Well, despite the supposed fact that there are zero readers of this site, having never told anyone of it, I am quite dismayed that I haven't updated in now over seven months.
Many things have changed in my life, in fact, most everything has changed. I am currently no longer a student. I no longer live in Las Vegas. I no longer am a quasi-governmental employee. I am now single. And the biggest element, is that I am much happier now.
Back in April, I took a trip to California to visit some family and friends with the intent on purchasing a car that my brother found on Craigslist. The funny part is that after spending five or so days there, and after looking at the car, I bought a bike. Yes, I flew three hundred miles and instead of my intended goal, I bought the glorious aforementioned velocycle.
Many things have changed in my life, in fact, most everything has changed. I am currently no longer a student. I no longer live in Las Vegas. I no longer am a quasi-governmental employee. I am now single. And the biggest element, is that I am much happier now.
Back in April, I took a trip to California to visit some family and friends with the intent on purchasing a car that my brother found on Craigslist. The funny part is that after spending five or so days there, and after looking at the car, I bought a bike. Yes, I flew three hundred miles and instead of my intended goal, I bought the glorious aforementioned velocycle.
I never fell, but I learned a lot very quickly. Firstly, downhill with a small gear is scary, you go very fast and since it is a small ratio, your legs are forced into spinning fast. Secondly, you shouldn't ride on a sidewalk on a fixed gear (you shouldn't on any bike, but I had no lights, yet), especially if you have a low bottom bracket or longer cranks, because your pedal will eventually hit a bump, and you will hear a low sound followed by a painful jolt into the air. Thirdly, you never, ever, ever, ever wear jeans or pants that have loose cuffs, there is no joke here, you can easily lose a chunk of your pant leg, and that's if you're lucky.
I have been on the side of a lot of different camps on this. I rode BMX as a kid, mountain bike as a teen, road bikes as a young adult, and now a fixed gear is within my armada. I have not sworn off gears, no right minded person should, but a fixed gear bike is the most exhilirating ride. It is very quiet, no freewheel buzzing, no shifter clicking, and it is also very quick since it is nigh weightless. My fixed gear bike at current weight just shy of nineteen pounds, my commuter (with rack) weighs roughly thirty-five pounds. I would recommend anyone who enjoys riding a bike, and does it as a workout, to try this. My legs are not small, and I have put over a thousand miles in the last two years on various bikes (relatively small distance for most cyclists), but still the fixed gear bike gives you a very intense leg workout in different areas than that of a standard geared bike.
Of course, being the wannabe fashionista that I am, I modified my "fixie" with a few of the necessary accoutrements. I ditched the drops, in favour of some Profile Design bullhorns. I stripped the front and rear brake setup, and put a simple Tektro black brake triggered by a Salsa cross lever. Some glorious MKS RX-1 pedals, racked and strapped with MKS black clips and white leather straps (all purchased from Ben's Cycles in Milwaukee) replaced the generic plastic pedals and ironic clips that were included by the shop. Despite the minimalistic trend, I need a bottle cage, and naturally I set my sights on the always classically beautiful Delta Inox to fill that niche. While I my be lacking the run-of-the-mill fixed gear clichés, I am proud to don my "hipster cyst's" known to the layman, err... laycyclist, as the Knog Frog paired by it's bigger brother, the Bullfrog in back. I have finished off with a white chain, a white Specialzed Toupe saddle, and the Apple sticker, showing my loyalty to Lord Steve Jobs.
I don't care if it's not über-sweet, or completely hipster friendly. Elements may seem ironic to hipsters, but then again, their ironic attempts are generally overshined by their aggregious misappropriations of funds, common sense, or both. The a proliferation of $40 headtube pads on bikes that likely cost $20, or over-extended quill stems on intentionally undersized bike, or my favorite, carbon-fiber wheels (HED 3s or Aerospokes) on lugged steel bikes. Irony is a key element, if not the definition of Velo Hipsters.On a side note, I have attempted to nickname my crimson steed, but have yet to find a suitable moniker. Any input from my nonreaders or opinionated person who mistakenly stumbled upon this would be greatly appreciated, and credited justly.
