# cool for hire (mission bicycles)



## naawillis (Oct 6, 2004)

bikes = great. fads = stupid. this sort of thing just steams me. hipsters will pay for anything. $950 for a straight gauge machine welded piece of foreign hot water pipe?

EDIT: i just saw the other (spammy) thread about mission bikes, and was cheering on the cyber-lambasting. may it continue....

from the bike snob nyc blog interview with mission bicycles:

_You're entering a crowded and competitive marketplace. What sets your bike apart from all of the other off-the-rack fixed-gears, specifically the Swobo Sanchez, which is also designed with a "blank canvass" philosophy?_

There are plenty of ~$600 off-the-rack "blank slate" starter bikes like the Sanchez available that can be easily ripped apart and rebuilt with better, fancier, and more customized parts by their owners. Of course, this kind of customization takes some time, can cost a lot to pick up the right parts piece meal at retail shops, and requires some amount of bike mechanic experience to put it all together.

Mission Bicycles are instead designed during the ordering process and built to our customer's specifications. Our thinking is there are plenty of people out there that want a high quality, beautiful bicycle custom designed for them and would rather pay more up front instead of buying a cheaper bike and rebuilding it with purchased parts and their own labor.

*READ*: we're targeting hipsters who want the look but dont actually know anything about bikes and can pay $$ instead. 

_Your bike costs $950. Isn't that a lot of money for a bike like this? Bikes like the Sanchez, the Pista, the Langster, the 925, etc. all retail for hundreds less, and quite frankly I'm not sure why your frame and component spec warrants the higher price. What am I missing?_

The selling point of our bike is the ability to customize it as you order and easily create an unique and great looking bicycle. During the ordering process you can pick the color to powder coat the frame and mix and match the color combinations on their components. We deliver the product without visible branding (we don't plastering our logo all over the bicycles) and we offer vinyl decal design kits produced by local artists that can be applied to further personalize the bicycle.

Additionally, compared to other stock fixed gear bicycles on the market, each Mission Bicycle comes with the Deep V wheel-sets (that run for $100 more than generic) and a standard front brake ($50). 

*READ*: no, you're not missing anything, its extremely overpriced. but they're not for you, they're for rich yuppies as a status symbol

_What kind of warranty do you offer?_

We don't have an official warranty plan in place yet. By the time we start shipping bikes we will offer one that is comparable to local bike shops.

*READ*: our bikes are garbage/we havent asked IRO what theirs is yet. 

at least they have a sense of humor about it:

_Will riding without a hooded sweatshirt, colored chain or top tube pad void the warranty_?

We are consulting with our legal team on this one. Likely we would probably need to know a little bit more about the musical tastes, coffee shop preferences, ironical abilities, and jean size of each rider before passing final judgement.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

I've read both threads on this as well as bike snob NYC blog...As the moderator, I commend everyone for keeping these threads civil......Please let keep it that way......

I don't see what all the flack is about...If someone can afford it and doesn't want to build their own bike, let 'em go for it.... Sure there are better deals out their but if someone is will to pay $950 for essentially a custom IRO frame, let them.....

My personal opinion is the hypster fixie trend is dying anyway and soon we'll be back to just us normal people that have always ridden fixed....or they guy or girl that wants to try it....


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## naawillis (Oct 6, 2004)

i know you were in austin a few weeks ago for the livestrong ride. if you think the fixie fad is dying out, you just didnt look close enough. there are plenty around for sure.... i see skin tight jeans peddling away on brakeless deathtraps every day. dont get me wrong, on a local level i support it because its been a real boon for a couple small shops, but i see stuff like this the mission bike and just shake my head. its almost predatory to sell that bike for $950. fixed gears had been a long lasting refuge of the DIYer in an increasingly commercial world/bike industry. that hasnt changed, but i feel like this cheapens my experience somehow. 

plus, a white bike w/ no fenders in frisco? good luck, you're gonna need it


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

naawillis said:


> i know you were in austin a few weeks ago for the livestrong ride. if you think the fixie fad is dying out, you just didnt look close enough. there are plenty around for sure.... i see skin tight jeans peddling away on brakeless deathtraps every day. dont get me wrong, on a local level i support it because its been a real boon for a couple small shops, but i see stuff like this the mission bike and just shake my head. its almost predatory to sell that bike for $950. fixed gears had been a long lasting refuge of the DIYer in an increasingly commercial world/bike industry. that hasnt changed, but i feel like this cheapens my experience somehow.
> 
> plus, a white bike w/ no fenders in frisco? good luck, you're gonna need it



I hear ya but my point is that the hipster fixie thing is a trend and like all trends, it will fade away...The hipsters will move on to something else.....Don't get me wrong, it's been good for the industry and for fixie riders in general...parts are readily availible now...wheelsets are cheap...there are new models coming our every week...


