

loved the article, and let me say that i can't wait for all the "fixie" hoopla to finally die down so i can ride my bike in peace!

p.s. i save my tricks for my vintage Haro Sport. tricks on a track bike are dumb, in my opinion.

first of all, who the hell cares what kind of bike you ride. i started riding road bikes around twelve years ago. first real road bike was a faggin deda tubing hustler. beautiful bike, but the bike fashionistas laughed because it was a FAGgin. they knew little about it being a hand made italian lugged steel beauty, all they wanted to do was laugh at it's name while they kept on riding treks or cannondales (nothing wrong with those manufacturers). my second bike was a 1972 colnago super which i put on nearly 30k miles. the only comment for that bike by other cyclists in the know was why did i not buy an aluminum bike? sold that bike off to japan and have hated myself for that ever since. next bike was a super vitus tubed no name beauty (bought the frame stripped) and people asked why i bought a frame i knew nothing about. next was a batavus pro with columbus tubing that was converted to a fixed. the vitus was also converted to a fix. people asked why i did that, thinking i was crazy. first let me mention that i run a front brake. now, i got into fixed a couple of years ago, long before i found fgg or orange 20. the idea came out of long conversations with my buddy while drinking vast amounts of beer while simultaneously boring his fiance to death. the idea obviously came from somewhere, but who the hell knows where now. all that i can say is that riding fixed gave me another challenge and prompted me to start riding in earnest again (for the first time in a couple of years). yeah, i ride with my right "levis red tag jeans" rolled up, but it isn't a matter of style as it is a matter of safety while riding. also tuck my double knotted shoelaces into my addidas sambas (piss off all naysayers exhaling hipster right now as i've been wearing them since i was fifteen and i'm now thirty-four). i ride fixed because whether i knew it or not at the time, it just was something that somehow came into my subconscious mind as a way to utilize a frame that i've been looking at hanging on a wall, whether it was my being a "lemming," it was also a cheap way to utilize a high end frame that had been sitting idle for quite some time. i am so much gladder for the "spark" that led me to piecing my bike together for it. most fixed riders do their own wrenching, also a bonus if you are looking at the whole bike movement, how many colnago c50 riders do you know who wrench on their own bikes? probably zero. fixed gear bikes are a wonderful introduction to the history of bikes in general. yeah, most people who buy or build a fixie will eventually either fade away, or more importantly keep riding because they have found a love for the bicycle and buy another bike to join their stable. fixies serve a purpose. i went on a critical mass ride last night with a rider who was in his mid 50's and he was on a fixie. said it was a great training bike. i agree as my gearing is rather low for a fixie. we climbed a couple mile incline at sometimes very steep degree, once at the top, we spoke, and both felt like we had accomplished something that if i, or he were riding a geared bike we wouldn't have felt. any hard riding takes a degree of toughness, but when you finish a climb that normally would have had you on your 42 tooth chainring and 21 tooth rear cog, but instead one finishes the climb on a 47/16 or as in the 50+ y.o. rider 52/16 then you have just finished your own everest for the day. screw everyone badmouthing the fixed gear phenom. you are as bad as the fixed gear riders badmouthing geared bikes. this b.s. is like the old b.s. that i encountered when i first started cycling. mountain bikers vs. roadies. mtbrs hated roadies until they found out it was great for training. i would be out on my bike and wave to everyone, and the only people who would wave back were fellow roadies, mtbrs at the time thought roadies were some effete group to be scorned. now that may only be left to the downhill mtbrs (riders i greatly admire though think thoroughly insane). i just bought another bike, a mid-80's schwinn le tour luxe touring bike complete with a rear rack and a triple chainring (paniers soon to be added), and in another couple there will be people bitching about the phenom of touring bikes out there. well, then, lets have it. either you ride what you love, bicycles, no matter what the style or kind, or you bitch about others because they do not fit your preconceived notion of what "you" deem an acceptable bicycle. i ride numerous "types" of bicycles, and yes at the moment i am drinking a pbr, but the beer before that was a sammy's cream stout. so what, pigeonholing certain kinds of cyclists according to their chosen steed is as ludicrous as badmouthing someone for reading some form of literature you don't favor. at least they are reading. when on a bike, one thing is certain no matter the type of bike, ride it long enough, and your ass is certain to hurt.

