Messenger riding/Fixed Gear/Being a hipster

Recreation Cycling
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There’s a couple of these type of threads on here but they are more than a decade old - I believe the mainstream ‘hipster’ scene of fixie bikes has been and gone. So let’s review!

Personally I have owned a retro-fitted fixie bike. It had no brakes and I rode it once and then dismantled it. My knees don’t have the strength! I’d consider buying a proper singlespeed with rim brakes at some point, but I have too many bikes. I’ve run out of wall space to keep them.

There’s videos online of NYC Alleycat racing and even just more relaxed touring about cities such as Mexico City on fixies on youtube, such as Terry Barentsen’s channel, or any of the Track or Die videos.

I’ve done some riding myself around London and really enjoyed the busyness aspect of it, not on a fixie or anything quite as obscene as what these guys do. Taipei and Kaohsiung seem like cool places to ride about in like this, massive boulevards and all. Dangerous, but it would be exciting.

I duno, I guess what I’m saying is, I find it cool. Anyone have any stories or experiences of this nature?

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I owned one of these for a couple of years. It was fun to kick around the city and pushing up and down hills. Not a fixie, though.
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Ah nice, what happened to it? Just moved on?

Do you still do a lot of city riding? Stop-start sprints between the lights on the avenues type thing?

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It was a size too small and I had 1 bike too many.

Can’t really get up a lather within the city but, where I ride, I have about 6 straight, clear places I can blow out the carbon.

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Guys, remember, there’s no such thing as too many bikes.

I know a few guys that are riding fixie around the city and you actually see a lot more people commuting on them as of late. The same guys are also using Omnium cargo bikes to do some messenger type riding.

I have always thought about putting together a <10,000NT fixie to get around town that I will not mind throwing a lock on when I am in the store, but find it hard convincing myself I would use it over my scooter.

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ditto

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In many places they are illegal when they don’t have brakes.

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Yeah, luckily Taiwan does not have regulations on those, but if you are living anywhere on the island, it is in your best interest to have brakes!

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Yep, the UK you must have a front brake on your bicycle after that guy mowed down some woman in London I think.

Doesn’t mean you have to use it. I would though, as I have knee stability like jelly

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I put a front brake on mine because I have crazy hills here. But it is so much fun to ride.

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Still illegal in Belgium, no rim reflectors, no front light/reflector, no rear light/reflector. No bell.

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Belgians are crap cyclists

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One word: Merckx

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Last I heard he had a Taiwan passport

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With those bars, do you stick to the horizontals or in the drops mostly?

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Mostly ride on the drops but on the bars for up hill stuff. And I ride uphill Spanish style. Hands flat on the bars. Don’t wrap your hands around or thumb under. No benefits I can telll. Just cool points. Change over point is 25 Kmh.

Lol
Doing hills on big ring and in th drops is great. Gets them out of the way faster.

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One word, Bianchi Pista

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Hmmm. Apart from the colour.

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They make it in black now

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Any tips for slowing down/braking? Feel like my legs don’t have enough power to lock the back wheel, which seems to be the main way to slow down from speed, a series of mini-locks, like ABS on a car?