Tips from a retired bicycle mechanic/salesman

There appears to be a gaping hole in this bicycle list. Where o where is ye olde uni-cycle? Or the kind that I currently own which some people mistake as being only a reflector.

Fixies are precisely what the kids call them these days. You’ve seen the Olympics velodrome track sprinting events right? Those bikes are fixed gear with no brakes. The kids think it’s cool because bike messenger’s in New York started using them years ago. Hardcore bike messengers destroy their bikes rapidly from so much wear and tear. A simple road bike with gears would get torn up pretty fast the way these pro messengers ride on a daily basis. Gradually messengers started stripping down bikes to make them more solid with less moving delicate parts. They figured a fixed gear bike was the simplest and most durable design for the work they do. Usually their legs are strong enough, that 1 gear is all they need. The kids who ride them just for show probably just want to look hardcore. The bike compliments their tattoos and punk rock gear from Hot Topic.