erikinop

I swear to god, I am almost ready to drill a non drilled carbon fork, for a brake for a non-machined rim, just so it will make my bike look more road-like.

I am moving back to nyc after a 6 year hiatus and if I ride my track bike on the street I am going to feel like a total square.

I will wear a helmet, never wear my lock around my waist, wear a climbing back pack, i don't wear jeans, i won't ever wear sunglasses, etc etc. The only thing I can think of to avoid being stereotyped would be to put the following letters on each spoke on my front wheel: J E S U S. Five letters for five spokes. It works out perfectly.

I swear to god (mind you, i don't believe in organized religion) the only way to not be stereotyped as some herb from the midwest that moved to brooklyn and bought a complete fixed bike, and still ride a track bike on the street, is to just constantly profess your love for JESUS, wear apparel that says "JESUS" and/or "JESUS LOVES YOU" etc etc.

The prospect of riding a road bike disgusts me. I road a road bike in nyc for a season and it was really horrible. Crunching and chain dropping left and right. Not to mention making a repair was always a nuisance.

For all the old schoolers in any of the boroughs... For all the people that were doing it before and will be doing it after the fad... What are you doing to cope?

Your help would be greatly appreciated. And if you can't help, I'll find out for myself soon enough. I move back August 1st.

WhiteSSP

You could always, I dunno, not care what people think of you.

Jabba Degrassi

Seriously who gives a ****?

erikinop

That is true, but I want to make friends... I want to meet the people that were doing this when it wasn't cool. I want to meet the people that did it because it made sense, not fashion sense. Maybe if I just ride around smiling people will take note and remember "Hey! That guy isn't an *******... he is legit."

novacane

i didnt know cyclists in nyc wore climbing backpacks, or that there even were specific climbing backpacks

GTPowers

I think its funny when people jump to "organized religion" when talking about G....forget it. Not going there.

Yah I say just forget caring what people think of you. Waste of time that you could be using to expand your mind a bit.

andre nickatina

god, what a slave to outside opinion you are. think about what you just wrote. you care more about what other people think of you than even the hippest and most fashionable of track bike riders on the street, jesus.

joetotale

And what does that make you? Some Herb from Upstate NY?

IllSpecialist

you mean to tell me that you actually think about this stuff?? nevermind that, you really felt the need to write it down? it might be best that you stay in Syracuse for a little while longer until you get your mind right.

cavit8

Twonk has five letters. So does poser. Maybe you could do a vanity spoke kind thing:.

IMNOT APOSR or something, Of course that would require five spokes front and back, which might make things even more oppressive.

Anyway, hope you get through this. Sounds traumatic.

Jabba Degrassi

Why don't you just do whatever the **** it is you're going to do and if some asshat wants to call you a poseur or something just shut him up with your legit skillz?

Jabba Degrassi

Wait ignore everything else I said, I figured out how to say exactly what I think we're all feeling as concisely as possible:

You don't need any help being uncool.

Gyeswho

just ride with me and then you won't care anymore because you'll be enjoying riding and conversation. Seriously, I know I probably look "uncool" (helmet with reflective tape on it, fishnet style leather gloves, brakes) to those track riders who go with the fad but I can care less because I am more concerned with the road ahead of me than what ppl think of me as I'm enjoying riding. I always tell myself, "Ride for yourself and not others". Personally, it is very distracting worrying about how I look to others, but we are all self conscientious/judgemental creatures so the only thing to do is practice at not carrying.

The whole look thing is just as ridiculous as the "does this helmet make me look stupid?" I admit there is going to always be a fashion choice in a helmet, because I've done it myself, but after a small fall recently, which would have been serious had I not had a helmet, I realized a helmet should only be meant for protecting your head and keeping your head cool. The aesthetics of it shouldn't even be a part of the decision process (but it always is) because you can't look at your helmet while riding.

Libre

I honestly don't understand what your problem is, what you're afraid of, and why you don't like road bikes.
I wouldn't ride anything else - on the road. A road bike is FOR the road. A track bike is for a track, a mountain bike is for a mountain. Dirt bikes are for dirt, and folding bikes are for folding. It's all quite simple, you see.

Mr. Joker

umm... wot teh fark r u talking about?

lol. your post makes you look 100x more stupid than riding yer farking tarck bike in the city evar would

Gyeswho

while what you say is true, track/fixed gears, I find, are much better for traffic areas due to the amount of control you have over the bike (assuming you also have a brake) versus a freewheel bike.

**Of course, my statement is very subjective though, but I think a lot of fixed riders (who know what they are doing) can approve of what I said**

andre nickatina

Road bikes are more fun in the city in situations where you have to stop every block, track bikes are more fun when you can ride in a continuous flow. It's all subjective though, yeah.

91MF

officially the stupidest thread i ever read on here.

krusty

What climbing backpack would Jesus wear?

NewYorkMantle

this thread is absurd

old scratch

what could the point of this possibly be. unreadable.

sedition

best post. ever.

Jabba Degrassi

Please don't insult the likes of Camus by associating this crap with that word.

itschrisb

Id hate to be the OP. Its people like you that make new people feel like idiots for asking questions and wanting to get into riding bikes. If the entire "scene" was made up of only people that have BEEN doing it and will continue to do it after the "fad" is over then sorry to say but its probably not going to last much longer. And i dont really know how old you are but im pretty sure that you werent around when the road bike craze began in the 70's to consider yourself OG to the road bike world. You at some point in time were a newb too regaurdless if you now have 5,10,15,20..etc years under your belt. And good for you that you lasted through out whatever "fad" it was that made you get into road biking and you are continuing to do it. Close minded people like you are 9 times out of 10 more stupid then the group of scene kids on their fixies that your making fun of yourself. Grow up and just be glad that their are new comers expanding the bike culture and making it live on.

aMull

^ Amen.