[MikeStevens]

hmmm....has Se gone to far by turning the PK Ripper into a fixed gear.....


SE PK Ripper Fixed Gear

I am not a fan of the fixed gear bikes since I really enjoy coasting. But some do have a cool look to them

[Bob_Acid]

There seem to be a lot of OS BMX people within the fixed gear crowd. You can see the style influence in their bikes. Not that i get it mind you. I spoze it's just SE cashing in on another angle.

[BOMAT_1]

Looks like shit!...and TACKY at that!

Least they could have done was to have 'used another name' for this
'ugly piece of junk!' Perry 'worked too hard' to see 'his name' on such
garbage! Sorry PK....

[oldschoolbmx]

There was another thread, maybe on another site, that dealt with this. Todd from SE chimed in and was super cool about explaining it.

I actually like the polished and blue version--just slap a freewheel on theat bad boy and go for a ride!

[williwoods]

I saw one at Palms Cycles in Culver City. It wasnt as bad as I thought. It looked pretty cool actually. The fork is beautiful.

It is pricey as hell so other than price and the name......I actually think its pretty cool. Your mom and pop bike shop that is into fixies needs that income right now to survive. If it werent for fixies right now I bet a bunch of LBS would be going out of business. those that are sleeping on it are missing the opportunity for major sales for fixies in general.

I am actually starting to like some fixies, they remind me of the BMX craze. Many similar trends between the 2.

Will

[Spur]

Now that is the best thing to come out of SE in a LOOOONG time. I dig it!

[lboorse2]

I was talking to my sis-in-law's boyfriend this weekend. They both live down in Philly and commute everywhere by bike. I helped him tear down and re-finish some old French 10-speed. He's got a friend that's a bike courier in the city. He recommended that he outfit the French bike with a good BMX drivetrain - cranks, sprockets, and pedals.

So, I think there's definitely a huge old school BMX influence in the fixed-gear/single speed scene today. It's an interesting off-shoot BMX culture and history.

[MelvinsArmy]

I can't wait for the fixed gear fad to blow over. Then I can descend a bridge without worrying about the bike in front of me that's shaking and hopping like it's about to break into a million pieces crashing. Or I won't have to sit at a red light while some jackass rides in circles around me because they don't want to take their foot off the pedal. And about a million other reasons.

Until then I will make the best of it and enjoy this fad the best way I know how, by laughing at it from a safe distance:
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=Xe6KqdJndcU

[Spur]

MelvinsArmy, on Sep 21 2009, 05:26 PM, said:

Or I won't have to sit at a red light while some jackass rides in circles around me because they don't want to take their foot off the pedal. And about a million other reasons.

[sodbuster]

Quote

Until then I will make the best of it and enjoy this fad the best way I know how, by laughing at it from a safe distance:

Ouch! Just when I start to loose faith another method of thinning the herd comes along thinly disguised as the next fad!

[Uncle Todd]

MelvinsArmy, on Sep 21 2009, 08:26 PM, said:

I can't wait for the fixed gear fad to blow over. Then I can descend a bridge without worrying about the bike in front of me that's shaking and hopping like it's about to break into a million pieces crashing. Or I won't have to sit at a red light while some jackass rides in circles around me because they don't want to take their foot off the pedal. And about a million other reasons.

Until then I will make the best of it and enjoy this fad the best way I know how, by laughing at it from a safe distance:
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=Xe6KqdJndcU

I think you'll find many BMX companies selling fixies.. SE, FBM, Redline, are just a few. Welcome to new things... sucks when you get old and your mind is scared of new different things. Don't worry, the new things won't hurt you. You can always retreat to your comfort zone when you feel scared. I'm sure nobody ever called BMX a fad or was annoyed by kids on BMX bikes, or even broke a part while attempting a trick. The PK Fixie is hardly breaking news. If you don't like it don't buy one. Save the whining for you mommy and just be happy people are riding bicycles.

[oldschoolbmx]

Now see, those guys ion the videos probably wouldn't break the Landing Gear Fixie forks.

[Uncle Todd]

oldschoolbmx, on Sep 22 2009, 01:29 PM, said:

Now see, those guys ion the videos probably wouldn't break the Landing Gear Fixie forks.

Exactly, which is why many of those guys were putting landing gear on their fixies before the PK fixie was introduced. Personally I find fixie freestyle boring to watch, but I can't deny the difficulty. There's a difference between hipster poser guy in skinny pants and guys who actually spend hours perfecting tricks. If selling fixie parts helps classic BMX companies stay in business I'm all for it. Sorry for the thread jack. I want a polished PK Fixie for my morning commute.

