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This, from the paper that wrote an article explaining that young people were buying USED CLOTHES. From stores that exclusively sell USED CLOTHES. ON PURPOSE. It was, like, 2004.
That was an entry in their "Moments" blog written by the musician Momus. The Times has run plenty of "trend" stories about fixed-gear bikes before. You'd think he and the editors of that blog would be more hip to this subject.
Have you seen how many versions of the fixed gear Langster that Specialized put out now? There's six models, each designed differently and named after a different city. Here's NY, styled after the Taxi cabs that eat bikers for lunch.
Fixed is certainly going mainstream if The Great Specialized Bicycle Company is making six of them!
The NYT can take just about any aspect of any culture you can name and make it sound boring. Ironically, the way that they do this is by proclaiming that said aspect of said culture is now "hip." Inevitably, somewhere around the third paragraph of any trend piece, they will mention how this all got started in New York and radiated outward from there.
I think the best NYT trend piece of all time was about five years ago, when they reported on the resurgence of seal hunting. Something about the language that the author was using made it seem like it was some hip new fashion trend. I kept thinking: "Clubbing Baby Seals - It's Back, and It's Hotter than Ever!"
once wal-mart has single speeds, then it's over. Once there is a low cost, accessable, mass produced item that brings it to the main stream, then you hipsters will have to find something else to do with your parents money.
So far the cheapest fixed gear is a $900 Surly, bare bones. Wal-Mart and Target probably have already done marketing research on fixed-gear bikes. They won’t move enough of them to generate the volume necessary to meet their slim profit margins.
But that’s not the “LA Bike Kulture” . New Yorkers are always so hip, it makes me sick. Let them spent their money on a brand new fixed-gear…they are stupid. In LA they prefer to get an old 4130 cromoly frame (circa mid 1970’s to late 1980’s) and strip everything off of it, then rebuild it with a single gear. I think that is a better way to go. Recycle, reclaim and ride.
Some of the best looking fixed-gear bikes riding around town were rebuilt in this manner.
I have been to NYC numerous times. There are some people who ride around on beaters. But the snobby hip don't, and they are the ones who claim to represent NYC. There is too much class-distinction over there. Maybe it’s their old world mentality. A hipster from Brooklyn (I remember when Brooklyn was not hip) will ride a $1500 fixie and think he is the shit
New York's alright if you like drunks in your doorway!
New York's alright if you wanna freeze to death!
New York's alright if you wanna get mugged or murdered!
New York's alright if you like saxophones!
If you can find a fixie on last night's party, you'll find fixies on the cobra snake weeks later. I hope I didn't speak too soon on that foresight out of the marcy street station.