Talk:Fixed-gear bicycle

message: The home base of "fixed gear" bicycles must be without a doubt The Netherlands. Bicycles there have never been a form of sports let alone extreme sports but rather just a way of transportation. I love it how they absolutely cannot be bothered with "fixies" and didn't even bother to translate this page to Dutch. Go hipsters ! 81.100.177.219 (talk) 10:33, 18 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Netherlands 

message: How about a photo that doesn't say "shit" on the sticker? --anon
My photo is better than nothing, but it is kinda hard to see the gearing.  Someone out there can take a better pic.  Cacophony 20:40, May 12, 2005 (UTC)
:The new photo isn't much better.  I was thinking something more like this where the perspecive is from the same height of the hub and slightly behind the rear wheel.  That would focus the attention on the the drive train. Cacophony 04:31, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I've got this which is available - same bike as the other picture so they could be used together to show the general appearance and then the drivetrain? Andy Armstrong 08:44, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  feel free to replace the photo 

message: I think nearly everything in it is either wrong or POV. I know it's meant to be light-hearted, but it shouldn't be there, it might be OK to move it to the talk page. Many of the sites in external links offer good and sensible advice. LDHan 17:33, 20 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree; there a lot of POV in it and since it's essentially a "How-To" section, I'm not sure it necessarily belongs in an encyclopedia at all.  Maybe someone can cite policy or guideline on this.  I do know that there's specific "How-To" bookshelf at http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How-tos_bookshelf , so perhaps the section could be moved there and linked. --Ds13 17:49, 20 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm not sure it's even suitable for http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How-tos_bookshelf, as it's not really serious, it's just for humour. Should it be deleted? How about moving it to the talk page? LDHan 17:04, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I think the POV parts are not suitable for sure, but User:BitQuirky moved it back to the front page.  I wonder if he actually reads the talk page here?   Julius.kusuma 16:22, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Suggestions section

message: I think care must be used when describing fixed-geared bicycles as not having brakes. "Brake" is defined in the dictionaries i've seen as simply something designed or used to stop movement, thus a fixed-gear presumes a brake. Other separate (and safer) brakes on a fixed-gear are redundant to the goal of restraining motion.
I understand that UK laws require both wheels be braked, and a fixed-gear drive meets this requirement for the rear wheel.
John
:On a bike, a "brake" is some sort of mechanical device, usually operated by hand, it's not just any anything that stops movement, I don't think eg grabbing the front tyre with a gloved hand, dragging your feet on the ground etc are called brakes. As for whether brakes are redundant or not, that's a matter of POV, therefore the article should not state that "brakes are redundant". LDHan 17:16, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Indeed LDHan, a brake is some sort of mechanical device; on FGs it is the non-moving connection of the cog to the hub that distinguishes it as a type of brake that free-wheel bicycles do not have. Do you mean to say that a mechanism can not be dual-purposed, or that it must be separable from others to be identified for it's role? My feet stop me from tumbling down a hill just as well as they get me up one.  John Taisau 02:07, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  Not totally sure about LDHan's definition there.  As John says, it is thought (though as far as I know, never been tested in the courts) that front hand brake and fixed rear wheel satisfies the requirement of two independent braking systems. In Holland, you are legal with no front brake and a coaster ('back pedal') brake, which is neither fish nor fowl, IYSWIM! Buffalo Bill, occasional London bicycle messenger & former Chair, London Bicycle Messenger Association, Editor, Moving Target, the London messenger 'ziiine 09:34, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  I've removed the references to UK law, because they referred to instruments that appear not to exist, and in any case seems to be superseded by the instrument here: http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Legislation&title=pedal&searchEnacted=0&extentMatchOnly=0&confersPower=0&blanketAmendment=0&sortAlpha=0&TYPE=QS&PageNumber=1&NavFrom=0&parentActiveTextDocId=842110&ActiveTextDocId=842124&filesize=2975 .  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.31.228.92 (talk) 21:51, 31 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  Have another look at this: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/vehicles/vssafety/guidanceaboutlightsonpedalbi4556 Dft thinks the 1983 regs still apply, AS WELL AS the 2003 statute.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Buffalo Bill (talk • contribs) 21:59, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Brakes

message: This needs a re-write.  For a start, you can participate in a track-stand contest on free-wheel.
You can use a fixed-wheel in any type of cycle competition, apart from massed start road races.  Stuart O'Grady used a fixie in a Giro D'Italia time-trial, for instance.
The only competitions that open to fixies only (apart from velodrome races) are obscure messenger events - skid comps, Millportpoloco, Monster Track etc. Buffalo Bill, occasional London bicycle messenger & former Chair, London Bicycle Messenger Association, Editor, Moving Target, the London messenger 'ziiine 09:38, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Competition 

message: Why isn't there a section on the image and hipster culture regarding these bikes.  I've been biking for almost 20 years and have never seen fixies being used (save for a few random messengers, most still use multi-gear bikes mind you), yet in the last few years there has been a rise in fixed gear websites (i forget the urls but they are essentially devoted to the aesthetics and not the mechanics of fixies) I see fixies all over the place being ridden by hipster/art school types (who likely haven't ridden a bike since middle school prior to purchasing their new Bianchi or IRO fixies).  I think it'd be interesting if someone wrote a section on the current popularity of fixed gear bikes and how much of their popularity owes to aesthetics and their use as faggot en vogue fashion accessories.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.118.43.145 (talk) 03:31, 17 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: -- John Reaves 10:55, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Image 

message: I remove "fixieFAQs.org.uk" because it is forwarded to "xwiki.com", which is reported by "websecurityguard.com" to contain spyware. Also it has repeating content that makes it a very long page.
Ancos (talk) 00:25, 17 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  External Links 

