Fixed Gear Kuala Lumpur, RatsKL—Putrajaya, Malaysia

When I wrote this entry about what I saw and experienced in Malaysia I got ticked off by a local for running down their fixie scene which, he contested, was alive and well. I was happy to see someone defend their scene with such gusto but I’ll have to stand by my comments because, apart from the fact that they’re now a matter or record, in the three days I spent in KL I didn’t see more than about two bikes. And they weren’t fixed. The Gold Coast is hardly Amsterdam-By-The-Sea but in three days in our city you’ll see more than two bikes and at least a few will be fixied.

Still, here’s a video that is testament to the guys who ride and live the scene in Malaysia. It’s filmed in Putrajaya, the nation’s administrative capital, where the clean and orderly streets have that planned city feel that makes cities like Canberra feel a little sterile. You can’t fault the beautiful (and empty?) roads and wide boulevard-like footpaths (that’s a sidewalk for you seppos who read this blog). The Wiki entry on Putajaya says they built this city “due to overcrowding and congestion in Kuala Lumpur”. If this video is anything to go by they sure as hell addressed that issue. Seems to me the town is completely empty, more like New York in I Am Legend than the streets of KL on 25kms away. (KL is actually a great city to visit and navigate thanks to an awesome public transport infrastructure. Take note Gold Coast, supposed tourism capital of Australia, whose expensive and haphazard public transport is at best pathetically inept.) 

As far as videos go it’s standard fixie fair of guys riding bikes and doing the occasional skiddies. You might want to fast forward.


Fixed Gear Kuala Lumpur, RatsKL—Putrajaya from irmanhilmi on Vimeo.

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