Was I bad ?

[gasman]

Riding home from work today i was going through the university campus on a nice sunny day. Coming the opposite direction is a hipster on a fixed gear, just as I go by pssssst--he flats. I figure i'd give a break so i stop. Got what you need to fix that ? Uh no he says, looking at me like I'm a dorky old guy ( I am but what the heck) I'm on my commuter so I have everything needed,tubes,patch kit, and frame pump, except a wrench to remove the rear wheel. i ask him if he has one. Uh ,no. Well sorry i can't help you buddy. i point him to the direction of the Outdoor program that does have bike repair equipment but I suspect he didn't even know what to do. Maybe I should have lead him there but I decided he needed to figure out a few things, besides it was a beautiful sunny day and he was wearing hipster tennies and kind of gave me an attitude.
I felt a little guilty not helping him more, but only a little.

[bart998]

This post needs a "like" button.

[bicycletricycle]

repeat after me-

i was once a smart ass kid.

not everyone who rides bikes has to know how to repair it.

hipsters are not worse then any of the other youth trends of the past.


that being said, sounds like you did plenty, I am sure he will figure it out.

[rcnute]

Eugene hipsters deserve no favors.

[Karin Kirk]

You did just fine. You stopped and offered help, but you didn't have the tools. Remember that open-ended problem solving is one of the skills college students are supposed to learn, so this is a good life experience for him. :)

[martinrjensen]

Hipsters may be no worse than I was back in the 70's, but they make me remember that, and for that they must pay.....repeat after me-

i was once a smart ass kid.

not everyone who rides bikes has to know how to repair it.

hipsters are not worse then any of the other youth trends of the past.


that being said, sounds like you did plenty, I am sure he will figure it out.

[1happygirl]

Was I bad ?
No.

I used to be a lot less farsighted then I am now. I really want to believe the current generation is no more unprepared and knuckleheaded than I was at their age. idk

Trying to help is never bad.

[Fixed]

you are good a bad person would not have stopped or thought twice about it .
young people have had a lot of advise from older people and they get tried of it .
imho
cheers

[roguedog]

I agree. At least you stopped and tried to help. That's more than a lot of folks would have done.

[Lifelover]

Hopefully if one of my young boys ever flat out in the world they will get offered help from someone a tad bit more committed to the cause.

However, I will admit you did just enough to feel good about yourself without any real imposition.

[Jason E]

Hopefully if one of my young boys ever flat out in the world they will get offered help from someone a tad bit more committed to the cause.

However, I will admit you did just enough to feel good about yourself without any real imposition.

I don't think this is the case. I don't carry a 15mm wrench around with me, and I suspect the OP doesn't either, unless he's on his hip little fixie...

Perhaps with more effort he could have patched it without removeing the wheel by unseating the tire and finding the hole, but maybe it was a bigger hole then that, he does not say...

I do not mean this personally, I often enjoy your posts, but this may have come across more snide then you intended. It sounds to me like Gasman was helping the resistant.

[Lifelover]

I don't think this is the case. I don't carry a 15mm wrench around with me, and I suspect the OP doesn't either, unless he's on his hip little fixie...

Perhaps with more effort he could have patched it without removeing the wheel by unseating the tire and finding the hole, but maybe it was a bigger hole then that, he does not say...

I do not mean this personally, I often enjoy your posts, but this may have come across more snide then you intended. It sounds to me like Gasman was helping the resistant.

You are probably correct, my comment was a bit snide.

To be honest, I really don't have an issue with his actions. He did make an attempt to help.

I just don't understand the reason for the post/question? To me the OP comes off a bit condescending or something. If it had been a Non-hipster, would he have made more effort?

Maybe part of it is that we don't have a big hipster culture here so I don't even really know what the hell a hipster is? I assume it just some dumb, young kid who thinks nothing bad is ever going to happen so why prepare.

Both my boys (14 and 18) could easily be rolling around on a bike or their long board and be completely unprepared to fix any mechanical.

