The backlash...

[Landslide]

Riding through London this morning, a cyclist passed me travelling in t'other direction, and I'm sure he was singing:
"Get a freewheel..."
Have fixies jumped the shark? Or are Londoners just sick to the back teeth with brakeless hipsters who can ride for toffee?

 

[Landslide]

I don't think my cause was helped by my skinny trousers and courier bag!

 

[Greenbank]

I don't think my cause was helped by my skinny trousers and courier bag!

Fixed wheel bike: yes, but that's about where the similarity stops. I'm probably the anti-fakenger.

Skinny trouers: I can barely get blokes trousers to fit my thighs. I need loose fit at a minimum, and i'm not lardy. Lycra anyway.
Courier bag: No. Carradice Barley, pannier or a rucksack.

The other items that will discount me as a fakenger:-

No brakes: Both brakes.
Impossibly short cut down handlebars: Bullhorns yes, but with tri-bars.
Aerospoke front wheel: No, SON dynohub front wheel laced into Open Pro.
Deep-V rear wheel in lime green or shocking pink: No. 32 Silver Open Pro.
Charge Spoon saddle: No. Brooks Swallow.

Riding ability? Everyone's above average aren't they. But at least this bike has seen more than just Hoxton and the City. Full Audax SR Series on it last year (up to and including 600km rides).

It's not afraid of hills either. London to Edinburgh via Yad Moss and the B709 through the Moorfoot hills. Also did Builth Wells to Tregaron and then Rhayader last weekend (in the middle of a 300km ride to/from Kidderminster). Doing Chepstow to Menai and back (619km in under 40 hours) in a couple of weekends time.

http://www.greenbank.org/bikes/tempo/tempo6.jpg (in days before drops were replaced with bullhorns)
http://www.greenbank.org/bikes/tempo/tempo7.jpg later pic with new bullhorns but rack and Carradice removed.

If the fashion is over I'll happily snap up the buckets full of cheap spares that'll be all over ebay soon.

 

[Landslide]

You missed the other giveaway that exempts you from fakenger status - your chain's not slack!

 

[Dan B]

If the fashion is over I'll happily snap up the buckets full of cheap spares that'll be all over ebay soon.

I'm looking forward to it. I refuse to get one until they're unfashionable again

 

[Joe24]

I have one bike that you might class as a hipster bike. Its got bullhorns(that ive just turned backways so the pointy bits face me)and i ride that to 6th form in my normal clothes, and yes i do have a messenger bag.
On my good fixed, i have the front brake and charge around that in lycra, and sometimes have my messenger bag on me if im going to my GFs or somewhere that i need another set of clothes when im walking so im not in lycra.
I wouldnt class myself as a hipster though
I didnt start riding fixed because it was trendy. I started to ride fixed because i wanted a realiable solid bike that would be easy to maintain, which my Giant geared bike wasnt.

Oh Greenbank, the hipster people are are going against Charge i think, they seem to like Brooks saddles, especialy the Swallow, or a cut down B17.
Your a hipster, admit it

 

[Greenbank]

Oh Greenbank, the hipster people are are going against Charge i think, they seem to like Brooks saddles, especialy the Swallow, or a cut down B17.
Your a hipster, admit it

Fine. £200 is the current list price for a Brooks Swallow. A cut down B17 is like chopping classic Cinelli bars. Sacrilege.

Let them all eat cake, and continue to spend their future inheritance.

I'll be there to mop up the crumbs when they get bored and sell on those Brooks Swallows for a knock down £100. But then I'm sure [sic] your aware of that.

 

[zimzum42]

The way I see it I've got a road bike that happens to have a fixed set-up, cos I mainly ride in flattish areas....

Profile Airwing bars can hardly be described as hipster or fakenger, and wearing lycra and LOOK cleats makes sure no one will think they recognize me if somehow I ended up in Shoreditch one day....

 

[John the Monkey]

The Bike Snob had an article on this a bit ago;

And that's what's so annoying about the fixed-gear fad and the fixed-gear backlash. They both seem to subscribe to a notion that there's no middle ground, and they only define themselves in terms of the other. Hate track bikes? Ride a tank! Don't like sluggish bikes? Ride a track bike! Of course, the truth is there are plenty of bikes that are reasonably quick, reasonably light, reasonably cheap, and reasonably practical all at the same time. Here's just one example:

Again, this is just one example. Plenty of other companies also offer bikes on this theme. The problem is that it's more fun to pretend bikes like this don't exist. It's much more special to either do what all the hip people are doing, or to do the exact opposite of what all the hip people are doing. There's nothing special about simultaneously passing the dandies on the Dutch city bikes and getting where you're going just as quickly as the people on track bikes, only with dry pants.

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2009/04/backlash-conspiracy-divide-and-conquer.html

If he's right, expect to see lots of Dutch roadsters around some time soon.

 

[Dan B]

Profile Airwing bars can hardly be described as hipster or fakenger, and wearing lycra and LOOK cleats makes sure no one will think they recognize me if somehow I ended up in Shoreditch one day....

I live in Shoreditch. That's half the problem, really.

Not that I'll be getting a dutch roadster any time soon anyway if I need to carry it upstairs to my flat.

 

[MacB]

the only aspects that come and go, fashion wise, are the acoutrements, so the clothes, bags and weird customisations. The desire for lightweight, low maintenance, efficient and fun to ride bikes, will never go away.

I've never been a follower of fashion but every so often I've accidentally coincided with it. I find this means I have to upgrade my stuff a lot less often