It is unfortunate that my life, as I'm sure many of yours, is spent a great deal browsing bicycles and parts, completely absorbed in the capitalistic powers of the cycling industry. Too much money is spent on the newest, lightest, fastest bicycle; money that could be going to a more worthy cause.

But though it doesn't completely justify this overindulgence, I think fixed gears bicycles are the far end of the consumerist spectrum. At a base level, there are simply less parts and, theoretically, less money spent. Also, there is a huge interest in steel bikes, which are traditional, cheaper, and put comfort and practicality ahead of speed. It's also cool that most people's non-ss/fg bikes are old steel road bikes.

Anyway, I guess I'm trying to say that we spend a lot of money on bikes, but because they are minimal and have a clean aesthetic they start to blur the boundary between consumerism and art, which to me, makes all the difference.