I've shown my 18 y/o how to change a flat on his car but don't know that he is really prepared to do it on the side of the road.

I would like to think that if someone stopped to offer him help:

1. He would be a little more gracious than said hipster and

2. The person offering to help would see it through.

[jpw]

Not everyone riding a bike is a cyclist.

[salo k.]

Not everyone riding a bike is a cyclist.
:bike: good post

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

Hard lesson, that was probably lost. Never ride without a patch kit, levers and pump.

[swg]

Agree that you did right by stopping and offering help and we all know the value of allowing young people to learn life lessons just like we had to. Maybe you could have asked one more question."Do you want or need me to help you"?

Not sure how I would have responded way back when to an old geezer on a commuter stopping to offer help :)

[1happygirl]

I think this was a great lesson. Peeps tell me all day, but UNTIL I experience being unprepared, sometimes it doesn't sink in. Great point Fixed made.
If he had been concerned, it was up to the individual (eg young un) to ask if he would mind calling someone or something else he could do easily for him etc.
By experiencing things, hopefully we plan better next time.

[rugbysecondrow]

I always offer to help, but my help is rarely accepted so I just move on. Once there was a really good looking girl, but that is a different story.

From the other guys perspective, he likely feels like a douche for not having the proper tools. My own story, I was tired, it was dark and I just wanted to go for a quick neighborhood spin before bed, 5-7 miles of just chillaxing. As I am riding up a hill, my rear wheel slips on my SS road bike and lodges itself. Of course, I was just going for a quick spin so no phone, no tools, no nothing. So, I was not able to fix my ride, but luckily I did have a light, so I was able to use to to guide my walk home. What was a quick ride turned into a long walk with MTB shoes. No fun. Luckily I had cold beer at the house and now I have a larger saddle bag that ALWAYS stars affixed to that bike.

I bet this kid will have a tool bag next time. Looking stupid is one thing, feeling stupid is an entirely different thing. I don't mind the former, but hate the latter.

[cnighbor1]

If you come across a cyclist needing help. You can ask do you have it under control which is what I ask. If not under control ask what are his options.
Many a time with cell phones person has called for help when unable to fix it him self. Or needs to use your cell phone. Or he is not far from home ad can just walk.
Don't assume you need to stop riding and start fixing his bike. If I do use my repair stuff I mention that it is a good idea to be prepared.
Charles
PS I carry over 8 pounds of reair and food items just in case. It came from days I toured and wanted to be able to fix and go!!!!
PSS do not try to sell me a very light weigth bicycle

[Dekonick]

No.

1) you offered help - did not have tools for job.

2) pointed him to where he could fix it / probably get help.

What more can you do? I guess if you lived in Howard County, you can call 911 and have the fire department do something (someone called yesterday to have their groceries brought up 3 flights of stairs... :eek: )

He is young and was in flat shoes. A mile or 2 on foot might reinforce the need for a patch kit and a wrench.


Side note - you can patch a rear tire without removing the wheel - A bit of a PITA, but it can be done.

:)

[avalonracing]

Hipsters may be no worse than I was back in the 70's, but they make me remember that, and for that they must pay.....


Tremendous line.

[Bud_E]

I'm old and I hate hipsters. I would have given the punk an angry 10 minute lecture on how I bet he wishes he was carrying a repair kit and spare tubes. Then, no doubt as I ride away I would be unable to clip into my pedal and I would keel over sideways into some thorny bushes. :butt:

[ergott]

You don't have to remove the wheel to patch a tube.

:no:

[Ralph]

A lot of cyclist seem to like to ride without any extra weight on the bike other than their weight. It's liike a badge of honor....to have that clean look. That mimimalist look. Some fixed riders seem like that to me at times. No seat bag full of repair tools, etc. They leave it off on purpose (relying on someone else to have the repair tools and spares). Sometimes on group rides, when one of them flats, I just ignore them. Adopt the same attitude as the poster.

