Patronizing how?

IIRC, contemporary fixie culture are dominated by fashion, too. It's probably the overall growth driver behind it right now.

Btw, don't knock chain guards until you tried them! They are the next best thing since fenders!

I do agree prices need to come down, but the good ones aren't exactly cheap in the EU. Couple with taxes and import duties, the US prices are pretty comparable if not with a small markup compared to EU prices. A 500 euro bike is about $650 in the US without taxes. I paid about $750 for my Batavus, a far cry from what the others were asking($1500+ for Azor and Pashleys).