10 Bikes You Should Consider Before Buying a Fixed Gear

There may be no faster way to gain street cred in a hipster enclave than the purchase of a fixed-gear bike. And they're so easy to find now, available everywhere from the smallest bike shop to the biggest box store. But not so fast. Fixed gears may be readily available, but they're still not the perfect bike for everyone. Check out 10 Bikes You Should Consider Before Buying a Fixed Gear, and think before you buy.

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PROS:
• If it breaks, throw it out and buy another one
• Extremely unlikely to get stolen

CONS:
• It will break
• Extremely unlikely to get stolen

Look, 50,000 food delivery guys can’t be wrong. Go to K-Mart, pick out a hundred-dollar bike that looks like it might fit you, and get out there. Removing the cardboard disc that advertises all of its features is optional, as is locking it. Homemade fenders — especially made with duct tape — are a plus.

PROS:
• No more broken chains!
• The perfect accompaniment to a well-groomed mustache.

CONS:
• Thieves won’t be able to understand it, let alone steal it.
• The hospital bills from learning to ride it will triple the initial cost of the bike.

Take that retro obsession to its ultimate conclusion. A penny farthing will be difficult to find, and even more difficult to lock up anywhere, but that’s all part of the fun. Plus, it is technically a fixed gear, which is a lesson easily learned on the closest large hill. The biggest challenge (besides learning to ride it) will be finding a helmet that looks like a bowler hat.

PROS:
• Will survive a nuclear war
• Elegant transportation

CONS:
• Three-speed hub manufacturer went out of business 40 years ago
• Stops only when it feels like it

Modern bikes may have all sorts of technological advances, but the classic English three-speed is something that never goes out of style. And from the relaxed handlebar position to the well-worn Brooks saddle, it puts you in the ideal position to be aware of your surroundings and just enjoy the ride. And bad weather should never keep you off the bike.

PROS:
• So hot right now
• Can carry contents of apartment

CONS
• Will not fit into the elevator
• Theft magnet

Dutch city bikes are outstanding commuter bikes — in Amsterdam. These large, heavy, slow-steering bikes are not really fit for any aspect of big-city life in America, but hey, they’re in style. So what if it doesn’t fit in the elevator, the staircase or anywhere else? Who cares that it’s more expensive — and quite possibly heavier — than a decent used motorcycle? It’s only money. And back surgery.

PROS:
• High cool factor
• You might still have one in your parents garage

CONS:
• There’s a reason no one kept riding BMX bikes as adults in the ‘80s
• Prepare for a lot of “Hey, I used to be sponsored by Redline back in the day!”

A vintage BMX bike isn’t the ideal commuter by any means. The gearing is probably all wrong for slogs over the bridge, the seat will never go high enough, and if you’re bigger than say, Spike Lee, your knees will bang into the stem at least once per ride. But that’s the price you pay for cool.

PROS:
• Shaka, brah
• Comfy and more or less indestructible

CONS:
• It will take up half of your apartment
• What beach?

Like the fixed gear, the classic beach cruiser has just one speed and (in most cases) no cables messing up the classic lines. Unlike the fixed gear, the pedals have no clips or straps — not only do they not require specialized shoes, they can be ridden with no shoes at all — and the balloon tires reduce cobblestone streets to a mere annoyance rather than a threat to future reproduction. Steers like a cow, though, so avoid traffic if you can.

PROS:
• Makes Cat 6 races more fun.
• There’s a lot to be said for gears and brakes.

CONS:
• “Excuse me, do you have any ‘70s Campagnolo derailleur pulleys in stock? Stop laughing!”
• That vintage saddle looks better than it feels

Unless you’re looking for something to shuttle you from your TriBeCa loft space to your SoHo gallery and back, stay away from recognizable names like Colnago and Cinelli. Instead just look for gaudy paintjobs, low pricetags, and names with lots of vowels. Whether the bike was actually made in Italy or not is immaterial. Much like a car from the same era/region, frequent work may be required, so plan on either befriending a mechanic or becoming one.

PROS:
• Take it anywhere
• Readily available at any bike shop

CONS:
• Looking like a circus bear
• The inevitable failure to close one quick release will result in a horrifying — yet comical — wreck

The folding bike is the bicycle equivalent of the clip-on tie. It does the job, but isn’t necessarily something you’re proud of owning. And please don’t lock it up anywhere — for starters, it’s an invitation for an enterprising thief to make away with half of it, and it defeats the entire purpose of owning a folding bike to begin with.

PROS:
• Able to roll over everything, including careless pedestrians
• Easily identifiable even after a night at the bar

CONS:
• Tough to carry up to a fifth-floor walk-up
• Good luck finding replacement suspension parts when they inevitably break

The best thing about the continuing march of bicycle technology is that yesterday's $3,000 top-of-the line ride is tomorrow's $300 Craigslist special. Don't let a formerly valuable hunk of thermoplastic go to waste! And when the shocks inevitably blow, don't bother having them rebuilt — lower is better.

PROS:
• So antihero right now
• Probably available at a discount

CONS
• Expect more drug tests
• One more thing for Greg LeMond to be upset about

Let’s face it, now isn’t a great time to be Lance Armstrong. And it probably isn’t a great time to be Trek, either. After years of affiliation with Lance and the U.S. Postal Service (later Discovery Channel and Radio Shack) team, their names are more or less forever joined. Armstrong’s name and the team livery was found primarily on the high-end Madone line, but also found its way onto various takedowns. Doping not required.