Tori mentioned to me recently having read an article about stupid fixed gear trends, and Luke Kaines recently shared this wired article in his google reader feed. They are probably the same article. This got me thinking as the benefits of fashion are pretty dubious to me. Which is to say, I get them, but I think it’s mostly a bunch of horsecockery.

I dislike the time or money it takes to keep something fashionable or attractive. I’ve got better things to do than paint my truck, and if I was going to spend any money on it, paint certainly isn’t near the top of the list of beneficial upgrades. A spacer plate for the TBI, a solar panel, new weather stripping for the barn doors; these are things that serve useful purpose. This attitude comes through often and I summarize it as utility beats fashion. See my clothes, my furniture, etc.

First, all my fixed gear bikes have brakes, of course, there simply isn’t any good reason to drop it. Arguments are “I can’t spin the wheel”, to which I reply, “tricks are dumb”, and that “brakes are heavy”, with the response “ounces aren’t more important than your head”. I’ve had my fair share of major head trauma. I’m not the type of person that’s going to chastize you to your face, but you’re a fucking idiot. Theres no excuse that can justify the risk imbued in that photograph. Brain trauma is a terrible thing to put yourself and the people that care about you through. I narrowly escaped permanent injury, and that was on a motorcycle in the city at speeds below what I’ve seen cyclists ride. I was wearing a full face helmet, which surely saved my life.

I rode a couple geared bikes to work for a while that just didn’t fit me and I was searching for a bigger frame. I found a 63cm Schwinn frame on craigslist and paid too much for it out of it being the right product at the right time. Sheldon Brown, my main source of bicycle information, recommended trying fixed before trying single speed, so I jumped in.

The red Schwinn is giant, which I realized more later. It has 32mm x 27″ Schwalbe tires, 63cm frame, cut bullhorns, and a front brake. I think I went with 40t x 17t drivetrain, on a 17/19 surly dingle with an 18t freewheel on the other side. I got the dingle out of having no idea what would be appropriate in Seattle.

I loved it. It was lighter than my other bikes, which is a great feel. Part of whats great about riding bikes is cruising along in the open air, and with a heavy bicycle you feel more like your riding along on the top of a hunk of metal. With a lighter bike it’s fun due to a more free feeling. I could take my bike with me to non bike friendly places and easily shoulder it, then throw it in a corner somewhere. It was simple, and didn’t require much tuning or tomfoolery. And it was still steel.

Steel. I love steel. I had a coworker (a fair weather rider) give me the usual shit for being a hipster while telling me I should buy a nice carbon bike like his. First, any road bike whose cost rivals the $3000 that I paid for my Suburban is disproportional. It’s just not worth it. If you’re not riding that bike absolutely every fucking day, you’re also an asshole for blowing that much money on something you don’t use. I don’t trust carbon. I don’t know where I’m going to end up on a ride, and need the trustworthy utility of steel. A long ride on a multi-use path could very easily end up in the potholed streets of an industrial area’s of SODO (two Thursdays ago), or bombing through rooted trails of Woodland Park (last Thursday). Steel is also ubiquitous, inexpensive, durable, and repairable.

This spring I bit the bullet and built an IRO. I wanted something even lighter for the riding around in the nice weather. I found a 59cm Mark V on Ebay, and built it up with half new parts from IRO. The wheelset is the nicest I’ve ever bought new, but it’s nothing special, and running Continental 23s. The drivetrain is IRO, 46t x 16t.

I know some monster’s that ride even higher, and I get it now. This was a huge jump for me, but I don’t find it absurd at all. I had some problems with running a 1/4″ chain on the 3/8″ dingle (duh) on the Schwinn, and replaced it recently with a slightly smaller cog, but I still love that bike the way it is. It’s my truck fixie, and I take it out when I’m going exploring in SODO or South Park in the industrial areas. It’ll go almost anywhere.

The IRO is so light and fun. It’s a daily companion for me and thus naturally a big part of my life.

So that article? Mostly trash. There are plenty of good reasons for having a top tube pad. Shouldering a bike, protecting the paid from a ulock, a padding your knee if you use the top tube for a skid stop. I’ve never found these things so commonly difficult to justify a pad, but I get the function. If you have one because you like how it looks, that’s fine. People do this with everything. If you think you have to have one, well, that’s dumb.

I have a pile of spoke cards from different races and rides. There are memories in them, and when I see people with the same cards I’ll sometimes go up and talk to them. It’s a social thing. Red versus blue bandannas I don’t get, spoke cards I do. I don’t like the look of them in a bike, and I don’t have any on my bikes as a result.

I ride mostly upright in the city. There’s a lot going on and you need to ride pretty defensively. You also need pretty good leverage when skid stopping.Bullhorns are a great compromise for this. Drops are fine on my touring bike, but I don’t want to be that bent over when there are cars speeding towards me at angles. Straight bars don’t give you the leverage. My IRO still doesn’t have bar tape on it because I’m not committed to the setup and don’t want to blow money on replacing the bar tape as I try different things.

I hear Brooks saddles are uber comfortable. I rarely have issues with saddles and I’m fine with a < $200 saddle from an LBS. Mostly I don't want to go buy a new leather saddle (don't eat kittens), and these are popular enough you don't see many used, so I haven't even given it a try. There's a list of other benefits to riding fixed like learning a healthy cadence for your knees, something about lost power to the freewheel. I don't know a lot about these nor care much. Riding bikes is fun, riding fixed is a lot of fun. Fuck fashion and attitude. Go ride a bike. Speaking of which, it's sunny out, and I have another stem I want to try on the IRO. So I'm going to go do that.