Otherwise....you can use any of my spares any time. Just leave that borrowed tube at LBS.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Can someone PLEASE tell me why, why, WHY fixie wheels can't just go on with quick release skewers like every other bike? :confused:

I have tried in vain to figure this out since I got my Langster. I carry the 15mm wrench, but I just cannot for the life of me figure out a sensible reason. :crap:

BBD

[Aaron O]

repeat after me-

i was once a smart ass kid.

not everyone who rides bikes has to know how to repair it.

hipsters are not worse then any of the other youth trends of the past.


that being said, sounds like you did plenty, I am sure he will figure it out.

Hey kids...GET OFF MY LAWN!

[Marz]

Hopefully if one of my young boys ever flat out in the world they will get offered help from someone a tad bit more committed to the cause.

However, I will admit you did just enough to feel good about yourself without any real imposition.

Not fair, and nasty, Lifelover.

Gasman did everything he could, so why the 'tad more commited to the cause' remark.

The hipster should have carried his own tool. Maybe teach your son about being prepared.

[Bob Loblaw]

I flatted once in an ugly part of East Haven. I was prepared equipment wise, but a hipster saw me stating to take off the wheel and loped right past without a word.

Between this and Gasman's story, Karma is well tipped to the roadie side, IMO.

BL

[mtnbke]

I'd stop to help a fellow cyclist, but a fixie hipster clone I'd just ride right by.

If they didn't learn how to fix a flat looking at all those sites regarding how to EXACTLY build up their whip using the SAME phil wood hubs, velocity B43/Deep-V/Chukker rims, and NJS track components well that is their problem.

[mtnbke]

Can someone PLEASE tell me why, why, WHY fixie wheels can't just go on with quick release skewers like every other bike? :confused:

I have tried in vain to figure this out since I got my Langster. I carry the 15mm wrench, but I just cannot for the life of me figure out a sensible reason. :crap:

BBD

BumbleBee the answer is because that wouldn't be "track". FixieHipsters are obsessed with everything being like Keirin or track bikes.

[Lifelover]

Can someone PLEASE tell me why, why, WHY fixie wheels can't just go on with quick release skewers like every other bike? :confused:

I have tried in vain to figure this out since I got my Langster. I carry the 15mm wrench, but I just cannot for the life of me figure out a sensible reason. :crap:

BBD


Apparently you are correct, there may very well not be reason.

When in doubt, ask THE MAN

Per Sheldon Brown:

"Quick-Release or Nutted?
Track hubs generally come with solid axles and track nuts. This is because most velodromes have rules requiring this type of wheel attachment.
As a result, it is widely believed that quick-release axles are not suitable for fixed-gear use. This is false!

It is my belief that the velodrome rule dates back to long before the invention of the quick-release, when the choices were standard nuts or wing nuts. The protruding "wings" of wing nuts might constitute a hazard in a crash, and I believe that's why the rule was instituted. Since quick-release skewers don't have any sharp projections, that becomes a non-issue in practice.

If you are going to use a quick release with a fixed gear, you should make sure to use a good quality enclosed-cam skewer."

[mcewen]

To LifeLover:

95% of people who have the skills and tools to fix a flat would NOT have stopped to help this ungrateful kid. The only person with a flat that gets help consistently is a good-looking woman. The OP did the right thing by stopping and seeing if he could help. I have stopped to help people before and some have been very gracious and REALLY appreciated the fact that I did so when I didn't have to. I have also stopped and picked up people who have car trouble, taken them to get gas, taken them to get a tow truck, etc.

In this day of cell phones and smart phones it is a rare, helpless person who can't figure out where to get gas, or call a friend, etc. I have done so, because people have done it for me. The OP did this stranger a solid, he should have been met with a better attitude. My thoughts were not that he should have "seen it through", but that now this biker will weigh the inconvenience of walking home against the hassle of carrying a flat-kit and a "fixie-tool" (they make these things!). I don't think anyone in America should have to stop and help an 18 year old fix a car flat, he should be the one stopping to help the rest of us. This kind of attitude is why the Fixie-kid was disdainful: the idea that an adult should not have to look after themself, but that some random adult SHOULD HAVE TO DO IT. Once you get a driver's license you should fix your own flat.

