Most people can’t tell the difference between a $7K carbon fiber bike, like a Delta 7, and a steel fixed gear bike put together in a sweaty bike co-op.  To cyclists, cycling apparel lines, equipment manufacturers, hipsters and the lifestyle brands that market to them, the differences couldn’t be bigger.

Before we get started, let’s get some terms out of the way:

Fixed Gear:  This refers to a type of bicycle that has only 1 speed and has no coasting ability.  This means that there is never a time when riding the bike when the rider can stop pedaling.  This type of bike was brought to the streets from the velodrome where fixed gear track bikes have been in use since the early 1900’s with virtually no change functionality.  It’s important to note that is viewed as cool to ride these with no brakes or helmet.  Trivia:  Madison Square Gardens in New York was constructed to house a velodrome for bicycle track racing.

Roadie:  Roadies are cyclists that are highly competitive, usually extremely fit and look like Lance Armstrong when he’s racing: lycra cycling jersey, helmet, glasses, expensive shoes, etc.  Their bikes typically have 27 – 30 different gear combinations and the technology surrounding the creation of these sorts of bikes is cutting-edge with use of carbon fiber, titanium and other alloys.  This is the bike your probably refer to as a “10 speed”.  Stop doing that.  They are called “road bikes”.

Love him or hate him, Lance Armstrong (like Greg LeMond in the 80s) has done a tremendous amount for the popularity of cycling in the USA.  It’s no longer uncommon to find that your dentist is a “roadie” that races crits on the weekends or that the girl in the cubicle next to you rides a fixed gear on midnight rides on the weekends through downtown.  These folks represent revenue to thousands of companies in the cycling industry; and they couldn’t be happier.  Next time you’re driving around your town or on your way to/from work, take notice of how many more cyclists you see.  We’re not talking about the grizzled guy that looks like a science teacher that has been commuting on his bike since the 70s for environmental reasons.  We’re talking about all of the others that put a lot of time into what they ride, what they look like when riding and how much money they are willing to spend to “fit the bill” among their cycling peer groups.

You may notice the classic college aged guy with a beanie, tight jeans, v-neck T-shirt, slip-on shoes and a bike messenger bag.  Though meant to look like a meager outfit sending the message of “I don’t care how I look.  I just ride”, most of these types of riders spend a large amount of money looking the part.  That’s not taking into account the full customization that most of these riders do to their bikes.  Factory built fixed gear bikes have an average cost of $800.  Unlike other cyclists, it is more common in this genre to build a bike to fit custom color schemes.  Think of it like you would a custom car show.

On the other side of that coin, there is the hardcore “roadie”.  As with their fixed gear riding counterparts, the roadie spends a tremendous amount of money on gear and clothing.  The ingenious thing about the road cycling industry is that they’ve convinced most cyclists that “lighter will make you a better cyclist”.  This is similar to the cosmetics industry telling women that if they use cosmetics they will look better.  But we all know that exercise and a lot of it makes everybody look great.  But that won’t pay the bills of the cycling industry.

Regardless of where you fall in the cycling spectrum (if at all), there are still norms to which most feel obligated to conform.  That means dollar signs for those in the cycling industry.