There’s been a lot of talk about how fixed gear bikes are a big fad and its finally coming to an end.
Bike Snob NYC is always talking about it on his blog and even pokes fun of the bikes that he sees listed in Craigslist and fixedgeargallery.com. To be honest with you, the fixed gear culture in Orange County, CA. isn’t the biggest movement out there so I wouldn’t really know if the trend/fad of fixed gears is actually going away.
So if you’re in the San Fran, LA, NYC, Seattle, Portland or any where that has or had a huge fixed gear population, can you enlighten me and share whether or not this is really the end of fixed gear bikes?
Popularity: 18% [?]
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25 responses so far ↓
1 Moe // Feb 15, 2008 at 5:48 pm
The new trend is vintage single speed bikes with bullhorns/flat bars with one brake … All you have to do is check out CraigsList!
2 Evan // Feb 15, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I don’t know if we’re at the end, but I am seeing them everywhere here in Pacific Beach, CA. On a short drive through town today I saw 3 or 4 fixed gears and it got me thinking the same thing. I remember when I first moved to the area everyone rode beach cruisers. If you didn’t you were a kook. Hell, I even bought one to fit in. But now I am definitely seeing a lot of the fixed gears in the mix.
I think in SoCal we’re a little bit behind the bicycle trend. We’re just about reaching the saturation point, and from there the numbers will start to decline.
3 Russ Roca // Feb 15, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I’m still seeing more of them here in LBC…there’s definitely a bit of a scene…but I also see a bunch of kids on old 10 speed road bikes with 10 speeds!
My hope is that fixed gears got them on bikes and hopefully they’ll stay on a bike whether it’s a fixie, vintage road, dutch, city or cargo.
4 HalibetLector // Feb 15, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I’ve only been in SF for 2 years, so fixies were already a fad when I got here and I haven’t seen much of a decline. Fixies have grafted themselves onto indie and hipster cultures here too, so that might have something to do with it.
I’m interested in what happened to make people think the fad is over. Was there a memo I missed?
5 Ghost Rider // Feb 15, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Still going strong around here…but kids will drop out when something cooler comes along, leaving only the hardcore riders.
I predict that Euro-style city bikes and vintage 10-speeds will be the new fad, and me and my friend Russ can say that “we were into it before anyone!”
6 Mike // Feb 16, 2008 at 11:15 am
The fad will die down as these fixie kids Darwin out from a lack of having a real brake. It’s a self eliminating fad.
7 Roman Holiday // Feb 16, 2008 at 12:34 pm
People have been riding one-gear bikes (ss/fixed) way before the so called fad, and will continue to ride their one-gear bikes. This is the case in NYC.
8 Dominic Dougherty // Feb 16, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I see it as the new rollerblading… and how long did that last? 5-6 years? I think we’re about at the halfway point in LBC.
9 Ghost Rider // Feb 16, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Dominic, that’s the perfect analogy…just like the new “old” skateboarding craze of the late 80s…that really lasted about 5-6 years, too. The people who were there all along will keep riding, and the people who really appreciate it as a unique form of bicycle riding will stay, too. The fad-heads will move along to the next “cool” thing (Fix Push! Vintage BMX! Pogo Sticks!).
10 fixedgear // Feb 17, 2008 at 4:30 am
Still huge here in Philadelphia, where we look to NYC for our inspiration.
11 Quinn // Feb 17, 2008 at 10:39 am
Around Reno it has become chic/popular enough that the guys that rode them Way before they were popular are dis-owning the bikes/”culture” and getting other types of bikes, even if it means hauling around their Free Ride bike in their truck.
12 james O. // Feb 18, 2008 at 9:19 pm
I just hope people keep riding their bikes here in L.A., fixed or not. And I hope they use their bikes for good (commuting, errands, advocacy, etc.) and not evil (purely for recreation, unsafe and stupid city riding, global thermo-nuclear war).
So is the “fad” of fixies dying out? Don’t know. Ultimately, don’t care. I think it’s more important to focus on how we use our bikes.
13 steve dave // Feb 18, 2008 at 11:11 pm
fixies are hopping here in denver.
14 Andrew // Feb 19, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Like Mike said fixies are a self limiting phenom. In my rides from Brooklyn to Manhattan I see fewer but then again it’s February and the fixie crowd are notoriuosly fickle when it comes to real weather or, well, pretty much anything as BSNYC points out frequently. Which is an oxymoron when you consider the complexity of stopping one of those. The messengers like ‘em and always will because there’s nothing on ‘em to steal.The young kids eating taxi doors for the first time tend to get rid of ‘em fast if they still live to tell. Put it this way. I only see about 1 crazy roller blader cruising down the middle of 5th ave. every 6 months now. Used to be at least once a week. Lets hope it wasn’t all darwin
Fixies as an every man’s fad will go down in history with Heelies.