There seems to be a serious amount of social differentiation between "us" and "Them" going on. To feel a part of a group is good, yet we all want to maintain some amount of integrity as individuals. So Roadie, Fixed, freewheel, lowriding chopped chrome stingray... it doesn't really matter. If you're in it for the love of the ride, then which tribe you belong to is irrelevant. The fact is, our reasons for riding a bike are as many and varied as we can think of. Sport, style, status, technical ability, or purely transportation they all factor into what someone rides.

Riding an NJS track bike with Phill Wood Hubs, Deep V's and Oury grips says just as much about how and why you ride as a full carbon Merckx does.

Instead of trying to see how you are not one of "them," look at how they are one of "Us." Two wheels, good to go.

Try not to gripe about how they're stealing your scene. Subcultures are always co-opted and sold back to you. Just be happy there's more bike traffic, which statistically lowers your chances of being hit by a driver unawares.

I ride fixed. I was originally intending to buy a geared bike, but while trying out a fixed gear with the same frame of the intended geared bike, something clicked.

I don't drink PBR, I think it may cause brain damage. I drink Red Hook. I like the taste.

I do have a chrome bag. It is very comfortable while riding.

I will never be a messenger. It doesn't interest me.

I ride to work. I enjoy it and it's cheaper than driving.

Uh, am I a hipster?

Holy Christ, I cant believe people are still commenting on this.

I live in Denver, Colorado which is a pretty bicycle-savvy city. Now, I will choose a bike over a car any day...I recently purchased an old '79 Schwinn ten speed which I'm going to convert to a fixie eventually. cause I wanna hip or cause I wanna be practical? okay, maybe the honest answer is a little of both. it's an old bike I got for very cheap. It needs some work and if it's going to be my main mode of transportation why not convert it? It's not a definite decision, yet. and it's sure as hell not for status. I don't know many girl bikers, i'm one of the few. and sure, I may be a bit of a hipster.. but I'm not a snob. I take pride in the whole bicycle culture, maybe it's worse else where but it's pretty friendly down in Denver. to say the least, people who judge those whether they have a fixie, single speed, ten speed..whatever...that's dumb- as long as they're riding the bike who cares?

Brody writes
" i dont think i'm any cooler than anyone than i did before, but trust me, if i blow you off the line from a light, in my regular street clothes i've always worn while riding, and you never pass me, i will make fun of you for wasting your 4 grand on a full carbon frame, blah blah blah, since it's clearly not doing you any good. 40/17 gear ratio, 30 year old components, and you're still behind me?"

Am I the only one that sees the sheer ignorance of this statement?

First of all 40/17 is my mid-range. Which means I have better acceleration gears, climbing gears, and definitely more top end... on my mountain bike. But I digress. There is no need to defend your status as sheep. Those of us that aren't so easily swayed don't really care that you think your bike is the end all of racing bikes. There's a reason they're only raced in velodromes. Lets be serious, your fixie is relic, an antique car at best, fun to drive, but has no business in a real race. Don't fool yourself.

As for "you're still behind me" ... perhaps you'll get a jump... if it's downhill, but considering you're bike has a limited top speed, as soon as you spin that gear out, you'd be toast. But, perhaps math isn't your strong point?

i ride a single speed.

i get sneers from fixie riders.
i get sneers from geared riders.
i get sneers from car drivers.

oh what do i do now to fit in?

heheh great post. i'm linking to it. but you forgot about the "chrome" messenger bags.

...i will make fun of you for wasting your 4 grand on a full carbon frame, blah blah blah....

