{"id":355,"date":"2010-09-17T20:26:23","date_gmt":"2010-09-18T00:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=355"},"modified":"2026-03-02T02:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T06:45:09","slug":"fixie-whimps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=355","title":{"rendered":"Fixie WHIMPS!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"hipster<\/p>\n

“Fixies”, or\u00a0 fixed-gear bicycles, are still popular amongst a certain subgroup of NYC hipsters.\u00a0 Part of the appeal is the danger, in addition to not having gears, many fixes don’t have brakes and instead require the rider to either apply reverse pressure to their pedals, or to hop their rear wheel up, lock it, and go into a skid.<\/p>\n

OK so these are some brave hipsters right? NOT SO FAST.<\/p>\n

Try going into a skid on one of these:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Men on penny farthings in Los Angeles, 1886<\/p><\/div>\n

The first bicycles to, in fact, be known as bicycles are now known as “penny-farthings”.\u00a0 The name is based on the similarity in the ratio of the back to front wheel size to that of an English penny and a farthing coin\u00a0 The wheels were large to increase speed – without a chain or gears,\u00a0 the size of the front wheel limited how fast one could go.<\/p>\n

“Penny farthings were also highly dangerous, and crashes leading to serious injuries – or death – were common. Front wheels grew to gargantuan sizes, with the biggest specimens measuring about two meters in diameter. If a rider hit a bump or any other obstacle on the road, riders were sent flying over the handlebar, a type of accident known as ‘taking a header’ or ‘coming a cropper'” – A Short Illustrated History of the Bicycle By Carsten Hoefer <\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Penny-farthings were ridden by the hipsters of the 1880’s, typically young men who wanted to show how dashing and brave they were.\u00a0 In fact a penny-farthing IS a fixie, albeit one where you can die if you accidentally tilt over.\u00a0 Have today’s riders gone soft?\u00a0 I think anyone who rides any kind of bike in New York City should get a medal for bravery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Fixies”, or\u00a0 fixed-gear bicycles, are still popular amongst a certain subgroup of NYC hipsters.\u00a0 Part of the appeal is the danger, in addition to not having gears, many fixes don’t have brakes and instead require the rider to either apply …<\/p>\n

Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,93,95],"tags":[146,145,147,96],"class_list":["post-355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1880s","category-bicycles","category-hipsters","tag-1880s","tag-bicycles","tag-hipsters","tag-penny-farthings"],"yoast_head":"\nFixie WHIMPS! - eKrap - Roy Zornow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fixie WHIMPS! - eKrap - Roy Zornow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""Fixies", or\u00a0 fixed-gear bicycles, are still popular amongst a certain subgroup of NYC hipsters.\u00a0 Part of the appeal is the danger, in addition to not\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=355\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eKrap - Roy Zornow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-09-18T00:26:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-02T06:45:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/fixie-hipster1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Roy Zornow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Fixie WHIMPS! 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