...that makes me want to barf in my mouth. Then go ahead and bury my head in the sand.
SO. FUCKING. llllllllllLAAAMMME!
SO. FUCKING. llllllllllLAAAMMME!
I mean, come on, has it really come to this??? When is the trend factor of this shit going to be over already???
You know, I wanted to write this whole thing about the culture aspect and how I despise it sometimes etc.. The only problem is it would probably come off too bike snobby leaving me with way too many enemies. Not to mention there's no way my ass wouldn't be implicated one way or another despite being and 'O.G. rider'.. By O.G. I mean having been into this shit for more than like 6 months.. But by fixed gear standards having started in 04' means I've been around forever or something. I mean, it's only a hundred+ year old sport...
Okay, I'm fucking pissed off now so maybe I will go there a little bit. I really hate those fucking LES hip/hop graffiti fucking druggie douchebags that always, ALWAYS have to hop on the new hot trendy thing and FUCKING RUIN IT by making it all culturey, and like street and shit. Like suddenly it's fucking edgy or raw or something because some asshole with big white rim sunglasses, some rare nike's he bought for $300 on ebay, wearing a fucking Palistinian kuffiyeh despite the fact they grew up in the fucking suburbs, saw 'Breakin' when they were 17 and decided to move to NYC so they could get started on building their street rep in a hot minute. WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THAT SHIT???? Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to knock people for their taste etc, okay well maybe a little. But seriously though, I JUST DON'T GET IT. Could someone please explain that shit to me? I feel like I'm one of those people who laughed at Andy Warhol's Tomato soup can paintings. But then I remember that no one in that scene has any real talent and the ones who do, just rip and rehash on Andy and Basquiat's steez anyway...
It's because of my disdain of shit like that and more that you will NEVER, EVER see me mention anything about the cool new all over print hoodie or dope kicks from who the fuck ever. No.. what I offer you is pure unadulterated nerdy cycling gold, attitude AND an identity. Not to mention the fact that I do my best to come up with ORIGINAL shit for you fuckers to pine over instead of just re-blogging what I see on everyone else's blog...
Wow I feel SO much better having gotten that off my chest- belligerent interwebz rant now OVER...
UPDATE: I just found this AWESOME photo AFTER having written this:
How fucking PERFECT is that???
Another UPDATE: Someone wrote this in an email to me and I thought it was very much in the same vein as my rant here:
My question to her was if she rode bikes/had one. Here's her response:
"I feel like by not biking in Brooklyn, I am not "cool". So know I am all too aware that I am sounding "uncool" to a guy who has a deep love and passion for biking. It kinda annoys me how "cool" biking is. I guess it can be the nature of the beast. People like you will make it cool because of your true genuine love and respect and then cool kid slugs latch on to it and before you know it you see it everywhere as a marketing tool"
You know, I wanted to write this whole thing about the culture aspect and how I despise it sometimes etc.. The only problem is it would probably come off too bike snobby leaving me with way too many enemies. Not to mention there's no way my ass wouldn't be implicated one way or another despite being and 'O.G. rider'.. By O.G. I mean having been into this shit for more than like 6 months.. But by fixed gear standards having started in 04' means I've been around forever or something. I mean, it's only a hundred+ year old sport...
Okay, I'm fucking pissed off now so maybe I will go there a little bit. I really hate those fucking LES hip/hop graffiti fucking druggie douchebags that always, ALWAYS have to hop on the new hot trendy thing and FUCKING RUIN IT by making it all culturey, and like street and shit. Like suddenly it's fucking edgy or raw or something because some asshole with big white rim sunglasses, some rare nike's he bought for $300 on ebay, wearing a fucking Palistinian kuffiyeh despite the fact they grew up in the fucking suburbs, saw 'Breakin' when they were 17 and decided to move to NYC so they could get started on building their street rep in a hot minute. WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THAT SHIT???? Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to knock people for their taste etc, okay well maybe a little. But seriously though, I JUST DON'T GET IT. Could someone please explain that shit to me? I feel like I'm one of those people who laughed at Andy Warhol's Tomato soup can paintings. But then I remember that no one in that scene has any real talent and the ones who do, just rip and rehash on Andy and Basquiat's steez anyway...
