Need to Speak to a fixed gear Biker in London

Hello!

I am student of journalism at City, University of London and am working on a story on fixed gear bicycles/bikers in London. I need to speak to someone who uses a fixed gear bicycle in London - anyone interested? Please respond/get in touch here of via Twitter - @BhanviSatija

I'm not from or in london but I guess it would help if you could elaborate on the type of article you're planning to write since there has been a lot of negative press coverage about the topic recently.

Fixie killers terrorise streets of quaint London suburbs

I'm an entirely dull, middle aged, IT professional who works in the city and rides a short commute each day on fixed gear bike. Every day is as uneventful as the last (except the time 5 years ago when I was /that/ close to getting 'doored' by a taxi passenger). AMA.

This is just for an assignment, so this won't be broadcast anywhere. But because there has been a lot of negative press coverage, I wanted to know the perspective of the people who actually use these bikes - and understand their opinions on the law/policy aspect as well. I would ideally like to conduct an interview (on camera) - if you would be interested. However, I am on a deadline - so it would be great if you could get back to me by Tuesday afternoon 1 pm or so!

Sounds like a cool project and I appreciate that you're trying to give fixed riders a chance to share their views rather than just jumping on the fixed-bashing bandwagon. There are a lot of responsible people on here who enjoy riding fixed and advocate the use of a brake. I hope one of them takes the time to do your interview. I'm not a good candidate though, I'm in Germany and got a deadline approaching as well. Good luck with your search!

No problem at all. Thank you so much for getting in touch and for your time. Good luck for your work as well!

It is interesting that you want to get views from the fixed-gear community, but it might have been more relevant to try and speak to riders of fixed-gear bikes without a front brake. These riders may be only a small percentage of the fixed-gear community, but they are the ones who get a negative press for all of us. Hopefully, since the Alliston case there will be very few of them.

Hi! Thank you. Yes, I was looking for someone from that percentage of the community as well as the majority. I have finished my assignment as of now, but if you know about someone who rides without a front brake and would be willing to speak on camera - I'd be happy to get in touch and add that angle to my story. Thanks again for your time! :)

"riders of fixed-gear bikes without a front brake. These riders may be only a small percentage of the fixed-gear community, but they are the ones who get a negative press for all of us"

What a very sweeping statement.

There are brakeless fixed gear riders worldwide that have been and will continue to ride without incident on a daily basis for years. THEY aren't getting negative press for this 'US' you're the spokesperson for, because they go unnoticed day in day out. The people getting negative press are the people having accidents...whether they have brakes or not. I would wager that there are more accidents involving cyclists WITH brakes than without, so if you must 'blame' anyone, blame individuals that are actually involved in accidents, rather than making statements which place the blame at the feet of hundreds of people not involved in them.

Black Rainbow, that’s not much of a wager! Considering that at least 99% of cyclists ride bikes WITH brakes, it is no surprise that they as a group are more likely to be involved in accidents (from whatever cause) than the brake-less minority. If you are seriously suggesting that it is as safe to ride without brakes as it is with, then perhaps you are also a member of the flat-earth society – see thread below.

Hi, welcome to LFGSS, the friendliest forum on the internet. Thank you for thinking you represent a community that has existed for over a decade (in IRL, not just the internet), but you don't.

Hi Sumo, thanks for your welcome, but I have been around here for the past four years. I guess you might also be a subscriber to the flat-earth society. Excuse me if I have presumed to speak for all of us in condemning those who choose to ride without brakes, I simply assumed (perhaps wrongly) that we are all rational human beings

Yes you did presume wrongly. I don't want you speaking for me thank you very much.

if you think people riding fixed without a front brake is dangerous then you obviously haven't been on any of the hundreds of social rides organised through the forum.

.

If you read my post properly it tells you exactly what I'm suggesting.

#notinmyname