Moving on, there are some noteworthy things happening in the world of used fixed-gears in New York City right now. Much like the larger economy, there's currently disparity in the fixedconomy. On one hand, the PistaDex is at 575. So if we were to imagine it as a fruit, it would be a big, juicy, overripe melon that's almost too soft to be appetizing. On the other hand, the IRODex, which I just made up this morning, is at a mere 325. Sticking with the fruit metaphor, we're essentially looking at a dried date or something, which, while not quite as mouth-watering as fresh fruit, does stay edible longer and is a better choice for the long term in adverse conditions, which is why bedouins eat them. Let's see what's going on out there:
Bianchi Pista – Chrome [original URL: http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/bik/708257123.html]
Reply to: [deleted]
Date: 2008-06-05, 2:20AM EDT
Perfectly NEW Bianchi Pista purchased two days ago for $759.45! NICE Front break and Freewheel rear hub added; Owners Manual included! Unfortunetly size doesn't match my height. Must sell!!
Specifications Style Track Bike
Sizes 53cm
Color Chrome Plated
Frame Bianchi DB CrMo, rear entry track dropouts
Fork CrMo
Components Headset VP AheadSet, 1" threadless
Handlebar Bianchi/Deda steel track, 26.0mm
Stem Bianchi alloy
Crankset Sugino RD, 48T
Bottom Bracket Cartridge
Chain KMC
Sprocket 16T fixed cog
Pedals VP clipless, 2-sided
Wheels Bianchi hi-flange track hubs, Alex AT400 32h rims
Tires WTB Camino Alto, 700x23C
Saddle WTB Rocket V Comp
Seatpost Alloy, 27.2mm
Asking for $650, prefer to be picked up! Please contact 917-[deleted] or [deleted]@gmail.com
So you bought a bicycle in the wrong size and realized it two days later? I've really got to wonder what the circumstances were here. Certainly I could understand someone spending a few months with a bicycle and then, with time and experience, learning that another size might work better for them. But if the poor fit is already apparent two days later the bicycle must be really ill-fitting and must have been purchased under duress. This person had to have a Pista and had to have it right then. Perhaps a "bike culture" party was taking place to which it would have been bad form not to arrive on a track bike. Or perhaps it was merely a prop used to interest a potential mate. Or perhaps some unscrupulous shop is doing its best to cram Pistas into crotches in which they don't fit in anticipation of the Apocalype. Whatever the reason, it's troubling.
Bianchi Pista Fixed-Gear Bike: Like New! - $575 (West Village) [original URL: http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/bik/700355327.html]
Reply to: [deleted]
Reply to: [deleted]
Date: 2008-05-29, 8:38PM EDT
61-centimeter, track bike for riders on a budget, juniors, or as a fixed gear training bike; the geometry is correct for banked tracks with the tight 28mm fork offset, higher bb and short wheelbase. The bike that started it all, from the company that started it all. Gang Green paint with classic white panel decals.
Ridden less than 60 miles (persistent knee injury prevented use).
Call Joel, 917-[deleted], cell; 212-[deleted], daytime work.
61-centimeter, track bike for riders on a budget, juniors, or as a fixed gear training bike; the geometry is correct for banked tracks with the tight 28mm fork offset, higher bb and short wheelbase. The bike that started it all, from the company that started it all. Gang Green paint with classic white panel decals.
Ridden less than 60 miles (persistent knee injury prevented use).
Call Joel, 917-[deleted], cell; 212-[deleted], daytime work.
Speaking of ill-fitting, this thing looks like a Bike Friday. I'm sorry to hear about Joel's knee problems, but is it possible they were caused by riding the wrong sized bike? Doubtless Lennard Zinn would have an opinion, and I'm sure he would love to take a tape measure to this guy's femur and fabricate him something better-suited to his freakish biomechanics. I wonder if this guy's also walking around in tiny shoes with his toes sticking out of the front and a sport jacket with sleeves that barely go past his elbow.