It's because of my disdain of shit like that and more that you will NEVER, EVER see me mention anything about the cool new all over print hoodie or dope kicks from who the fuck ever. No.. what I offer you is pure unadulterated nerdy cycling gold, attitude AND an identity. Not to mention the fact that I do my best to come up with ORIGINAL shit for you fuckers to pine over instead of just re-blogging what I see on everyone else's blog...
Wow I feel SO much better having gotten that off my chest- belligerent interwebz rant now OVER...
UPDATE: I just found this AWESOME photo AFTER having written this:
How fucking PERFECT is that???
Another UPDATE: Someone wrote this in an email to me and I thought it was very much in the same vein as my rant here:
My question to her was if she rode bikes/had one. Here's her response:
"I feel like by not biking in Brooklyn, I am not "cool". So know I am all too aware that I am sounding "uncool" to a guy who has a deep love and passion for biking. It kinda annoys me how "cool" biking is. I guess it can be the nature of the beast. People like you will make it cool because of your true genuine love and respect and then cool kid slugs latch on to it and before you know it you see it everywhere as a marketing tool"
15 comments:
Thank you! Reading blogs that just recycle stuff from each other always gets on my nerves. It seems like more and more are popping up and just doing it to try and get hits so they can hopefully get free shit from companies/people. That's my theory.
dont worry it will be dutch bikes before you know it
Maybe it's just me, but both those images are incredibly lame.
What is it that you see in the second one?
that pic-totally the SF bike look... note the lack of helmet as well. tsk tsk.
What you said (as always). But it's just part of life, be glad you're able to see what you see. Take it from an old codger, it never ends, so learn to ignore it and focus on what really matters. In fact, take down the rants. Purify this site!
Could not have said it better myself! I am also waiting for this trend to pass here in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Mi. Fucking Hipsters. Keep up the great posts.
this picture is pretty good too. one of my friends got really into the BIKE HIPSTER aesthetic this summer; this is probably his dream girl:
http://www.wavesatnight.com/jd/09-2008/images/OHSHITSON!$!_1217751596.jpg
Wow thanks for all the great comments guys! Oh and to the anonymous old codjer: To be perfectly honest, I think what keeps people coming back to this blog is the fact that I'm an impetuous fucking ASSHOLE when it comes to cycling etc.. It really doesn't get any purer than that now does it?
Ishuku, tell you friend that she needs bigger tits before he should consider humping her. Otherwise he'll end up with a girl that's going to take all his bicycle money and go spend it on a new pair of tits.
And then he'll be standing there, crying, without a bike and a long gone big tit ex-girlfriend.
the track/fixed thing is going the
EXACT same route as neon 80's bmx freestyle. even the bikes look the same, the factory "color-matched-
we-did-the-custom-for-you". it's
all been done before, and it's a
sign of the last nail in the coffin of track bikes being mainstream 'cool'. in the next year
most hipsters will age into 9-5's,
mini coopers, and suits. the rest
that continue biking will buy something with gears. so either vintage or high end steel, or maybe
cyclocross will be the next 'it'.
keep the rants, it's like hearing someone else saying this station sucks, turn it. when hipster sells
their bike, it'll be like the stock market crash - hopefully i can find some old stuff that hasn't been bastardized.
first thing:
pfv, what the hell are you talking about?
second thing:
its a little strange for cycling wmd to be overly critical for a trend in which his blog is capitalizing on.
third thing:
the article (about dating a fixie rider) is a joke- it does capitalize on the fad/trend of fixie bikes but aren't all magazines/websites that in some way represent or appeal to popular culture responsible to reference popular culture? sure its dorky, but why are "long time track riders" sensitive to others that ride bikes. just cause others ride fixed gear bikes should not affect ones own identity.
fourth thing:
sure fixed gear/track bikes are a fad, and sure there are lots of people out there that embrace the aesthetics portion of them as much, if not more than the bikes, and yeah its the same as bmx bikes in the eighties or skateboards etc
- what is wrong with that?