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Dave Hickey said:


> My personal opinion is the hypster fixie trend is dying anyway and soon we'll be back to just us normal people that have always ridden fixed....or they guy or girl that wants to try it....


It's either ebbing or ebbed. Commence the flow. Get those rare pursuit frames onto ebay while it lasts! 

I can't totally speak ill of the trends. After all, I discovered fixies back when the trend was only getting going through an article in Dirt Rag and I'll keep a fixie in the quiver from now on.


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

Pablo said:


> It's either ebbing or ebbed. Commence the flow. Get those rare pursuit frames onto ebay while it lasts!


So you're saying we've reached peak fixie?

Man, I knew I should have started hoarding aerospokes...


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

buck-50 said:


> So you're saying we've reached peak fixie?
> 
> Man, I knew I should have started hoarding aerospokes...


don't forget riser bars with huge BMX style grips and matching top tube pads...



or if you prefer deep drop track bars and want to be truly in fashion, your saddle has to tilt down in the front at exactly the same angle as the slope of the track bars...It's very uncomfortable that way but it looks very cool............


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

buck-50 said:


> So you're saying we've reached peak fixie?


it's peaked here with the hipster crowd, and by that I mean the 20+ y.o. hipsters. They've moved on to ghetto beaters, 3 speeds, 10 speeds, whatever's around.

However the under 20 crowd is all over the *unique* fixie bike scene. Except they all look the same  Ourys, top tube pads, expensive track hubs, etc.

edit: no hate here. Just observations


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## BianchiJoe (Jul 22, 2005)

I think we should thank Mission bikes for inspiring the first 4-page thread I've seen here in a VERY long time!!

And let's stop hating on the hipsters. Back in the early 80s when retro cruisers were hot, me and my punk rock friends took a lot of sh</>it from the cycling "purists" as well. Most of us eventually grew up and became road riders, commuters, and mountain bikers. So give the fixie kids a break - you were young once, too!


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

Dave Hickey said:


> don't forget riser bars with huge BMX style grips and matching top tube pads...




no it's deep a drop stem, with chopped risers (extra points for every inch less than 12), and oury grips. at least one NJS component mandatory, and no serious consideration unless you have high profile rims


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

BianchiJoe said:


> I And let's stop hating on the hipsters.


We're not hatin', just joshin'.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Hollywood said:


> it's peaked here with the hipster crowd, and by that I mean the 20+ y.o. hipsters. They've moved on to ghetto beaters, 3 speeds, 10 speeds, whatever's around.


I bet scooters are the next big thing . . . or pedal bikes.


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

*Go figure!*



Dave Hickey said:


> I've read both threads on this as well as bike snob NYC blog...As the moderator, I commend everyone for keeping these threads civil......Please let keep it that way......
> 
> I don't see what all the flack is about...If someone can afford it and doesn't want to build their own bike, let 'em go for it.... Sure there are better deals out their but if someone is will to pay $950 for essentially a custom IRO frame, let them.....
> 
> My personal opinion is the hypster fixie trend is dying anyway and soon we'll be back to just us normal people that have always ridden fixed....or they guy or girl that wants to try it....



cross-referencing this thread to the one about "any old timers here" .....if the "hipster/fixed" movement is dying, maybe it is due to the fact that :

a.) we forgot what we were doing
b.) we need to heal after "replacement" surgery
c.) we forgot what we were doing.


I got into fixed a little over a year ago....I do it cause I think it's cool, not because THEY think it's cool.....whoever they is..

