Cult status symbols—such as surfing and skateboarding—often waver between remaining underground and assimilating into the mainstream, eventually becoming billion-dollar commercial enterprises. Nowadays, bikes are no exception.
Both fixed-gear bikes and cruiser bikes have moved from the underground to the mainstream, and both bikes have grown in popularity on campus.
“The bikes are so profoundly New England that it has become Brooklinized at Wes,” said Erik Underwood ’09.
Fixed-gear bikes—also known as track bikes or Fixies—are no longer synonymous with vegans preaching environmentalism or hipsters wearing square-frame glasses and tight pants. The New York Times even featured Fixies in an article in the August 27, 2007 issue, affirming that this once-unique bike had emerged as a mainstream trend.
According to The New York Times, fixed-gear bikes were not designed for the streets, but for a tiered racecourse. The rear cog is bolted directly to the hub, so the wheel can only move when the pedals move. Therefore, coasting is impossible. There are no visible brakes, so the only way to slow down is to reverse the pedals, skidding, or doing a skip stop.
These bikes are difficult to ride on streets with stoplights and the constant stream of obstacles. Like a game of chess, however, it forces riders to think blocks ahead and adds an element of risk to the seemingly simple task of riding a bike.
“The brake system makes people weary of riding them,” said Harrison Schaaf ’11. “People seem to think that the bikes are sexy though, and I can understand that.”
Some say, however, that the fixed gear-bike offers a more Zen-like experience of riding that requires skill.
“Riding one makes you closer to the bike because the wheels only move when a rider pedals,” said Gemma Doll-Grossman ’12. “Hardcore bikers sometimes convert road bikes to fixed-gear and then learn to adjust to a new kind of ride, instead of just buying a bike for the looks of it.”
According to The New York Times, Fixie aficionados fear that, like the original skateboarders and surfers who offered a new lifestyle of rebellion, these bikes will become another commercial trend that gets killed by the lack of passion of those buying into it.
As the campus can attest, students coming to the University from both coasts bring with them their ideas and more noticeably, their style.
In addition to Fixies, the cruiser bike has become a symbol of Southern California beach style with its flat tires for coasting across sand and an ease that reminds riders of childhood bike riding.
Shops scattered across Southern California offer tourists an opportunity to ride around the beach boardwalks and pathways on cruiser bikes as they soak up SoCal rays.
“The cruiser bikes are super cute and people definitely buy them because of the aesthetic value,” said Moon Herrick ’11, a Santa Barbara native.
While Schaaf currently rides around on a skateboard, he finds the cruiser bikes to be a low maintenance way of getting around campus.
“[Cruiser bikes] are more low key,” Schaaf said. “You don’t have to think about riding, you can just cruise, drink coffee, or chat.”
As many students can attest from perusing college campuses, cruisers and long-board skateboards are a popular form of transportation on the West Coast. In comparison to a road bike, which typically has 10 gears, or a standard mountain bike with 21 gears, cruisers offer a low maintenance way of traveling around campus. These bikes are often found on campuses that are flat and span a wider perimeter.
“Everyone at UCSB rides them,” said Isabel Dickinson ’11. “I was wondering why no one at Wes rides a cruiser. I guess it’s because of the hills.”
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