# fixed, fixie, fixer, fix...



## bonj2 (19 May 2009)

it seems a certain amount of exception has been taken of late to the term 'fixie'.
The term 'fixed' seems to have cropped up as a conscious but awkward alternative to those wanting to distance themselves from the 'hip' crowd.
It seems the hipster/fakenger fashion seems to be 'uncool' to some and therefore an inverse-hipster fashion seems to have cropped up which can itself make fashion victims of fixie riders.
The problem is 'fixie' is a purely invented term and therefore a noun in its own right, whereas 'fixed' is the past participle of a verb.
The term 'fixed' used as a noun grates on me so I shall be viewing with suspicion those that use it, and shall using the term fixie.


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## MajorMantra (19 May 2009)

bonj said:


> The term 'fixed' used as a noun *works for* me so I shall be viewing with suspicion those that *don't* use it



Fixed. 

Matthew


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## Renard (19 May 2009)

Fixed wheel if you please!


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## Joe24 (19 May 2009)

Bonj, im now going to tell you to **** off.
Its fixed to me, whatever to anyone else.
Its a simple bike, why do you have to try and complicate it? WHY? WHYYYYY?????


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## bonj2 (19 May 2009)

you're all fashion victims.


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## Joe24 (19 May 2009)

bonj said:


> you're all fashion victims.



Admit it Bonj, your a hipster
Im a victim of my own lazyness


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## bonj2 (19 May 2009)

Joe24 said:


> Admit it Bonj, your a hipster
> Im a victim of my own lazyness



nope, i'm just NOT an _inverse_-hipster - like you are. You are the opposite of zimzum. You inverse-hipster.


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## bonj2 (19 May 2009)

Joe24 said:


> Admit it Bonj, your a hipster
> Im a victim of my own lazyness



In fact, if being a hipster equates to homosexuality, then you are essentially displaying signs of homophopia, which probably indicate that you are fairly worried about the fact that you _might_ be a hipster (gay.)


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## Radius (19 May 2009)

Don't you 'ride fixed', 'ride a fixie', use a 'fixed gear', and have a 'fixed wheel'?


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## Joe24 (19 May 2009)

bonj said:


> In fact, if being a hipster equates to homosexuality, then you are essentially displaying signs of homophopia which probably indicate that you are fairly worried about the fact that you might be a hipster (gay.)



Bonj, come see what i wear sometimes when i ride. I have a messenger bag, i roll my jeans up if i have jeans on, wear a cycling cap and fly around spinning.
You could class me as a hipster, except im not.
You however, are a hipster, because you have decided that if you go for being one you can say your not one and your not hipsterphobic


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## Joe24 (19 May 2009)

Radius said:


> Don't you 'ride fixed', 'ride a fixie', use a 'fixed gear', and have a 'fixed wheel'?



NO!
Stop it. Your trying to be smart and thinking too much into it


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## bonj2 (19 May 2009)

Radius said:


> Don't you 'ride fixed', 'ride a fixie', use a 'fixed gear', and have a 'fixed wheel'?



correct.


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## bonj2 (19 May 2009)

Joe24 said:


> Bonj, come see what i wear sometimes when i ride. I have a messenger bag, i roll my jeans up if i have jeans on, wear a cycling cap and fly around spinning.
> You could class me as a hipster, except im not.
> You however, are a hipster, because you have decided that if you go for being one you can say your not one and your not hipsterphobic



ah but you only aren't a hipster because you've _decided_ that you're not, but you essentially are displaying all the signs of being one. Being able to ride fast / go up down hills doesn't make you not a hipster.


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## Joe24 (19 May 2009)

bonj said:


> ah but you only aren't a hipster because you've _decided_ that you're not, but you essentially are displaying all the signs of being one. Being able to ride fast / go up down hills doesn't make you not a hipster.



I wear lycra most of the time when im on my bike

Face it, your floored. So far floored you are sunk down


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## Will1985 (19 May 2009)

"Fixie" is to _fixed_ as "Campy" is to _Campag_ - wrong.


