In the plaza by Thapae Gate, the eastern entrance to the old, walled city center, a dozen or so young men on fat-tired fixed gears with multiple spoke cards practice skids, wheelies and backwards figure eights by lamplight.
They roll with the Pedal Addict Society, a fixie crew, founded by Kobby Booncoomyou, 32, a graphic designer and street artist. He also flips gourmet hamburgers at Little Cook, a “slow food” café he recently opened with his girlfriend. Kobby filled in me in on the history of fixies in Thailand and told me about Chiang Mai’s burgeoning bike scene.