why is it wrong for the culture groups/ or society in general to adopt something once thought to be exclusive?
does the fact that a fourteen year old kid in a bianchi conept or some njs stamped frame with bright green deep-v's laced to phil hubs and flat bars barrelling down at you in your "authentic" track bike affect your riding/image/self? if so, why?
the fact that people hold on the the "authenticity" or "counter culture" appeal of something such as fixed gear riding is no more authentic or real than the kid who started yesterday and will give it up next week
okay i'm late on this but got myself reading this post [finally!!!] and i'm glad you posted what you thought about this 'trend' thing. Really glad you did. Good shit. Hope all is well too.
Response to John^
Sorry I didn't publish this right away. I wanted to have the time to respond properly..
1: pfv was making a snide remark about women's breasts etc. This is something men do..
2: A- It's also funny that you should say this blog is capitalizing on a trend. Last time I checked I post about ALL types of bicycles, with the exception of MTBs. If you actually read my blog more often you would realize this.
B- For me to be capitalizing on something it would mean I would have to gain something. Aside from some weird internet personality fame/disdain I'm not really gaining anything. Least of all money.
3: For me personally, I don't really give a shit who does and or rides what. Sometimes I don't get it or I think it's stupid. It's called an opinion. One of the things I think is stupid is when people latch on to something not for the love of the sport but it's 'hipness'. For a lot of people getting into fixed gear these days it's their first bike since childhood. Which is kinda weird if you think about it. What tends to piss me off about the trendy type kids is their attitude. They give you this fake see-through glare like they're better than you because they're acceptedly cool and you're not. Meanwhile they've only been riding for like 6 months. Now, I've been riding bikes all my life and started riding Track bikes 4-5 years ago. I still consider myself new to fixers and somehow I get looks like I'm one of those retards because I'm rolling on a HED3 wheel. THEY RUIN IT FOR THE REST OF US.
4: I think it's great to see people and young kids try new things and get into new sports. I guess what drives me nuts is the people who see that as something to be capitalized on and marketed to everyone else. It kind of steals a bit of the sport's soul. As with what happened to BMX and Skateboarding in the 80's. Both of which were things I was into and around to witness personally. The difference is that most people I knew stopped, where as I and a small group of friends didn't. There were the people who loved it and the people who were just going along with the trend. What it comes down to is that when it's a famine there's more comradery amongst the enthusiasts. Which makes it more personal and fun. When it's a feast and every other asshole you see out there enjoying something you've been sucking wind trying to support and love, it's kind of frustrating sometimes. Esp when that asshole is wearing every single fucking trendy marketed piece of clothing, parts AND giving you wicked Pista face. There's nothing worse than watching something you love turn into a nightmare version of itself. No offense man but it really sounds like you've never been on my end of things before. Let me guess, you're one of those trendy fucktards just trying to do a little research so you could come off sounding legit or something.. am I off the mark on that one or what?
I get your passion on biking and I totally agree with your disdain of how hipsters have taken your passion and played it out. But I think all those things you love about is the reason why it's getting played out. Affixing on bike detailing, bike gear, color ways, vintage Italian frames, hand make Japanese frames, etc isn't much different than getting excited about latest eye wear like Oakley's or Ray Bans, wearings scarves, skinny jeans and "limited" Nikes. The point is, now a days, it's all the same, people get fixed on the gear, not the actual activity. I just across th country from Seattle down to Cali, over to Texas and up to NYC through Philly and DC and you know what? There's hipster bikers from coast to coast that dress and look exactly the same. I feel your pain.
Interesting points, sometimes I feel the same way. But then, I rise above it. When I used to listen to pop music, I would get frustrated when other people would listen to it too. I would think "I totally downloaded this album before they did". But then I started listening to classical music, and realized that the moment I'm listening to something new to my ears, I'm the LAST one in the world to listen to it.
Like you said, cycling is a helluva lot older than any of us, so we can't get possessive over it. If people want to be lame and buy a sexy bike so they can go to the bar and get hit by a car, that's their problem, and I hope they will realize that. Keep riding your bike because you love it, and don't let phony people get in your way.
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