i ride em because i'm not smart enough to know how to adjust brakes and derailers. plus you can do tricks on em. and they go fuckin fast

i think they look well nice but if i attempted to conquer the steep downhill ride to uni on 1 i don't think i'd be able to brake, and probably just get hit by a bus at the bottom

i have no idea.

People are gullible enough to think just about anything's cool if enough people have no idea it exists.

adjusting parts is not hard at all.

doing tricks is a valid reason, but not many people actually ride them for that reason.

and no, you cannot go fuckin' fast on them, you lose control to easy.

It can be stupid... but most of my friends (and my future bike) have an "oh shit" brake

you can't.

i rode a fixed gear for years and years then i got a real road bike, couldn't imagine going back. fixed gears are kind of fun but can only go so fast. and my dad got one.

Yeah... "fixed gears" are not that fast... for a track, sure. For road riding, not. At all. Not even close. And no, it's not just me. I hope you're not the kid with the awful conversion with the blue spray painted front wheel. I have a feeling he thinks the same way.

I'm so tired of kids on conversions with unwrapped bars and no type of foot restraint/no brake running stop signs/red lights pretending to be bike messengers in fucking GAINESVILLE. Don't get me wrong, I love riding fixed. I honestly feel more in control than I do on a road bike. Then again, I don't ride around like a fucking idiot as fast as I can. I also wear a helmet and have a brake. OOOH SO NOT COOL ANYMORE. I won't weep for you when you die at that intersection you failed to stop at as I erect your ghost bike. GO TO HELL!

Little do these assholes know it's way more HIP to have a track bike.... not a shitty conversion you had put together by Jacob at Spin Cycle.

[quote="hanbear"]
I'm so tired of kids on conversions with unwrapped bars and no type of foot restraint/no brake running stop signs/red lights pretending to be bike messengers in fucking GAINESVILLE. [quote]

YEAH! And isn't the irony at its GRANDEST when the same kids complain about the "horrible republicans in SUV's that try to run them over" ???

I'm bringing my fully-geared cyclocross bike that actually makes sense for "city" riding, my helmet and my concern for traffic control devices!

i don't get not wearing a helmet but then again I've also had some close friends in bike accidents.

are there any bike messengers in Gainesville, only thing like that I know off in Gainesville are Pita Pit and Jimmy Johns delivery bikers

also I think I accidentally almost ran some guy off the road today in a round-a-bout, I really need to install a "oh shit, I'm sorry" light for my car

Yeah bummer man.

Unfortunately it's often the case where the cyclist is often just as at fault as the driver and the dude-in-the-motor looks like the bad guy because it's a fad to hate people in cars these days. Not saying that there aren't asshole drivers out there, but I have seen a way-too-big share of asshole cyclists.

Everybody just has to do thier part and stay alert.

And yeah, there are only delivery riders in Gville. The ones I knew were for the most part pretty ok guys and gals.

Of all the topics i've read on this board, this is by far the most baffling.
I've even looked it up on Wikipedia and I still have no clue about 'fixed gear' bikes.
I just can't envisage any advantage over a regular bike. And they haven't got brakes??
Just crazy.
Just so you know, i'm not looking for education on the subject, just shootin the shit.

just imagine a bike - ok...that when you look at it, it screams "I'M A DOUCHEBAG".

that's a fixed gear bike.

Dude, you should use that desciption in your signature. Just change "bike" to "blog".

A fixed gear is a bike that has one gear, and typically comes with no brakes (traditionally, I guess you'd say). When you rotate the pedals in reverse, the wheel spins in reverse with the chain. They're really dangerous if you don't know what you're doing and even then...

And as far as hating people in cars being fashionable, I have had dickheads trying to run me over at crosswalks, not knowing how to use a traffic circle or four way stop, or just plain driving like a fucking moron on drugs that make them blind. The other day a woman opened her car door and I wound up crashing into her. Neither one of us got hurt, but I let her know that I wasn't pleased she escaped unscathed before I rode off. People in cars can go fuck themselves unless they really need it to earn a living. Otherwise it's just as bloated and useless as everything else about this country.