Fixies in the snow

"Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." *

The fixie-mounted cycle messengers get through despite the heavy snowfalls of the past two days. This one (below) parked outside our offices on ul. Nowogrodzka. Form follows function; mechanical and ideological purity. Only two compromises - a bell (with a sticker 'I ♥ my bike') and a rear mudguard. Note unraked front forks - every jolt in the road travels through the frame up the arms into the rider's body. Not for wimps.

The photo below appeared on this blog in December 2009, before the fixie became the Warsaw hipster's mode of transport of choice.

Brakes evidently more of a hindrance than help when thick snow covers urban roads. It seems (for I've not tried riding in snow on my fixie) that direct control of the driving wheel via the pedals works better than brakes, and that skinny tyres adhere better to slippery surfaces than do fat ones with gnarly tread.

* Can anyone identify which chart-topping 1981 song these lines from?