Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Singlespeed & Fixed Gear
Reload this Page >

Are you willing to admit that you're a hipster, or...

Notices
Singlespeed & Fixed Gear "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

Are you willing to admit that you're a hipster, or...

Old 07-02-14, 01:12 PM
  #1  
mcafiero
Italian Stallion
Thread Starter
 
mcafiero's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Denver
Posts: 476

Bikes: 2010 Cannondale Supersix; Dolan Df3; 1980's GIOS Pista;

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Are you willing to admit that you're a hipster, or...

This article adds an interesting perspective on the term: Punch Bowl Social - Are you a hipster? Find out for once and for all.

But I am curious, are there people out there who admit to being a hipster? Is it a bad thing, or just a social classification like any other (some jocks will admit they are jocks. Goths might admit to being goth. Some nerds love that that's their schtick, etc)? It seems that hipster is the one classification that the people who are so clearly fitting the description run like hell from.

It's also interesting in that I have seen some very... VERY hipster looking people complain about "those hipsters".

Just trying to figure this out.
mcafiero is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 01:15 PM
  #2  
mcafiero
Italian Stallion
Thread Starter
 
mcafiero's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Denver
Posts: 476

Bikes: 2010 Cannondale Supersix; Dolan Df3; 1980's GIOS Pista;

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
oh and on this topic, obviously from my avatar, I race track bikes but I also love cruising around town on my 80th Gios pista (a "fixie"), and I work in Social Media. So I may also be a hipster... I guess. I don't really care if that's the case, it's not something I think about or consciously try to be. But if I get called a hipster, I probably wouldn't cry over it.
mcafiero is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 01:31 PM
  #3  
hairnet
Fresh Garbage
 
hairnet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 13,198

Bikes: N+1

Mentioned: 21 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 352 Post(s)
Liked 25 Times in 17 Posts
I hate the term because it gets used on everybody that is "different".
hairnet is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 01:33 PM
  #4  
Huffandstuff
Senior Member
 
Huffandstuff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,776
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 16 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Hipster is just a word people used to describe people in style/fashionable/trend follower. Three or four years ago, a "hipster" was someone who wore a fedora and listened to awful folk music, now it's people wearing denim vests and all about doom/thrash and classic American tattoos. "Fixies"aren't even cool anymore in Portland.

Just do what you wanna do, regardless of labels.
Huffandstuff is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 01:48 PM
  #5  
Scrodzilla
Your cog is slipping.
 
Scrodzilla's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 26,054
Mentioned: 41 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 640 Post(s)
Liked 100 Times in 58 Posts
Scrodzilla is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 02:02 PM
  #6  
SpeshulEd 
Senior Member
 
SpeshulEd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 8,088
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 686 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Originally Posted by Huffandstuff
Just do what you wanna do, regardless of labels.
Yep.
__________________
Hey guys, lets go play bikes! Strava

SpeshulEd is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 02:04 PM
  #7  
prooftheory
pro in someone's theory
 
prooftheory's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Las Cruces, NM
Posts: 3,236

Bikes: FTP

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 72 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Um, no, I'm a mocker.
prooftheory is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 02:11 PM
  #8  
mixedfix
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 24

Bikes: KHS Gran Sport fixed gear conversion.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I have been called a hipster many a time but more so since putting together my fixed gear. As the OP suggested, it is probably the worst pejorative term you can call a member of my socioeconomic group, which is predominantly white and overly concerned with being authentic.

Since the term is essentially a catch-all for anyone within a certain age range who acts in a way you might not understand (and often make questionable choices about their hair) and the meaning has shifted drastically over time (not to mention geography), I'd say it's more or less meaningless, though it still creates anxiety.

