Best and Weirdest Fixies for 2013

The Fixie Culture is Dead!

Back in the day, no one wanted a fixie for Christmas. You built your own bike from parts sourced over time. You loved the process. You loved the lifestyle. At least this used to be the way! Now days, every sheila,  and their dog has fixie or a single speed. And you can bet it wasn't bulit with painstaking love, sweat and part sourcing. It came all packaged up, shiny and new from a bike shop that had it made in China or India.

It's true kids, the indie hipster fixie age is over. It has sadly become mainstream like it's relic cultures of the past. 'Nothing cool stays cool forever'. So what's left for us aging hipsters. Will we end up like the aged hippies of the past, washed out by drugs and a fallen disillusioned culture or will we transform ourselves into some new fantastic fad.

If history is any judge, fads are a young man's (woman's) game. The aging don't change. We don't fight wars and we don't start revolutions. We certainly don't create culture. We are destined to a life of forgotten memories and aging sameness. Our style looked cool when we were young, but ankle bearing skinny jeans, stretched tattoos, bad moustaches, large coloured glasses, and mesmerising rims, looks like some kind of horror show when we hit 40 and doesn't get any better from there. Have you ever seen a 65 year old Hipster? It's not pretty. 

Maybe it's time I put on a sweater vest and get myself some comfortable black old man loafers.

Fixie babes

A Tripping Zen Fixie on the streets of Japan

It doesn't take long to come across an insane fixie in Tokyo. My brother spotted this one which seemed perfect for the Stemie given its z like stem. Madness! You can see the Stemie attached in the second picture. We couldn't help adding the accessory to this zen like bike!

Why do I Ride a Fixie?

I have thought about this question many times. Why do I love my fixie bike? The answer is lifestyle! I absolutely love spending my free time gliding around the hustle and bustle of the city. I love floating through cars with my narrow bars. I love pushing my rear tire out to the left and sliding through a concrete playground with wind in my face (sideways skid stop), the sun in the sky and life all around me. I love how it feels like more of dance than a sport. Bloody hell, I sound more like hippy than hip!

It's just that riding a fixed gear feels so fluid compared to other bikes. It seems like the perfect city activity. If I lived in the country, I'm sure I'd be flying down a mountain on a trail bike. I live in the fringe though. I'm not in the burbs and not in the middle of skyscrapers. I live in a no man's land stuffed with graffiti, cool cafes and plenty of concrete. I am young and free and this is why I'm fixie crazy!

My First BMX

I was 6 years old. It was Christmas of 1984 and all I ever wanted was a cool BMX. All my friends had one. I had a boring old road bike, I cant even remember the name, but it was popular at the time. My brother and I woke up on Christmas morning and ran outside to find my grandmother had pulled into the driveway. In the back of her station wagon were two BMX's all wrapped up, a blue one for my brother and the above red one for myself. We have never been so exited in all our lives! She also had wrapped up helmets and pad sets all matching of course.

Our font yard was a kind of hill that went down from the top side of the house to the bottom. It was the perfect dusty dirty mound type terrain for a first go on a BMX. We pushed our bikes up to the top and were off before you could say go. The race was on! At the tender age of six, I wasn't exactly accustom to the idea of front and back breaks.

We were half way down our exhilarating first run when I came face to face with a pot hill and slammed on the first brake that came to mind. It just so happened to by the front break. I did a full forward somersault over the pot hill and landed on my back. A little shaken, but surprisingly not injured other than a little scrape here and there. This was the begging to a fantastic childhood. We made all kinds jumps and tracks in the front yard and before we knew it, we were at the race track with other BMX enthusiasts. It's a fantastic age, where fear is an afterthought and the present is everything. What a marvelous feeling.

My first race was a brilliant experience. The other kids were quite a bit older, but I didn't even notice. The race began as per usual with a steep decline to build up your speed and the then some bumps, jumps and turns. I was going for gold, and madly fearlessly so. I was loving it. Speed, competition and  a mouth full of dust. It didn't take long before I hit an unforeseen ditch, half way through the track and went head over heels. The other kids took no notice and just rode over me lying in the dirt. When the last one had gone through, there were tyre marks everywhere including my face. I could see my dad rushing down to the track and I threw my hand up to give the 'I'm okay' signal and jumped back onto my bike. I came last that day in my first race but I was the happiest kid in the world.

Bike, Scooter or Skateboard. Which is Better?

Hmm, what should I buy, a bike, a scooter or perhaps a skateboard? If your asking this question, what you should be asking yourself is what do I need it for. What type of activities to I want to perform. We get that you want something to get you around but for what?

The Scooter or skateboard

If your just looking for something to get you to pub or bottle shop and back, say within a couple of blocks, the scooter or skateboard will do just fine.

Pros

It's light, hassle free, easy to carry and take into the shops and on public transport, compact and convenient and doesn't require much to get the hang of it. Maintenance is also very low, (no flat tires to worry about).

Cons

If there are hills involved they can be quite a challenge. It's also not a good solution for long distance, you can't really ride it on the road, and it's a pain in the bum if you have to carry groceries or any kind of excess baggage.

 

 

The Bicycle

If you need to commute to work, do a fairly significant grocery shop, travel a decent distance, meet your friends for coffee or a beer a few suburbs over, then the road bike is for you.

 

Pros

You can ride on the road, travel greater distances and its much faster than a scooter. It's easier to carry a larger load (you can attach a basket to the bike etc). Bikes often have gears which makes hills, well, not a pleasure but a hell of a lot easier.

 

Cons

High maintenance (flat tires, break pads, the list goes on), bulky for storage, can't get it on all forms of public transport or take it into shops and one always has to risk chaining it up outside. Bikes are are also generally the more expensive option. 

One form of carbon free transport that we have not covered is the roller blade. This almost seems to be the perfect form of transport. Low maintenance, compact, great for distances long and short. The only drawbacks are the dreaded hills and the need to carry an extra pair of shoes with you when you reach your destination. Of course, you also have to lug around your heavy blades if your shopping etc. Another consideration is the learning curve. This can be drawn out and dangerous with roller-blades even if your a natural!

In the end, all of these forms of transport have some great things in common. They have a low impact on the environment, an exhilarating exercise component and low comparable costs to cars and even public transport. Who would have thought fun and health could go hand in hand! 

BMX Backflips Dave Mirra

Dave Mirra backflips at the X Games

 Photos of Dave Mirra BMX