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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 especia

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; local bike shops hardly didn't even know the word 'fixie', let alone stock track parts (with it especially hard to find reasonably priced, non-Olympic competition level components). The trend was growing quick, and folks started finding fancier and fancier vintage bikes as collectors realized that the market for the obscure bikes lit up like wildfire. At the same time manufacturers (big and small, global and local) began sourcing extremely cheap (>$300) frames from Taiwan and saturating the market, bringing prices down ~50%. Then the Crash happend in '08. The market for fixies, mostly a semi-practical luxury item/status symbol similar to an iPhone at the time, fell significantly. They're still a big deal and quite popular, but not nearly as much so as a few years ago. Prices, especially the used market fallen drastically. A cheap, Average condition frame that went for $300 in early '08 could barely get $100 today in San Francisco. Luckily for those who bought into the vintage/collector track bike market (like most), prices are relatively stable...

jordan0day 15y ago
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.
- hack_edu 15y ago
  You are correct about the parts being available in QBP and such. I was working in an LBS at the time. I suppose the timetable of 'boom' I'm talking about falls in when the generic sealed-bearing Velocity hubs started to show up on the scene. Before that you needed to go the Surly or Suzue Basic route if you wanted a cheap-ish hub. Prices were notably higher in price though. 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.
jrockway 15y ago
I still find it hard to find good-quality non-trendy track parts that aren't competition-quality. I want to pay $100 for a track crankset. When I last looked, that was not an option, and I paid $200-and-change for a White Industries crankset + chainring. Still better than a track-grade Sugino set, which would end up around $500-$700. (Also, track parts fall apart on the road. The high-end Izumi chain is a nice example.)

jordan0day 15y ago

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.

hack_edu 15y ago
You are correct about the parts being available in QBP and such. I was working in an LBS at the time. I suppose the timetable of 'boom' I'm talking about falls in when the generic sealed-bearing Velocity hubs started to show up on the scene. Before that you needed to go the Surly or Suzue Basic route if you wanted a cheap-ish hub. Prices were notably higher in price though. 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.

jrockway 15y ago

I still find it hard to find good-quality non-trendy track parts that aren't competition-quality. I want to pay $100 for a track crankset. When I last looked, that was not an option, and I paid $200-and-change for a White Industries crankset + chainring. Still better than a track-grade Sugino set, which would end up around $500-$700. (Also, track parts fall apart on the road. The high-end Izumi chain is a nice example.)