Hey you guys like bikes?

Fair enough Al - I've never had that great of balance on the bike whilst standing still. I agree that people who scorn front brakes are fools; there are always going to be emergency situations where you'll need it!

My 80s Redline.

not having brakes will kill you one day.

  Al Hounos said:

you just need to learn some skills, breh. lock the brake and just balance. if you're moving at all (forward or backward), it isn't a real trackstand anyway.

you don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trackstand

"The track stand is a technique that bicycle riders can use to stay balanced on their bicycles by holding their weight equally on both feet and while moving only minimal distances. The term originated from use of the technique by track cyclists prior to starting, or as a tactic in track sprinting whereby riders will initially ride very slowly and maneuver across the track in an effort to get their rival to take the lead so that they can then draft or slipstream behind, conserving energy for the final sprint."

a TRACK STAND originally is done on a TRACK BIKE (which is a FIXED GEAR BIKE). yes there are ways to do them on a freewheel, but to say it's not a "real track stand" unless it's done on a freewheel bike is fucking retarded.

  Al Hounos said:

like i said before, i love simplicity and i love singlespeeds. but these fixie freaks think a front brake is an optional or extraneous part of a bike, and that's just stupid.

you have never ridden a fixed gear bike, you are speaking strictly from some biased ignorance you have about them based on who you perceive to primarily ride them. yes i ride with a front break. i also damn near never use it. i might use it once a month or two. it basically acts as an emergency break. if you rode a fixed gear bike you might understand how you speed up and slow down and stop is by applying frontwards or backwards pressure to the pedals/back wheel, it's amazingly efficient though i know you'll never believe that because yea yea they're only for trendy hipsters and there's no upside which is why so many people have been riding them for the last 120 years now, and you know best though you've never set foot on one. run your mouth some more you fucking dullard.

  messiaen said:

not having brakes will kill you one day.

in all fairness, plenty of people die on bikes WITH brakes too. no question not having a front brake on a fixed gear bike is more dangerous than having one but 9 times out of 10 what kills you is not the lack of a front brake but situations a front brake wouldn't save you in anyway, like getting doored, or a truck decides to make a right turn into you, or other shit. i personally think it's far more dangerous to ride with an ipod playing (which plenty of people do) than to ride a fixie without a front brake.

i rode my bike all the time in sacramento as its completely flat and warm and safe. i bought a 21 speed becuase i knew i'd be moving to sf soon enough. everyone in sac rides cruisers. when we moved here i used it for awhile but we live at the top of a hill so getting home was alway a struggle. i don't use it much these days except to go through the park on sundays. fixed gear i never understood. not sure i care to

  aeser said:

  messiaen said:

not having brakes will kill you one day.

 

in all fairness, plenty of people die on bikes WITH brakes too. no question not having a front brake on a fixed gear bike is more dangerous than having one but 9 times out of 10 what kills you is not the lack of a front brake but situations a front brake wouldn't save you in anyway, like getting doored, or a truck decides to make a right turn into you, or other shit. i personally think it's far more dangerous to ride with an ipod playing (which plenty of people do) than to ride a fixie without a front brake.

whatever like, but ive got banging disc brakes and can go from 25mph to stop in about 2 seconds, and its saved my life/(serious injury) i guess about 5 times so far.

ive never even heard of a fixed gear bike to be honest, never mind ridden one. maybe the need is less because you can go quite as fast.

  messiaen said:

ive never even heard of a fixed gear bike to be honest, never mind ridden one. maybe the need is less because you can go quite as fast.

you can go quite fast on them, as the bikes are light as hell, built mostly for racing on tracks, and they have one gear which is usually quite high, so the bikes arre quite zippy. people tend to ride slower/more cautiously when riding brakeless, many people claim it makes them pay way more attention to everything going on around them as at high speeds it takes longer to slow to a stop, but with a front brake you can go just as fast and stop on a dime if need be.

  aeser said:

i personally think it's far more dangerous to ride with an ipod playing (which plenty of people do)

yeah I never ride with tunes on, that's just idiotic

i ride with tunes playing all the time, every day. Its safe, no helmet either. Truly. But its ok because theres bike lanes and i own the road. Infact only time i dont ride the bike with tunes on is when its dark and i've no lights.

i cant ride at night because i perpetually have enough weed to get in trouble and the bizzies are real harsh on lightless bikers.

The bike shop in johto is closed.

Cycling a bike with a boner is an accident waiting to happen. Definitely wear a helmet if you wanna indulge in that carry on.

Was just thinking about circumstances where cycling while listening to music is not advisable and this scenario falls into that category.

  messiaen said:

i cant ride at night because i perpetually have enough weed to get in trouble and the bizzies are real harsh on lightless bikers.

Get lights?

My bike's got a keen dynamo.

  Al Hounos said:

have any of you people talking shit about how fixed gear bikes are so unsafe and obviously only for hipsters and you can't go fast on them and bla bla bla actually ever ridden one?

you can tell yourself they're only for hipster fags?

 

so basically you decided they were bullshit and only for hipsters and don't need to actually ride one to prove or disprove anything you've convinced yourself about them and that's that.

 

well, have a nice life.

I keep on hearing about this beef about hipsters riding fixed gear bikes, i ain't too familiar with the hipster scene so I did a quick web search and found one of these hipsters dudes. I found the myspace of a guy who claims to be a hipster in the first sentence of his "about me" paragraph. He just comes right out with it in the first sentence, like he's proud of that shit. He makes no mention of riding fixed gear bikes.

http://www.myspace.com/djkel

Can someone with a myspace message this guy and find out what kinda bike he owns? What kind of hipster is this guy?

I wouldn't say he's a hipster, judging from his fat flace and unstylish glasses.

Also:

  Quote

Manqué (feminine, manquée) is a French word - the past participle of the verb manquer, to miss - which is applied as an adjective in English to someone who might have become something but did not.

In that case he's been lying to his myspace friends.

  aeser said:

the bikes are light as hell, built mostly for racing on tracks

exactly. and that's where they should remain.

not that i care as much as you think i do, i just think it's stupid and faddish. it's a way to separate yourself from the 'dullard' masses and show that you are a real hardcore cyclist, more skillful and serious than your freewheeling counterparts.

congratulations on having a front brake though, you must be slightly smarter than the majority of your fellow fixie riders.

  aeser said:

i personally think it's far more dangerous to ride with an ipod playing (which plenty of people do) than to ride a fixie without a front brake.

that's like saying its more dangerous to drive while texting than to not wear a seatbelt.

Man, you're getting really worked up about what bikes people choose to ride.

The bike shop moved to Kanto.

  Iain C said:

Man, you're getting really worked up about what bikes people choose to ride.

not really worked up about a type of bike so much. more interested in poking fun at a silly scene.

theres an element of danger in all forms of cycling but cycling a bike with no brakes is plain dumb.

Top 3 most dangerous forms of cycling:

1. Cycling a bike with no brakes (high risk)

2. Cycling in the city centre in the dark with no lights listening to a walkman (stupid)

3. Cycling with a boner (insane)

yo African American i cycled with a boner the other day and that shit got caught in my spokes! i feel on my head but thank god my ipod headphones were on so they cushioned my fall in what would have otherwise been a boner related death