The other day I was sitting with a friend who helped me build my first single speed back in the late 90's. He is often a bit chatty, but often he comes up with a gooder. Today was one such day. We were reminiscing about the various fixed and single speed bikes we have built up over the years when he dropped, "Ya know, fixed gears are kinda like the new rollerblades."
At the time I kinda laughed, but shortly afterward stuffing my face at the $10 buffet table at All India Sweets (Main and 49th - 604-327-0891) I had a perfectly good meal ruined by a Mercier.
From a distance it looks fine bike, but up close its a rolling disaster. Now I am a generous guy and can forgive pink paint job, the bad to toe straps or even the fact they put a front fender on the back wheel (not sure what that shorty will do for you). All of these can be argued to fall under the auspice of personal expression. However, what is totally unforgivable is the seat post. Take a close look, its mounted in wrong frickin' direction!
Come on! Really?
Sure moving the saddle forward can put you into more of a power position [Ed Note: the jury is out on this one but triathletes live by it], but we are talking a half an inch tops here people, not half a fucking foot!
Holy crap, I can't even begin to imagine how uncomfortable that bike is to ride. You have a cramped cockpit, where your knees are hitting your elbows, meanwhile your tendons are screaming in pain because your knees are so far forward relative to the pedal axel that your tendons in are about to snap!
This can only have happened because fixed gears are now the new fashion icon. But whatever fixies are cool and fashion is supposed to hurt, yes rollerblading indeed.
Comments
Funny enough I stumble upon this video
that video is killer, what a babe. if i could go as fast on rollerblades as i can go on my fixie i'd totally be a rollerblader. i know that's nerdy but i don't care.
but those fixed gear riders were pretty lame. How hard is it to catch a someone on rollerblades down a straight street? Not hard...
First I am gonna catcha, then I am gonna eatcha!
Easier to catch-em than to eat-em. I'd like to see a video of that!
Q. What's the worst part about being a rollerblader?
A. Having to tell you friends and family that you're gay!
Comic gold!
Loride...it's all good!
That is actually a Nitto Tri seatpost and that is the proper orientation but that doesn't take anything away from the weirdness of the set up.
Meshkat,
That is an amazing catch. I am not going to ask how you actually was able to spot that triathalon gear... but for those curious here is what he is talking about:
Extreme power position? Talk about extreme lame position. Just so we are all clear... triathlon gear is definitely NOT allowed on a fixed gear. Triathlons are plain wrong. I should know, I have done the biggest one out there.
Triathaletes are like lemmings, if one person does something stupid and wins everyone is waiting to sign the dotted like. An example was the trend back in the late 90's where everyone ran small wheels (26 inch) because one person decided use smaller wheels on a tight course with lots of turns. Suddenly, everyone had to have 26 inch wheel triathalon bikes. Finally, after many years most of those bikes are dead and we no longer see these sill wheel sizes.
WHAT A HATER
your bitter attitude towards tris stems from signing your ass up for something that you weren't completely prepared for. you should have called it quits after your injury (there's an ironman tri held every month, you could have rescheduled) but instead you sort of just half-assed your way through it without even preparing for the swimming portion.
the whole point of the ironman tri is the determination and preparation that goes into it. you should have been happy that you even finished, instead of turning into a little cynic. well, what do you expect from someone who didn't take it seriously enough.
"oh shit, the ironman is tomorrow and i'm totally unprepared. fuck it, i'll just go chug some beers!"
lemmings, indeed. well, have fun out there on your "sick fixie bra"!
Maybe they are trying out for the triathalon from hell (as if it could get any worse). "Must ride a pink fixed-gear bike to compete in our triathalon!"
Nice video :-)
Sad but true :)
chill out
Group hug everyone
rollerbladings cooler than fixed gears especially those ones. i blade i ride a singlespeed but riding a fixed gear on the road just seems nuts to me.........thats why im making one lol.
One should have guts to do rollerblading. I love to drive fixed gear bikes. This one looks very nice in pink colour.