6 ms·

also proper fixie/messenger bikes. I used to use one when commuting in London, due to low price it was relatively unattractive to bike thieves and it was very s

also proper fixie/messenger bikes. I used to use one when commuting in London, due to low price it was relatively unattractive to bike thieves and it was very simple to maintain - no brakes, no gears (you had to skid/backpedal to stop quickly)

sleavey 5y ago
Didn't they get banned or there was a campaign to ban them after someone was killed by someone riding a fixie, in London?
- andylynch 5y ago
  You're probably thinking of Charle Alliston who killed someone on Old St and got 18 months for it - to be road legal, fixed-gear bikes must still have a front brake, and have at least since the fifties, A fixed gear counts as a back brake but you must have two for redundancy.
  - xchaotic 5y ago
    This. Most cyclist fatalities in London are caused by Heavy Good Vehicles illegally overtaking and then turning and therefore trapping the poor cyclist in the blind spot. Nothing to do with the wheel hub design or bicycle braking system.
  - de_keyboard 5y ago
    Charlie Alliston should have been using a front brake, but a few things got lost in the media frenzy: - More pedestrians are killed by motor vehicle than bikes in London BY FAR - More cyclists are killed by motor vehicles than bikes in London BY FAR - More motorists are killed by motor vehicles than bikes in London BY FAR It was incredibly depressing to watch people spend so much attention on one (pretty rare!) case rather the real sources of road danger in the city.
    - saila 5y ago
      On top of that, the associated pollution kills far more people, contributes to climate change, and causes tons of respiratory illness.
    - oriolid 5y ago
      It's not news when dog bites man. And based on Wikipedia, it seems that men bite dogs more often than cyclist kill other people in accidents.
jasonwatkinspdx 5y ago
Yeah, I rode one for years when I was younger but stopped due to issues with my knee. I ride a dutch style bike with an internal hub on the rear these days, but do miss how the track bike is so light and fluid once you're used to it. It becomes like an appendage instead of being a bike you ride. For anyone unfamiliar the reason they're popular with messengers and such is in urban traffic it becomes very smooth and simple to keep pace with the cars surrounding you. And some people just ride them because they like doing the skid stop or bar spins or such. These days messengers favor hot rod e-bikes though because they're just dramatically faster and that directly corresponds to more income.
matsemann 5y ago
Tried the same in Norway, the hills absolutely destroyed me haha. Going up was hard because of no gearing. Going down was even harder, a struggle of working against the pedals to not spin too fast.
jacquesm 5y ago
This was mostly a fashion thing though, super dangerous and illegal in traffic to boot. You really shouldn't drive a fixed gear bicycle in traffic unless you have at least one and better yet two additional brakes. But according to purists that spoils the lines of their bikes, apparently fashion trumps safety.

sleavey 5y ago

Didn't they get banned or there was a campaign to ban them after someone was killed by someone riding a fixie, in London?

andylynch 5y ago
You're probably thinking of Charle Alliston who killed someone on Old St and got 18 months for it - to be road legal, fixed-gear bikes must still have a front brake, and have at least since the fifties, A fixed gear counts as a back brake but you must have two for redundancy.
- xchaotic 5y ago
  This. Most cyclist fatalities in London are caused by Heavy Good Vehicles illegally overtaking and then turning and therefore trapping the poor cyclist in the blind spot. Nothing to do with the wheel hub design or bicycle braking system.
- de_keyboard 5y ago
  Charlie Alliston should have been using a front brake, but a few things got lost in the media frenzy: - More pedestrians are killed by motor vehicle than bikes in London BY FAR - More cyclists are killed by motor vehicles than bikes in London BY FAR - More motorists are killed by motor vehicles than bikes in London BY FAR It was incredibly depressing to watch people spend so much attention on one (pretty rare!) case rather the real sources of road danger in the city.
  - saila 5y ago
    On top of that, the associated pollution kills far more people, contributes to climate change, and causes tons of respiratory illness.
  - oriolid 5y ago
    It's not news when dog bites man. And based on Wikipedia, it seems that men bite dogs more often than cyclist kill other people in accidents.

jasonwatkinspdx 5y ago

Yeah, I rode one for years when I was younger but stopped due to issues with my knee. I ride a dutch style bike with an internal hub on the rear these days, but do miss how the track bike is so light and fluid once you're used to it. It becomes like an appendage instead of being a bike you ride. For anyone unfamiliar the reason they're popular with messengers and such is in urban traffic it becomes very smooth and simple to keep pace with the cars surrounding you. And some people just ride them because they like doing the skid stop or bar spins or such. These days messengers favor hot rod e-bikes though because they're just dramatically faster and that directly corresponds to more income.

matsemann 5y ago

Tried the same in Norway, the hills absolutely destroyed me haha. Going up was hard because of no gearing. Going down was even harder, a struggle of working against the pedals to not spin too fast.

jacquesm 5y ago

This was mostly a fashion thing though, super dangerous and illegal in traffic to boot. You really shouldn't drive a fixed gear bicycle in traffic unless you have at least one and better yet two additional brakes. But according to purists that spoils the lines of their bikes, apparently fashion trumps safety.