fixie

My son is not a brain dead hipster, but he does ride a fixie. A real fixie, no freewheel, no brake. See, when you are four years old, you generally don't go fast enough to worry about brakes.

Don't get me wrong, I love track bikes. I've had the pleasure of riding them in a velodrome, where they belong. But, unless you are a full time messenger, don't just don't, ride one anywhere else. Seriously, don't. Especially not with a Brooks Saddle. I have nothing against Brooks Saddles, they are great for touring. Fixies are not for touring.

And this is not to be confused with single speeds, those too only have a single gear, but critically, have both a freewheel and brakes. Things that make them ridable. When I moved out to Houston Texas in 1998, I brought only my single speed (an old Raleigh road frame pulled from the trash of the bike shop I worked at at the time). It was great for the flat geography of Houston.

But, then I found some single track in the middle of Houston (who knew?), and well, I could not help myself. I went off roading on 25cc tires and a single gear. I did make some allowances, I avoided the 20 foot drop-off... I got some deservedly odd glances.

Back to Bob, he discovered that he can go backwards, he loves it.