But what do I know? I'm hip as ****.
mixedfix is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 02:27 PM
  #9  
t x
Senior Member
 
t x's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Alameda, CA
Posts: 205

Bikes: Windsor The Hour Plus, 2014 Novara Verita, Windsor Oxford

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Originally Posted by mixedfix
it is probably the worst pejorative term you can call a member of my socioeconomic group, which is predominantly white and overly concerned with being authentic.
Ironic as "predominantly white and overly concerned with being authentic" is kind of the definition of hipster.
t x is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 02:28 PM
  #10  
Arrowbane
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: The state of Utah
Posts: 5

Bikes: 2012 Trek 8.4 ds Looking for a better bike for a 400lb big fat guy

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
So I have to make 50 posts to be able to pm people that is annoying to me. Just to try and be clear I think of "hipster" as a label like jock. Also I totally agree with the "Just do what you wanna do, regardless of labels." mentality. Hipster though tend to be intruders of your label. Like I am a nerd/geek, however you prefer it, but a jock who knows nothing about gaming, comics, or any nerdy/geeky stuff suddenly starts joining my friends in our nerd fests and makes fun of us or just doesn't understand they would be a hipster to me. However, in the last year (6 months) I have stopped seeing this as a bad thing tried to help them fit in. When I am not ruthlessly making fun of them because they have made themselves an easy target.

In the same sense now though you might call me a biker hipster or bikers might see me as a hipster because I am totally new to this, but recently health has made me decide I need to exercise. So biking is what I decided to do. So I am trying to learn this stuff and get a bike that works for me. Does that make sense or do I just sound stupid?
Arrowbane is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 02:40 PM
  #11  
Leukybear 
THE STUFFED
 
Leukybear's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 12,678

Bikes: R. Sachs Road; EAI Bareknuckle; S-Works Enduro

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 361 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 20 Times in 17 Posts
Hipsters are an odd breed of people.

I know one who dropped a big wad of cash on an 80's nagasawa with a black flaked paint job only to put chode bars, a lopsided wald basket, and a 650c aerospoke in the front. All the while brakeless and the basket preventing you from properly grasping the bars entirely.
He is also in the process of throwing in a android dev board set up into one of these so he can carry it around to starbucks:

Leukybear is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 02:48 PM
  #12  
LesterOfPuppets
cowboy, steel horse, etc
 
LesterOfPuppets's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: The hot spot.
Posts: 44,807

Bikes: everywhere

Mentioned: 71 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12637 Post(s)
Liked 7,529 Times in 3,990 Posts
Wrong forum, at least for my town. Hipsters here now roll gas pipe 10-speeds.
LesterOfPuppets is online now  
Old 07-02-14, 03:08 PM
  #13  
steady407
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 81
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Huffandstuff
Just do what you wanna do, regardless of labels.
couldn't agree more.
steady407 is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 03:51 PM
  #14  
rms13
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: SoCal
Posts: 6,517
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 276 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times in 3 Posts
Originally Posted by Leukybear
Hipsters are an odd breed of people.

I know one who dropped a big wad of cash on an 80's nagasawa with a black flaked paint job only to put chode bars, a lopsided wald basket, and a 650c aerospoke in the front. All the while brakeless and the basket preventing you from properly grasping the bars entirely.
He is also in the process of throwing in a android dev board set up into one of these so he can carry it around to starbucks:

That guy should win hipster of the year.

I have a beard, I have skinny jeans (that I only use for bike commuting), I love coffee, etc. I hate the Black Keys and prefer black metal. Am I hipster?
rms13 is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 04:13 PM
  #15  
mixedfix
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 24

Bikes: KHS Gran Sport fixed gear conversion.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by t x
Ironic as "predominantly white and overly concerned with being authentic" is kind of the definition of hipster.
I eat a lot of green leafy vegetables.

But yeah, of course! You get the point.
mixedfix is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 04:14 PM
  #16  
iTripped
Senior Member
 
iTripped's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 623

Bikes: Phil Barge Pista SC

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by rms13
I have a beard, I have skinny jeans (that I only use for bike commuting), I love coffee, etc. I hate the Black Keys and prefer black metal. Am I hipster?
Yes.
iTripped is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 04:15 PM
  #17  
mixedfix
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 24

Bikes: KHS Gran Sport fixed gear conversion.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by rms13
I have a beard, I have skinny jeans (that I only use for bike commuting), I love coffee, etc. I hate the Black Keys and prefer black metal. Am I hipster?
No, preach it, brother!
mixedfix is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 04:18 PM
  #18  
caloso
Senior Member
 
caloso's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865

Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur

Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times in 1,417 Posts
Around here, hipsters have moved on from FG bikes to loud, stinky Puch mopeds. I guess pedaling was too hard.
caloso is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 04:26 PM
  #19  
t x
Senior Member
 
t x's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Alameda, CA
Posts: 205

Bikes: Windsor The Hour Plus, 2014 Novara Verita, Windsor Oxford

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Originally Posted by caloso
Around here, hipsters have moved on from FG bikes to loud, stinky Puch mopeds. I guess pedaling was too hard.
Wow, that's still popular? There was like a hipster moped "gang" that used to cruise around my neighborhood (Lower Haight) a few years ago when I lived in SF, but they all up and disappeared around 2012. I guess they moved to Sac-town. Sorry.

