To answer the question about Salt Lake City's bike market, I live in Park City, and mountain bike with a bunch of SLC guys, and I know the bike market there pretty well. It's about demographics. SLC doesn't have many more urban commuter/transportation bikers than any similar-sized city, and in fact I think that the per-capita rate of casual cyclists is actually below the national average. But it does have a lot of serious cyclists who spend major money on high end mountain and road bikes. So that skews the average.
The Fixie Bike Index
31–40 of 89 posts
Re: The Fixie Bike Index
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
We're just looking at a sample of the data so the actual per capital figures aren't meaningful. Would have loved to have showed that, but instead we just normalized the data to 100.
100 what???
100 doesn't represent a physical number. It's just an indication of the relative frequencies. If, for example, Manhattan had typically two fixies for sale per person (this is completely made up), then Brooklyn would have 1.25.
Yes, per capita literally does mean "per person", but the purpose it serves here is to allow meaningful comparison of more than just raw numbers. Manhattan might have 1,000,000 fixies, and Brooklyn might only have 100,000 fixies. This by itself doesn't really tell you much, since what if Manhattan had 1,000,000 people and Brooklyn only had 50,000 (again completely theoretical); then, the "per capita" fixie bike index would be twice as high in Brooklyn.
Re: The Fixie Bike Index
#33Missing detail: A fixie is actually borderline-practical in Manhattan because there aren't many hills. If you live in Brooklyn, you've gotta ride over some really steep bridges to get to Manhattan. So the hipsters ride single-speeds, or retro-bikes, which are actually more hipster than a fixie these days. Get with it, grandpa!
Single-speed are also lighter if you have a walk up apartment.
That's not entirely accurate. There are plenty of carbon fiber or titanium bikes that completely change your understanding of what is light with regard to a bike.
[edit: missed a word]
Re: The Fixie Bike Index
#34This is a more thorough version of what a popular bike blog "bikesnobnyc" used to call the "pistadex", where he used the average price of a bianchi pista to determine the popularity of the fixie trend.
Re: The Fixie Bike Index
#35How is Chicago not in the index at all! Majority of bikes I see in the city are fixed gear, including my own. The flat land makes it ideal.
I was going to say. I think Chicago is the first place I remember being struck by the number of bike messengers, and sort of distinct hipster style of the bikers.
Re: The Fixie Bike Index
#36This analysis is interesting but deeply flawed, as you're just using one variable. I don't think anyone would refer to OC as the most hipster place in America.
Weather is a huge missing component. Another is hilliness/other bike-friendliness (bike lanes, etc). The top 12 cities in the analysis are warm-weather cities (mostly California/Hawaii).
For example, no-one is buying bikes in Chicago at the moment, because it's freaking cold. But there are likely many more fixed-gear bikes here than almost anywhere else (flat, bike-friendly city with lots of hipsters). Portland is capital of hipsterdom - well atleast until Pittsburgh takes over (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/portlandi...) but it's cold there right now so people aren't selling their bikes.
Re: The Fixie Bike Index
#37This analysis is interesting but deeply flawed, as you're just using one variable. I don't think anyone would refer to OC as the most hipster place in America. Weather is a huge missing component. Another is hilliness/other bike-friendliness (bike lanes, etc). The top 12 cities in the analysis are warm-weather cities (mostly California/Hawaii). For example, no-one is buying bikes in Chicago at the moment, because it'…
Chicago has been a main hub of the fixie/track scene for years, way before the big fixie boom.
Re: The Fixie Bike Index
#38Fixies have always been a fun subject of armchair economics. As late as '06, it was very rare that you'd come across track bike-specific parts. This was especially so with frames. Finding an old track hub in a used parts bin was practically winning the jackpot on a slot machine. Prices and competition for used parts was high, but mostly stable and flat. Ebay and track-specific forums were where you'd buy your parts;…
I'm not sure what you consider "rare" or how you sourced your parts, but I feel like maybe your timetable is a little off.
I can't speak to the economics side, but I feel fixed-gear mania was in full-swing well before 2006. I worked in a bike shop in a small Midwestern city (so presumably the trend had already been on the rise on the coasts well before this) from 2003 to 2005, and even then fixed-gear discussion was not infrequent. I'm pretty sure you could order flip-flop hubs from QBP at the time, although I can't recall if fixed-specific hubs were available, since I don't recall anyone ever actually wanting one and not a flip-flop. My point is that major suppliers were already providing new parts specifically for that market.
Although, yeah, I don't recall any non-boutique manufacturers making fixed or flip-flop models while I was in the business.
Anyway, maybe you specifically meant the secondhand or market, but I just wanted to point out that your LBS probably had plenty of fixed-gear parts available before '06.
Re: The Fixie Bike Index
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Single-speed are also lighter if you have a walk up apartment.
That's not entirely accurate. There are plenty of carbon fiber or titanium bikes that completely change your understanding of what is light with regard to a bike. [edit: missed a word]
Expensive bikes usually get a heavier locks, so it tends to even out.
Re: The Fixie Bike Index
#40>For those unfamiliar, a fixed gear bike requires riding in a single gear and the only way to stop the bike is to pedal backwards to help skid the bike to a halt. Lack-of-brakes do not a fixed gear make. All bicycles should have at least two ways to stop. Fixed gear bicycles are no exception.
But I think most people familiar with any number of fixed-gear advocates will tell you: it's mostly about fashion (in this case, part of the fashion arises from the overall simplicity of the machine).
And if there's one thing that isn't fashionable on a fixed-gear bike, it's a gross cable-pull handbrake.
But yeah, I agree, it's stupid not to have brakes.