in all fairness matt i think maybe you were the original 'derailleur'...! im not really want to have this argument, it happens on every bike forum ever - but if my taste in bikes overlaps with 'hipster trends' that's no reason for you or anyone else to assume that i'm doing it to just follow the crowd, that's ridiculous. i don't care who thinks i am a hipster, or what a hipster even is and what they are into. this would be like me calling you an 'oogle' and saying 'you just like hopping trains because it's oogle shit, and by the way didja know it's super dumb and impractical and dangerous!!'...yeah....it kind of is.... that's why it's not for everyone and that's part of why we love it. the reason most people ride with freewheels and variable gears isn't because it's intrinsically 'better' somehow (?? - different strokes, yo) but because it makes it easier to ride. there is a difference! i agree with you though, as with anything else, it's better if shallow hipster jackasses didnt do it. such is life, i don't let them concern or limit me.
Sheldon Brown, may i remind you, was a huge proponent of the fixie, and i don't see any way to call him a hipster - he was just a straight-up old-school mega bike nerd. im not going to deny that there is an aesthetic appeal, but to me it's practical too. like i said there are less gadgets on it that you will need to fix, maintain, and replace, so less tools to own, etc. it's almost more of a workout machine than a casual mode of transport - which can be good or bad depending who you are - and without a brake it really starts to be more of a sport or art form. people use the word 'zen' a lot at this point to talk about the connection you have with the machine when its motion and yours are so intimately connected; i tend to think more of merleau-ponty's example of the blind man and his cane, where by using it to perceive space it becomes like an extension of the body. there is a sort of organic connection you just don't have when your motions don't sync up the same way. so in short i just really like how it feels, it feels kinda pure, after all it is true that the oldest bikes had fixed gears, it's basically the simplest thing you can call a bicycle. all this stuff that got invented later makes it easier to ride, but doesn't make you a stronger or more skilled cyclist. which is fine...when you get on a freewheel bike after riding fixed you feel like superman! it makes your legs like tree trunks. and there is no real threat to your knees unless youre skidding a lot, which i don't do for that exact reason as well as several others (i try to ride defensively so i never have to stop all of a sudden, it's also bad for your tire). and i would say for safety reasons a handbrake is a must for anyone new to riding fixed; it's just that once you get experienced at it, it really just becomes superfluous.
ANYWAY... it's true that derailleurs and brakes don't weigh a ton, although they weigh more than you might think taken all together, it's just a sleek fuckin machine you can throw into a train or whatever and carry around a couple tools (spoke wrench, axle wrench, triflow and a pump, what else do you really need?) and be good to go. who knows, maybe it is crazy - if i try it i will DEFINITELY report back to here! that kid i was traveling with i mentioned in the OP swore by it, he took that bike around the country. come to think of it i can barely recall him traveling with anything else, he was one of those. definitely seen him rocking a bindle. i've been thinking i could slap a rack and panniers on the back (it's an old roadie frame) and just go with that and my courier bag, as long as the weather's nice. if i was just straight up bike touring, on the other hand, no trains involved, i think i would go with the fanciest shit i could afford. trying to work that out over this winter! i also definitely need to get back on a train without a bike first and see how that goes for a little while, cause its been years.
*****
for those who havent come across it, here is Sheldon Brown's classic essay "fixed gear for the road", for anyone who's interested in what one of the biggest cycling dorks in history had to say about it:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixeda.html
the rest of his site as you will see is a wealth of info on all things cycling related. RIP Sheldon!
and here is a neat blog post i found on fixed gear touring. not done a lot, but it has been done!
https://leaveonlytreadmarks.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/why-fixed-gear-touring/
https://leaveonlytreadmarks.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/why-fixed-gear-touring/
also, a blog by a woman in the uk who went everywhere on a fixie for a year:
https://fulltimefixie.wordpress.com/
