First!!!

I see - we're that kind sort of blog now.

Oh wait, I thought this was Perez Hilton. Damn.

But seriously though, folks, I was seeding the comment section here on neomarxisme with the word "fixie," like, months ago.

I believe it was at that time that I outed our good friend Rory P. Wavesnatcher as a fixie rider, despite never having met the man. (or woman. No, I'm thinking Rory's a man.) His comments scream "fixie rider."

A couple observations about fixies:
1. What is up with those cards in the spokes? I know it's fashion, but count me out, suckas -- my spokes are card-free. Not that I ride a fixie. I'm a 20-speed road-bike man.

2. Why don't fixie riders wear helmets? It's dangerous out there!

3. Fixed-gear bikes are very cool looking -- simple, elegant. But they strike me as inefficient -- you know, One Gear to Rule Them All, which, on hills, kind of sucks.

4. I'm going to buy one in the near future.

Probably 80% of the bike messengers I see cruising around Kasumigaseki are on those blasted brakeless velodrome machines. And yeah, helmets just aren't happening.

Hell, even the NYT had a write-up about this last month. (Sadly behind the pay wall now)

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20615FB395A0C7A8EDDAD0894DF404482

This kind of blog; this kind of poster: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciG-Xs7mBwU

Classic defense of fixed-gears: They allow you to train at a constant cadence, and that's good for some reason.

Classic criticism of fixed-gears: They're dumb -- we invented brakes and gears for a reason.

My defense of fixed-gears: I liked mine. It was light, it went fast, and I knew how to fix it. You don't need brakes if you have clipless pedals.

My criticism of fixed-gears: Some asshole stole mine in D.C. Apparently they're trendy enough now to take it from a fence in front of a well-funded nonprofit despite the seat post being fused to the frame and cracked, with only a pipe clencher holding the saddle on.

P.S.: Plenty of normal bike riders miss the helmet. It's up to you.

"P.S.: Plenty of normal bike riders miss the helmet. It's up to you."

Yes, I know. But with fixie riders, the helmet issue seems to boil down to aesthetics, and that somehow annoys me. (bike as accoutrement, not mode of transport)

But I also know that my sock-puppet, ascot and sheriff's badge are also sartorial affectations, so who am I to criticize?

Heh, outed!
Come on, a fixed bike and brakes are not mutually exclusive. They're sleek and fun, and you don't really need gears in this city anyway.

I'm just happy people are riding bikes, as long as most are running brakes. It has been interesting to see the boom though. I would say last summer, messengers around Tokyo Tower area were in large part not on track bikes. I would have been surprised to see someone skidding on a vivalo or something. Not the case now...

Spoke cards are traditionally proof of participation in an alley-cat.

I can't wait to put you in that ditch Mr. Marx.

"Spoke cards are traditionally proof of participation in an alley-cat."

That is so awesome to know. I had no clue -- I just thought it was a case of "this is a cool-looking card; I think I'll put in in my spokes because it is what we fixie riders do."

Next card-in-spokes messenger I see is getting a big thumbs up from me.

"I can't wait to put you in that ditch Mr. Marx."
Does this mean Marxy has joined the ranks? Is this post aimed at expressing your guilt/pleasure over your new membership to the club?

It simply means I plan to push him into a muddy ditch and start yelling some oldey-tyme talk about a Shakespeare reference I had to look up on the google.

I slow ride on my heavy Peugot. And the seat leaks collected moisture on my pants in an embarrassing way.

That's a nice ride too though. Don't let these whippersnappers get to you. I wish I had a beach cruiser these days. Coaster brakes!

didn't digiki recently buy one of these?

I'm with Marxy. I think fixies are a passing fad.

I slow ride on my KTM 640 motard.

http://www.1000ps.at/wallpapers/bilder/KTM/SUPERMOTO/640_LC4.jpg

Feel free to pass me on the left on your fixie.

that nytimes article on fixies is available here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/nyregion/thecity/29gear.html?ei=5090&en=d2853e17878ba0bf&ex=1335499200&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1182168207-gcxuDtdkunzEZ8DnDJhwXw&pagewanted=all#

how did we become that kind of blog when we don't even have pictures of what the heck we are talking about? With video evidence.

how did we become that kind of blog when we don't even have pictures of what the heck we are talking about? With video evidence.