Bianchi Pista for Sale - $500 (Park Slope) [original URL: http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/bik/699945922.html]
Reply to: [deleted]
Reply to: [deleted]
Date: 2008-05-29, 3:21PM EDT
I have a 2007 Bianchi Pista in cool Racing Green for sale. The bike is 55cm and would fit someone 5'9" - 6'0" probably. It's in perfect condition and super fast. I've also upgraded the tires to resist the glass-strewn brooklyn streets.
I've ridden it as a fixed gear with a 48/17 gear ratio, however it has a flip-flop hub so you can put a freewheel on the other side.
I also put a Cane Creek hand break on it for safety mostly.
The asking price is $500.
Please send an email if you're interested along with a telephone number.
Thanks.
I've ridden it as a fixed gear with a 48/17 gear ratio, however it has a flip-flop hub so you can put a freewheel on the other side.
I also put a Cane Creek hand break on it for safety mostly.
The asking price is $500.
Please send an email if you're interested along with a telephone number.
Thanks.
I hate the term "old school," but I have to say that this is a classic, "old school" Pista ad. It's got everything. Most importanly, it's got the kitchen shot. (Bonus points for the fact that there are not only dishes in the dish rack, but one of them actually matches the bike's frame.) Secondly, "brake" is spelled "break" in accordance with the official Craigslist style manual. Not only that, but there's also the requisite dismissal of the brake: it's there for "safety mostly," the implication being that he doesn't really need it since he's such a crack fixie rider. Also, there's some evocative prose in the phrase "glass-strewn brooklyn streets," as well as the patented Craigslist Ignuramus Fit Chart, in which the seller lists the height range for the bicycle despite the fact that he really has no idea what he's talking about. Lastly, he says it's fast. Bikes aren't fast--people are fast. Bikes are overpriced. It's an important distinction.
Now on to the IROs:
Black IRO Fixed Gear Bike (59cm) - $300 (Midtown West) [original URL: http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/bik/708100520.html]Reply to: [deleted]Date: 2008-06-04, 10:49PM EDT
I'm selling a black IRO fixed gear to anyone who's interested. The bike is 59cm from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube. Should be sufficient for anyone around 6ft (). I bought it here on Craigslist about a year ago for $400 and a bottle of whiskey and didn't end up riding very much (about 40 miles...maybe less). It's had a spot in the bike room in my building ever since, so it's still in great condition.
Unfortunately, I don't have any goodies to throw in, but I'd be happy to answer any questions. Also - in case it's not clear in the pictures - it has a speedometer (can be easily removed if necessary). I also installed new pedals about two weeks ago.
Drop me a line if you have any questions.
What?!? $300 for a complete fixed-gear? He's supposed to be asking twice that! I never thought I'd see the day. Not only that, but he's even apologizing for not throwing in any goodies. And he's only selling it to "anyone who's interested." Doesn't he know how Craigslist works? You're supposed to cajole and say things like, "This bike is a rocketship!" and "Beat the high gas prices!" I don't know who this guy is, but he must be from Nebraska or some place like that where people are neighborly instead of predatory and provide goods and services for what they're worth while dispensing practical bits of homespun wisdom for free. Or he's drinking too much whiskey. Or both.
59cm IRO TRACK BIKE (Mark V) - $350 (east village) [original URL: http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/bik/708110733.html]
Reply to: [deleted]
Date: 2008-06-05, 12:07AM EDT
Moving to the Bay Area and need to sell soon. This is a beautiful IRO with a few scratches rides great.Its cheap and worth checking out. For questions refer to (shop.irocycle.com) click on build parts, and then MARK V it will answer all questions.
OK, what's with the non-stratospherically priced 59cm IROs? Something creepy's going on here. Have I woken up in 2002? (No, I just checked and fortunately I haven't. I don't think I could live through "Ally McBeal," Eminem and Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee all over again.) Or does this presage a wholesale exodus to the Bay Area? (All the more reason the world needs my "Take a Pista, Leave a Pista" bicycle lending library.) Whatever the reason, for the moment IROs appear to be the dried fruit of fixed-gear bicycles. Do with that what you will.
97 comments:
podium
1?
3rd
3rd
zing!!!
Podium!!!!!
top 5!!!
ounc... zang.
wow... tough competition today!
I can't believe I am writing this.
No, you can have it!!!
11...one louder
first
Man, you fuckers are vultures. This post has only been up for ten minutes and you guys are all over it.
