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OK, maybe I'm a dumb-ass. Or maybe it's because I'm a Noob. And I don't even own a fixed gear bike now. But I'm surprised some people actually hate fixies (and presumably fixie riders by extension.)...
I was at the Bike Swap Meet at Atomic Bikes this morning, and the stickers in the picture were on a table. I'll admit the Big Wheel one was funny - I had one of those - but there was some anger in some of those stickers. I don't get it. What is there to be angry about? "I'm so sick of fixed gear"? Really? But in particular, "Out of my way, hipster." Well, so much for sweeping generalizations.
Um. Well, let me put it this way. I seriously, seriously doubt that any of the people who rock those stickers will ever be in a position to have to ask ME to get out of THEIR way...but if it makes them feel good to define themselves by what kind of bicycle they don't ride, and to express this with a mass-produced "witty" sticker, what's the harm? Right? Right?
hate is not from the people making these stickers.....they make them under the perspective that someone else might have this opinion, not necessarily their own. BUT...if you see someone riding with one (supporting it) well...you'll just have to realize that its a sticker....and stickers.....well are stickers.
oh my god!! bad stickers! bad!
i guess they were all out of the ever popular"skinny tire !@#$?" one.
that one woulda probably given nurbile a fuckin heart attack!!
Oh, and by the way, what did cats do to deserve wholesale fixing? I think that might disturb me more than anything else... Again with the sweeping generalizations.
I think there's a lot of fixie riders on the streets riding bikes both cheap and pricey cuz they really CANT hang on the track, and a lot of them suck at riding on the street too
You know what really grinds my gears? People who wear baseball hats on the street. 'Cuz it's like, you know they just do it because they can't hang on the diamond.
I came up with this thought all by myself.
PC responding to a comment by onelessfixie
09.27.09 - 11:11 pm
Why do you care? Noone is saying you need to ride a fixie. That's what's stumping me about this whole thing. Why do you care what someone else is riding?
Nurblie responding to a comment by onelessfixie
09.27.09 - 11:16 pm
Because many "fixie" riders are people who are new to riding. This is ill-advised. Because then you get MORONS trying to skid and crashing, kicking their bike sideways taking people out and general STUPIDITY that you have to put up with in addition to the rest of the ignorance. and yes I have seen this shit with my own two eyes.
OK. Fair enough. Some people are stupid. Fixies don't make them that way. I'm old enough to remember when snowboards were first starting to be popular, and skiers had all these same types of complaints. And many ski resorts would not allow snowboards. Early adopters had to deal with a lot of bullshit from the established skying community. Well, next time you're on the slopes take a look around. It's a very different place now. Snowboards are ubiquitous. And most of the complaints and concerns at the outset were unfounded.
Nurblie responding to a comment by la duderina
09.27.09 - 11:22 pm
Why are you so convinced they belong on the track? Weren't all bikes originally fixed? were they all being ridden on tracks? I just saw a photo earlier today of a 1970's rusted out fixed gear, used daily by a fisherman in Mexico. There are fixed gear bikes all over the world being used every day by people off he track for functional commuting.
Nurblie responding to a comment by la duderina
09.27.09 - 11:32 pm
And people who know what they're doing on fixed gear bikes ride them without incident. There, now that we've got that sorted, is there perhaps some of your own business out there somewhere that you should be minding?
PC responding to a comment by la duderina
09.27.09 - 11:33 pm
There are fixed gear bikes all over the world being used every day by people off he track for functional commuting.
Yeah because they are cheap and easy to get a hold of and require little maintenance. This does not mean that they SHOULD be used. You want functional commuting? How you going to carry your shit? I'd like to see someone get up a hill on a fixed gear with a rack and 2 fully loaded panniers.
Everyone eventually switches from fixed to geared. It is inevitable. Why not be smart from the beginning?
I can't really tell if your posts are serious or not, but it doesn't matter. Not every frame is great and it doesn't matter which way I take the frame. In this case, the frame didn't even have any components except a fork. I didn't convert anything, I just took the easiest route to build a working bike. Now I have two bikes, one multi speed and one fixed wheel. The difference in the bikes makes riding more exciting. Why should I limit myself to one kind of bike unless I want to make riding stale?
HTFU. I do it a couple times a week. I've got my school books, notes, and painting supplies.
yeah and where's your commute? don't you go to SMC? SM is flat. and that doesn't sound like much to carry, you really have a rack with 2 fully loaded panniers on your fixed gear commute bike?
Why should I limit myself to one kind of bike unless I want to make riding stale?
You realize you have other choices in cycling rather than just fixed or road...right?
You can ride track, mountain bike (cross country/downhill/dual slalom/4x, etc), beach cruisers, BMX (racing, dirt jumping, street/freestyle)...
these are stickers that paul makes for his shop and if you're offended by these, then go fuck yourself.
it's a fucking joke.
learn to poke fun at yourself and loosen the grip off your pointless ideals.
you're acting like he was giving out stickers with swastikas on them or something.
get that stick out ur tight little asshole and go take a nap.
You sound like you're...I dunno...a little worked up about something. Are you? A little worked up about something, I mean? Because it sounds kind of like it.
PC responding to a comment by KiMS1
09.28.09 - 12:17 am
additionally, I have been riding bicycles as long as I can remember...never rode a fixed gear in my life up until about a year ago...and cycling has never gone stale on me.
This must be what it's like to listen to that professor of yours trying to talk about contract law and substantial performance.
I think I remembered wrong. I mean the guy graduated from Harvard. Besides I did much poorer on that exam than my first K exam, so maybe you were wrong.
I just don't understand why you're so against fixed gears. You may not like riding them but others do enjoy riding them. I built one and I enjoy it so I'll keep it, if I didn't enjoy it then I'd try and get rid of it.
