A friend of mine has asked me to write an article on fixed gear culture for a magazine he is starting. I think the title of the magazine is going to be 'Be Honest".
I have a deadline of January 22nd for my articles and interviews.
This is one I am struggling with because I don’t want to sound like a complete dickhead in it.
I am posting because I am trying to find a good angle for the article.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I have to aim for around 2000 words and have been told to try not to localise it to Brisbane.
I think the first thing you need to recognize is that you won’t be able to please everybody when writing about a overly saturated hipster subject such as fixed gears. But this doesn’t really matter- just write what you want, it’s your article.
In my opinion make sure you’re genuine and don’t take the piss too much ala Vice Magazine style.
Oh, and get your facts straight- one easy way to look like a douche!
tough one. It’s been done countless times - (often once every three weeks at The Age)
I think if you’re going to do a piece your angle has to be post-scene. talk about what the whole fixie thing has done for cycling, and where it’s going now (cyclocross?) who knows…
but don’t forget to mention all the ugly parts as well - like those Industrie bikes.
I think if you follow the title of the magazine it could turn out to be interesting.
yeah, the problem is getting my facts straight. i can see something going astray.
and yeah, lately it does seem like the article has already been written countless times before, thats why i am trying to figure out an angle to take that would give some fresh light.
Well you’re as qualified as anybody else to write about it, at least you ride!
But just make sure you’re well informed, because cycling is all about the subtleties- just read Bike Snob NYC and you’ll know what I mean.
You’ll need a really original slant on it to differentiate it from all the ‘fixed gear’ articles which have gone before it. Good luck finding one.
*Sorry Lucy, ‘fixed gear girls’ has been done before.
Why don’t you be a bike courier for a day/week? It strikes me that bike couriers bought fixed gear cycling to the masses and in turn romanticised their occupation, however most bike couriers will be quick to tell you how much it sucks. This is dependent on a) you are not already a bike courier and b) this has not been done before…which it probably has.
I think your friends magazine has genuinely missed the boat and by presenting a track bike article in their magazine shows how behind they are in terms of keeping up with ‘whats cool’.
Obviously we all still ride track bikes, but if the magazine isnt track bike specific the article may be overlooked due to its ‘same old’ nature. Even if you do a different apporach article, I would assume lots of people would overlook it as soon as they saw it was an article on track bikes, I know I personally would.
If you are required to do an article on cycling, I’d be looking for something different.
To be fair though, when was the last time you read a well researched, balanced article on fixed-gears? There is lots of room for improvement.
Sure fix ies are dated, but that doesn’t mean you can’t write about it. Perhaps the evolution of fix ies into cyclocross or vintage road bikes might be a good way to give it legs…
Or you could even go down the ‘how fix ies sold out’ path? :mrgreen:
I think the ‘Bike Poll’ gives a good sense of the diversity of bikes being ridden, even on a forum that is apparently dedicated to fix ies!
i see horatios point thats one thing leads to another.
and moccos, i dont think he is missing the boat. he is a friend and just starting a magazine and looking for pieces in a culture magazine covering art, music, films, politics, food. he asked me to write an article about fixed gears due to the fact i have some knowledge about the topic, creative enough to write an interesting piece and have my shit together.
for the issue i am also interviewing brisbane punk hardcore band teargas, brisbane artist murdoch stafford and maybe international artist john baizley.
there is also going to be a piece about the people behind the wire and hopefully a article about converge focusing on them being one of the biggest band in punk/hardcore/metal and still having a DYI ethic.
so i dont see my article being a major selling point, put iim sure people who pick up a copy will still be interested in reading an original article.
Or… instead of focussing on the bike itself, what about the riders. Their ‘passion’, what they ride and why? Obviously for many who are new to cycling, and having been drawn to it by the ‘fixie’ fad (for want of a better word), have discovered other styles of cycling that have appealed to them e.g cx, ss etc, or a fascination with the history of them e.g vintage roadies etc.
Just a thought.
