there are no bike messengers in lincoln, but there are hipsters. on my midnight latte runs from work i've noticed more and more fixed gear bikes parked outside the coffee houses and bars downtown. i think the snob would take solace in that atleast this old raleigh conversion didn't have a trendy top tube pad. instead it's top tube was just wrapped with some old green cork bartape (perhaps he's saving up for custom pad?). i did notice the spoke card on the rear wheel. way back in the early 90's those would only be seen on bikes ridden by hardcore messengers in big cities who earned the cards at dangerous alleycat races and traded them to other messengers. but no longer, it's pretty much all fair game now. you can see kids out there on their fixed gears, who probably have no idea what a velodrome or an alleycat is, buying messenger bags and running a card of his or her favorite band that no one knows about for that ultimate symbol of hipster cred. yes, the apocalypse is near. oh well, if you can't beat'em.... as they say. i might make one myself and put it on celestina. perhaps something that makes me look tuff, or maybe just a picture of some black kitties.
5 comments:
i say- all hail the hipsters. bikes, any bikes, are better then no bikes.
conrad, you know you're a hipster at heart. i can swipe a pair of my kid sister's jeans for ya'
brakeless fixies parked outside are a dime a dozen in austin
Nice little write up there Conrad. I don't ride near as much as some that post on the FFL, but I bet I ride just as much or more then some of these hipsters. And I am serioulsy afraid of having a track bike on the streets. I like brakes. And even though I really love my single speed. I have come to appreciate gears once again after EP built me my latest rig.
In the end, I think thad makes a good point in that any bikes are better then no bikes.
Peace out
yeah thad, i know. more bikes is a good thing. i'm just concerned about the newbies getting in over their heads. this raleigh had a brake on it atleast. i'm all for more people on bikes, but if a bunch of brakeless knobheads start running red lights and crashing into people it won't take long before the lincoln city council takes notice. and then they'll come up with some overbearing helmet/brake law or worse.
maybe you should make t-shirts for people who have bikes, like a quiz everyone can fill out and wear so we know... you know, KNOW.
i have been riding for _____ years
i have been riding a fixed gear for ____ months
i plan on taking my brake off in ____ weeks
i was a messenger in nyc/sf/chi- yes or no
i have a good idea of what a messenger is- yes or no
my other bike is a ________ , _________ and _________ . (use back of shirt to list more bikes)
i can't think of many more things that would matter to people who care about this sort of stuff, but i'm sure you have a mental list. because you're a dork.
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