About the Bolt-on rear wheels:
Sheldon should know better (and maybe he does), quick-release hubs will slip in a horizontal dropout, and will slip worse when the dropout is chromed, which many Schwinns and higher quality bikes of that era (that are now being converted to Fixed gear bikes) were/are. The idea about it being a hazard in a track crash may also be a real problem, but there is also another practical problem of the wheel slipping. Track nuts have greater "bite" and more surface area to "grab" on the frame.

[Elefantino]

Eugene hipsters deserve no favors.
Hey! I was one of them ... 35 years ago!

[gasman]

Hey! I was one of them ... 35 years ago!

You still are.. but you live in Florida

[gasman]

You don't have to remove the wheel to patch a tube.

:no:

That thought never crossed my mind. i suspect it's a bit of a hassle to try to patch especially since I don't remember the last time I put a patch on anywhere but back at home. That's why I always carry 2 tubes in the winter and while commuting-it's a lot faster put in a new tube.

[gasman]

repeat after me-

i was once a smart ass kid.

not everyone who rides bikes has to know how to repair it.

hipsters are not worse then any of the other youth trends of the past.


that being said, sounds like you did plenty, I am sure he will figure it out.

I was a smart ass kid but learned to fix a flat when I was 13 out of necessity.

[rugbysecondrow]

Some of what you said makes sense, but I where I disagree is that one should not offer assistance based on whether one deserves it, one should offer assistance because it is the right thing to do. Hipster, MTBiker, cyclist, commuter, motorist whatever,Asshole or not, offering to help somebody on the side of the road should be standard.

I think lessons can be learned by us being good examples, by not mirroring dickhead behavior we can show what we are about. We all make mistakes and w mostly recognize our mistakes eventually, most of us react poorly when stranger wants to throw are mistake back at us. So yes, the kid should have had tools, equipment etc, but that doesnt mean he doesn't deserve assistance, or the offer of assistance gasman provided. If you can help, great, if not, maybe somebody else will be helpful. Either way, the kid will likely learn a lesson, how we treat him might impact what lesson it is.



To LifeLover:

95% of people who have the skills and tools to fix a flat would NOT have stopped to help this ungrateful kid. The only person with a flat that gets help consistently is a good-looking woman. The OP did the right thing by stopping and seeing if he could help. I have stopped to help people before and some have been very gracious and REALLY appreciated the fact that I did so when I didn't have to. I have also stopped and picked up people who have car trouble, taken them to get gas, taken them to get a tow truck, etc.

In this day of cell phones and smart phones it is a rare, helpless person who can't figure out where to get gas, or call a friend, etc. I have done so, because people have done it for me. The OP did this stranger a solid, he should have been met with a better attitude. My thoughts were not that he should have "seen it through", but that now this biker will weigh the inconvenience of walking home against the hassle of carrying a flat-kit and a "fixie-tool" (they make these things!). I don't think anyone in America should have to stop and help an 18 year old fix a car flat, he should be the one stopping to help the rest of us. This kind of attitude is why the Fixie-kid was disdainful: the idea that an adult should not have to look after themself, but that some random adult SHOULD HAVE TO DO IT. Once you get a driver's license you should fix your own flat.

About the Bolt-on rear wheels:
Sheldon should know better (and maybe he does), quick-release hubs will slip in a horizontal dropout, and will slip worse when the dropout is chromed, which many Schwinns and higher quality bikes of that era (that are now being converted to Fixed gear bikes) were/are. The idea about it being a hazard in a track crash may also be a real problem, but there is also another practical problem of the wheel slipping. Track nuts have greater "bite" and more surface area to "grab" on the frame.

