Well... I guess I was more concerned about being a "chump" as in paying too much for something that the big bike manufacturers are just cashing in on. I did, for example, find out that the Gunnar starts at about $1000 -- possibly their most expensive bike. Pay the most money for the simplest machine??? I mean, I am sure the volume is lower, but still, it runs against my grain.

There do seem to be some used ones for sale in the area on craigslist, so maybe one of those will work out.

The problem of converting isn't the work itself -- I am very happy getting my hands greasy; I enjoy cleaning, degreasing, and doing the other fairly simple adjustments on my road bike, and look forward to the occasion when something breaks because it means I get to figure out how to replace it. However, converting something to fixed gear means finding something cheap, with horizontal dropouts, to be worth converting, and then the parts, and then there's all the stuff that makes it elegant simplifying out the cabling eyelets that are no longer required, etc. etc. So, I look at the whole project and somehow never get started. Mind you, the first thing would just be finding the frame to convert, which I haven't looked too hard for yet. The occasional stroll through Goodwill.

But, like I say, maybe one of these used bikes will be available. I would be happy to pay $200 for a fixed gear of the right size to find out whether or not it's for me. (But I suspect it is. The very first moment I heard about the idea, I fell in love with it. But you never know; the practice could turn out to be less attractive to me than the principle.)

Anyone know anything about that guy who sells tons of fixies on EBay, all starting at $49? I think they're from San Diego. I often see those go without bids; does that mean they're junk? Or there just aren't that many people who want to pay shipping on a bike?