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Hello minh ai
I didn't mean that ss or fixed gear was only for men, but really s'pose I meant is it a geeky techie thing to do with being into components, rather than riding a bike.
"boy's thing" very much in quotation marks.
However, it is refreshing to have a debate about feminism as it seems to have gone out of fashion in recent years. Like the last 180: bring back George Elliot
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Aaaagh!
I am going to be hunted down and run over by a peleton of women on single-speeds!Sorry to my sister cyclists for inadvertantly causing offence - but thanks again to cg5154, veevee, velocityboy, van uden, and the others (bros and sis) others who understood where I was coming from.
And - to confirm - it is not a set-up - I really am a woman.
And, I am proud to say am also a feminist and have been since before 1979 when I recognised (age 11) the significance of the just-emerged feminist classics "I will survive" and Margaret Thatcher (not).
My 30 years of feminist thought have led me to understand that men and women, whilst being equal, are different. That does not mean that all men and women conform to the norm - but that general patterns can be discerned that many do conform to.
Long live equality!
Long live difference!I think it is now time for me to change my name, and retire from public life.
The streets are just too dangerous for me.
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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 ...
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Hello and thanks to those of you who suggested cycling in one gear to try out the single-speed experience.
It was fine bowling along, so proves my suspicion that I use only use one gear anyway. And also made me more conscious about cycling to use energy and momentum efficiently, rather than using brakes and gears all the time.
However, getting away at the lights felt very slow and lumbering - does a single-speed chain work more efficiently to pick up the speed?
And, have not yet tried The Hill - so will see how it feels on my way home.
I come from York - no hills. I left there 22 years ago, but still find any hill exotic and rather puzzling.And thanks for all the Big Thigh advice - fascinating discussion ...
I think I am more the stick build than the shot-putter build, so I will hope for the best. -
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...
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Bit embarrassed to admit that I think paniers are the way forward.
They don't make you sweaty or make your shoulders worn out [I am a girl so don't have big man-shoulders]
But they are not very cool, and seem to defeat the point of having a light bike.
Especially as I cannot resist the temptation to stuff loads of stuff in them ...
How sweaty do I get?
Is there an international sweaty scale, like the Richter scale for wind?
[Not that sort of wind ...] -
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Are those organic?
Thanks for all the advice and obvious interest in thighs.
What about getting jolted to pieces riding a lighter bike than my old warhorse?
I'll be OK once my thighs bulk up and I have finished sewing my new tweed cycling costume, as I will weigh more so gravity will hold me to the road... But until then?
And, don't the wheels and stuff get bent and battered?
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I have a standard clonky old bike, and need to upgrade - but is single speed the way to go for my 9 mile each way London commute?
I am a bit concerned about these things:
massive thighs - great on gentlemen, but not so nice on a lady
going up hills like Pentonville Road
getting away fast at the lights
choosing the right gear ratio - I am totally not a bike fixer person so don't understand all that ratio business
getting jolted to bits on a light bike - potholes and ruts
But single speed looks so cool and I liked my test ride ...
Any advice much appreciated.
Hi Roxy
thanks for the invite to Trixie Chix.
But at the moment I'm a bit trapped in the evenings as I have a sick elderly relative whom I'm looking after ...
Means also that I can't get out to bike shops v easily to browse and look about, so hoped I could short circuit by getting some forum advice before my rare visits to the bike shop.
Anyway, I have got lots of useful insight in the course of this long thread so do feel more informed.
Thanks all - and sorry for being such a Noob