You kids have no imagination. When I was growing up in the 1990s, we didn't have the World Wide Web. We used Gopher. And we liked it.

That's funny, I've always thought fixed-gear riders were the elitest assholes. Oh yeah, there's nothing more subversive than blasting through a red light because it's too difficult to stop pedaling. Fight the power!

And if you think that not wearing a helmet is somehow cooler, then you deserve to get your skull cracked by a passing bus. If I ever get my head run over by a truck, I'd prefer to come off without a scratch: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2007/05/15/national/a111723D88.DTL&type=printable

Just get a suitable frame with horizontal dropouts and a flipflop hub.
You can always switch back to freewheel/singlespeed on the weekdays when you don't feel like being an "elitist asshole."

I also recommend invisible helmets so you can stay safe without looking like a total goober.

It's about zen. Oneness. Gearheads wouldn't understand.

It's about metal touching sneaker touching sock touching flesh and bone. And that flesh and bone controlling rubber touching asphalt. And that asphalt thusly being connected to the flesh.

It's about the road and me and my zen-like state of connectivity. Brakes do just that -- they break the connection. They're a crutch. Monks in Tibet don't meditate with brakes and so neither do I.

Helmets do the same. A distraction. It makes me sleepy. My alert levels go down. My zen meditativeness goes down. It makes me vulnerable. I stop caring about getting hit because with a helmet I won't die. So I lose my connection to the bike, to the cars, to the road. Can you imagine my brain touching everything around me in a 50 foot radius? Can you imagine, like a bat, my sonar knowing everything in front and behind me? Yes? Well kiss that goodbye the moment you slap a foam and plastic dome on my head. My radar don't work like that.

Say what you will. My cadence is strong and true. I'm in my Nitto hand-forged drops. My feet know Sugino and Sugino knows my power. I am meditating and you can't stop me because I am now and the future and forever on my fixie.

I can dig it.

"It's about zen. Oneness. Gearheads wouldn't understand."

You want to talk about zen? Dude, when I ride, I don't even realize I'm on my bike until some babe points to my carbon-fiber steed and gives me the thumbs-up, prompting me to dismount and exchange digits with her, keitai-wise.

In fact, what bike? I don't make a distinction between riding and just plain ambulating.

Sometimes when I ride, and I'm unconsciously shifting to the large ring, I'll start dreaming that I'm the bike dreaming that it's the lead singer from the Verve trying to catch butterflies.

All this, with brakes, 20 gears and a helmet. "Distractions" enhance the purity of the experience -- ask any Buddhist master.

Imagine rain-soaked foam touching leatherette seat cover touching plain front gabardinee trouser touching satin banana hammock and that moisture thusly being connected to marxy's newly wet-ass.

Is that why you don't wear a helmet marxy?

Dude - you think I want to look like a goober?

Not sure.
Helmets are a great idea... but they are admittedly sorta goober!
I bring a helmet anytime I might be drinking ever since the night I woke up in the tub with blood coming out of my head and my bike nowhere to be found.
(|:/ ..<--(frowny face w/ helmet)

Helmets make me think of the "George Michael is a cool guy" campaign video.

"It's about metal touching sneaker touching sock touching flesh and bone. And that flesh and bone controlling rubber touching asphalt. And that asphalt thusly being connected to the flesh."

Yeah, I like taking walks in my Red Wings too.

i hate you marxy. you're no better of a bourgeois guy. why didn't you talk about those who aren't able to ride a bike? i hate you.

http://www.frankmobility.com/images/Duet1_500.jpg
Columbus steel, lugged frame, Phil wood hubs...
FIXED!

You're going to see Nigo in an emerald-encrusted one of those in about 6 months.

Pharrell pushin

NOOOOOOO MARXY NOOO. I've had to get all meta-hipsterish (whatever the hell that is) about Japan thanks to, well, everything this blog talks about, but now I have to analyze the sociowhatever of my bike? AUGH. UNACCEPTABLE.

There's no reason to ride a fixed-gear bike unless you're a messenger who puts 50+ miles in a day, and probably not even then, if you've got any kind of maintenance mojo and decent components. Don't give me that line about elegant simplicity, either -- if you people could ride Campy you'd understand real elegance.

And for the love of god, keep those cards out of your spokes unless you rode in a freakin' alleycat.

