You Know…
That Hitler video on TCU almost makes me want to go out and buy a fixie, and I don’t even like fixies. I’m not going to link to it, you’ve probably seen it and as you all know, nothing makes your position seem more reasonable than coming from the mouth of Hitler, he who was known for thoroughly reasonable ideas.
I won’t get into the massive logic holes in it, but I will point out this wacky fact.
Twenty inch bicycles are not for adults.
Oh, I mean, adults ride them, I’m rather fond of them. But, the 20″ BMX bike was always meant to be for children. In fact the 26 and 24 inch cruiser was designed specifically to keep older kids around and to give parents something to do. Which is why I find it a little odd that among the other things that get fetishized by BMXers (being broke, “real” BMX, etc.) wheel size is on the list. If it ain’t 20″ it doesn’t count for whatever reason.
OK, that’s fine, but since the 20″ wheel was for children making it the defining element of a “real” BMX bike pretty much means it will suck as adult transportation, at least it will for anyone larger than a child. Worse, with the steepening head tubes and lowering top tubes are actually making them even less suitable for anything other than doing tricks on.
“But I ride my Killorado to school 30 miles, uphill, both ways…in the snow,” I hear you say. Yeah, and I’m morbidly obese and I had ice cream last night. Both of us did things that we probably shouldn’t have. It goes without saying that just because you can do it doesn’t make it right.
On a related note. I’m thinking about a 21.24″ FBM Exodus frame. It looks like a frame that a grown man can ride. Now if I can only find a decently padded seat…
It’s pretty obvious that BMX bikes aren’t really meant for efficient transportation. The video pokes fun at the fact that BMX companies are capitalizing on the fixie trend. Companies exist for profit, so fuck it, do what you’ve gotta do. Personally, I despise the bikes; I don’t think they’re all that fun to ride, at least 60% of fixie owners built their bikes as a fashion accessory, and I won’t even mention the freestyle aspect. Both FBM and Volume have changed drastically since their inceptions (OK, Volume not so much), but they have to reflect their desired markets.
What I agree with more in that video is the fact that BMX seems to be almost exclusively marketed towards children.
I think my main problem with the video wasn’t that it was poking fun at the fact that BMX is marketed almost exclusively to kids. I’ve made that argument multiple times. My problem is that it was promoting pretty much that same behavior. In complaining that FBM and Volume were turning into full line bicycle manufacturers it was basically whining that BMX is marketed to people other than THEM. Which is stupid for exactly the same reason that marketing it solely to kids is.
Also, I think fixies are dumb, but, seriously, do you know a single person who quit BMX to start riding fixie freestyle? Mountain bikes, yeah, but fixies?