The crappiest gadget of all....
The fixed gear bike!

Why undo nearly 200 hundred years of technical advancements to basically then ride a glorified Victorian bicycle.

Gears and brakes were invented for a reason!!!
(superfly78, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 10:30, 20 replies)

and every single person
who rides 'a fixie' is a cunt
(sittingduck Attention seeking, bullshitting fuck-knuckle, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 11:37, closed)

Mostly, this...
...what possible reason is there NOT to fit a freewheel? I'm sure that my Hopes will slow me much quicker than trying to backpedal a fixie.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Tue 4 Oct 2011, 12:40, closed)

Yes!
Back pedalling, or that weird bunny hop thing they do, to stop is not only a ridiculously stupid idea but is dangerous. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen fixies come flying up behind someone not realising there is a red light ahead and then have to pull some weird secret move in order to try and stop only to then sway and almost knock someone off because they haven't done it in time.
(superfly78, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 12:57, closed)

Bollocks
You've never seen any cyclist try to stop at a red light.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 13:45, closed)

*Coughs*
I saw one yesterday. It was me.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Tue 4 Oct 2011, 14:17, closed)

I do hope that your bike is kitted out
to look like a two-wheeled Honda Accord. That'd show 'em.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 15:21, closed)

I can't even see it through the throng of supermodels

(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Tue 4 Oct 2011, 15:23, closed)

Thong

( Ghoti Fingers, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 20:14, closed)

Riding brakless on a fixie is stupid, but fixies are useful in London. Oddly I've noticed the only people who knock them(the concept that is, not the culture which is frankly baffling) are fat mountain bike riders. This being b3ta I feel quite comfortable with at least a couple of you who pop up to bash this stuff being in this category. Are you threatened by fixie riders or something?
(skgorsky, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 13:27, closed)

Ok
I'm a thin(ish) road biker. I think they're shit. Can you explain what the advantage is other than saving about 500g in weight? I find it impossible to believe that anyone apart from a professional racer would notice that.
( MatJ LOOK, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 13:38, closed)

I should add
I can see (sort of) the purpose of using one as a trainer for racing, but the idea of using one as your main bike baffles me. Mind you, it doesn't help to live in Edinburgh. A fixie would be as useful as a glass hammer up here.
( MatJ LOOK, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 13:45, closed)

No gears(less maintenance, less to go wrong), easier to carry (especially up stairs and especially for smaller people - my girlfriend couldn't lift her mountain bike but can lift her fuji easily) and significantly lighter compared even to a new road bike especially in terms of rear balance. I found they build my legs up quite quickly to the point where any worries about moving to a compact group set completely disappeared.

Plus they are just fun. They have a different feel to my road bike, you just spin and go.
(skgorsky, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 13:48, closed)

Should add that I run brakes on mine. The no brakes thing is insanity.
(skgorsky, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 14:37, closed)

All your arguments justify a single speed, but not a fixed gear.
Averaged sized and rides an old racer refitted as a flat-bar commuter, since you ask. I also laugh at people who commute on MTBs (except PJM, coz he's scary).
( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Tue 4 Oct 2011, 16:49, closed)

I alternate modes using a flipflop hub because I'm cool like that.
(skgorsky, Wed 5 Oct 2011, 10:43, closed)

I'm neither fat nor a mountain bike rider and I cycle every day in central london and I think fixies (or maybe just the people using them that haven't fully grasped how to use them properly) are dangerous. I have seen them bumping loads of cyclists when they haven't been able to stop in time.
The only positive aspect to them I can see is that they are low maintenance.
(superfly78, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 13:50, closed)

I'm one out of two...
...being a mountain biker but not on the chubby side.

I just can't get my head around them, the fixie bit is no good for my knees and I don't like the lack of handlebar width. They make sense as urban transport though and I guess you learn to ride around the apparent wonkiness.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Tue 4 Oct 2011, 14:20, closed)

no
i'm a downhiller and freerider mostly but i have set up my commuter as a fixie. its a good way of keeping fit and it means if stolen less likely to be ridden off by a chav.

that said, it looks like a road bike, has 2 brakes and will never have a fucking postcard anywhere near the spokes...
( zulu eh?, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 13:58, closed)

^this
is acceptable.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Tue 4 Oct 2011, 14:21, closed)

A friend of mine has a fixie
He's a mighty pleasant fellow, and cycles responsibly, stopping at all designted lights and never cycling on any pavements. He is of course Canadian.
(McChinaman banned, Wed 5 Oct 2011, 1:00, closed)