15 james O. // Feb 19, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Andrew,
where to begin…?
the complexity of stopping a fixie for beginners:
1. apply brake
end of course.
if you don’t have a brake on a fixie, get one. unless you really think you know what you’re doing.
there is just as much to steal on my fixie as there is on my 10 speed, unless someone is just interested in stealing my derailleurs and 1 extra brake.
there are actually a lot of people in the “fixie crowd” who ride in “real weather.” here’s one
http://makergo.com/shutup/?p=198. i know plenty of others. admittidly, none in NYC. i dunno, maybe it’s different where you live.
fortunately, eating taxi doors is not a privilege exclusive to fixed gear riders. unless we’re back to the no brake thing. “young kids” shouldn’t attempt that anyway.
you’re probably right that less people will end up riding fixies as time passes, but an everyman’s fad?? cyclists are a relatively small niche overall. fixed gear riders are downright microscopic. therefore, heelies were and will remain waaaay more popular than fixies.
BSNYC rules!!!!
ok, i realize that i have way too much time to kill at work today.
16 NICK // Feb 22, 2008 at 10:41 pm
I live in Portland and have made the following transition:
Fixed Gear —>Single Speed—>Multi Speed
I can’t say that fixed gears are going away, but it seems as though the fixie riders are getting younger while more experienced riders are leaning to more traditional bikes.
17 Benjamin // Feb 26, 2008 at 12:37 pm
The number of bikes on the road in general are down here in Minnesota, so I can’t say anything about fixies.
I converted my old ten speed to a fixie and I’m enjoying it for the reasons that Sheldon Brown advocated them, not any trends. The inability to coast has improved my ride greatly.
18 DDYTDY // Mar 18, 2008 at 6:41 pm
My Mom and her brothers rode fixed in the 40’s.
Because it’s fun!
19 kevin // Mar 20, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I ride a fixed gear 160 miles a week. This topic is silly. You were right when you referred to it as a movement, and not a fad. Sure there are a bunch of hipsters, scensters and young bicyle enthusiast that jump on the band wagon, buy the appropriate clothing, and live out their egotistical part. The truth is people started riding fixed gears/SS because of the bicycle manufacturers building in obsolescences into there bicycles by making everything “work together” a fixed gear/ss conversion is so simple anyone can learn to work on them, and there cheap. If these factors encourage more urban youth to ride there bikes more power too them. But this isn’t a fad that will go away. I know for a fact that I will never get rid of any of my 3 fixed gears. Honestly anyone commenting on this thread that hasn’t regularly ridden a fixed gear shouldn’t be so naive. It’s a completely different experience. I’m sure the average ‘dumb’ kid on a fixed gear has a better spin that the fo-pros out here. Also fixed gears aren’t for ‘kids’ I’ve three friends who are over 40 one thats over 50 that ride fixed gears. It’s a much more active bicycle riding experience
20 Freeride_DeathExtremeDeath // Mar 29, 2008 at 1:08 am
Honestly Im hoping the “Fad” isnt dead as Im trying to get my filthy lil paws on that new Felt Curbside, and Id hope people will find it A nice ride. But than agan even If people think its lame, I dont care cuz I like its looks.
21 SuperDave // May 23, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Drop me a line if you need help finding a Curbside. They are indeed a rare find as there were only a few made in the pilot year.
-SD
22 Mike Myers // May 24, 2008 at 3:00 am
The bike industry is always looking for the next “hot” trend to boost sales. In the 70s it was road bikes and touring bikes, in the 80s and 90s it was mountain bikes, and now it’s fixed gears.
The next hot trend is touring bikes and dedicated commuters.
23 swick // Jul 28, 2008 at 8:22 pm
In Seattle, fixies have been appropriated by the early-mid 20’s emo-myspace-american-apparel crowd. In other words: If it can be copied, it will be.
24 Mundo Cycles // Sep 4, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I recently bought a vintage bike its a MUNDO CYCLES at least thats what the sticker says. Has anyone one every heard of it. It was originally a 10 speed but its now a three speed its yellow and tall. Just trying to find some info on it.
25 Ghost Rider // Sep 4, 2008 at 2:43 pm
There’s some speculation that Mundo was a division of Nissan, the Japanese automaker. That’s all I’ve ever heard about this brand.
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