I guess I need to shift sooner on the sprint finish.
Another clue to the identity of BSNYC. He referenced a writing "style manual" He knows there are different style manuals e.g. MLA APA etc. He is college educated and has done enough writing in a style to have casually thrown that in there. I'm leaning toward market research/marketing. His poor math and improper use of . . .dex as in index lead me to believe more marketing or a poor market researcher (like the other 98% of them). But a great writer.
Easy to complain about an ill-fitting bike when you are a shortie and all bikes are made for you. Given that the guy's 61cm frame looks like a bike friday it's very likely that it is extrimely hard to him to find a frame in the right dimensions. 59-64 are all max sizes for various brands.
Way to be clueless
I know that the prestige and presumed quality of the IRO product is below that of Bianchi, but suppose for a moment that we're not looking at the dried fruit of the used fixed-gear orchard, but at something not yet ripe? Could it be we'll see them screaming up to $700 by Fall? This would fit better with the general absurdity of the market.
On the other hand, the report of IRO transactions with hard liquor as an integral part suggests late fermentation.
A second timepoint should sort this out.
Hilarious post! Staying with the fruit metaphor it's big, juicy, fresh, appetizing, and organic. Yum!
What's with people's inability to skewer a wheel properly? That first IRO's front skewer is on both backward and upside down! And you see this all the time. I just don't get it.
DNF
Possible Reasons For The Inexpensive IRO Conundrum:
- The IRO's owners "need to sell now" (Craigslist Accepted Descriptor) because they are trying to scrape together enough cash to buy a Mission Bike - which is basically the same thing except with stickers on the frame.
- "IRO" is too difficult to spell in their Fixed Gear Gallery portfolio, so they have to ditch the bikes for others with more easily-spelled names. Also out for the same reason: track bikes by Merckx, Fondriest, and BMG.
- Even though they are made in China, the fact that they are sold by a guy in Eastern PA pretty much destroys their Asian Street Cred, such that no Keirin wannabe poseur is willing to ride one. After they sell their IROs, they'll be looking for higher priced, lower quality bikes with better street cred.
- It's possible that the bikes are being sold by actual cyclists, and the social stigma of owning a Pista is just too much to cope with, so they sprayed the frames in flat colors and are selling them as IRO, in the hopes they can slink out of the fixie/hipster scene without being noticed.
And as for that enormous bike... WTF? I heard Chewbacca called and he wants his Pista back.
So sd,
You code in cobol?
So the fire-breathing Alpaca of Doom is snorting death from just one nostril? I doubt it has anything to do with his fruit preferences - I'll bet he has allergies.
For the glass-strewn streets of PukeSlope, I would really prefer the IRO over the Pista just to avoid hideous toe-overlap accidents as I dodge strollers and poseurs at low speeds. I think the prices are all reversed.
"The bike that started it all, from the company that started it all."
??? is this the bike that started track racing, or the company that started track racing.
or is this the bike that made it cool to be a poseur track racer.
Taras,
I sincerely apologize for being insensitive to the plight of our nation's tall.
--RTMS
Taras --
You made BSNYC feel bad. Happy now? Any one who has read his blog knows how sensitive he is.
Honestly, it's not his fault Randy Newman didn't write a song about tall people.
Get over yourself, Taras.
Unless, of course, you are really tall.
In that case, no offense. I was just kidding, really.
Some of my best friends are tall and they're the nicest people you'd ever want to meet.
You know, I always say if I have a choice as to whether to draft behind a tall person or some vertically challenged fire plug, I'll draft the tall person every time.
Yes indeed.
Did I mention that Abe Lincoln was tall?
When I bought my Jamis Sonik, it came with 2 8-balls of fairly un-cut shit.
Anybody know how they can put those American Classics on there and keep the price so low?
BSNYC --
True story, but I'm not sure how this affects the Pistadex.
On the way home trying to beat the rain yesterday, I saw a woman in a tight dress, with a little purse and high heels wobbling down the Second Avenue Bike Lane on a fairly new brakeless Pista.
I don't think she would have been able to change a flat on the Williamsburg Bridge.
