Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
Photo of $99 fixed gear/single speed freewheel bike with flashy/gaudy color scheme currently sold at Walmart. Has 622 x 40mm tires so should provide a reasonably comfy ride while providing the alleged benefits of a super cheap fixed gear/freewheel single speed bike for commuting. One local college age man rides one of these every day to the gym; he seems pleased with it. He probably doesn't read BF so is uninformed about the "horrors" of ownership of such a bike.
"BSOs" like this one were mass produced and sold rather cheap back in the days. Before "SS" was hip, this was the default bike. Geared ones were exotic. "Fivespeeders" and "Tenspeeders".
They are sold for around 50 euros in decent condition, but LBS couldn't find me a BB (didn't want to edit the frame to fit the modern BBs) for it, so my grandma's 1950s SS had to get retired. I'm still using it's mudguards on my current commuter.