I do WAY more stuff just to annoy people than to win their approval. Its funny, all summer, everyone that saw me teased the crap out of me for doing it the HARD way. The last couple of weeks have been devastatingly windy so I have been riding gears.....gee guess what I am getting crap for now?......yeah....riding with gears!


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

*oh my god!*



naawillis said:


> i see skin tight jeans peddling away on brakeless deathtraps every day.


I saw two at a peace rally in Boston. Both wore large, plastic, safety glasses like my bi-focals. Will people think I'm trying to affect youth? I hope they were just strange anomalies like me and the guy I saw riding a Fondriest with a seatpost rack and aero bars clipped to straight handlebars.


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

I was saying a couple of weeks ago, that I rode I rode mine in the Tyranena Oktoberfest and due to the fact that I was riding with my wife...saw EVERY bike as they passed us. I was the only fixed out of the1500 bikes, at least I didn't see any, there was one ss I saw....hard to believe near madison WI......


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## RoyIII (Feb 24, 2007)

One must judge from the bench. That's why the blog is called "bike snob nyc".


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## Kalukis (Jan 13, 2005)

*Riding Fixed = Normal?????*



Dave Hickey said:


> ......soon we'll be back to just us normal people that have always ridden fixed....or they guy or girl that wants to try it....


"Just us normal people riding fixed....????" I'm still trying to get my head around that.


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## burntbizzkit (Jul 12, 2007)

If someone wants to spend $950 on a Mission Bike that is powder coated in their favorite color with pink rims and yellow grips, let them! The people at mission bikes seem like very nice people. Just be happy that their riding a bike and not driving a car. Bikes are great.

All the roadies I ride with have bikes that cost over $1500... do I call them stupid? NO. Do they really need carbon fiber or dura ace? NO. Do they even need gears? NO.

Let people spend their money how they choose. Mission Bikes is not scamming anybody, they have more costs as a small business.

Don't worry about losing your little sub-culture, let it grow. Labeling people 'hipsters' and hating them is no different than hating any other group of people. We are all just people trying to have fun.


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## 66Hyenas (Oct 1, 2005)

*nice*



burntbizzkit said:


> If someone wants to spend $950 on a Mission Bike that is powder coated in their favorite color with pink rims and yellow grips, let them! The people at mission bikes seem like very nice people. Just be happy that their riding a bike and not driving a car. Bikes are great.
> 
> All the roadies I ride with have bikes that cost over $1500... do I call them stupid? NO. Do they really need carbon fiber or dura ace? NO. Do they even need gears? NO.
> 
> ...



Probably the most lucid and mature post on this subject I've read. Whether Mission makes it or not, it's all good.


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

This whole thing is no different than any other small business out there. I personally wouldn't buy a Mission bike because I know better, but if I were just starting out, didn't know too much about bikes, fixed gear in particular, and had some extra cash laying around, sure I'd seriously look at what Mission has to offer....so what if I spent a few hundred extra bucks. 
Heck, if I were looking for a small bike related business venture I can see myself doing the same exact thing. I won't be doing this because I love fixed gear bikes or bikes in general, I'd be doing this to hopefully make some money.


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## BianchiJoe (Jul 22, 2005)

roadfix said:


> I won't be doing this because I love fixed gear bikes or bikes in general, I'd be doing this to hopefully make some money.


And after all, isn't that the most important thing?


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

BianchiJoe said:


> And after all, isn't that the most important thing?


Hope you're getting paid for the work you do, whatever it may be...


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## wchane (Aug 8, 2006)

haven't you heard? vintage bmx is the new fixed.

<img src="http://www.freewebs.com/drewfus/bmx/drew%20003crop-large-large.jpg">


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## BianchiJoe (Jul 22, 2005)

wchane said:


> haven't you heard? vintage bmx is the new fixed.


Yessss!! :thumbsup: But good luck finding a Hutch for less than $2000 !


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

BianchiJoe said:


> Yessss!! :thumbsup: But good luck finding a Hutch for less than $2000 !


Does this mean people will berate people with off-the-shelf BMX bikes the same way people rip on people who own Pistas?


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

What about grown men (never ever women) riding kids' BMX bikes? That seems to be all the rage round here (close to NYC.)