She was having enough trouble trying to clip in while wearing heels.
Is this a confirmation of impending doom?
A confirmation that Bust Magazine (of which I had never heard before your post) is an influential publication with a vast readership?
Or confirmation of both?
Inquiring minds want to know.
the geometry is correct for banked tracks with the tight 28mm fork offset, higher bb and short wheelbase.
Just to reassure those track enthusiasts who aren't familiar with the Pista.
bikesnob, I think your on to something with this whole take one leave one system, its like velib for drunk chain smoking American hipsters we may start seeing these pop up in cities everywhere!
'Asking for $650, prefer to be picked up!'
I wonder, too. Sounds like somebody's mack daddy put the hammer down.
RTMS-
There's no such thing as being almost too soft to be appetizing.
"DUAL DRIVE FIXIE"
I'm not even going to try to make fun of this one
Taras...it's spelled "extremely".
BSNYC...you gotta give the first guy props for mounting the front brake "old school" on the right side.
Well...on second thought, I guess you don't have to give any props at all...
taras
Are you suggesting that particular pista is so large because the owner is really tall? That's ingenious!
Way to be humorless AND sanctimonious!
Cameron, I noticed that quick release too (actually the pictures sort of make it look like there are quick release levers on both sides of the front wheel).
But you've violated one of the Cardinal Rules of Bike Culture: Never blame the cyclist for their choices, inability to read basic directions, and/or lack of skill.
To that end,
1. The NJ legislature has been considering a bill, backed by some national "safety" organization, to ban quick releases on bikes sold in NJ (I'm not making this up).
2. At any moment, I expect that a prominent local bike advocacy organization, when confronted with this picture, will send out an action alert to its members, asking them to petition the DOT commissioner to address this dangerous situation with more bike lanes (ok, I'm making this up, sorta).
The tall guy with the tall pista should have thrown in that he was needing cash to buy a bunch of frames to build an appropriately tall bike for his tall self. That way he would have been utilizing the power of CL to its fullest- unloading his junk while making a statement about being on the way to bigger and better trends.
Gad, you're all wrong. RTMS is a copy editor at BUST.
Come on read the clues.
Daniel!, is the exclamation point in your blog handle due to some superlative quality on your part, or are you just some ranting internet nutjob who uses too many exclamation points when you get excited because you have what strikes you as a unique and important view that should be expressed with great vigor?
/s
- another college-educated elitist scumbag who is (1) aware of the existence of style manuals; and (2) passes off that sort of trivia and various opinions as fact
Ps. Thanks for keepin' real for the illiterati, Daniel! I'm sure they appreciate your efforts. Or would if they could read.
Yeah Pistas became TOO COOL. But I've noticed that IROs are becoming COOL now. "Like three years ago I rode a Pista, dude. You should totally buy this Surly. They're way tougher anyway!"
Actually the new Pista is sitting around talking shit on Pistas. So last year...
yea Eric K is back, I must say I have been thirsty in this picture drought!
It pisses me off that people own pistas and call them "gang green." This is not even a color. "Gangrene," is a medical condition.
The correct color, and trademark of Bianchi is "Celeste." This is very important knowledge if you own a Bianchi as so many ignorant hipsters now do.
I used to think bike snob was a philosophy graduate.
What's with all the damaged bikes? I notice that several are indicated as having "breaks" on them.
Who would want to pay nearly top-dollar for a broken bike?
hey jewbeard, chaw on this!
http://www.bianchiusa.com/06_pista.html
Daniel!, is the exclamation point in your blog handle due to some superlative quality on your part, or are you just some ranting internet nutjob who uses too many exclamation points when you get excited because you have what strikes you as a unique and important view that should be expressed with great vigor?
You're partially right (about the comment--I think that's what got you riled up). I was being a bit of a jerk, so I deleted it. After all, Humanpowered is not some living exponent of a quality I hate. I fail to see why you'd take it so personally, though. Also, how is my "blog handle"--by itself--a "unique and important view"?
/s
- another college-educated elitist scumbag who is (1) aware of the existence of style manuals; and (2) passes off that sort of trivia and various opinions as fact
People who've attended a college usually do feel they have some kind of intellectual advantage over people who didn't. I've rarely found that to be true, though. Have you? And the fact that style manuals exist is typically introduced to students in junior high school.
