jack pot 

i own a wabi AND an ALL CITY Nature Boy ... i had been hanging around this site for a few years before i joined ... why are the single speeders not a separate forum from the fixed ??? at one time fixers were the IN bikes but now it seems that SS CXRs & MTBs are becoming more IN and there is little in common with SS bikes or culture and Fixed bikes and culture

JohnSnowNW

I must admit that I'm not particularly knowledgeable about the "culture" aspects of Fixed vs SS...but isn't there only one single component difference (or hub flip) between the two bike styles?

*shrugs...just seems a little exclusive

FiftySix

I didn't know this forum was about culture. I figured it was simply about bikes that couldn't change gears regardless if the rear cog can freewheel or not.

Then there is also the topic of forum traffic. If you want to see a forum's traffic reduce to a crawl, subdivide it.

TMonk

I think the culture disparity you are experiencing is better characterized through a road vs off-road context. SS/FG on the road are less disparate topics than SS on road vs SS on dirt. Maybe we're in agreement there though???

I'm sure some people race FG off road but that's dumb IMO (ducks head...). For real though, on that note, the "tracklocross" trend presents an interesting sub-culture that from it's roots came from SS/FG on-road but has fairly obvious cross over to the dirt riders. I don't anticipate established cross and MTB racers will flock to it in droves but I'm sure there will be some.

On a separate note if you have a serious request/inquiry about this (or anything else) feel free to post in the Suggestions forum or PM me directly and it will get passed to the moderation team.

TMonk

agreed. there was talk of splitting SS MTB into a separate forum from MTB for a while but we chose not to for this reason.

ThermionicScott 

You think you've got it bad. My bike doesn't know whether it belongs in C&V, Commuting, Gravelbiking, Mountain Biking, SS/FG... or if it's too weird for any of the above.

Lazyass

It seems they're way down from their popularity of a few years ago. Especially MTB's. For short while there you could find a ton of SS MTB's being made. Now they're much more few and far between. It was like a quick fad. The majority of them now are ones that come with derailleurs but have sliding dropouts if you want to convert, like my Jamis Dragonslayer 26+ I bought a couple of months ago.

I'm just glad that on this forum I'm not seeing many "fixies" with purple rims, green chains and no brakes.

TMonk

in b4 AYHSMB

seau grateau

Because not everything needs a separate forum.

seau grateau

TMonk

classic

veganbikes

What about a thread for dinglespeed? Why should it just be single speed and fixed gears getting a separate thread some people have Surly Dingle Cogs or White Industries DOS Eno freewheels!!! Also what about a thread for folks who run IGHs but with a fixed ISO cog on the other side so it is really just a fixed gear with a multi gear flip flop.

Also what about Penny-Farthings where is there separate forum? We aren't fixed nor are we just pigeon-holed into "classic and vintage with some crappy Colnago with derailleurs" I would mention unicycles but "teh fashists" like @TMonk probably would shut us down because we only have one wheel and "bi" technically means two.

Let's all form the thread separatist party and demand more threads from our leadership. No longer shall we have to live under the tyranny of some banner that fits fine but we could have a sub forum anyway for like two of us. Our two voices matter. So whether you like artisanal French mixte frames from 1957-1962 or you ride a double high tall bike with 700x30 tires exclusively on gravel that is larger than 2mm but smaller than 5mm. Your voice should be heard.

jack pot 

>>> so much for my SS thread stimulus

TMonk

This would be shut down on the basis of topic specificity. In our (soon to be released) new forum policy, topic specificity violation is grounds for termination and banishment from the forums. By their very definition, unicycles and unicycle related discussion does not belong on a "bike" (bicycle) forum - as you correctly pointed out!

phobus

SSCX? Over. Tracklocross? So 2019. 2020 is the year of brakeless indoor tracklogravel. Do try to keep up.

pbass

The way things are going we'll need a thread for "how to make the most of singlespeed on an indoor trainer"....

jack pot 

i guess SS trikes will go threadless also

Mikefule

Definitely what we need is more categories and sub categories, cliques, niches, sects, tribes, and subcultures. The world is far too harmonious as it is.

I bought my fixed because I wanted to try it. I was not even aware it was a trendy thing to do. I'm a Morris dancer who listens to early rockabilly: I don't do trendy.

I ride my fixed because I enjoy it. I have sometimes had it set up with a freewheel, sometimes with a flip flop hub. I ride it on and off road, occasionally commute, and I sometimes go for weeks without riding it. I also own a 2 x 10 gravel bike (although it wasn't called a gravel bike when I bought it because I liked its features) and I have a garage full of unicycles (24 inch general, 24 inch muni, 700c road, 29" muni, and 36" general) and enjoy riding them each for slightly different reasons.

We could just enjoy riding what we ride, and sharing stories and hints and tips.

Do we want to become like some obscure branch of punk or metal, with half a dozen adjectives: hardcore Scandinavian dark death speed thrash cyclists, or something?

The only true bike culture is enjoying riding bikes and respecting others who ride theirs. The rest is passing fashion and fad. Single speeds and fixed riders have much in common, and some differences. Neither is right nor elite.

veganbikes

As I said "teh fashists" UNICYCLES HAVE RIGHTS TOO. Down with specificity tyranny. Long live double tall full suspension penny farthing swing bikes

LNKFixed

That's one hell of a hot take these days my guy.

TMonk

What's the fun in off road if you're not going to be navigating over big rocks, logs, drops etc - gotta coast over those. As a (sometimes) MTB'r, gravel riding at large strikes me as kinda dumb and boring too...

(ducks head again, runs far, far away)

Mikefule

Off road is fun for many reasons. The two obvious ones are:

1) See what you can achieve on this particular cycle. Full suspension, fat tyres, multi gears, you need to find drops and rocks etc; fixed wheel, no suspension, skinny tyres, you can find a challenge locally.

2) Just enjoying exploring the woods and hills.

I've seen plenty of mountain bikes trundling along the main forest tracks while I've been exploring the narrow tracks and tricky bits on fixed, or on unicycle.

SoccerBallXan

I assume not many track riders and hipsters spend their time browsing online bike forums!

The "culture," can be found on the street, local venues, bars, and coffee shops. Maybe on Instagram and Facebook aswell... BikeForums though? I think they'd rather be doing skids on tyres found in the dump!

TMonk

Maybe it depends on where you're living - tons of good trails with challenging terrain in San Diego city limits and the county at large.

Dylansbob 

I love living near a city mtb park (especially since my county isn't shutting it down). I take a fixed gear down ~1.5m to the trailhead and loop the crosscountry looop once or twice and ride home. I get a great workout without commiting as much time. These trails have gotten so much use over the years that roots are worn down and most of what was challenging has erroded away, but it's still away from traffic, has up-downs-lefts-rights and gets me out there.