Hello All,
I recently subscribed to this list, and thought I'd weigh in on the fixed gear thing. By way of introduction, I am an enthusiastic brevet rider, and I recently completed Paris-Brest-Paris on a fixed gear. My favorite bike, which I have used for PBP, Boston-Montreal-Boston, and twice on the Furnace Creek 508, is a 1974 Raleigh Professional, which I have set up as a fixed gear. My PBP ride report is at http://sheldonbrown.com/
The whole fixed gear fad has two sides, in my opinion. One side is the crazy maniacs with their faces full of hardware and tattoos who strip down a steel frame that's too small and ride with no brakes on track bars with no tape that they can barely reach, with a grubby messenger bag, a u-lock sticking out of the back pocket of their tight cut-off jeans, and a bad attitude about how hardcore they are because their gear is higher than yours.
The other side, though, is that as this fad has become more and more mainstream, it has produced a lot of demand for new fixed gear and singlespeed models from major manufacturer that are actually very practical and economical for a wide range of applications. These are designed for road use, with practical considerations like rack and fender mounts; while they're trendy and sometimes tasteless, they are much more bike for the money than anything in the same price range that has gears. And they have the advantages of being cheaper and easier to maintain and handle bad conditions better, which makes them ideal for urban transport. The options for cheap, sturdy, reasonably light road and commuter bikes have increased enormously since the major manufacturers started cashing in on the fixed gear fad.
So while the abovementioned punks are obnoxious, I think anything that expands the options for practical, inexpensive road machines that are highly suitable for a variety of uses is ultimately a good thing.
And there are those of us who ride classic bikes built up as fixed gears who appreciate them for what they are and how they ride. Ultimately, I love my Raleigh because it's still comfortable and I still enjoy being on it when I've been on it for two days and nights, not because it gives me some kind of pretentious counterculture cachet.
Emily O'Brien Medford, MA
> -------Original Message-------
> From: Tom Harriman <transition202@hotmail.com>
> Subject: RE: [CR]fixie thing, Whats Wrong with that?
> Sent: 01 Dec '07 19:09
>
>
>
> Dear Bruce.
>
> I used to feel the same way, until I came across a fixie group at this year
> s Death Ride. For those of you not on the west cost, the Death Ride is a v
> ery difficult mountain climbing ride just outside of Lake Tahoe, Ca. For t
> hose who complete the entire ride it's five mountain tops, 16,000 feet of t
> otal climbing, and 126 miles. Completing this ride on a modern bike is dif
> ficult, doing it on a single speed shows real commitment and talent.
>
> I also herd tales of fixes on the years Paris-Brest-Paris. Also a ride tha
> t requires great amounts of talent and commitment.
>
> I'm even thinking of taking the old road racer out of the corner on the clo
> set, going down to one gear, and seeing how the old timers rode when the sp
> ort was young. There's nothing like exploring a little history to give us
> an understanding and gratitude for your elders. But I won't cut off peaces
> of the frame, as I may want my gears back.
>
> Happy Holidays-Fixes or modern Geared.
> Tom Harriman
> San Francisco, ca.
>
> > Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:16:42 -0800
> > From: morgan@hahaha.org
> > To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> > Subject: Re: [CR]fixie thing, Whats Wrong with that?
> >
> > bruce thomson wrote:
> > > the fixie phenomenon is a typical American social trend that will end u
> p as a flash-in-the pan shelf life. I have seen some of the bikes done loca
> lly, and some too on the net and there seems little to rave about. It is a
> bout more of belonging or going along with the fringe crowd., not really ri
> ding bikes. Many of these fixies will only ride a few blocks and park at a
> Starbucks and hang with the rest of the wannabe's . There are a few who c
> an 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
> most of the grubby little cretins dont get their hands on a classic frame ,
> but when they do there seems to be no interest in the history or restorati
> on value of a classic steel frame. I was in a bike shop two weeks ago look
> ing for a T.A. extractor for my Reynolds 531 Raleigh and one of the kids wi
> th all of the chrome shit hanging off his face offered me $20.00 for the fr
> ame. Needless to say I declined. I have seen what those butchers do. The
> y cut OFF the dérailleur hangers and burn off the drop-outs to have so
> me cheap-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 fro
> m them is highly unlikely. Most will undoubtedly be tossed and the next fa
> d picked up. BT
> >
> > http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/
> >
> > This guy skewers the fixie crowd best. He is hilarious. He has some
> > words for our tribe as well.
> >
> > Read the older posts. Good stuff.
> >
> > Sorry for posting so frivolously, Dale!
> >
> > Morgan Fletcher
> > Oakland, CA
> >
> > P.S. http://2inches.com/
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> > http://www.bikelist.org/
>
>
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