There’s a fad going around the cities of America these days. The original idea was to get an old, beat up bike, replace the main hub with a fixed gear and strip out the brakes, and boom. You have what is called a Fixie. And this, on the surface, is all well and good. The idea is that it’s cheap.

But of course, as these things do, it became the new hipster chic. Fixies became expensive because they’re a fashion accessory. I swear to god I just read an article discussing a pair of fixies that are a “pretty good” $600-800. For a fixed gear bike.

Or, you know. You could go to your local sporting goods store and buy a cruising bike for $200, or a really nice one for $300, which has the outright audacity to have gears and brakes. But of course, gears and brakes and the ability to coast without pedaling are decadent capitalist frivolities.

If you want to stick it to the man, you have to shell out 3-4x as much for a fashion accessory.