singlespeed culture? wtf is that?

Click the title to read what this's about:

Whether these homo's are correct or not is not for me to judge; BUT the fact that it's even debated pisses me off.

According to Encarta; culture is defined as:

Shared beliefs and values of a group: the beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior of a particular nation or people

People with shared beliefs and practices: a group of people whose shared beliefs and practices identify the particular place, class, or time to which they belong

Shared attitudes: a particular set of attitudes that characterizes a group of people

First of all based on what the original posters thoughts are shouldn’t single-speeding be seen as a counter-culture? As mountain bike technology gets more sophisticated riding a rigid SS’er is the opposite. Call it old school or what you like; but just make damn sure you put a label on it ‘cause it’s got to be packaged before it can sell. I think that some people that are supposedly hardcore SS’ers view themselves as purists with a punk attitude. Problem is very few are. If you look at an earlier counter-culture called the punk rock scene and see what it originated from you’ll see that it had to do with not fitting in. If you look at the punk rock scene now you’ll see a big umbrella that covers artists who sell millions of albums. Is that what Sid Vicious saw in the future? No? He saw a future where kids could do whatever in the fuck they wanted. Would he have started a thread on wwwpunkrockreview.com bitching about where the status of the punk culture was and where it was headed? No. Hell he would’ve shunned computers totally. So if you’re upset with the SS culture what do you do? Ride a tricycle? A motorcycle? What’s next? My point is this: WHO GIVES A FUCK!!! SHUT UP AND RIDE YOUR BIKE!!! And lastly; why do you give a fuck? Are you cooler ‘cause you “care”? Fuck you; go ride your holier than thou iconoclastic cool ass bike. Just remember; whining is never cool.

So why am I building a SS? Because I think they’re cool, I like the simplicity of it, I like the looks of it, and by god I think they’re cool. (Redundant to make a point.) I don’t want one ‘cause technology is ruining mountain biking. Hell technology is making mountain biking ten times better. I love my Heckler; true I wish shit didn’t break on it all the time; but is that Santa Cruz’s fault, or Shimano’s, or Cane Creeks? Nope it’s mine. I did it. I rode it. I crashed it. And I loved every fucking minute of it. (Except the hikes back to the car, nope; didn’t care for that at all.) I’m building my SS for me. It’ll be mine. What will it look like? Don’t know. How will it ride? Don’t know. But it’ll be cool because...it’ll be MINE!!!

Here’s my big problem with this doofus:

I've concluded that the "moment" is over. It is sad, but it happens to many phenomenon’s (Burning Man, SoCal punk, Phish, etc.). I will ride my singlespeed forever, but I don't feel part of a cultural movement anymore. Pockets of resistance will live on, but the community is infiltrated.

Goddammit shut the fuck up and hit the pedals. The “moment” is over? C’mon man this isn’t a proposal you’re doing here waiting for the right “moment”, it’s you on your bike. Why in the fuck would you be thinking of anything while riding? Get over yourself. Why do you need to feel like your part of a “cultural movement”?

I wish this last piece was from me; it’s exactly the point I wanted to make.

SS Culture? 29er revolution? Give me a break. We are talking about freaking bikes here. I rode rigid SS bikes 35 years ago. Go to India or China and see how "unique" SS bike are. Sorry to disappoint you but the "moment" is not over because there was never a moment. It is posts like this that confirm that many who ride SS or 29ers, want desperately to be in a select group or part of a sub-culture. A little sad, I think.

Want a cool culture? Make one yourself; SS’ers have been around... well since bikes.

Again; shut the fuck up.