The Rise and Fall of the Rude Owls
Fixies SUCK!
by , 19 Aug 2010 at 08:01 PM (137259 Views)
Why do people hate fixies so much but give single speed bikes a free pass? Why are hipsters associated with fixies, when there are enough purple bikes with neon-green Deep-V with gold freewheel hubs to completely disassociate hipsters with fixed gears? Mostly it's people being ignorant. It's fun to be a dumbass when everyone else is doing it, but sometimes... sometimes... don't you wish you had something you could care about without everyone making fun of it? If you don't want to be a stupid asshole, this is for you. If you don't, shut up, no one likes you.
While i can understand people thinking fixies are more work to ride, the real difference is that you can't bomb down hills so effortlessly. Here's what you need to remedy that: brakes! If your legs are spinning way too fast you can slow down. As of yet i've hit 34mph without my legs popping out of their sockets, so unless you're geared weird it's not going to be that big a deal. Pop your feet out of your clips and reeeelax.
It seems to be a common misunderstanding that you have to forgo brakes to ride a fixie. While i agree it looks clean and way hot, it's simply not practical; it's too dangerous and you tear through tires and chains. Most fixies i see have a front brake with a cute thumb lever that makes up for your bars being cluttered. You can even get a super bright brake line housing. I have a red one.
Pacrappa brought up cornering in the bike thread. While you do have to be careful for pedal clipping, it's not that bad. Once you've been riding for a decent amount you'll be clipping the ground on purpose because it's fun to do. While i can't say you won't ever have pedal clip, you'll know when you're setting yourself up for it. My bike has a low bottom bracket, and i seriously have to be at an angle where i'm nearly falling over to even be in any danger.
So why would someone ride a fixie over a single speed or geared bike, other than being a gigantic tool? I've said it before: it's fun! You know that feeling you get from driving a car with a manual transmission and then go back to an automatic and it makes you a little sad? it's kind of like that. Try it if you get the chance! It's different, it's strange, you might just like it! If my current bike was destroyed, i'd get a regular used geared bike. And then i'd build another fixie out of it.
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