Ps. Thanks for keepin' real for the illiterati, Daniel! I'm sure they appreciate your efforts. Or would if they could read.
Is that really what you took my comment to mean? What aspect of it bothered you so much?
Thanks for another great picture Eric K! Why's it so small?
Something is puzzling me about the first bike. It is supposed to be "perfectly new," only two days old, yet isn't that a campy super record front brake? Didn't they stop making those in about 1990, when the record delta brake replaced it? Gum hood covers, now THATS old school.
BSNYC is an ex-fixie rider that works at an ad agency as a copywriter (or as a designer...and was smart enough to bail on this soul-sucking industry). He's feeling a bit slighted that his once subversive identity trait is now mainstream.
Just to clear up the Bianchi paint confusion:
Celeste
Gang Green
Jewbeard, knowing that the color is called celeste green is indeed an indication of whether one is a real cyclist or a poser, but this guy thinks that a 55cm. fits a six footer, so we can probably securely place him in the poser category.
"yet isn't that a campy super record front brake?"
Sure looks like a Shimano dual-pivot to me.
bikeslob80220 said...
"DUAL DRIVE FIXIE"
I'm not even going to try to make fun of this one
No need, snobber already took care of that some time back:
http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2007/09/fixedgeargalleryof-perturbing-patience.html
or
http://tinyurl.com/4t5kbv
bikesnob is carl lafong.
Maybe the cub scouts will hold a pake sale.
I love the title of this posting:
http://tinyurl.com/5ya73a
"fixed gear junk"
at dex prices too.
well its small because I can only use what the Google will give me. If someone wants to go out and get a high res picture of a trendy New York bar and a penny tray, ill make it desktop wallpaper size!
It didn't bother me at all, Daniel!. I'm highly edumacated elitist scum now, but used to be plain old blue collar scum, same jackass I ever was just with an evil-ass student loan payment, a nicer house and better beer in a bigger fridge, which is a pretty sweet deal when you think about it but which probably doesn't affect my karmic balance sheet either way. So it doesn't really bug me what kind of scum you call the BikeSnob. I was just chumming for trolls is all. Good to know I haven't lost the touch.
you should see what i caught with my pocket fisherman!
http://tinyurl.com/3gau27
The breaks on the pista are awesome--just like the peddles. SO TRACK!!!
Jim and Daniel!,
Get a room already. Then you can argue/talk about yourselves without boring the rest of us.
Daniel! my brother you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal
Your eyes have died but you see more than I
Daniel! you're a star in the face of the sky
Jim and Daniel!,
Get a room already. Then you can argue/talk about yourselves without boring the rest of us.
Jim and I are in a room together. We're playing Doom 2 on a LAN in a hotel and writing back and forth.
Keep an eye on the IRO Dex in LA BS...I dare say it out does the Pista Dex most days! What is the significance of this inverse relationship? Perhaps you can shed some light.
i just saw a tv commercial for "power e-trade pro". the guy in the ad was one-upping his dat trading buddy, and he just out did his friend by buying 6 huge flat screen monitors to day trad and play computer games.
BUT!!! in the back ground...what did i see? a shiny fixie.
the fixed gear revoultion (apocalypse?) has made it mainstream in a e-trade commercial.
here it is on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z-gVzE0ggs
the end is very very near.
...today, i got nothin'...
...in fact, urp !...most of todays comments made me throw up in my mouth a little...
...guess i'll have to use my new 'popeil's pocket "throw up in your mouth a little" cleanser'...
...or as it's better known, beer...
Anon 4:38
I saw that ad last night and meant to see if I could find it on YT. I should have known ET would have their own Channel on there. They're so dialed in to the 25-35 swum demographic. My favorite is the Mody looking dude.
"DUAL DRIVE FIXIE"
Holy crap! Where do you start? Yeah, yeah, two drive trains. But dual color chain (perfectly aligned). Bar tape only on the top. Dark photo with bright reflectors. "You can drop it and it doesn't make a sound." I'm sure there must be more.
