Fixed Gear Bicycles Arrive at Walmart, Are No Longer Cool
First Urban Outfitters started peddling them. Now, Hipster of the Decade blog Hipster Runoff notices that Walmart is selling fixed gear bicycles. It's official: The number one cause of fauxhemian crashes on Bedford Avenue is no longer cool.
Among the many reasons that fixed-gear bikes appeal to young, stylish urbanites (like diametric opposition to uncouth redneck cousin Mountain Bike) is the fact that, like designer denim, fixed-gear bicycles are theoretically basic goods that can be customized to such a state of hyper-unique luxury as to impoverish the buyer and invite recognition from fellow snobs. (Bianchi's Pista starts at $699.) Which is why the mass-produced Walmart thing ($149 Mongoose Fixed-Speed) is, in some small way, notable. [HipsterRunoff]