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## Radius (19 May 2009)

Will1985 said:


> "Fixie" is to _fixed_ as "Campy" is to _Campag_ - wrong.



*As "gruppo" is to groupset, Will! *


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## bonj2 (19 May 2009)

Joe24 said:


> I wear lycra most of the time when im on my bike
> 
> Face it, your floored. So far floored you are sunk down



MOST of the time eh, except when you wear fakenger clothes.


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## Joe24 (19 May 2009)

bonj said:


> MOST of the time eh, except when you wear fakenger clothes.



Shorts and t shirt? Or jeans and t shirt?
What i wear as part of my normal clothes, when im not in lycra


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## Tharg2007 (19 May 2009)

theres someone on ebay who lists his wares as fixtie, it annoyed me but now i think i will use that so as to distance myself from all of you


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## zimzum42 (20 May 2009)

bonj said:


> nope, i'm just NOT an _inverse_-hipster - like you are. You are the opposite of zimzum. You inverse-hipster.


??????????

Does this mean you think I'm a hipster? I find that difficult to take. I own not a single pair of jeans, and am further away from Shoreditch than most of y'all. I only ever ride in one of two outfits. Lycra, or shorts and a wifebeater vest.

I am a roadie who happens to have no gears....

I went out with the Singapore fixie crowd, who can be called hipsters, and they were all a little perplexed by my LOOK pedals and clear lens M-Frames....


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## zimzum42 (20 May 2009)

As for the OP, 'fixie' is useful as a way of avoiding the fixed wheel vs fixed gear debate....


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## dudi (20 May 2009)

Radius said:


> Don't you 'ride fixed', 'ride a fixie', use a 'fixed gear', and have a 'fixed wheel'?



Not quite.

Technically speaking, although it seems to have been bred out of the language due to it being practically obselete, Fixed wheel is something quite different. We don't have a fixed wheel - a fixed wheel takes direct drive from the pedal stroke. see below:







As the wheel uses a direct (1:1) input from the pedal stroke, the egineering of the bike became that the front, drive wheel was growing larger and larger as people wanted faster and faster bikes. the advent of gearing made these bikes, and indeed the Fixed Wheel as it was originally known, obselete

We use a fixed, geared wheel - where we use gears and chains to increase the pedal/wheel rotation ratio from 1:1 to 3:1 (in my case).
This means we don't need 6-foot wheels any more. 

But as I said, this term 'Fixed Wheel' has been bastardised over the years to mean a fixed geared wheel - which is quite wrong, quite understandable, and a pet peeve.


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## dudi (20 May 2009)

zimzum42 said:


> As for the OP, 'fixie' is useful as a way of avoiding the fixed wheel vs fixed gear debate....



heh.


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## Tel (20 May 2009)

Radius said:


> Don't you 'ride fixed', 'ride a fixie', use a 'fixed gear', and have a 'fixed wheel'?



Yeah but what about "whilst out riding my [blank]" then what? 

I'm with bonj 'fixie' fits better than anything else, otherwise it would be "whilst out riding my fixed wheel bicycle" which would take far too much of my typing time.


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## piedwagtail91 (20 May 2009)

it's been fixed for me for 40 years and i'm too old now to change for the sake of fashion


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## fossyant (20 May 2009)

Fixed Gear Road Bike for me...... mine isn't trendy, it has guards and two brakes, and SPD's.

Fixie's are the trendy fashion bikes, one or no brakes, deep aero V's or trispokes, cowhorn or flat bars.


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## piedwagtail91 (20 May 2009)

fossyant said:


> Fixed Gear Road Bike for me...... mine isn't trendy, it has guards and two brakes, and SPD's.
> 
> Fixie's are the trendy fashion bikes, one or no brakes, deep aero V's or trispokes, cowhorn or flat bars.



x2


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## zimzum42 (20 May 2009)

fossyant said:


> Fixed Gear Road Bike for me...... mine isn't trendy, it has guards and two brakes, and SPD's.
> 
> Fixie's are the trendy fashion bikes, one or no brakes, deep aero V's or trispokes, cowhorn or flat bars.