I don't remember where I read this, but I'll echo it: who ever thought that riding a geared road bike would actually be counter-culture?

do even half of the people here read the beginning?

yes, some kids are lame. some people are lame. fixed gear bikes can be lame. geared bikes can be lame.

my fixed gear build came down to 3 things
1)i HATE working on brakes and derailurs, but not nearly as much as i HATE paying someone else to "work" on my bike.
2)because of my hatred of working on derailurs and brakes, my roadie runs like shit. so i wasnt riding nearly as much as i should hav been. but i never shift gears (literally) and i try to pedal the whole way through any ride, whether it be to the grocery store or a half century
3) i started getting out of shape. and nasty. (by that i mean 5 lbs)

so i built the fixie. and i plan on racing it. i dont think i'm any cooler than anyone than i did before, but trust me, if i blow you off the line from a light, in my regular street clothes i've always worn while riding, and you never pass me, i will make fun of you for wasting your 4 grand on a full carbon frame, blah blah blah, since it's clearly not doing you any good. 40/17 gear ratio, 30 year old components, and you're still behind me?

so yes, i may mean mug you. but you'd desearve it no matter what bike i was on.
if you smash past me, as you should, i'll give you a smile and a nod at the next light. good on you.

In my opinion, he's just "calling out" the people that already know who they are anyway (Biker Zero is what I believe that he's called them).

The only sneers and jeers I get while riding my bike are from fixie-hipsters. Send my regards to your knees two years from now, assuming you actually ride that thing now and are still doing it by then.

I must agree that the Sir Duncan Davidson, the grandest of grand, grand-'ol journalists, ought to have checked his facts prior to this little rant of his - it certainly doesn't help his case that he lacked the rather critical initiative to research about that which one is paid to write (hopefully well) about.

Well, this piece is yet another case of the ironic trend that is bashing on that which is trendy - or perhaps on a grander scale - fads in general. Or more specifically, the easy-to-hate-upon fads. I'm not defend nor condemn to riding a fixie, but simply point out with a reciprocal sassy intonation so as to match that of your article - that you - yes you, sir - were (or are) part of one or a few illogical fads in your lifetime! (Yes, I am acknowledging that there probably are always a few illogical things about riding a fixie or being a trendster). It seems to me that you've made a comfy place for yourself on the throne of self-proclaimed elitism as some ill-qualified voice of reason.

Anyway, before I step off my soapbox, allow me to say that I simply think that fad bashing is itself illogical - simply because it destroys your credibility as one who hasn't the ability to recognize that he himself has engaged as things as equvalently lame as being a fixed-gear hipster.

hi i'm drew. i am a track bike riding messenger in ChARLOTte NC. in my town our messengers rule... albeit most of us ride fixed, none are typical. we have ex-bike industry people, accomplished MTB endurance racers, guys with families, dudes from bands that tour a lot, college drop outs, ex-motocross rednecks, aspiring cat 4 racers, straight up thug gangsters, and all kinds of dudes. i am glad i dont live in one of those places where people seem to congregate towards a failing trend. i like what i do, i hate PBR ever since i stopped being sponsored by them, and i can appreciate the FEW poseurs we have in town because atleast their track bikes were a catylist into getting them on a bike and out of the car in the first place.

Yes, I have a track which I love, but it's not for everyone. Yes, I have a front brake, which is practically useless. If you're riding fast and you brake the bike will do a 180 and you'll end up smashing your head on the pavement. If you're riding slow, why bother? It does come in useful when you're going down hills. Why wear out the knees when you can use the brakes? I love my bike but it's not for everyone.