Nick
I meant Moby...oops
Xrist, that 61-cm frame with the seatpost up about 300mm - is that Wilt Chamberlain's bike?
Or Wilt reincarnated AS a bike!
Cleveland, Ohio doesn't seem to have a discernable PistaDex but we do have plenty of FGFs trying to liquidate bikes and they write Craigslist ads exactly the same (including references to how you'll "score mad chixxxxxxx" with a bike):
LAME!!!!
J & D!,
Wow, you guys actually managed to silence BGW for a while. Carry on, then!
- Anon 4:10
(Plus the doom thing. Ha!)
Okay so a dual-drive fixie has been done before....but what about a 10-speed drivetrain on each side of the bike? Maybe with Campy on one side and Shimano on the other...
playing Doom II together
Doom II? Holy shit! No wonder you're killing me. I thought we were playing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. I thought this was the Hell expansion pack.
Jewbeard, knowing that the color is called celeste green is indeed an indication of whether one is a real cyclist or a poser
Yeah, a cyclist knows that, but a true tifoso knows that the original Celeste (Celeste Classico) is a sky blue color similar to the UNC Chapel Hill shade.
excuse me please.
thanks for your attention.
dont go riding your fixie without a helmet.
thank you.
Ha, yeah I realized my mistake after visiting the website to check something, but I figured I would leave the comment up there. Eh.
Ronald McDonald called.. he wants that second PISTA, but painted yellow!
Does this get factored into the Pistadex?
$57,000 is a lot for a bike with no gears; does come with a Brooks & hand-carved ivory grips though.
given that it's not a pista, I don't think it does.
Is it really that complicated?
Oh, you're right; it's a _Tiffany_ fixed gear, not a Bianchi at all!
My mistake! Sorry, should have read the ad more carefully.
Imbecile.
There's a bunch of good deals on 59cm IROs because I ordered mine from the factory a week ago.
BikeSnob/RTMS :
This kid has your style.
Or sorta. But Patent infringement???
Yeah no kidding, you are the original irate cycling blogger with sardonic wit.
Does anyone else find it odd that the 61cm Bianchi with the 400mm seatpost maxed out is targeted toward juniors? That has to be some big ol' corn fed junior to straddle that bad boy! And since it screwed up the sellers knees may as well put an over geared fixie under a kid and screw theirs up also.
Snot Green, bloody hell celeste sounds so European.
And how in hell did an Elton John song get in here.
so, taras, what bike would you recommend? my 90 cm inseam is dying to know.
"break" instead of "brake" is pretty funny, but "hand break"? Keep up, BSNYC, that should have been good for a whole additional paragraph.
But great post otherwise. Much enjoyed from London, as usual
http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2008/june/1/PabloArancibia.htm
doesn't this deserve a post!?!
ciao
delma
http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2008/
june/1/PabloArancibia.htm
dopepedaler @ 3:40
by all accounts bsnyc is a current (not ex) fixed gear rider and has been photographed with a khs fixed. the reasons for his disdain for FGFers are specific and well documented.
do you even read this site?
Jewbeard said...
Ha, yeah I realized my mistake after visiting the website to check something, but I figured I would leave the comment up there. Eh.
Riiight. Trying to save face, are we? Just happened to be checking some other Bianchi specs? Nothing to do with everyone pointing out your embarrassing mistake? Silly Jewbeard!
Still, kudos for leaving up the original comment. Without that all the replies wouldn't make sense and we'd have another Jim/Daniel! situation on our hands.
If you want to thow up in your mouth a little, turn on the new "Planet Green" channel, previously Discovery Home. Hipsters riding bikes in the lastest eco/green styles, repeating the words "green" and "eco" @ 10,000 times per hour. I couldn't watch long enough to get a good handle on the fixed gear quotient, but maybe with the sound off and one of those eye opening devises from A Clockwork Orange, I could. I think this will help speed the Apocalypse a bit. more.
Is there such a thing as a LangsterDex? With all these "city" models (and a few more flash ones for 2009), I'd expect we'd be flooded with these. Or not?
I want to pimp my Fixie Bike
I want to pimp my Biiiike,
I want to pimp my Fixie Bike
I want to poseur where I like!!!!
-FrEddie MercxUry
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