It's the latest, coolest thing in pedal-powered transportation: Bikes with no gears and no brakes. You'll find them on city streets from New York to San Francisco, mostly in the company of young, rugged-looking bicyclists.
Take a close look at Vincent Betette's bicycle, for instance. Betette is a bike messenger in Washington, DC. He rides a sleek machine that's stripped down to the bare essentials: Two wheels on a light steel frame with curving handlebars of bare metal. There are no cables, and no gears. And there's no coasting, either. This is a "fixed-gear" bike; if the wheels are turning, the pedals have to turn too, the way bicycles worked 100 years ago.
the Money quote:
It's that "look," says Vincent Betette, that seems to have caught on with the young and hip crowd. "We have a name for them," he says. "FAMS: Fake-a** messengers. That's what we call them. They got our bags, they got our bikes. It's a fashion accessory now."
davis
Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:57 pm
Joined: 26 Aug 2005Posts: 113Location: The northern waste
jeff wrote:
the Money quote:
It's that "look," says Vincent Betette, that seems to have caught on with the young and hip crowd. "We have a name for them," he says. "FAMS: Fake-a** messengers. That's what we call them. They got our bags, they got our bikes. It's a fashion accessory now."
Hooray for egalitarianism: on NPR, even asshats get the opportunity to voice their opinions for the world to hear.
MyLilPonyOfDeath
Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:02 pm
Joined: 21 May 2006Posts: 35Location: Capitol Hill
too bad it's on Day to Day & not ATC. i like listening to the weekly "letters from the listeners" being read. it would be rad to hear jeff's response from yesterday (huffy dishwashers bitching about rubber glove wearin' wannabe's) being recited on the national airwaves ...
Aaron
Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 3:00 pm
Joined: 25 Jul 2005Posts: 4645
I love that these little guys are thinking they started the whole fixed gear - bike riding - wearing a back pack "fashon".(A messenger bag is just a back pack with on strap missing. All the cool kids wore back packs that way in the 1980s and it is bad for your back!)
Whatever. Bikes are cool whomever is riding them. It is about the bike, not the fashon.
jordanfstop
Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:26 pm
Joined: 26 Jul 2005Posts: 111
Aaron wrote:
Whatever. Bikes are cool whomever is riding them. It is about the bike, not the fashon.
Aaron, you're one of the most positive guys ever when it comes to these things! Go you!
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