Yeah, I have a fixie I converted out of an old dump bike- even posted it up on FGG- because I was proud of how the whole project came out, it was my first wheel-build, yada yada. Right about the same time I moved from rural Vermont to a western college town where suddenly I was surrounded by the Puma/PBR/pantleg crowd. Some guy emailed me after seeing my bike on the gallery: "we should have some PB's and do an alley cat..." You know, there is other cheap beer at the grocery store... Anyway, the hipster thing is fine with me, more people on bikes is always good, I say. Still, the day a guy rolled up next to me at a stop sign, brakeless, you know, after a while the eye catches that hub and chainline- looked like a fixie. Then, I watched as he frewheeled his pedals backward and hopped on, pedal, pedal, coast, no brakes/brains but style to spare I guess... Good thing this is a flat town. Really, the hipsters bug me just in their existence, not somuch whether they are on a bike or not.

I've always been a fan of ranting about fads, but I've never actually hated any of them as much as I hate the whole fixie "revolution". As just bikes, I have no problem with fixies. I know many people who race professionally with them or use them for training - they are indeed powerful tools when used in the proper manner. But ever since i started noticing the local hipster masses donning Chrome bags, neon Pumas and rolling up their right pant leg, I could only watch in horror as yet another fad took its stranglehold on bicycle culture. You know its bad when a bike fad isint even about the bikes anymore...

Yesterday I went to my local bike co-op store to grab some new spokes. As i waited in line to pay, I watched as 7 of the 9 people in front of me simply walked up to the front counter and asked how much it costs to have the repair shop turn their bike into a fixie...

I admit...I did it cuz I was bored and enjoy a new trend now and then as much as the next urbanite. I guess the backlash is underway though cuz my usual mechanic wouldn't help me cut the fork and mount my headset. I even had a new Schwinn Stingray when I was a kid so I don't feel the least bit guilty about it.

The one thing I do have to say is it is way more dangerous than you make it sound. Crashes are nothing. You go flying off the back of some loading dock on one of those babies and it will rip your freaking knee out. You go past the regular collarbone breaks and into massive soft tissue damage. If you get stoned and don't pay attention cleaning your chain, it will take a chunk of your finger off. They are unsafe at any speed.

All that said...kiss my ass, I can ride a wheelie backwards. I can mash over a Hummer from a dead stop. People stare. I am cool.

All this purist banter reminds me of the first time I saw Black Flag in 1985,It was all mine and I was fully immersed in my young punk rock fury.When I saw people wearing Black Flag T-shirts 5 years later in 1990,I thought they were Alien Invading Posuer fucks...I guess you grow out of giving a shit what the next person is wearing,listening to or riding.....do what moves you,it's a personal experience and you should take it as a compliment people wanna be like you....you fancypant trendsetter's...There..I've acknowledged how incredibly cool you are,I hope you feel better....xo

The comments above are making me laugh. If these fixies were so about the bike experience, then why is their usual bike selection criteria:

1. Does it lack a freewheel?
2. How cool does it look?
3. Will it match my timbuktu bag?

I doubt many of them even consider comparing fixies to nonfixies before they buy. Thats because they already know they want one of those hip, vintage-looking fixie bikes that are SOOOOO in right now.

more bikes is a good thing, no matter what why or for how long you've been doing it. seriously if i have to hear someone tell me another version of "i was into it before it was cool" i'm going to shit...which is not to say you, author-man. i find your observations to be right on. but it seems to me that we're not really talking about the latest bike trend but stupid people and trends in general. fact is? there will always be culture vultures of genuine movements. those who take the superficial and wield it like a badge of coolness no matter what. today its bikes tomorrow it will be skateboards. there is no stopping them! so i say if you love it, do it. and fuck everyone else.

