I am going to have to chime in on this topic as well. I personally ride fixed most of my rides as I enjoy it more than most geared rides. I started riding fixed because when I got back into mountain biking I found I really liked riding single speed. At a local MTB event I was talking with a few people about single speeds and one mentioned I should try fixed. He raced at the local velodrome. I agreed I would give it a try, but never thought I would like it. Well, I did and now have a fixed mountain bike, 4 track bikes (including a 76 Paramount P14 and 80 Viner Professional track), and two fixed gear conversions make up my non-coasting collection.
I will agree that removing braze ons/derailleur hangers does bother me depending on the frame. I did it to one of mine, but it is only a Schwinn Le tour. My other conversion I didn't remove anything and still have the complete stock geared groupo to put back on if I want to. Someone removing braze on a high end vintage steel bike would bother me. Doing it to the tons of bike boom low end steel bikes go right ahead, I did.
It maybe trendy and 'in fashion' to have a fixed gear, but the friends that ride fixed are serious riders. Most have a collection of different bikes and ride most everywhere and leave the car/truck at home in favor of riding. Many of these guys are very fast because they are on their bikes 7 days a week. And yes, some of them have tattoos OMG. In one of the local alleycats a guy that volunteered to work a check point in the freezing December weather mentioned that every single person thanked him for working the checkpoint. He was surprised that the young, tattooed, counter-culture, unruly punks were actually very kind and courteous, and took the time to thank him in the middle of the 'outlaw' alleycat race.
I have also been to the last two Fixed Gear Gallery Symposium's held in northern Michigan in the Summer. The one common thing is everyone rides fixed, but you can not pigeon hole the participants further than riding fixed. It is made up of people 16-60+ years old with a wide range of backgrounds and occupations (bike shop employees, Doctors, Lawyer, truck driver, Nurses, tattoo artist, musician, college Professors, teachers, students, etc.).
Matt "If it ain't fixed it broken" Churches Ann Arbor, MI
Mitch Harris writes:
> Bruce is probably right about some portion of the fixie
> population--people do tend to go along with things. But I see top
> tube pad stylin' fixie riders putting in lots of miles and using their
> bikes for utility riding all over town. One thing that seems sure is
> that riding bikes is so compelling in at of itself, such a fun useful
> thing that makes people happy, that even some of the fad-followers are
> going to find themselves cyclists regardless of style.
>
> Mitch Harris
> Little Rock Canyon, Utah
>
> On Nov 27, 2007 4:10 PM, bruce thomson <masi3v4me@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> the fixie phenomenon is a typical American social trend that will end up
> as a flash-in-the pan shelf life. I have seen some of the bikes done locall
> y, and some too on the net and there seems little to rave about. It is abo
> ut more of belonging or going along with the fringe crowd., not really ridi
> ng bikes. Many of these fixies will only ride a few blocks and park at a S
> tarbucks and hang with the rest of the wannabe's . There are a few who can
> ride and have done well in showing that it is more than being with the 'in
> ' crowd, but they are not the chain smokers and tattooed fringe element.
>> Now what I have seen on the bikes want to have me throw up. Luckily mos
> t of the grubby little cretins dont get their hands on a classic frame , bu
> t when they do there seems to be no interest in the history or restoration
> value of a classic steel frame. I was in a bike shop two weeks ago looking
> for a T.A. extractor for my Reynolds 531 Raleigh and one of the kids with
> all of the chrome shit hanging off his face offered me $20.00 for the frame
> . Needless to say I declined. I have seen what those butchers do. They c
> ut OFF the dérailleur hangers and burn off the drop-outs to have some che
> ap-ass track lugs crudely brazed one. Thats why when I see the fixie crowd
> I want to take a shower. The idea of receiving these frames back from them
> is highly unlikely. Most will undoubtedly be tossed and the next fad pick
> ed up. BT
>>
>> marcus.e.helman@gm.com wrote: I have been reading the fixie thread with s
> ome interest. I do visit the
>> fixed gear gallery often, not just because it is run by a fellow
>> Michigander. I have noticed the phenomenon Larry Myers describes below:
>> expensive parts on very cheap frames. I have also noticed a number of
>> bikes that are clearly built with whatever the owner could find. If
>> someone learns more about bikes, and how to work on them, by converting a
> n
>> old 10 speed into a fixie, what's wrong with that? I know I learned a lo
> t
>> just by messing around with my 3 speed english racer, trying to make it
>> more like a 10 speed. If, like Larry, you own a bike store and an idiot
>> comes in to buy a Dura-Ace crank for a Schwinn Continental, sure he's an
>> idiot, but at least he's in the shop paying for something.
>>
>> I view fixed gear bikes as being on the same continuum we are on with our
>> vintage multi-speed bikes. We give up something in pure
>> functionality--our bikes are heavier, with fewer gears, and they are
>> harder to shift than modern bikes. But we gain something in esthetics,
>> ease of maintenance, nostaligia, simplicity, exclusivity, and riding
>> pleasure. Fixed gear bikes can provide people with the same feeling. I
>> don't want to open up the "are modern bikes better?" debate. I enjoy the
>> feeling that I am riding something special, something that is not for
>> everybody. I get that from both my geared and fixed bikes.
>>
>> Growing up in Chicago, which is as flat as it gets, I wanted a 10 speed,
>> but never really had a good answer to the question "why do you need so
>> many speeds?" Here in Detroit, it is almost as flat, and sometimes I fin
> d
>> that the 52-20 I have on my converted Cinelli (yes I left the hanger
>> intact) is just right.
>>
>> Best regards,
>> Marcus Helman
>> Huntington Woods, MI
>>
>> I read with interest your posting to the CR list.....unfortunately, I do
>> not see happening where I live, what you described as happening where you
>> live.... Portland, Oregon is a hotbed of bike 'happeningness';
>> unfortunately, it seems to be kind of a closed loop here....local hipster
> s
>> think nothing of dropping $500 on wheels to put on a Sears 'Free Spirit'
>> frame ; nor do they put any thought into proper gearing, sizing, or
>> positioning....I work in a local shop that services this crowd, and to pu
> t
>> it honestly, I want to vomit over some of the machines that I have to sen
> d
>> out...well-meaning talks about the above-mentioned subjects are met with
>> hostility or carefully affected slacker 'don't care, doesn't matter' blan
> k
>> stares.
>>
>> While I am glad to see youngsters riding, rather than driving, I also
>> sadly fail to see the future of our sport in any of this movement...it is
>> completely fashion-driven; there are no future Lance Armstrongs, Gibby
>> Hattons, or Marty Nothsteins to be found in this so-called 'Keirin
>> Culture' (most of them cannot even pronounce 'Keirin' correctly, and 90%
>> of them smoke)....personally, I look forward to this fad's inevitable
>> bust; then I will be able to liberate these sadly misused frames from
>> their former owners, and then pass them on to more appreciative users.
>>
>> Feeling extra grumpy & curmudgeonly,
>> Larry Myers
>> Portland, OR, USA
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
>> Bruce Thomson Spokane WA 99204
>> (509) 747 4314
>> Masi3v4me@yahoo.com rapidfire10ring@hotmail.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------
>> Be a better pen pal. Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See ho
> w.