Also, whenever they'd cruise around I'd always imagine this:

t x is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 04:29 PM
  #20  
headloss 
Lost at sea...
 
headloss's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Western PA
Posts: 935

Bikes: Schwinn Paramount (match), Trek 520, random bits and pieces...

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Originally Posted by mcafiero
This article adds an interesting perspective on the term: Punch Bowl Social - Are you a hipster? Find out for once and for all.

But I am curious, are there people out there who admit to being a hipster? Is it a bad thing, or just a social classification like any other (some jocks will admit they are jocks. Goths might admit to being goth. Some nerds love that that's their schtick, etc)? It seems that hipster is the one classification that the people who are so clearly fitting the description run like hell from.

It's also interesting in that I have seen some very... VERY hipster looking people complain about "those hipsters".

Just trying to figure this out.
I'm still a goth, although my outward appearance wouldn't suggest it. My tastes for music, art, literature are the same, but how I dress reflects my current age and not a twenty year old version of me. I'm equally a cyclist though, and I deeply appreciate the few and far between friends that I've made that have a passion for both "scenes."

I think "hipster" is inherently different though, as the very act of identifying as such seems to be an unpopular declaration with that crowd.

Also, much of what makes a hipster a hipster is no different than what makes a current 25 year old a 25 year old, lots of the characteristics overlap with an average person in that age bracket. Drinking PBR isn't an inherently hipster thing (no idea why any one would drink it though), nor is riding a "fixee." Although, perhaps shopping at American Apparel for more than 5% of total wardrobe might be a good test to sort them out.
headloss is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 04:49 PM
  #21  
hairnet
Fresh Garbage
 
hairnet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 13,198

Bikes: N+1

Mentioned: 21 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 352 Post(s)
Liked 25 Times in 17 Posts
Originally Posted by rms13
I hate the Black Keys and prefer black metal. Am I hipster?
You gonna go see Wolves in the Throne Room? July 20 Echoplex
hairnet is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 05:21 PM
  #22  
rms13
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: SoCal
Posts: 6,517
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 276 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times in 3 Posts
Originally Posted by hairnet
You gonna go see Wolves in the Throne Room? July 20 Echoplex
No because I'm too old and crotchety to go to shows anymore. But they do get regular rotation on my Spotify
rms13 is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 06:18 PM
  #23  
TMonk
Not actually Tmonk
 
TMonk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 13,940

Bikes: road, track, mtb

Mentioned: 140 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2505 Post(s)
Liked 2,962 Times in 1,573 Posts
Originally Posted by hairnet
I hate the term because it gets used on everybody that is "different".
hipster.
__________________
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
TMonk is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 06:43 PM
  #24  
Jax Rhapsody
Rhapsodic Laviathan
 
Jax Rhapsody's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 1,003

Bikes: Rideable; 83 Schwinn High Sierra. Two cruiser, bmx bike, one other mtb, three road frames, one citybike.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 222 Post(s)
Liked 123 Times in 91 Posts
Don't really like hipsters, I don't even resemble one, even with my fixie. Calling me a hipster or juggalo will get you cussed out. They have just added more vehicles to the garage with the fixed gear or track bike; long boards, mopeds, old 10 speeds, possibly for an ironic reason...
Jax Rhapsody is offline  
Old 07-02-14, 07:20 PM
  #25  
GENESTARWIND
Senior Member
 
GENESTARWIND's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: las vegas
Posts: 1,940

Bikes: purty blue undefeated II 57cm

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 27 Post(s)
Liked 15 Times in 9 Posts
my friend ive known since i was in elementary school calls me a hipster because i ride a fixed gear bicycle with clipless pedals and brakeless.

says im a hipster even though i commute by bike and ride miles.
GENESTARWIND is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.