Bicycles

Madison is now caught up in the fixed-gear craze, and it is funny to watch from my vantage point [in a downtown bike shop, with 29 years of fixie riding under my belt]. Newbies pride themselves on their skid stops and brakeless riding, and then are shocked by the fact that $20 tires shred at the first long skid, and $40 tires last a month at best. GET A CLUE! Brakeless riding is dangerous, stupid and costly, besides being slower. My own experience is that I can get years of use out of medium priced tires ($35 or so) and ride faster because I have a front brake and use it when I need to stop. Slowing down, of course, is done by slowing down my pedaling, just like the brakeless guys. And for newbies to ignore the experience of people who have been doing this for decades instead of months is just as stupid.