message: I've added this tag because the article is bogged down in technical detail, a lot of which is not appropriate here - check out on Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not. Too many unverifiable references, use of weasel words 'many' 'some' and 'most'. No proper mention of children's bikes (commonly fixed until recently?), historical transition to freewheel etc.
ProfDEH (talk) 17:40, 28 January 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: You tagged it and walked away? Irresponsible of you not to check back in and hint about what is wrong. I'm removing those tags, one thing WP:NOT is a place where you expect others to do your work for you.  If you think there is something wrong with an article, do more than just tag it.  I'm rm the tags. 67.49.0.138 (talk) 18:51, 30 March 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Removing the tag doesn't remove the issues. It's not permissible to put a tag on the article unless you have time to do a comprehensive edit (which is what this needs)? There isn't any quick fix. The purpose of the tag is to inform readers. Get real. ProfDEH (talk) 07:37, 25 July 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Multiple issues tag 

message: I just deleted this gem of a sentence about "hipsters", but it does deserve some form of preservation, so here it is -
"Mostly, however, hipsters ride them because they are another pretentious affectation used in their insufferable attempts to craft an identity of cool, to paint gloss over the surface of their humanity lest anyone realize there is nothing underneath."
--Alþykkr (talk) 21:18, 23 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  They see me rolling... 

message: So, in third paragraph of the lede someone had mentioned that this trend was led by bicycle messengers and hipsters, with a source.  I was surprised by this and so I went to the article being sourced and sure enough, no mention of hipsters.  There's a reason for this.  (I removed the snippet, by the way.)
The term "hipster" has no definition these days; we aren't in the 1940s.  People I've heard referred to as hipsters are incredibly varied stylistically, from tight-jean wearing art-house emo types to grungy neo-hippies to pipe-smoking young foggies.  The only thing they all seem to have in common is that they would never call themselves hipsters.  It seems the term hipster is universally used as a derisive term for alternative subcultures who indulge in fashions and aesthetics rather outside the mainstream.
The term seems particularly current in the male nerd subculture, where there appears to be a great deal of resentment that so-called "hipsters" have made the things nerds have been doing all along "cool" when they themselves were constantly made fun of for their eccentric style.  See nerd chic.  
I think this anon's comment (above in the Image section) really drives the resentment home:
Why isn't there a section on the image and hipster culture regarding these bikes. I've been biking for almost 20 years and have never seen fixies being used (save for a few random messengers, most still use multi-gear bikes mind you), yet in the last few years there has been a rise in fixed gear websites (i forget the urls but they are essentially devoted to the aesthetics and not the mechanics of fixies) I see fixies all over the place being ridden by hipster/art school types (who likely haven't ridden a bike since middle school prior to purchasing their new Bianchi or IRO fixies). I think it'd be interesting if someone wrote a section on the current popularity of fixed gear bikes and how much of their popularity owes to aesthetics and their use as faggot en vogue fashion accessories.
... "Faggot en vogue"?  Really?
I think we need to be sort of careful with the term "hipster", because it's loaded.  It expresses a certain POV about fixed gear biycles and who rides them.  In the context to me it sounds very similar to someone saying "the popularity of fixed gear bicycles has been led by assholes." Eniagrom (talk) 16:34, 1 August 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  hipsters 

message: "The rise in popularity of fixed-gear bicycles in the mid-2000s, complete with adaptations such as spoke cards, is attributed to hipsters.[3] Fixie enthusiasts in Australia love sharing photos of their hotted up fixies.[14]"
This sort of stuff doesn't belong on Wikipedia. I'd remove it myself but I'd rather leave it up to a more experienced editor.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.171.243.227 (talk) 11:28, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Inappropriate statements regarding enthusiasts 

message: Fixed-gear is nothing exotic. It only means that there is no freewheel. The fixed-gear bike can have multiple gears and four brakes. Besides the track rules there are no laws regarding fixed-gear bicycles. --213.188.98.237 (talk) 21:36, 6 June 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: This is indeed a Dutch bike. They have never been bothered with anything else but fixed gears (you don't need gears in a perfectly flat country without hills and a perfect nation wide bikelane system). It appears that the oldschool Dutch bikes have simply been hijacked as a "fixie" by the Anglosaxon hipsters. 81.100.177.219 (talk) 10:37, 18 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  fixed-gear has nothing to do with single-speed and brakeless 

message: Should this article not have a more direct comparison on the exact advantages and disadvantages, as compared to the orthodox, traditional road bike. I believe the way about this would be to say for example, that one could choose to ride a 'fixie' because of its efficiency and mobility, as compared to that of the bicycle.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.169.94.2 (talk) 12:48, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Direct Comparison 

message: The article states: similar areas in other English-speaking cities. Is language such a defining factor? Would you somehow stroll into a French speaking part of North America and find an absence of fixies? Francis Hannaway (talk) 22:03, 10 May 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Is language such a definer? 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: In the third paragraph, it says: "...a Sturmey-Archer fixed-gear 3-speed hub is a fixed-gear multi-speed arrangement." All the 3-speed hubs I have ever seen need pawls in order to work and are therefore inherent free-wheels. Has anyone ever seen a fixed-gear 3-speed hub for bicycles? If not this sentence should be removed. Theosch (talk) 08:42, 19 November 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: It's legit: "SunRace/Sturmey-Archer has now released a new 3-speed fixed-gear hub, the S3X." https://www.sheldonbrown.com/asc.html -AndrewDressel (talk) 12:43, 19 November 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  fixed-gear three-speed hub?