[indyrider]

Hopefully if one of my young boys ever flat out in the world they will get offered help from someone a tad bit more committed to the cause.

However, I will admit you did just enough to feel good about yourself without any real imposition.


What more could the OP do? Maybe you're the one who is bad :no:

[maximus]

im sure you did fine.

obviously wasn't there, but the tone of his voice could have been due to the frustration of a busted tire and the embarrassment of being unprepared vs. just being a hipster with a bad attitude. it just came out wrong and seemed directed at you...

[maximus]

im sure you did fine.

obviously wasn't there, but the tone of his voice could have been due to the frustration of a busted tire and the embarrassment of being unprepared vs. just being a hipster with a bad attitude. it just came out wrong and seemed directed at you.

not defending. just a thought.

[benb]

You did good..

If you don't stop karma is eventually going to get you if you forget a tool or something.. I always try to carry all my tools, but you never know what happens, something can always happen and you end up stuck.

99% of the time when I ask (which is pretty much always) I am told that the person doesn't need help. But when they do ask for help, they always appreciate it, even if most of the time I can't fix the problem.

Usually it's someone on a MTB, and I don't have a tube that will fit their bike or something. One time it was a guy who was out of work and was cycling cause he couldn't afford to drive his car.. he had broken his chain, and my emergency pin wasn't going to work for him.

Last weekend was one of the craziest.. I see a woman looking very confused on the other side the road, ask her if she needs help, she emphatically says yes. There wasn't much I could do, she didn't have a mechanical, wasn't lost. The guy she was riding with had dropped her and she didn't know the route! And yes, she was very attractive, and very nice. Who takes a woman riding and drops her!

[indyrider]

The guy she was riding with had dropped her and she didn't know the route! And yes, she was very attractive, and very nice. Who takes a woman riding and drops her!

Her soon to be ex!

[Lifelover]

........ Who takes a woman riding and drops her!

Typical ARB's

[EricEstlund]

Wow- as a semi guilty fixed gear Eugene hipster who rarely rides around town with a spare tube, patch kit or pump; Gasman, good on you.

I've flatted in this town sans accoutrement- it's generally not more then a few blocks between bike shops. Besides, without a good walk just how "epic" can one make a 2 mile commute?

[rugbysecondrow]

And yes, she was very attractive, and very nice. Who takes a woman riding and drops her!


What one man drops, another picks up. One of life's little treasures. :)

[d_man16]

What one man drops, another picks up. One of life's little treasures. :)
How true!

[weiwentg]

Speaking of hipsters, I was going on a small group ride. We asked a couple of guys who were hanging out near the shop if they wanted to join. Then we realized that the hipster of the two (who previously rode fixies before getting a real bike) didn't have a helmet. I inadvertently made a snide remark about it being hip not to wear helmets on fixies, but he'd just joined the real bike club.

Perhaps I should toned that down. But I'm not sure what it is about hipsters that drives me crazy. Roadies are pretentious in our own ways.

[Dekonick]

You don't have to remove the wheel to patch a tube.

:no:

If said hipster had no means to remove the wheel, you can still get the tire off of the rim, remove whatever caused the flat from the tire (if you find it) find the hole, patch, and then reinstall tire to rim. A bit of a pain in the arse... but it can be done.

I agree it is better to remove the wheel, but in this case it was not an option.

[TimmyB]

I'd stop to help a felem.low cyclist, but a fixie hipster clone I'd just ride right by.
This sentiment is everything that is wrong with cycling. Conditional friendliness based on appearance. :no:

Some of what you said makes sense, but I where I disagree is that one should not offer assistance based on whether one deserves it, one should offer assistance because it is the right thing to do. Hipster, MTBiker, cyclist, commuter, motorist whatever,Asshole or not, offering to help somebody on the side of the road should be standard.

