Girls

Glad there are some girls on this forum site. Hello to you all!

I want to upgrade my commuter bike to something much lighter, faster and more fun, and think single-speed looks cool.

But:
not sure about all the technical boy-stuff that goes on around it?
does it make you have massive tyranosuarus thighs?
getting away fornm the lights at speed?
going up hills like pentonville road?

I have a lurking suspicion that singlespeed and fixed speed is a fashion thing and a boy thing.

But - I would like to be proved wrong as I liked the feel of a single speed when I tried one last week. I would have ridden off into the sunset, but I had to go home to cook the tea and do the ironing.

The girl-perspective on single-speed would be really useful to me...

"but I had to go home to cook the tea and do the ironing."

i can't believe you are coming out with this oppressive patriarchal gender stereotypical 20th century bullshit.

i'll have you know i can handle a steam iron and once contemplated stenciling flower motif's.

is this a set up?

Glad there are some girls on this forum site. Hello to you all!

I want to upgrade my commuter bike to something much lighter, faster and more fun, and think single-speed looks cool.

But:
not sure about all the technical boy-stuff that goes on around it?
does it make you have massive tyranosuarus thighs?
getting away fornm the lights at speed?
going up hills like pentonville road?

I have a lurking suspicion that singlespeed and fixed speed is a fashion thing and a boy thing.

But - I would like to be proved wrong as I liked the feel of a single speed when I tried one last week. I would have ridden off into the sunset, but I had to go home to cook the tea and do the ironing.

The girl-perspective on single-speed would be really useful to me...

But let's not get into debates about the gendered division of labour in the home.

Anyway, I'd rather iron than rake out the compost heap ...

No, it is really really not a set-up.

But I have only seen one woman on a single speed since I started looking, so wondered why. And, all the riders are in a narrow age band- in their 20s or very early 30s
That is what has made me think - is it a fashion thing as it is so gender and age specific?

Some of the advice to my previous question was v useful but some was just ha ha phnaaar-phnaar girl on a bike

Bit like climbing and bouldering forums really ...

compost is so cool though!!

And it doesn't smell bad at all, if you make it right. If I had a garden, I would def have a compost heap.

Bit like climbing and bouldering forums really ...

To be fair, that serves you right for asking about bikes on a bouldering forum! :)

I cant really give you any advice on a SS i have never had one. But I can't see it feeling much different to riding a bike with gears. Other than not being able to change gears obviously.Why don't you try riding a fixed gear bike first then if you don't like it change to SS. I ride because i want to and its the easiest and quickest way to get around town not because of fashion.

on UK bouldering there is a forum called Leg Shavers as many climbers/boulderers also cycle. There is a bike mechanic at the Castle who does a brisk trade.

But I didn't ask them about bikes, anyway ...

And decided not look at the thread called "Fit Birds Climbing" ....

I want to upgrade my commuter bike to something much lighter, faster and more fun, and think single-speed looks cool.

Singlespeeds are wonderfully light. Not necessarily faster (or slower), but they excellent for London because it's mostly flat and require little maintenance.

But:
not sure about all the technical boy-stuff that goes on around it?

Come on, we don't live in the Victorian era anymore.

does it make you have massive tyranosuarus thighs?

Nope. I'm trying to gain muscle because I'm a rather puny guy. I cycle everyday (fixed), go to the gym 3 days a week and then run on the non-gym days and eat carefully. My thighs aren't monstrous; I still look puny :(

The cycling that you'll do commuting will not make your legs massive! It'll tone them, which is good.

getting away fornm the lights at speed?

I've never had any trouble.

going up hills like pentonville road?

I've never (knowingly) ridden up it, so can't comment.

... I liked the feel of a single speed when I tried one last week....

Then buy one then!!

I would have ridden off into the sunset, but I had to go home to cook the tea and do the ironing.

The girl-perspective on single-speed would be really useful to me...

What Mr Smith said.

this is nuts! What on earth do you mean? Are you seriously saying that you need to check that its not just 'a boy thing'.
How friggin ridiculous

uh-oh. they're turning on each other

naked cycle fighting!

Right... boys, butt out.

Girls, give her a chance. She's demonstrated that she knows very little, and it's always better to give the benefit of the doubt.

My father does weights, and he frequently gets new people turning up at his gym and explaining that they don't want to do too much because they're looking to get fit and not build muscles. The chances of building muscles accidentally is fairly slim, it takes effort and a lot of it as well as time. So my father gets quite exasperated by the question and thinks they're nuts.

How does this relate? Well if she has seen photos of most track riders, then their thighs are freaking enormous. It's a reasonable enough question if you honestly knew nothing to say, "Will that happen to me?". Of course the answer is an emphatic NO. But the question is still valid.

As for the "Is it a boy thing?". Doesn't the existence of the Trixie Chix in part reflect a reaction against the inherent sexism that seems to be present around cycling and an attempt to re-sexualise cycling for women (not in a sex way, but in a gender way... to assert that you can be feminine on a bike and not have to deal with the chauvinism).

The membership of this forum is predominantly male and the reaction of the majority when a new girl appears is evident even from some of the comments in this thread. Her question may be naive, but it's not entirely irrelevant. When a girl is hit on by hormone fuelled boys, isn't it a good thing to remove her from that heavy-aired environment and allow her to ask the questions and get straight answers without the underlying mistrust of boys and their longings getting in the way?

Her questions were naive (to say the least), but should we be an ass about answering them straight?

that's us telt.

snigger...

I just find it exasperating that some women feel the need to seek approval before doing anything.
That's just me though

snigger...

hehehe, you got told off : )

I think, we boys here are quite sexist towards men rather than women, and go out of their way to help them. On this forum chivalry is not dead and the magority of posts by girls are better question. well thats enough brown nosing. Julio you owe me a chain tool. ;)

hehehe, you got told off : )

I think, we boys here are quite sexist towards men rather than women, and go out of their way to help them. On this forum chivalry is not dead and the magority of posts by girls are better question. well thats enough brown nosing. Julio you owe me a chain tool. ;)

Yes, I do.
I'll send you a PM to arrange delivery

snigger...

I just find it exasperating that some women feel the need to seek approval before doing anything.
That's just me though

( Still laughing a lil bit ) but i totally agree with you julio

Everyone seeks approval. Everyone.

Guess we don't usually see it put so bluntly though.

It a confidence thing. Some people are not very confident about somethings and they need to be reassured. Depending on what the issue they are unsure of will determine from whom they seek reassurance.

vb beat me to it.

This is how I interpreted her "a boy thing" comment: she doesn't mean that she's turned off of the idea of riding SS/FG because it's a boy thing, or that she's seeking approval. I think she's wondering if, perhaps, as a girl, she wouldn't find it as amazing as all the guys on the forum seem to think it is?

It's not an unreasonable question. You don't see that many girls who are into cars or motorbikes either. Or computers, for that matter... I'm a girl and a computer programmer... not exactly an industry overflowing with the fairer sex. Personally, I have zero interest in cars or motorbikes, despite my predilection for computers.

Obviously, such generalizations on gender preferences don't apply to everybody, but they apply to enough people for it to have become a generalization in the first place.

Besides... SS/FG bikes aren't exactly cheap, especially after you factor in the cost of accessories like bags and locks. Can't blame her for wanting some reassurance before taking the financial plunge.