Nobody wants their favorite obsession to go mainstream, but it’s still kind of cool when what you’re into gets some attention. Unfortunately for the subculture of fixed gear bikes, that usually means fixed gear haters. “Dangerous”, “should be illegal”, “trendy” and “hipster” are frequently-used words in these unbalanced pieces of mainstream “journalism”. Most of them seem to do little if any research, and none of them seem to be aware that fixed gears have been around for over 100 years now without any problems.
Let’s take a look at some of this garbage, so we can be prepared for the next round of haters.
Wired Magazine published an early piece back in 2005 that starts out with this depressing paragraph:
Jim Wirtanen spent 12 years as a bike messenger dodging buses and cabs on the streets of Boston. He earned the name “Deadguy” after being hit by a speeding Lincoln Continental on the third week of the job. The collision threw him 40 feet across an intersection and he hit his head on a light pole.
Great intro to the fixed gear phenomenon, huh? Boy, I really want one now.
The piece also contains these questionable phrases:
Though a bike with no brakes sounds insane to many…
Note: never trust a press report that claims what “many” people think, or uses the phrase “some say”. There’s a reason those are called “weasel words”. Either quote someone directly or shut up.
As with a child’s Big Wheel, if you want to stop, you have to use your leg muscles to slow the bike.
Was that condescending enough for you? Try this:
Many riders, but not all, add a front brake, but the pure and brave (or foolish) of heart scoff at the notion.
Yes, they just called you a fool.
To their credit, Wired includes a few worthwhile quotes from actual riders, such as:
“It’s a Zen thing. Once you get used to traffic, then you can float through the chaos,” (Wirtanen) said.
But overall, the piece is slanted to make the riders sound insane, stupid and childish.
Next up, the Old Hag herself, the New York Times. By titling their piece “Unstoppable“, they pretty much warn you where they’re coming from. Try this:
(T)hese fixed-gear zealots are a growing presence on the streets of New York. Perceived by some as nuisances, or as troublesome, anarchist Dumpster-diving punks who happen to ride bikes, they are occasionally reviled, but they are also the subject of curiosity and interest.
“Perceived by some”? Again, the weasel words rear their ugly heads. Did someone actually say that, or did you just make it up? Oh also: you suck.
(Y)ou can’t ride this bike very well on your first try, and certainly not very gracefully, easily or safely.
How well did you drive a car on your first try?
There were copious drinking, including a contest to see who could ride around in a circle while drinking a six-pack fastest, and the “Blind Skull” event, in which riders wearing big foam skulls over their heads pedaled until they fell over or ran into somebody.
I’m pretty sure people get drunk and do crazy things without bikes too.
Maybe the worst thing about the NY Times piece is the illusion of balance – a few obligatory quotes from people saying they like fixed gear bikes and they’re pretty, and a short history cribbed from Wikipedia.
Quality job, Times. Maybe that’s why you’re rapidly going out of business.
But it’s not just the mainstream media – you can find plenty of hate on the blogs too. Bike Snob NYC is definitely hating fixed gear bikes, but the piece is so funny you really just need to read it all. If nothing else it will give you an idea of the mindset you’re up against, but it may actually make you laugh too. Some of the things he bitches about are ones that annoy most of us about other riders anyway.
There are so many more examples, but we’ll leave them for another post. Meanwhile, let’s hear your (least) favorites in the comments.
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March 15th, 2009 at
Where is a demand, there will be supply. I was just in China for couple of months. You will never affect supply. And if people are so much attracted to “brands”, then there will be no change.
July 14th, 2009 at
I have spent a lifetime riding on two wheels. Bicycles, motorcycles, heck I even tried my hand at a unicycle once. Ok,ok I know that a unicycle only has one wheel, but you get the drift. I have never once in all of my years thought about riding something that didn’t’ have brakes or a way to stop it with out a lot of effort on my part. Call me lazy or call me smart but when its; time for me to stop out on my two wheeled vehicle, I want to stop with as little effort as possible and I want to stop in short order. With a set of brakes you can do this with ease… Oh by the way I was never any good at the unicycle, it didn’t have brakes…
October 9th, 2009 at
I am surprised you guys are actually giving a forum to fixed-gear “haters.” Are there really people out there that dislike this biking subculture? Sure, it may seem trendy, but at least it’s a POSITIVE trend. If it takes a trend to get kids ON A BIKE, then how could it be a bad thing? More people on bikes means fewer drivers, and that’s great for everyone! The benefits are obvious. Besides, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks as long as you’re doing something physically constructive.
March 14th, 2010 at
There are definitely plenty of haters, just look at the stupid comments fixed gear videos get on youtube.
As for brakes, I’ve ridden a fixed gear with a brake for a while but tried to use the fixed gear-unique braking methods as much as possible. At some point, even when a car cut me off or other emergencies, I didn’t grab for the brake lever anymore but instead went for the skid. Then when I got a frame without holes for brakes, I just left the stuff off and ride like this happily ever after.
Becoming good enough to stop a bike like this whenever necessary requires some practice, but after a while one can stop a fixed gear about as quick as a bike with regular brakes.
Another advantage is that one becomes very alert on a fixed gear, especially in the beginning period where braking is still a challenge. As your skill grows, the alertness tends to stay and I am sure it made me a much more thoughtful and safe rider.