41–50 of 89 posts
This 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.
Fixies 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…
I know that I was getting into things right around '03, and my friends were all about it by about then too. But it wasn't nearly as regular an occurance to see a fixie rider on the street (in SF/Oakland) until '06 or '07.
This 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'…
You failed to note that the relative hilliness of two cities could have a huge effect on the reliability of using the "fixie index" to measure relative hipsterness. Even if they were equally hipsterish, it would stand to reason that LA would have more fixies than SF, since the bike is far more practical in that city.
This 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'…
The data set is for the last 6 months so should include Summer and Winter in Chicago.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sorry if that's not clear, it's all indexed to 100. Those are all relative values and not absolute values.
It's not "unclear" it's "inaccurate." :p "Per capita" means something specific, not just "you know, whatever." Thanks for the response tho! I could take the article more seriously if the charts made sense; consider fixing them? :)
>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.
Missing 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.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You go to LA and you will see. :)
I grew up in LA, and have lived behind the Orange Curtain, and that's my point. The area is way too large in geographic area and demographics for me to believe the folks there are buying fixies in ways that exceed the mean. It's far easier for me to wonder if they mixed up the data. Almost by definition, a very large place with a very large population should have regressed to the mean, not far exceed it.