I’m all for bikers/cyclists but seriously – why must so many insist on riding fixies with the fake-enger look?
1. HRM is full of hills – 1a) Uphills – you all struggle ridiculously and it looks retarded
1b) Downhills – most of you can’t stop for shit and I’ve witnessed more than a few spills into traffic.
2. Knees – are you going to be stealing my tax dollars for physio later when they’re blown out?
3. It’s not any faster than gearing up or down.
And what’s up with the bags? Seriously? What do they contain? I simply must know.
—Maggie (from elsewhere)
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2009.
Its the new cool thing. Its been building momentum over the past, say, 3 or 4 years. I think the best thing about them would either be the lack of brakes or the road bikes set up with flat bars cut down to about 6 inches either side.
Expect to see more really soon, Uni starts soon for many and they’ll be flying in from parts west of here.
Oh, and about the hills thing:a) its pretty flat between Belle Aire Terrace and Dalhousie and b) none of them live beyond the peninsula
Hipsters need to go away now.
i wish the fixies would stay where they started – bike messengers in big cities. It was a cool thing that was just known to a few people in the inner circle. I agree with the OP here. Most people riding the fix gear bikes can’t do it properly and are just HUGE POSERS!
Is there anything the exploding Hipster population in Halifax won’t co-opt as their own as long as its trendy?
Fixies? Fake-engers? What language are you speaking?
see also: posenger
I had a guy try to put one of these on the bus’ bike rack, but the tire was too thick. He ended up taking air out of the tire to get it to fit. I’m amazed it arrived in one piece.
I didn’t recognize it either, nevermind. Apparently, “fixie” is fixed-gear bike… which was pretty much every bike I owned until my mid teens, if I understand the usage. I had one of those BMX jobs through most of elementary and junior high school, and I believe that qualifies.
nevermind – these fixed gear bikes are becoming a popular accessory of the hipster. In days gone by it was only a select subculture of bikers who road them ( bike messengers and road warrior types ) They are also used in by stunt BMX riders since they allow you to pedal backwards and forwards since the wheels move in whatever direction the pedals are moving in.
Now they are the must have of every hippie poser with an extra 200 bucks. “Fixies” are the new custom low riders of 5 years ago in the “too cool for school” skinny jeans crowd of HFX.
Fixies are stupid unless you are on a velodrome indoor racetrack. They are much cooler to the hipster if they have no brakes as well. As such, you need to use huge reverse force on the pedals to slow and forget about stopping abruptly, you cant do it.
Its probably happened already that some pedestrian has been plowed over by a goofball on a fixie – not because the rider didnt see them – but because they have no friggin brakes on their bike.
These things make no sense in a very hilly city like Hali. A single speed with a FREEWHEEL is kind of cool and fun to ride. A good leg workout. Fixies are idiotic.
westcoastkid – “These things make no sense in a very hilly city like Hali” you know fix gear bikes were popularized in san francisco right.
It still doesn’t mean that they make sense.
fashion statement.
Resident Weevil – your thinking of single speed bikes.