What's the hang up? I agree with a lot of peoples views, though they may be popular ones; that riding a fix is enjoyable because it feels like a step back to the simplicity of historical bikes. I also like that it pushes you to be a stronger and more focused rider (though some arn't...).
But in reply to the negative wave against this trend: It doesnt matter what the trend is, you will always lash out against it. I have some styles that I don't love, but so what? thats for them and their friends, you choose what you like. Trends start usually because of practical invention, and become stylistic and a statement. To me (a new wave bike/fixie enthusiast) I find that living and breathing in a city, you ebb and flow with the zeitgeists of your time, and I'm glad that a current one encourages fitness, community, do-it-your-self mentality, and environmentally friendly transport...while looking cool. does your current trend do any of that??
I'm not a hipster, but I like to be hip. I also like to be original, but the vast array of frames, trick options and designs/ways to work a fixie leave that door wide open for personal style. Who looks stupid, someone riding a recently popularized trend, or some ass out on the corner doing something "original" just for the sake of it, not because he likes it or even has need of it, but just to cry "I" in the face of hipster inner city wanks?

I started riding fixed for the trend. I love all my bikes; dh, xc, fixed, I ride all 3. you make yourself look foolish with those mistakes. I will ride with no breaks cuz I have fun doing it. your just pissed cuz you like other men. ha! boy lover!

yawn.... you've obviously never really ridden one of these bikes, or studied them much, it just looks like you're hopping on the new 'i hate fixies' bandwagon...

considering that:

a) the cog is not 'bolted' onto the hub, it's screwed on

b) people don't do track stands to let their opponents pass, i don't think anyone does this during a race on a velodrome (maybe on start but not during)

c) people on freewheel bikes crash all the time, not just fixers run into other cyclists!

d) fixies are no more impractical than riding a friggin' freewheeled bike; i'd even hazard a guess that more freewheelers walk up hills than fixed-riders.. at least that's what it's like here in seattle.

so which is more trendy these days, riding a fixed gear bike or bitching about them?? only one of those will make you more healthy, and it ain't bitching..

I'm all for more bikes, and their riders. My question is the fad status. Yes, alot of these new hipster-whatevers get into it because its cool. But will they stay with it in the long run? Will they grow older, into a job, a family, a homestead, and continue to ride? Will they grow beyond the fixie and experience other types of bikes? Will they learn to properly fit the bike so the seat isn't so damn high (or low), or the bars so far away, that they're creating physical issues they are not yet aware of? Will they learn that messenger bags are terrible for your back? Will they ride for themselves and not for social acceptance? If these can be answered with a "yes", then I'm all for it because hopefully it'll lead to a larger bike friendly, car-freer society.

Ill make sure to forward this to the person who actually wrote it.
I feel like I just got balled out cause Bobby broke the neighbors window.
MOMMMMM! It wasnt meeeee...
Better yet, go here and tell him yourself.

this article urks me.
I rode around SF for 7 years on a track bike. I was never in an accident and i certainly never felt handicapped by my choice of bike.
Track bicycles are employed by lot of serious cyclists as a way to improve their riding form, pedal stroke, cadence, endurance and power. And i think you are totally undermining the simple elegence a track bike can provide. The bikes aren't akward at all. quite the opposite actually.
Riders are akward. i've seen just as many akward jackasses on hybrids, road and mountain bikes.
The bottom line is track bikes have a deep, rich history both on the track and in the street. I think your rant was ill planned and full of mistakes (left pant leg being only one of them).

I know a group of guys that mountain bike on fixies

it is not for me

but

it is cool for them to test their personal limits

it makes them love the experience more

hats off to whatever enhances the experience

I ride a fixie
front brake and all
it is not my second nature
but
it does give me pleasure

My 2 cents:

First, that article was supposed to be a review for the bicycle film festival, but dude thought his column inches better used bash fixies. Yeah, who cares about that stupid film festival anyway.

Second, did anyone else get tripped up on the logic below?

"They were — and still are — used on banked, velodrome-style tracks during races that employ all manner of strategies, including slowing down to a stop or near stop and doing a "track stand" — balancing at a standstill without putting your feet down — so your opponent can pass you and you can ride in the draft.

Since you're not likely to be drafting anyone on city streets, a track bike is a highly impractical choice of wheels."