Exactly!! I could not have said it better myself :beer: :beer:

To the OP: +1 that you did fine. Forget this nonsense about being able to patch a tube without taking the wheel it. It's pretty simple, you tried to help and the guy was rude (regardless of what bike he was riding/what he looked like/etc). Is there always more you can do? Sure. But does that mean you should bend over backward for someone being disrespectful?

[slinkywizard]

You don't have to remove the wheel to patch a tube.

:no:

my though exactly...

[weiwentg]

delete - double post.

[ultraman6970]

Was I bad ? ===> NO!

Probably the same happens with the Harley new owners than don't know anything about how a motorcycle works but put oil, fuel and drive them.

[dbh]

I would have waved my spare tube as I rode on. Time to enroll in the school of hard knocks.

[Kirk007]

Dave,

You definitely did right by the kid. Even Ian (for everyone else - my 18 yr old committed dirt jump/bmx/single speed road/Dh Eugene kid) has little tolerance for the attitude kicked off by way too many kids in Eugene on fixies and single speeds. Obviously generalizations are dangerous but the stories he and others at bike shops tell about some of the hipster/fixie crowd that walk into a shop are hilarious in illustrating a total lack of useful, practical knowledge about a bike and how it works.

[gasman]

Dave,

You definitely did right by the kid. Even Ian (for everyone else - my 18 yr old committed dirt jump/bmx/single speed road/Dh Eugene kid) has little tolerance for the attitude kicked off by way too many kids in Eugene on fixies and single speeds. Obviously generalizations are dangerous but the stories he and others at bike shops tell about some of the hipster/fixie crowd that walk into a shop are hilarious in illustrating a total lack of useful, practical knowledge about a bike and how it works.


Ian always is friendly and responsive to me. Good kid. No hipster attitude.

[Ozz]

you did fine...
you stopped and offered help...
you let him know what tools he needed to fix his flat without lecturing...
you pointed him in the direction of someone who could help him...
you got on with your day....

It's not like you left him stranded in the middle of the Ochoco National Forest!

:beer:

[goonster]

About the Bolt-on rear wheels:
Sheldon should know better (and maybe he does), quick-release hubs will slip in a horizontal dropout, and will slip worse when the dropout is chromed,
You make it sound like QR hubs will always slip, which is not true. Sheldon knew this because he rode them for many years.

(I've also never had a frame/hub combination that couldn't be made to work with a qr, but I'll admit to never having tried chromed dropouts)

[torquer]

Was he a real hipster if he didn't have one of these?
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQGnJdq1XCUrIByv62DWaRzMx21x-WNLzmLP1le3B_hRr3Y14r_

[FixedNotBroken]

Eugene hipsters deserve no favors.

+1

[67-59]

Last weekend was one of the craziest.. I see a woman looking very confused on the other side the road, ask her if she needs help, she emphatically says yes. There wasn't much I could do, she didn't have a mechanical, wasn't lost. The guy she was riding with had dropped her and she didn't know the route! And yes, she was very attractive, and very nice. Who takes a woman riding and drops her!

So did you show her your...ummm...route?

[cat6]

i've offered assistance to lycra clad cyclists to receive little more than a "no" only to see them fumbling around trying figure out how to fix their flat 30 minutes later. i've also encountered "fixie kids" in bike shops that are told they'll have to wait an hour to have their flat fixed and assisted them outside after they pay for their tube. each person is different regardless of what type of bike they ride, personalities differ and stubbornness and pride, will vary. i think some people are just to embarrassed to admit they need help.

you should probably continue being a nice guy and treat each experience as a new one when you stop to offer and help. you might boost your street cred and get some sweet shout outs on some fixed gear forum, or maybe receive some suggestions on improving your commuter bikes colorway in return!

[cat6]

I'd stop to help a fellow cyclist, but a fixie hipster clone I'd just ride right by.


that's the kind of attitude that might keep that "fixie hipster clone" from evolving in to a cyclist. the world needs more cyclists, and everyone starts somewhere.