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Strictly from a cycling POV, it's just a matter of preference.
My preference it's to keep a constant number of RPM on a multi-gear bike over lower RPM on a single gear bike, especially, when riding on steeper roads and bridges.
The popularity of single-gear bikes in NY has little to do with cycling preferences, imo, and a lot more to do with what is currently trendy and fashionable.
bikes from the 40s & 50s are hot in Williamsburg right now.
Yeah. I rode a multi-speed bike for years and only recently decided to switch. But I was just sick of the amount of maintenance and hassle involved in keeping the thing tuned up. Granted, it was an old bike with crappy parts. But even after replacing the derailleur I had issues. That, combined with the extra weight and resistance, led me to decide it wasn't worth it. The biggest hills you encounter in the city are the East River bridges which are really not bad (in fact I was taking them in a high gear all the time when my derailleur was permanently stuck there for a while).
You forgot Red Hook in Brooklyn which morphed into a hispter enclave. They are constantly "losing" their property in and around the sprawling housing projects they have to pass on the way to Fairway and Ikea.
Red Hook, yeah. That area gave off a hipsterish vibe iirc
Yeah. I rode a multi-speed bike for years and only recently decided to switch. But I was just sick of the amount of maintenance and hassle involved in keeping the thing tuned up. Granted, it was an old bike with crappy parts. But even after replacing the derailleur I had issues. That, combined with the extra weight and resistance, led me to decide it wasn't worth it. The biggest hills you encounter in the city are the East River bridges which are really not bad (in fact I was taking them in a high gear all the time when my derailleur was permanently stuck there for a while).
Now, fixed-gears in the city are truly stupid...
The derailleur is not a heavy component. And unless you are racing competitively, its weight is not an issue.
And even then, most competitive racing is done on multi-speed bikes.
Crossing the bridges on single gear bike is not as comfortable (or easy on your knees) if you're not a well seasoned cyclist.
I encounter a lot hipster struggling and needing to stand up when crossing bridges, and that produces more drag than pretty much anything else.
I'll agree with you that there's less maintenance involved.
But my feeling is that most hipsters don't chose SG due to lower maintenance but because is what's "in" and fashionable at the moment.
I also have a modern multi-speed road bike actually. I don't race competitively but I go on pretty serious long rides with it. I've just found that for me personally a single speed makes more sense for commuting and general city riding. YMMV.
Hipsters were imitating messengers with the fixed gears, originally.
Let me give you guys a clue - not all young white people in the city are Hipsters; many of you don't seem to understand that.
Yeah, people seem to use hipster interchangeably with white.
As for your other post, it's only 5 years but it seems like a lot has changed . There are many hipster businesses in Williamsburg still, but the hipster scene has definitely shifted over to Bushwick in my opinion.
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