Ken Naylor wrote:
>
> I have never quite understood the allure of fixed gear/track bikes in
> the bike messenger crowd. I understood the rational of using them as a
> training tool for road cyclist to teach a smooth pedal motion/cadence,
> but it seems that the decrease in braking ability (right?) and the lack
> of ability to choose a better gear for hills/wind/ect. would be a
> detriment. Any comments from fixed gear riders and/or messengers?
Never underestimate the contrariness and perversity of human beings. When the watch industry finally came up with a cheap ($10) and accurate (beyond chronometer standards) digital watch a fairly large segment of the luxury watch buying public decided that what they now needed was a retro mechanical watch that required regular maintenance and maybe even a periodic overhaul.
Offer all the gears in the world and thought free shifting and then they want single gear bikes. "Crazy World Ain't It?"
Chuck "loves fixed gear riding" Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California +-----------------------------------------------------+ | "Martin seemed suddenly to wake up. He opened the | | kit bag and oiled his wheel, putting graphite on | | the chain and adjusting the bearings. Joe was | | halfway down to the saloon when Martin passed by, | | bending low over the handle-bars, his legs driving | | the ninety-six gear with rhythmic strength, his | | face set for seventy miles of road and grade and | | dust." --Martin Eden; Jack London. | +-----------------------------------------------------+
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