Guest Blog: Any Fixed Gear Commuters in the Challenge?
About ten years ago, I experienced my first "fix" -- I tried out a fixed gear bicycle. My buddy had a new Ibis Scorcher and we went for a ride to a coffee shop downtown. Other cyclists recognized that this was a fixed gear bike even though, to my eyes, it just looked like a nice, clean, single-speed bike. It surprised me that they not only recognized the gearing (or lack of gearing) but they also looked at the bike the way a car fanatic might look at a new Porsche or Mazarrati. "That thing is sweet!" was a common comment.
Many years have gone by and I still don't fully understand the allure of the fixed gear bicycle. I admire the simplicity and elegance and how the rider has to work on his/her technique in the same way that cross country skiiers study and practice in order to make their way along the trail. But I admit that I don't fully appreciate the popularity of these bikes. I'm hoping that someone will post about their own experience as a fixie commuter.
My own, complicated bicycle is like a long, rambling ode while the fixed gear is a haiku.
Fixie Rider
You seem to know a secret
As you spin past
Don Lubach
UCSB Team Ding Bell
2 comments:
I get passed by a fixed gear rider every single day, both to and from work. It's humiliating, but more power to him. His bike looks very sleek to me. Perhaps that is part of the allure. It looks so clean and shiny without all those extra parts.
no better way to learn to spin, plus you can go backwards!
and
bike is so light, even though i'm not!
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