Fixed gears have technically been around before geared bikes. Was popular then, once geared bikes came along, people started to flock to them, and then came mtb's, which were the IN thing. The came the first reincarnation of Lance Armstrong and road bikes became popular again and somewhere during that time span fixed gears started to take a foothold again. It is pretty much mainstream now, I'm still riding it, not because it's popular, but because I prefer not coasting on the road and to me pain is just a sign of something that needs improvement.