Wired Slams Fixie Trends

[muted]

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/0...nexplicab.html

[toast2266]

pretty funny, although I think those trends are far from "inexplicable" and it also seems like the author misses the point / origin of some of the modifications. That's not to say that his point that fixies are just fashion accessories isn't true though...

[Rontele]

This article is a little late, IMHO.

[Hugh Conway]

This article is a little late, IMHO.

Wired has a reputation to maintain

[jon turner]

Pretty entertaining, and mostly accurate. I'd argue the "flop and chop" bullhorn handlebars though. I always thought riding a fixie with bullhorns was the way to go for comfort and performance. The other odd handlebar mods are mostly just plain goofy though.

[LittleYellowFriend]

I think Wired misses the whole point here. The whole point of the 'fixie' thing is to make your bike as cheesy, dumb and crippled as you can.

[BushwackerinPA]

Fixies are so played out soon youll see bike couriers riding comfort bikes!

[nick > jesus]

hmm:

Top Tube Pad
if the riders were that worried about safety, they’d buy a front brake.

the corresponding photo has a front brake

but i must agree that top tube pads, spoke cards, aero spokes, and handlebars that are 5 inches wide are stupid as hell

[frorider]

the main impetus for the top tube pad was for a bit of protection (and less tendency to slide i.e. more frictino) when locking the bike to lamp posts, parking meters etc.

i guess at some point it also became a fashion statement.

i just used a neoprene chainstay wrap on my top tube. wasn't very blingy but worked well.

these days all my riding is in tahoe not san deee-ay-go, so this technology is dead to me.

[nick > jesus]

the main impetus for the top tube pad was for a bit of protection (and less tendency to slide i.e. more frictino) when locking the bike to lamp posts, parking meters etc.
.

i suppose that makes some sense, though i always like to get my front wheel in the lock, so i pretty much never lock only onto to top tube

[joetron]

The author is just pissed that more people aren't riding Segways.

As much as I love to heckle the fixie trend, I for damn sure am not going to tolerate fucking Wired talking shit about bikes of any kind. Don't these guys have some nanobots to spank it over?

[ACH]

^^^^

Although listening to someone who is a part of it, talk shit about it, is pretty entertaining IMO.

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/

Dig back a way, there is some pretty funny stuff...

[werts]

people really need to diferenitate the difference between riding a fixie and being a hipster. yes riding a fixie is a good means of transportaion, you have a very simple drive train that is easy to maintain, and allows you to maintian a solid cadance while riding with out the need of shifters.

its when you cross the line into the world of hipsters though that shit gets goofy. i was talking to this kid yesterday and was totally ripping on the short handlebar thread, namely this pictures from the ronteles new ride thread.


after about 20min of banter the kid still couldnt understand the fact that handle bars that short are pointless. his counterargument was that when hes delivering parcels on his bicycle it makes it easier to pass through traffic.

we go to college in the middle of a bunch of soy fields in the middle of bum fuck Minnesota. the only traffic here is the old people on electric scooters going to the liquor store at 8:30 in the morning.

[CantDog]

Chopped bars are more comfortable because the idiot who purchased the bike bought one two sizes too big or small and can't feel comfortable in the drops. Why would you do something to a bike you commute on and conceivably ride all the time that would limit the number of hand positions you have?

[toast2266]

Fixies are so played out soon youll see bike couriers riding comfort bikes!

Funny you should mention that...
Apparently Dutch townies are the hot new shit, and one can be yours for the low, low price of $1000-2000.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/fa...S.html?_r=1&em

[nick > jesus]

Funny you should mention that...
Apparently Dutch townies are the hot new shit, and one can be yours for the low, low price of $1000-2000.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/fa...S.html?_r=1&em

as always, BSNYC makes a solid point about that article:

The other explanation is that the Dutch city bike invasion is yet another example of fashion disguised as practicality. More accurately, it's fashion backlash disguised as practicality. What happens when people start wearing baggier and baggier pants? Tight pants make a sudden comeback. What happens when ratty trucker caps become all the rage? Clean, flat-brim fitted caps supplant them. What happens when microbrews take over the country? There's a renewed interest in PBR. And so forth. So what happens when impractically minimalist bikes become fashionable? Impractically practical bikes suddenly seem a lot more attractive.