[MelvinsArmy]

Uncle Todd, on Sep 22 2009, 11:52 AM, said:

MelvinsArmy, on Sep 21 2009, 08:26 PM, said:

I can't wait for the fixed gear fad to blow over. Then I can descend a bridge without worrying about the bike in front of me that's shaking and hopping like it's about to break into a million pieces crashing. Or I won't have to sit at a red light while some jackass rides in circles around me because they don't want to take their foot off the pedal. And about a million other reasons.

Until then I will make the best of it and enjoy this fad the best way I know how, by laughing at it from a safe distance:
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=Xe6KqdJndcU

I think you'll find many BMX companies selling fixies.. SE, FBM, Redline, are just a few. Welcome to new things... sucks when you get old and your mind is scared of new different things. Don't worry, the new things won't hurt you. You can always retreat to your comfort zone when you feel scared. I'm sure nobody ever called BMX a fad or was annoyed by kids on BMX bikes, or even broke a part while attempting a trick. The PK Fixie is hardly breaking news. If you don't like it don't buy one. Save the whining for you mommy and just be happy people are riding bicycles.

Thanks for talking down to me Uncle Todd. Save your breath though, cause I am quite familiar with this trend and am fully aware that it is not new. I don't know where you live, but I live in Brooklyn, specifically Bushwick and formerly Williamsburg. I commute via bicycle to work in Manhattan daily. If there is a bright center of the fixed gear universe, I live in it and ride through it. Daily. I would be willing to bet that I see more fixed gear bicycles on my way to work in the morning than the number of bicycles total some members of this board see in a week. If you knew me or had even met me for a brief minute, you'd know I'm the last person who's "afraid of new things" or of leaving my "comfort zone". As for this topic and my opinion of it, I am speaking only from what I have witnessed on my own.

Now, onto the being happy about people riding bicycles. Nothing makes me more happy than seeing people riding bicyles. I ride mine 15 miles a day just to get to and from work. I see hundreds of others doing the same, daily. It's great. Many of my friends and co-workers also do it. I have no problem with experienced fixed gear messengers. They do their thing and do it well. My problem is with this fixed gear explosion and the legions of sheep who are jumping on the bandwagon. They are fucking dangerous. Let me say that once more to make my point, they are fucking dangerous. So yes, this will hurt me. I've been run into by them, run off the road by them and put in scary traffic predicaments by them. Put an unexperienced rider on a fixed gear and now they are even more dangerous. To themselves, to pedestrians, to motorists and to me. Period. I'd say at least half of the people I see on fixed gear bikes are not experienced riders, either that or they are just morons. I could write pages about stereotypical track bike rider behavior out on the road. Blowing all traffic signals, even cutting off other cyclists, track standing in the crosswalk, riding like they are in a messenger race while commuting to a regular job, etc. Have you ever followed a track bike down a hill? How about through traffic? If you had, you might feel the way I do. Keep in mind I did use the word stereotypical, I know not all track bike riders behave like this, but these kinds of activities are done way, way more by fixed gear riders than any other kind of riders, mtb, road, recumbant, whatever.

At this point these bikes are not much more than a fashion accessory. They are used as props in clothing store windows, printed on shopping bags, used in advertisements, etc. Why do you think SE is putting the PK Ripper decals on a fixed gear, because he designed it and is a known track racer? Come on. You can buy fixed gear bikes at Urban Outfitters now for Christ's sake. And now every Tom Dick and Jane has one of these bikes, or a bike that's been converted over. I know most of these people are not folks who have been riding their bikes on a regular basis since the age of 8. If they were, they sure as shit would not choose a brakeless vehicle to move through NYC traffic with. Riding a bike in a city like New York with no brakes is about the most assinine idea I can think of.

I have several friends who ride track bikes. They know how to ride and have been on their track bikes for years. They're cool as hell and it works for them. There are always exceptions. But, I don't think this trend is good. That opinion has nothing to do with having an open mind or being afraid of change. It has to do with what I see on a daily basis and common fucking sense. Sometimes the new things WILL hurt you Todd. Even when you're not on them yourself.

