When I first moved to the chicago area a couple of years ago I was introduced to something that I had never seen before...and chances are I have never been the same.
You see, I used to ride a bmx bike quite a bit back in the day. I named it Martinez, because I lived in a Mexican area and wanted some street cred. I loved riding this bike around; it was simple (no gears), and custom (i put it together and painted it myself, changing the paint job quite frequently). Martinez was a good way to get some time to myself; to think and challenge myself with new goals.
When I moved to chicago, as I walked around downtown, I began to see bike messengers flying through the streets, weaving in and out of cars with little to no regard for following any traffic rules. Safe?, you ask. No. Not at all, probably. But intriguing, without a doubt. As I saw these bikers fly by I became increasingly enamored with their job: riding around on a bike all day, delivering packages, seeing the city, talking on walkie-talkies...what a life, I thought to myself.
But upon taking a closer look I realized something interesting about their bikes. The vast majority of them only had one speed; a 'single-speed' bike, if you will. But I also noticed that many of these bikes were quite unique, almost as though they, themselves, were custom built- they were mostly just stripped down models of old road bikes. Some of which didn't even have brakes or anything. Very interesting. These brakeless versions, which are so popular amongst the bike messenger and hipster scenes, are the 'fixed-gear' bikes. what this means is that there is no coasting possible (where you are moving, but you are not pedaling). These are popular because they are the most basic, pure form of bike riding-as long as you are moving, your pedals are moving, in order to stop you must get your pedals to stop moving. Sounds confusing, and a bit dangerous, but also very exhilarating.
So last spring I decided I wanted to get a road bike so that I can begin to ride around the streets of chicago like so many chicagoans do. I bought an early 80's Schwinn 10-speed, and rode that for a good couple of months, until I moved to the city. When I moved to the city I got one step closer to this exhilarating dream, and converted the bike to a single speed (with a free wheel and brakes, so I could still coast and stop quickly). Now, after a year of living in the city, I decided to take the leap into the fixed-gear world.
Late last night and early this morning I did the last of the necessary adjustments to make my bike a fixie (hipster for 'fixed gear'). I am now riding brakeless (that is, until i buy a front brake, which, front brake only on a fixie is also an acceptable and popular set-up), but don't worry, I do wear a helmet every time.
I am excited for this new challenge, but realize that with this I must also be much more alert and wise with my street riding.
I'll post a picture once I take one so that maybe you can understand a bit better. till then, adios.
*this post written to keep my roommate Sam from hassling me too much about not doing anything fun.
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