I have what I would describe as a fixed gear road/TT bike. I have aero bars and deep rims for speed. I don't have a back brake because it's a track frame and there is not a hole to fit one. I have a front brake cos I'm not an idiot who thinks he can slow from 25mph to stop for a numpty.

So, am I still a hipster or whatever, in my lycra and LOOK pedals?


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## Will1985 (20 May 2009)

Radius said:


> *As "gruppo" is to groupset, Will! *


Not really - gruppo is the Italian for groupset, not a shortened form to sound cool.


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## bonj2 (20 May 2009)

zimzum42 said:


> ??????????
> 
> Does this mean you think I'm a hipster? I find that difficult to take. I own not a single pair of jeans, and am further away from Shoreditch than most of y'all. I only ever ride in one of two outfits. Lycra, or shorts and a wifebeater vest.
> 
> ...



you are clearly the forum's unashamed and beyond-redemption hipster.


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## zimzum42 (20 May 2009)

I'll have you know I regularly massacre the hipsters with my thighs of steel


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## fossyant (20 May 2009)

zimzum42 said:


> I have what I would describe as a fixed gear road/TT bike. I have aero bars and deep rims for speed. I don't have a back brake because it's a track frame and there is not a hole to fit one. I have a front brake cos I'm not an idiot who thinks he can slow from 25mph to stop for a numpty.
> 
> So, am I still a hipster or whatever, in my lycra and LOOK pedals?



Nah...seen pics of your rather nice bike.


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## zimzum42 (20 May 2009)

Finally, someone who knows what they're talking about!!!


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## Joe24 (20 May 2009)

I know what the problem here is.
Bonj wants to be a hipster, but hes not sure how to be a hipster, so hes going around calling people hipsters.


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## bonj2 (20 May 2009)

zimzum's got unnecessarily-deep-section wheels and washing basket hubs, 'course he's a hipster.


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## Joe24 (20 May 2009)

bonj said:


> zimzum's got unnecessarily-deep-section wheels and washing basket hubs, 'course he's a hipster.



And what do you have then Bonj?
Ive never seen a picture of your fixed.


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## bonj2 (20 May 2009)

Joe24 said:


> I know what the problem here is.
> Bonj wants to be a hipster, but hes not sure how to be a hipster, so hes going around calling people hipsters.



this thread's about correct use of language not hipsterism.


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## bonj2 (20 May 2009)

Joe24 said:


> And what do you have then Bonj?
> Ive never seen a picture of your fixed.



yes you have it's here: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3503/3187529479_560d5d0f71_b.jpg
back brake's currently off and it's got a brooks not a toupe as in that pic.
it was in the 'show us your steel it's real' thread.


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## 4F (20 May 2009)

bonj said:


> yes you have it's here: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3503/3187529479_560d5d0f71_b.jpg
> back brake's currently off and it's got a brooks not a toupe as in that pic.
> it was in the 'show us your steel it's real' thread.



Chains slack


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## Joe24 (20 May 2009)

Bonj, dont call anyones bike when yours is like that

Brooks? You hipster you. Look on the LFGSS forum, they all have Brooks saddles on their bikes.


I dont have a back brake either though, they are just a waste of time when you can leg brake.

Get it painted aswell Bonj, bright pink. Go on, i dare you


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## bonj2 (20 May 2009)

Joe24 said:


> Bonj, dont call anyones bike when yours is like that
> 
> Brooks? You hipster you. Look on the LFGSS forum, they all have Brooks saddles on their bikes.
> 
> ...



Oh Joe! I don't go on the londonfgss forum, largely because i'm not a hipster so I wouldn't know. I have just got a brooks 'cos it's comfortable.