[Uncle Todd]

MelvinsArmy, on Sep 22 2009, 02:42 PM, said:

Thanks for talking down to me Uncle Todd. Save your breath though, cause I am quite familiar with this trend and am fully aware that it is not new. I don't know where you live, but I live in Brooklyn, specifically Bushwick and formerly Williamsburg. I commute via bicycle to work in Manhattan daily. If there is a bright center of the fixed gear universe, I live in it and ride through it. Daily. I would be willing to bet that I see more fixed gear bicycles on my way to work in the morning than the number of bicycles total some members of this board see in a week. If you knew me or had even met me for a brief minute, you'd know I'm the last person who's "afraid of new things" or of leaving my "comfort zone". As for this topic and my opinion of it, I am speaking only from what I have witnessed on my own.

Now, onto the being happy about people riding bicycles. Nothing makes me more happy than seeing people riding bicyles. I ride mine 15 miles a day just to get to and from work. I see hundreds of others doing the same, daily. It's great. Many of my friends and co-workers also do it. I have no problem with experienced fixed gear messengers. They do their thing and do it well. My problem is with this fixed gear explosion and the legions of sheep who are jumping on the bandwagon. They are fucking dangerous. Let me say that once more to make my point, they are fucking dangerous. So yes, this will hurt me. I've been run into by them, run off the road by them and put in scary traffic predicaments by them. Put an unexperienced rider on a fixed gear and now they are even more dangerous. To themselves, to pedestrians, to motorists and to me. Period. I'd say at least half of the people I see on fixed gear bikes are not experienced riders, either that or they are just morons. I could write pages about stereotypical track bike rider behavior out on the road. Blowing all traffic signals, even cutting off other cyclists, track standing in the crosswalk, riding like they are in a messenger race while commuting to a regular job, etc. Have you ever followed a track bike down a hill? How about through traffic? If you had, you might feel the way I do. Keep in mind I did use the word stereotypical, I know not all track bike riders behave like this, but these kinds of activities are done way, way more by fixed gear riders than any other kind of riders, mtb, road, recumbant, whatever.

At this point these bikes are not much more than a fashion accessory. They are used as props in clothing store windows, printed on shopping bags, used in advertisements, etc. Why do you think SE is putting the PK Ripper decals on a fixed gear, because he designed it and is a known track racer? Come on. You can buy fixed gear bikes at Urban Outfitters now for Christ's sake. And now every Tom Dick and Jane has one of these bikes, or a bike that's been converted over. I know most of these people are not folks who have been riding their bikes on a regular basis since the age of 8. If they were, they sure as shit would not choose a brakeless vehicle to move through NYC traffic with. Riding a bike in a city like New York with no brakes is about the most assinine idea I can think of.

I have several friends who ride track bikes. They know how to ride and have been on their track bikes for years. They're cool as hell and it works for them. There are always exceptions. But, I don't think this trend is good. That opinion has nothing to do with having an open mind or being afraid of change. It has to do with what I see on a daily basis and common fucking sense. Sometimes the new things WILL hurt you Todd. Even when you're not on them yourself.

My bad, I didn't start out trying to sound like a dick but I was. My apologies. I'm with you on all the hipster clowns who can't ride a bike worth a shit and unfortunately you live in the mecca. The store displays, etc. just sounds like BMX at it's height. Just like many things that come along, they blow up then settle down with the people who really are into it. The posers fade away, it's just a matter of time.

[RipVanWinkle]

Quote

Just like many things that come along, they blow up then settle down with the people who really are into it. The posers fade away, it's just a matter of time.

Yep, I agree with this statement.

[Spur]

I went to lunch in downtown Indy today and I never really noticed how popular fixies were here as well. I counted 10 and that was after seeing quite a few of them. In fact the delivery people for the Jimmy Johns sub shop made deliveries on them.

[racerbvd]

Fixies go way back in BMX Freestyle and lets not forget that the Mighty BMXA Trick team were known to ride them, and I'm pretty sure Mike Buff had a PK set up at one time..... As


And as much as we would like to forget this movie scene, they did ride a fixie in the movie Rad...

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=LlJOchnwR04

As MelvinsArmy said, there is nothing new, now a scene from the movie Quicksilver....

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=uIwMGkqa6Sw

[MelvinsArmy]

racerbvd, on Oct 7 2009, 10:58 PM, said:

As MelvinsArmy said, there is nothing new, now a scene from the movie Quicksilver....

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=uIwMGkqa6Sw

And if you really want to go back, check out these old timers gettin rad on fixed gear bikes:
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=aZjd9pBmLoU