This. These are the same people that think $2 for a fucking Pabst Blue Ribbon is a good deal.
Or maybe they know its a shit deal, but do it because IRONY and stuff. Fuck 'em either way.
It is funny to read this kind of stuff from people who typically use a bike as exercise exuipment.
If you go to Holland or Denemark, where people use their bike daily for utilitarian purposes, you’ll see the majority of bikes being single speed (or three speed)…as in 95% in Holland at least.
As stated before, for daily use it just means less stuff to break of get stuck.
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Bicycle theft in the city is pretty common. Fixed-gear bikes are cheaply replaced and less attractive to thieves, so you don’t have to spend so much money replacing bikes or hassling with fancy bike locks and such.
What about bike messengers?
Whenever I go to New York (Manhattan)–those bike messengers are everywhere–and usually riding single-gear bikes with no brakes.Why?
Seems crazy to me. But then NY bike messengers do have a reputation for being crazy
Some of the nice fixed gear bikes are still pretty expensive. I think that only the track bikes come without the ability to have rim brakes.
There are at least a few hills when I bike commute so I’m not going to do without. But if I lived in a flat area, I would want a singlespeed bike with a flip flop hub, for bike commuting.
With a fixed gear or singlespeed, you don’t have to mess with indexing, shifters, derailleurs, and derailleur cables. The bike chains are thicker than a 10 speed, or 11 speed so they should last longer as well.
Theft prevention. Few bike thieves want to deal with a fixed gear. Especially without brakes.
ETA:Bikes are often stolen for the very parts a fixed gear is lacking.
If you have a hybrid commute, they are lighter and easier to carry onto and inside public transit.
It’s kind of the same reason car enthusiasts prefer manual transmission. It allows a more direct control and a more “pure” experience. Fixed gear means your leg motion is locked to the bike motion - you can accelerate OR DECELERATE with with your legs alone. It allows a finer control of your bike. This can be crucial when you are racing at high speed, inches from other riders.
At least that’s what I’ve read. I owned one once and it was a fun experience, but I don’t really miss it.
Ha! I almost had that moment the very first time I rode a fixie and I was sober!
I have a couple friends with them and they are hard-core cyclists. They ride them for cadence practice and leg strengthening. When I ride with them, it appears it is working well. 
Wow. That amazes me.
Maybe I’m the one missing the irony here, but how is $2 for a beer (at a bar) *not *a very good deal? That’s generally the same price as a soda or water.
Okay, that was seriously impressive.
$2 for a PBR isn’t a good deal? I guess all things are relative. I’m no hipster and PBR isn’t my go to beer but $2 vs. $3.75 for a Bud/Coors/Rolling Rock seems like a good deal. After the first 5 or 6 or 9 you can’t tell the difference, anyway.
Back to fixies - how quickly can you stop from “cruising” speed?
It really depends on how strong your legs are. Planning ahead and riding less aggressively helps.
How far away is the nearest solid object?
I’m afraid I don’t understand your comment.
I don’t go out much anymore, but I used to get $1 Bud longnecks. And not that stinkin’ Light stuff!
Also, I bought my bike 40 years ago, it’s still serviceable, and I have a lot of things I rather spend my money on than an upgrade I don’t feel I need. I live on some of the flattest territory on earth, so there isn’t a whole lot of pressing need to shift gears, what few “hills” I encounter are easily dealt with by simply pedaling slightly harder or faster.
This might also explain why I’m still using a flip stupidphone and only this week acquired texting ability on it.
I don’t feel any need to be cutting edge in technology.
Should say “unable” instead of able. Fixed gear bikes put tremendous strain on the knees - people who are devoted to using them for all of their riding tend to get knee problems; or hit/doored eventually due to not having enough stopping power.
In my experience only a very small portion of cyclists fall into this category. Not even a majority of messengers ride fixed exclusively from what I’ve seen; when I was a courier (very briefly) me and everyone I worked with used freewheeling single speeds.
A single-speed with a coaster brake is a lovely way to ride if you live where it’s flat. Real nice by me cuz I have lots of Rails-to-Trails paths–a train doesn’t like steep anymore than you do. OTOH, I massacreed my last one, a Schwinn Racer, while trying to climb a hill. Just as I neared the crest the force of my pedaling dragged the rear sprocket forward and bent the frame so the rear dropout pushed on the nut and stripped the threads. Dead bike.
My doctor, who didn’t know me when I rode, laughed when I said I once had the calves of a god, but that’s what you get when you are a fat fuck who rides a lot. Need to start over.