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## bonj2 (20 May 2009)

i've got some spare handlebars by the way if you want - they're drops, but you could hacksaw them down. Or alternatively you could just hack one of the drops off, then they'd sort of be risers. they wouldn't be symmetrical, but it might not matter.
Why do you want risers? as in mtb handlebars?


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## Joe24 (20 May 2009)

Ive sorted some out now Bonj, thanks though.
They are going on the cheapo fixed with some orangy pink cable and maybe some bright pink grips

You know your a hipster Bonj. Your like what you said earlier. In denial of being a hipster, so much so that you are actually a hipster, remeber you saying that Bonj?


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## bonj2 (20 May 2009)

yes but i don't deny it vehemently, if you want to think I am, you're welcome to but you'll be wrong.
The point in hand is that 'fixed' is an incorrect term used for an object because it isn't a noun.


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## Joe24 (20 May 2009)

bonj said:


> yes but i don't deny it vehemently, if you want to think I am, you're welcome to but you'll be wrong.
> The point in hand is that 'fixed' is an incorrect term used for an object because it isn't a noun.



Your too clever Bonj.

I think you need some pink grips on your fixed Bonj, pink and black will look good.


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## Sh4rkyBloke (20 May 2009)

bonj said:


> yes but i don't deny it vehemently, if you want to think I am, you're welcome to but you'll be wrong.
> *The point in hand is that 'fixed' is an incorrect term used for an object because it isn't a noun*.


But as people start using it more* perhaps it will become classified as one. Language changes.



* obviously only to annoy you.


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## zimzum42 (20 May 2009)

I wouldn't start trying to involve yourself in armchair linguistics just to prove a carp point Bonjy... 

(Perhaps the funniest part of all of this was just a short while back Bonj was slagging off fixies and saying how pointless they are, and now he has one! ha ha ha)

Anyway, the simple answer is that language can change, and just because something is conventionally used in one form doesn't mean it can begin to be used in another form.


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## brodie (20 May 2009)

For a start, "fixed gear" means one gear ratio! The correct term is "fixed wheel".

I never use the "fixi-" word, coz that's hipster word innit? I don't ride a certain type of bike as a fashion accessory.


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## D4VOW (20 May 2009)

It's fixed to me but I don't care what anybody else calls it.


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## dudi (20 May 2009)

brodie said:


> For a start, "fixed gear" means one gear ratio! The correct term is "fixed wheel".
> 
> I never use the "fixi-" word, coz that's hipster word innit? I don't ride a certain type of bike as a fashion accessory.



see my earlier post.

the single gear ratio is called a single-speed. the "fixed" bit doesnt refer to the inability to change the ratio, more the lack of a freewheel.


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## fossyant (22 May 2009)

Some pedantic posts going on here............

Fixed - one gear, can't stop pedalling

Single Speed, one gear, has a freewheel.....

Fixie - the so called 'trendy ones


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## mickle (23 May 2009)

Fixed (wheel), as opposed to free (wheel).


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## Joe24 (23 May 2009)

And, going by all the older people who came and spoke to me today at the TT, they all said, "your on fixed? Nice one!"
So, going by the old people that would of rode them many years ago, its a fixed.
None of them came up and said "Oh nice fixie" it was always fixed they used.


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## Radius (23 May 2009)

Will1985 said:


> Not really - gruppo is the Italian for groupset, not a shortened form to sound cool.



Oh come _*on*_, you mean to tell me that people who are not Italian and say "gruppo" are not using it just to sound cool?


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## fossyant (23 May 2009)

Joe24 said:


> And, going by all the older people who came and spoke to me today at the TT, they all said, "your on fixed? Nice one!"
> So, going by the old people that would of rode them many years ago, its a fixed.
> None of them came up and said "Oh nice fixie" it was always fixed they used.




Less of the old - I've only just got into 'fixed' - my clubmate used to, but that was his hill climbing bike...


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