TheBrick(Tommy) We should write a fixed wheel code of conduct in a similar vain.
It has been written by the old skool fixed riders, but the MASHSF generation seems to ignore it:
"It's never stated this way, but the old skool idea is to use a pure 70's-looking velodrome bike, but ride it anywhere in the greater metro area. It's also a generational thing, a nostalgia thing, a preference for the same kind of bike that was out there when they were coming up. You see lots of variations on the street, but the look is this - a steep-angled, upright thin-tubed steel frame - indeed, one of my old skool acquaintances even greets other riders with "Steel is real!" It will have a threaded headset, drop stem and track handlebars by Cinelli or Nitto. Never road bars, but deep track drops. Bullhorns are acceptable for all-day rides. Components by Campagnolo - even their high-flange hubs, which some people fear are breakage-prone. A departure from the purity of velodrome specs is the lower gear ratio, mid high 60's to high 70's. All the better for the steep descents with cars and stop signs at the bottom. Pedal overlap is fine, it makes for a tighter frame. Tight is when the front tire comes very close to the down tube, and the rear tire almost buzzes the seat tube. The modern cycling innovations haven't really caught on. Aluminum, carbon, titanium or compact frames, integrated headsets, and deep-v aero rims. On the street, about the only modernizations catching on are clincher tires and clipless pedals.
And then of course, no brakes. And no brake holes. (For more on the no-brakes issue, read "Why No Brakes?") The old skool thinking is passionate on this, it's that purity thing."
It has been written by the old skool fixed riders, but the MASHSF generation seems to ignore it:
"It's never stated this way, but the old skool idea is to use a pure 70's-looking velodrome bike, but ride it anywhere in the greater metro area. It's also a generational thing, a nostalgia thing, a preference for the same kind of bike that was out there when they were coming up. You see lots of variations on the street, but the look is this - a steep-angled, upright thin-tubed steel frame - indeed, one of my old skool acquaintances even greets other riders with "Steel is real!" It will have a threaded headset, drop stem and track handlebars by Cinelli or Nitto. Never road bars, but deep track drops. Bullhorns are acceptable for all-day rides. Components by Campagnolo - even their high-flange hubs, which some people fear are breakage-prone. A departure from the purity of velodrome specs is the lower gear ratio, mid high 60's to high 70's. All the better for the steep descents with cars and stop signs at the bottom.
Pedal overlap is fine, it makes for a tighter frame. Tight is when the front tire comes very close to the down tube, and the rear tire almost buzzes the seat tube. The modern cycling innovations haven't really caught on. Aluminum, carbon, titanium or compact frames, integrated headsets, and deep-v aero rims. On the street, about the only modernizations catching on are clincher tires and clipless pedals.
And then of course, no brakes. And no brake holes. (For more on the no-brakes issue, read "Why No Brakes?") The old skool thinking is passionate on this, it's that purity thing."