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Fixies are a pain in Grandpa Bostonist's neck. Fixies are European fixed gear racing bikes that don't have back brakes, designed to teach racers "pedal discipline" in the velodrome. On the clogged streets of the big city, however, they are little more than a pathetic compensatory status marker—the bicycle equivalent of a sports car. They are bikes for racing, not for getting around.
And, just like their automotive cousins, fixies are dangerous. Imagine, for the moment, that you're in Cambridge's Central Square. Picture yourself in a crosswalk or, worse, a sidewalk. What is that you see, out of the corner of your eye, barreling toward you? Yes, it is an out-of-control fixie piloted by a rider who does not know how to stop it. And, hark! What did you hear? You're right. That was the sound of the selfsame cyclist chastising you for not getting out of his way.
In order to bike without gears or brakes, fixie riders have to conserve an awful lot of momentum. And that means that they don't stop at stop lights or stop signs; they cruise through busy crosswalks; and, because riding a fixie is So Hard, they disdain anybody who dares to travel the earth by any means other than a fixie. And that doesn't even broach the subject of bike helmets.
Yes, fixie riders, we realize that you aren't all like that. But enough of you are that Berlin, Germany has banned your bike. We're hoping that this is only stage one of a full public health intervention and that the fixie will soon go the way of smoking in bars and eating trans fat in donuts.
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Just for the record, the vast, vast majority of fixed-gear bikes have brakes. That doesn't mean the rider isn't a douche, though. In general, a 'fixie' is just a fixed-gear bike (brakes or not), whereas a 'track bike' is a bike that's meant for the velodrome - no brakes.
Thanks for the clarification. Grandpa Bostonist is not too old to learn a thing or two.
In addition to squeed's comments, let us keep in mind that cyclists not riding fixies can also be dangerous when they don't know or follow traffic law. Perhaps we should direct some anger at mountain bikes and 10-speeds insistent upon riding in the sidewalk, where it is illegal for any cyclist to be.
By Massachusetts law, a cyclist must be able to stop within 30 feet - most fixed riders can do this, either using brakes or utilizing skids. Your concern with riders on sidewalks, though, has little to do with whether or not the gears are fixed - much more to do with the fact that cyclists are endangering pedestrians by refusing to ride in scary Boston traffic where they legally should be.
I am pretty disappointed in your whole argument/point of view. So much so that I bothered to write an entire rant about it...see it here.
I understand you are trying to be funny/witty, but it just comes off as uniformed and mean. Feel free to read my arguments and see what you think.
I fell SO sorry for you behind the wheel of your CAR.
Cry me a river, build an all-terrain SUV, and get the hell over it.
Dude, Grandpa Bostonist has a hip replacement and angina, and is thus restricted to transporting himself safely in his automobile.
Feel. Dang.
this is one of the most poorly written and researched articles i have ever encountered on the Bostonist.
I could go on and on but plainly i think you really just should've gone to a shop that caters to this new trend in cycling- there are many in the area, and ask them to explain the phenomenon and they would gladly let you know the ins and outs what works and what doesn't. i would venture to say they would tell you that racing on a bike with a front brake isn't allowed, that the surge in popularity is dangerous and does need to be regulated, but that there is a safe way to ride a fg bike in the city and when done right it is one of the most rewarding pursuits in the realm of city living.
again- anyone who is trying to pull anything out of this article PLEASE RECOGNIZE that it is incredibly poorly written and researched and that if you catch a good bike shop employee on a day that they are not very busy (like today in the rain!) they will gladly explain the ins and outs and how it can be done safely.
The question is whether Grandpa Bostonist knows how to read. Berlin banned bikes with fixed gears and no brakes. Really, they could have banned bikes without brakes, because there really is no way to ride a free-wheel bike without brakes, so the only bikes without brakes are necessarily fixies.
But, as pointed out above, not all fixies lack brakes.
As for why one rides a fixie, it's very simple: a fixed gear bike is simplicity itself. You pedal you move. If you are moving, you are pedaling. You slow your pedaling, you slow. All very elemental and not at all compensatory.