The guy did an okay job of describing what it's like to ride fixed to someone who doesn't know, but then he completely ruins his credibility as someone who understands bikes or bike racing by throwing this in. I mean, drafting is used in road, cross and even mountain bike races...and you could draft anyone anywhere, including around town on any kind of bike (though considering the braking disadvantages of an un-braked fixie it would be pretty stupid to draft someone on your track bike on open streets).

Next, when I'm driving my truck (that has a 'one less fixie' sticker on it) i try to give as much room as possible to bikes but there was one time I considered vehicular homicide because some hipster bearded and trucker hatted bro-han decided to use the whole street riding about 5 mph down a mild gradient. Why? Because he couldn't control his bike so he decided to use the whole road and block traffic (it's worth mentioning that there was a really wide sidewalk on the street, so dude had the option of showing his cool bike up close to pedestrians while he stomped as hard as he could on the upstroke of his cranks). It's that guy I'm hoping wakes up and buys a full suspension rig with disc brakes tomorrow.

Whatever. I was that semi-moronic dude back in '95 or so when my friend lent me his fixed gear and I started riding it at work as a messenger. But at least I had a brake--especially cuz that bike lacked a track hub and didn't have a lock ring. Now I'm just the old grump riding a converted road frame fixed around town--the same bike I've done hill intervals on training and is my favorite winter bike with road bars, bar tape and a brake--who avoids making eye contact with the young, fresh fixers. Cuz the less public acknowledgement of their fashion statement they get, the sooner they'll get off those bikes and get out of the way of my truck.

haha!!.....me? i like coasting, but some of my best friends ride fixies.
hey isnt that graf by the Melburn Massive?

Oh for crying the H- E -double toothpicks out loud. I said, and I quote, "Im nether here nor there on the issue, as I believe more folks on bicycles, no matter what kind is a great thing." Didnt I say that?

...and as far as us 'making our living selling urban hipster bicycle clothing', rest assured, nobody here is making a living, and the last time I checked, folks were still somewhat taken aback that Swobo was actually cooking with gas again.

Now MY panties are in a bunch. I liked it better when everyone elses were.
Stevil

My bike keeps me mobile.

My HATRED makes me cool!

It's funny. It's funny that folks from a company that makes it's living selling urban hipster bicycle clothing has a problem with the urban hipster cyclists buying into the image that you are selling.

"Ride what you want, wear what you want, buy it from us. But no posuors. Only real riders wanted, unless you pay retail."

I don't know... I just get the feeling that everyone wants' thier own sub-culture to be cool, but be exclusive to them. If it becomes cool to the masses then it's not cool anymore. And we must keep it pure in order to keep it ours, and thus cool for us.

Then again, what's the big deal? You choose to not even ride a fixed gear. Yet you have links to Fixed Gear Gallery, and other fixed gear/messenger lifestyle sites. Maybe you like it when it suits your needs?

You're always gonna have people who jump in and be trendy. The whole bike industry is built on that. Mountain bikes were hip for a while, then suspension forks and bar ends helped keep that trend alive for a while. Lance wins a tour and suddenly groups that could barely keep 5 riders showing up for weekly rides swelled 4 to 5x. Now fixed gear bikes. Some "real" riders follow the trend, some are doing things before the trend. Some riders get more educated about a certain bike or riding style and choose to "follow" the trend based on information they received because of the trend.

Then again... who cares?

yeah.... Ah the old debate surfaces here, too. Does anyone remember the extremely vociferous and angry debate going on craigslist bikes-for-sale about the same fixies suck/fixies rule argument around summer before last? The demographic that reads this website is quite smaller, but calmer and funnier.... yay us.

I've been riding mountain bikes for a few years, when I put together my first road bike, a Klein built up as a single speed, and I have owned a Merckx track bike that I road for cadence and also for pride. Out of the two bikes I think I would rather have the old Klein back. Anyway I think the really great issue that the article brings up is the lack of originality in todays society. It's hard to let people into a scene, but you know at least they are making a change. No matter how shallow the reason might be, or how ingnorant the decision, ie "fitting in". You know that in a year or two more than half of them will be over it, cause their legs are getting to snug in their vintage Levis or whatever, and the people who truly enjoy to ride will still be here. Or screw it and throw a stick in their spokes. That'll get the message across.