The low maintenance aspect is great for commuting and chill rides. I see the way people treat other people's bikes at the school's racks and I see people accidentally knocking down other people's bikes at rides. I don't want to be at these places with something like a bent derailleur hanger due to someone else being a jackass, it has happened to me.
Gav responding to a comment by la duderina
09.28.09 - 12:56 am
I see how people treat other people's bikes. I don't to go to school and find something fucked because someone else was an idiot while I was away. If I mess up the bike while I'm riding it, then fine that's my fault. I've already had to replace a hanger because someone knocked my bike at school and I couldn't ride it home. Now something like can't happen. I like my road bike tons more than my fixed gear but I don't want to deal with other people's carelessness at my expense.
Gav responding to a comment by User1
09.28.09 - 1:38 am
It's because you're a noob. Fixie hate existed LONG before the Hipsters discovered them. It's really _NOT_ a big deal. If you knew who made those stickers, you'd know that there is some genuine and justified "hate", and it's not personal, just a general distaste from the "culture" that has come out of fixie trendiness. And that's all it is, a trend, and trends bring out people who would have never been interested if it wasn't getting the "exposure" that it's getting now.
The hipster sticker came out a few years ago, long before you saw fixie-kids in front of every high-school in LA.
Don't get me wrong, either. I love my fixed gear conversion. It's so beat-up and old no one realizes it's a fixed gear, in fact I call it my hipster bike as a joke.
Basically, don't take it personally. The guy who made those stickers doesn't know you, and has been riding/making/racing bikes long before it became trendy, again.
Thanks for the thoughtful response, Reverend. It's what I'd expect from a man of the cloth (Drat, there goes another sweeping generalization.) Anyway, I'm not taking it personally - like I said, I don't even own a fixie, though it's inevitable that I'll try my hand on a conversion, to the chagrin of onelessfixie - I was just truly surprised because the stickers did seem so angry. Whatever. I'm over the whole thing now. I'm over the surprise. And I'm over with caring about the why behind the opinions. I think it's time for a ride.
Nurblie responding to a comment by the reverend dak
09.28.09 - 6:06 pm
I guess my hate will always be placed on those that think every ride is a fuckin' race.
On the yearly "Bike Lanes" ride we got up here, I've run across too many of the road warriors screaming "Get the lead out soldier".
I simply flip them the chicken and go back to enjoying my cruising speed on my mtb.
Go join a real race to whoop someones ass or take it up, likewise.
Fixies are unnecessarily complicated.
Too many things can go wrong, too many things to maintain.
Unicycles is where it's at.
No chain, no cogs, no handlebars,no second wheel, no frame.
Just you, a seat, a fork, 2 pedals, a wheel and the wind between your hair.
Plus you get to ride holding your crotch the entire time.
This shit right here---------------->
might have to get one...
3-speed fixed (coming soon....again)
Sturmey Archer
im sure you'll find it at Orange 20 for 1 million dollars j/k
All the fixed hate is overly generalized or misguided.
Some people whether geared up or not, cant/wont ride bikes safely.
Efficiency...SS drivetrain is more efficient... and ability is rider dependent. Gears will give you more options--but sometimes options are superfluous.
Just because other people enjoy it doesn't take away my right to have an opinion about it.
I see the way people treat other people's bikes at the school's racks and I see people accidentally knocking down other people's bikes at rides. I don't want to be at these places with something like a bent derailleur hanger due to someone else being a jackass, it has happened to me.
...and this is the reason why I don't go on rides and why I find a place to lock my bike away from the morons.
accidentally knocking a bike down... is ummm... an accident...
and why wouldnt you get compensated for the broken piece if you saw the person accidentally knock it over??? or else how do you know it was an accident...
might as well not race either....
Fuck fixie hate....
more like BIKE hate, period...
md2 responding to a comment by la duderina
09.29.09 - 3:01 pm
Yeah and I don't blame them either because many cyclists are rude to people in cars or take up more room than necessary, can cause slowing of traffic and generally get in the way of motorists...the only solution of which is to have better bicycle infrastructure.
In perfect cycling world, bikes WOULD be off the streets and on bike paths that could take us anywhere we want to go.
you know those persons who, you know, get introduced to something... you know.... and right away, they want to make up for, you know... absence... and ummmm... they assume they know everything that is right and wrong about the "thing" they have been introduced to... and they...ummmmm, start spouting off about... how things need to change, and they sourced what is wrong... who is responsible.. and....
you know what i mean?
Kind of like a co-worker who just started but is going to shake up the company overnight???
you know...
md2 responding to a comment by la duderina
09.29.09 - 4:53 pm
" And that's all it is, a trend, and trends bring out people who would have never been interested if it wasn't getting the "exposure" that it's getting now. '
You say that like it's a bad thing. I thought that getting more bikes, regardless of shape/size/weight/color/gears/type/motivations on the road was a good thing.
All bikes are cool bikes, and sometimes douchebags ride them. You can also find douchebags driving cars, or walking down the street, or on the bus.
I think the animosity toward fixed gear riders stems from the fact that a lot of them are inexperienced cyclists (aka squirrels). They make riding more dangerous for other cyclists when they can't hold a line or ride in a group. They also piss off motorists by being rude and riding stupidly which makes things harder for everyone on a bicycle. A lot of "fixie" riders also have absolutely terrible form when they ride. When I start doing anything I want to learn the right way to do it so I can learn, get better, and gain some kind of skill and competence. It looks to me like a lot of fixie riders don't care about being good riders. I find it frustrating that some people don't take learning to be a good bicyclist seriously. If you're just going to dick around what's the point? Hipsters in general just rub me the wrong way, but you won't see me making any stickers. I love riding fixed gear though (I have 3 "fixies") it's such an amazing feeling to be so connected to your bicycle.