In fact, the sports-car analogy is exactly backward. Unlike a sports car, which generally offers much more power and complexity than is necessary for the task at hand, the fixed gear bike removes all complexity and power-multiplication because it's not needed for urban biking.
Segways for everyone!
i think the real question is, are people riding fixies because the bikes offer a better ride/performance, or because the bikes are trendy? if the former, okay; if the latter, you're a tool... a tool who's probably endangering people while tooling around town on your fixie.
and segways are for grandpas!
Are you kidding. Sure ban fixed gear bikes, along with pedestrians/tourists that wonder aimlessly into the street, SUVs, anyone douche driving whilst talking on a cellphone, and of course, cabs.
Grandpa and I are probably the oldest people here, so I repeat, "yay for segways!"
Your really talking about three different things here. Single speed is a bike with no gears. Most children start on one. Then off of that, you have two modes: fixed-gear and flywheel.
I ride a single speed that has been in fixed-gear mode and also flywheel mode. It has a hub on the back wheel that does both. This is called a flip-flop hub.
I ride a single speed because it's lighter, quieter, and overall just more simple. No gears. No shock absorbers. Really, why do you need 18 gears in Boston? It's the cycling equivalent of an SUV.
I like the fixed-gear mode because it's a better workout. You must peddle every inch of the way. No coasting. To go up hills, you just stand up and peddle without help from the bike.
Sure, single speed bikes are trendy, but for the same reason that other simple things are trendy, really for the same reason that other trendy things are trendy. Does following trends make one a tool? I have to say that even though I was following a trend when I bought my single speed from Broadway Bikes in Cambridge (a great bike shop, by the way), I really do prefer it now over my clunky mountain bike.
Most of the hostility here is misdirected at cyclist who do not follow the basic rules of the road. I'll count myself in there as well. I sometimes go through red lights, down the wrong way on a one way street, and jump up on an unused sidewalk if I need to. But I use common sense. Many of the cyclist who are dangerous, zooming through red lights downtown on a $2,000 track bike with no brakes, are just not following common sense.
I'm disgusted. As someone who has ridden a brakeless fixed gear for over three years and NEVER hit a ped, or gotten in a major accident, I can't believe people are ranting and legislating on something they have zero idea about. If you have never ridden a brakeless fixed gear, or been interested in doing so, you have no standing to voice an opinion. These bikes are no more dangerous than the people on them, which is generally far less dangerous than every motorist in this state. If you are truly curious as to why people ride this type of bike, why don't you ask? If you are really curious about the level of safety involved, why don't you observe them in use without bias or prejudice? And if you have an issue with the attitude of the riders of these bikes, well... too fucking bad. I have issue with the attitudes of the drivers who crowd me out of the road and run red lights while talking on their cell phone all the live long day. What can I do about that? As much as you can do about my bike - absolutely nothing.
This is a joke/facetious article right? As a middle-aged father of 3, I've been bike commuting from the suburbs to Boston on a fixie for years. The whole tone of this post is very uninformed and clueless.
I do have a front brake--and I use it. But there is no reason for a rear brake on a fixie. Most of the stopping force on a bike is achieved on the front wheel as your momentum pushes you into that wheel. That is where you need a brake. For the rear wheel, your legs should be strong enough to be as effective as any hand brake--you are limited by the tendency of the bike to skid anyway; you can't just slam on the rear brake--the tire may stop turning, but the bike will not stop moving.
As for running lights, stop signs, etc., it's not about the bike; it is about the safety of the situation. People new to fixed gears are overwhelmed by the lack of brakes and gears, but you quickly condition to it. I've ridden my fixie up Washinton Street from Roslindale Village to Bellevue Hill and even took it on a 100-mile ride in the hills of New Hampshire. It's not THAT hard to get started after stopping...but it is unsafe to be sitting there in front of a line of cars for green racelight to go off...or to attempt to force your way through an intersection where oncoming cars are making left turns in front of you--or waiting to make a sudden left turn behind a car that is accellerating past you through the intersection.