Sure a lot of 'em are posers, but you gotta hand it to them, they're good at it.
I've heard similar rants before, and the tone is always pretty damn bitter. What's the problem? Some mini-skirted hottie on vintage steel snub your come-on, or is it that your fully suspended, tubeless down-hiller is looking a little out of fashion?

Wait, you're complaining that bikes are cool?

Before I unleash my wrath, let me first say that I get caught up in the same animostiy, but then I stop myself and realize this is exactly what we've all wanted... for bikes to be cool.

So who cares if they're impractical? That's the rider's problem. Until they start hurting people by careening through crosswalks full of old ladies, shut up and embrace it!

If all you're concerned about is being original, then fine... ride your fixed/tall/chopper/rickshaw down the road and be happy that you're original. But not everyone can be that way; and if they were, you'd probably bitch that they didn't do it in the way you saw fit.

Here's the point: of all these scenesters flocking to fixed gears, at least a few of them will realize that they love bikes. Others will discard or sell that bike to you years later for pennies on the dollar.

Either way, you win: maybe a few new friends who will be lifelong cyclists, pedaling away into Originality Land on some sweet bikes you got for cheap.

What's worse, the fixed gear posuers or the fixie backlash police? This story makes some valid points, no doubt. The fixed gear thing IS trendy as hell. It IS kinda funny watcing some dude/chick in circa '87 buttrock fashion trying to push track gearing around SF. But at the same time it sounds like what's really bothering the writer isn't that people are riding around San Francisco on impractical bicycles. It's that these people think they're cool while riding around San Francisco on impractical bicycles. Personally, there are too many trends out there for me to police. Skatebaording was hugely popular in SF in the late 80's through the mid nineties until a lot of spots got "sanitized". Some would even say it was trendy. Is/was skating lame?

I've been waiting for someone to write this for about a million years.

Firstly, yes, it is the right leg of the pants thats rolled up, though simply because these kids dont know which leg is rolled up or why, the execution gets messed up in the process, and secondly, Santa Cruz is just content being plain, old, boring, but beautiful Santa Cruz.
Now then, does anyone actually call it 'Frisco?'

I've resembled that description at times, yet I truly love riding my bike. Gotta start somewhere.

More bicycles on the road is always a good thing.

As for the hipsters, I can't imagine a better way to let Darwin do his thing than giving a stupid kid a fixed-gear with no brakes -- esp in a city like SF.

Cool for more bikes. But...will we will be seeing hoopty Swobo Taiwan bikes in Urban Outfitter and the Gap real soon? Complete with a chain wallet and Puma sneakers...buy a Subaru Outback, get his and hers suck assed fixed gear.

q: what's the hardest thing about learning to ride a fix gear bike?

a: telling your old man that your gay.

oh, santa cruz...you wish so badly that you could be frisco. oh portland, up yours.

"You've got kids in the Mission with the left leg of their jeans rolled up..."

I am no stickler for details, but isn't it the right leg that gets rolled up? Maybe those kids will have to learn that one the hard way.

"The bikes are so awkward to ride that not looking like an idiot while riding one is an accomplishment." = Stellar!

Stevil, see you Saturday.

EMO is short for EMOTIONAL, and Zeke, youre as big a softy as they come. You carry a picture of your bikes in your damn wallet, you big, sensitive, beautiful man.
Youre like a butterfly afraid of its own magnificently colored wings.

Yes riding a fixed gear does make me happy. However I could care less if it makes me cool. The "hipster" fixie trend seems to be cropping up in downtown KC, Lot of EMO kids on brakeless fixies and some I have talked to its their first bike in years.
I have been riding mine for 10 and I am damn sure I am not EMO or a hipster.