Every other bike here in San Francisco is a fixie Marxy. There's even a little bike cafe near my apato. http://www.mojobicyclecafe.com/ The thing is, how can it be more practical to have a fixie in a city with so many killer hills. Hmmm? Oh yeah, it's not about practicality anyways. Out the window with that.

When I ride my bike to work, it's from the center of the city, up north across the Golden Gate Bridge, and down the mountain. Thank allah for gears!

Here's a San Francisco Fixie Film: http://mashsf.com/

Every other bike here in San Francisco is a fixie Marxy. There's even a little bike cafe near my apato. http://www.mojobicyclecafe.com/ The thing is, how can it be more practical to have a fixie in a city with so many killer hills. Hmmm? Oh yeah, it's not about practicality anyways. Out the window with that.

When I ride my bike to work, it's from the center of the city, up north across the Golden Gate Bridge, and down the mountain. Thank allah for gears!

Here's a San Francisco Fixie Film: http://mashsf.com/

Ai yi yi yi. As a guy who had a fixie put together a couple of years ago out of spare parts and then took it apart again (short story: planned to do some sort of "upgrade," then got bogged down and remebered that there's hills on my commute...), I'd just like to say, they're just bikes.

They're fun bikes, for sure.

Rory: the Netherlands called. They all commute by bike, and they mock your helmet-obsession.

Seriously, the only riders who wear helmets in that bike-centric country (or much of Europe, for that matter) are the ones who are out racing or otherwise ready to fall off their bikes.

Um, I don't want this to be a helmet thing, though. Bikes are fun. I want Marxy to tell us when the Shibuya trend shifts to cyclocross bikes. They're road bikes crossed with 29er MTBs to make for hilarious urban fun.

How common are these sort of hipster bikes (fixies, BMX, any sort of fancy road machine, anything other than a commuter bicycle...) in Japan anyways? Japan did (and does) make some truly lovely bicycle frames, though they got out of the business of making mid-range and cheaper frames after Taiwan (and now the PRC) took over that business on a cost basis.

Fun fact: Panasonic (National in Japan?) is a serious, competitive maker of top-of-the-line bicycles. They aren't really imported to North America anymore, but they still make them for the domestic market.

But the ultimate Japanese hipster fixie would probably be a 3rensho frame with all NJS-spec components. Bonus chic points because, like Warhol prints, no more will be made.

Though I suppose Japan is like everywhere else, and the real exotica is the imported stuff. I bet they would go gaga for Richard Sachs, Vanilla, or Pegerotti stuff.

My Japanese bike is a Miyata 210. Before that it was a Japanese-made Bianchi, and before that, a probably-not-at-all Japanese "Mikado." Named after the light opera, presumably.

yeah I heard digiki bought a fixie...oh well, he's digiki

I'm seeing a preference for Kalavinka, which makes sense because they're still cranking em out, and they're GOODENOUGH/Honeyee approved of course.
3rensho's are beautz tho, and of course those Vanillas.

Tell the Netherlands "hey, what's up, thanks for getting me high that one time," and that they might want to reread my statements in this thread.

Hipsters 'n helmets -- a comic look:

http://www.fartparty.org/2006/09/04/124/

Kinda lame.
Geez, can we just explode the word hipster already? I've got some m-80's at home. It's like I wouldn't be surprised to see a Wal-Mart ad that said "because only hipsters shop at Target."

If you require a term to deride others that appear different from you or provoke the occasional pang of insecurity, I'd say "goober" has already proved to be a sufficient substitution.

I think the comic is kinda poking fun at the lameness of the hipster moniker. Or maybe not -- I just thought it fit the conversation nicely. I do know that I'm glad the term wasn't around when I was in my 20s.

Cosmo Kramer Hipster Doofus days need a come back.

There are real "hipsters" but maybe the term gets applied too broadly... Or maybe we all think we are not hipsters...

I want to give a shout out to Rory and FixedD00D (if you are who I think you are, M------) for being the first two human being to ever clue me in to the existence of fixed-gear bicycles. This post would have not been possible without your help, and as far as I am concerned, you guys were there before I knew where there was.

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006/dec/JessicaDyer.htm

Nuff said.

Sure it wasn't an advert for the Paul Smith shop?

"Every small detail on all of the bikes has been specified by Paul Smith...

The track bike retails at £2,800.00 and can be seen in Paul Smith showrooms from November 2006"

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