While recently reading a forum when I probably should have been doing something useful, I saw a question asking what the advantages of a fixed gear are. There were the usual responses of simplicity, training a good spin, and the Zen art of bicycle riding, but being my frequently unhelpful and sarcastic self, I proffered, "What is the advantage of riding a bike when cars are so much faster and easier."
My bike for the coasting-challenged cyclist.
(While I didn't vote Technium for the frame material poll here, it's a sweet ride and I would like to find another 440, 460, or 480 model with the downtube shifter mounts.)
Actually, I wasn't really trying to be sarcastic and unhelpful, but rather to subtly make the point that simple enjoyment of something is sometimes a hard think to qualify, no matter how real it is. Admittedly, I more often opt for easy riding bikes with multiple gears and the ability to coast, but something about the fixed gear is nice. To that end, I road it last night with Brendan and a bunch of others from my father's house. With everyone else shifting and freewheeling along with the greatest of ease, I made use of every other advantage I could find. What fun!
4 comments:
So, you won't tell us the unusual advantages of riding a fixed gear that you found on this ride?
We have to discover them for ourselves, is that it?
That's zen.
I'll tell you this: I took every other advantage I could find to make up for riding a fixed gear.
Zat's then...and zis is now.
As one of the other riders on that ride, I took advantage of changing gear ratios and coasting down hills when I felt like it.
Later that night, I slept on a comfortable bed.
Zen is lost on me.
Free hub : Free mind
Fixed gear : Fixed on the wheel of suffering
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