Some of the fixies I see locked up happen to be rather creative: Fun, edgy stickers; weird spoke decorations; rusty yet charming vintage- I need to start collecting photos.


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## Durandal (Aug 31, 2005)

Christine, Here in detroit you can often see middle aged women riding "Vintage" BMX bikes around.

Worse yet is # of people who ride without a seat, but leave the seatpost on the bike, OWWWW!


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## Chase15.5 (Feb 17, 2005)

BianchiJoe said:


> Yessss!! :thumbsup: But good luck finding a Hutch for less than $2000 !


Sweet Hutch - I raced one of those (actually several) in the early 80's - and you've got it decked out pretty well with "bear trap" pedals and flight cranks. Well done.


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## BianchiJoe (Jul 22, 2005)

Here in Austin (and elsewhere, I'm sure), the rage is new-school DJ BMX with no brakes. Fascinating, in a train-wreck kind of way. 

I am seeing a resurgence of interest in 26" retros, but again, the authentic 80s specimens of Cook Bros and OM Flyers are commanding huge prices. Companies like Fireman's, Kappa, SE and Volume are offering new models - and I'm happy to report that 26" BMX bikes are an absolute _blast_ to ride.


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## superjohnny (May 16, 2006)

Naawillis I bet this really burns you...


> _Pre-Order a Mission Bicycle
> Sun, 10/21/2007 - 01:26 — matt
> 
> We have sold out our first run of bikes produced in November but are accepting pre-orders for our second run of fifteen bikes in December. Please fill out this form if you wish to pre-order a Mission Bicycle, and we will get in touch with you shortly after to determine your sizing and to process your payment._




I see someone starting a business to take advantage of a niche market so more power to them, that's what being an entrepreneur is all about. Plus if they put more bikes on the road then all the better.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

BianchiJoe said:


> Here in Austin (and elsewhere, I'm sure), the rage is new-school DJ BMX with no brakes. Fascinating, in a train-wreck kind of way.


I used to ride brakeless street BMX, on a 20" and 24". It really made you commit to trying whatever jump/trick you were going for. Of course, as a former skateboarder, not having brakes was not such a big deal.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

that 'sold out the first run' bit is a joke... they ordered 5, and have stated here and elsewhere that they made them for themselves and friends... my bet is that they have actually 'sold' no bikes to the paying public.


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## BianchiJoe (Jul 22, 2005)

Pablo said:


> I used to ride brakeless street BMX, on a 20" and 24". It really made you commit to trying whatever jump/trick you were going for. Of course, as a former skateboarder, not having brakes was not such a big deal.


Crazy damn kids! Sure makes for a clean-looking bike and easy bar spins, though...


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## Not Eddie Roman (Nov 5, 2007)

I've been riding brakeless BMX on street (in NYC) for 10 years. It's not that crazy.

Mission is doing what tons of other companies have done--look at what's popular yet underproduced, then find a way to produce it. That said, if I was looking to buy into the fixed "scene" without knowing anything about it except the aesthetic, I'd rather buy a Draft. At least that way when I realized I hated it, I'd only be out $250. Anyone willing to spend $1,000 on a fixed has to either really like track bikes or have a ton of money to burn--and I don't really see either of those groups being big fans of Mission. (They'll probably both be fighting over full-NJS 3Renshos.) Anyone who wants a practical bike to use as a commuter would be WAY better served with a Bianchi San Jose, Redline 925 or LeMond Fillmore.

Not to mention, like a lot of 'streetwear' brands, I feel like Mission's missing the point that it's the DIY aspect that drives the aesthetic, not the other way around. Spending $950 on a bike that's supposed to look like one some messenger cobbled together for $200 is just going to get you laughed at. In my opinion. You may as well custom-cut your vinyl stickers to read "n00b."


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

Not Eddie Roman said:


> You may as well custom-cut your vinyl stickers to read "n00b."



that's a great idea... a bike co should name their models 'n00b', 'fred', 'street cred', etc.


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## Zwane (Jun 30, 2006)

FatTireFred said:


> that's a great idea... a bike co should name their models 'n00b', 'fred', 'street cred', etc.


Intriguing, there is snobbery in every sub-sub-culture of cycling. All you have to do is replace "hipster" with "faux racer" and this discussion could be about how some ARPs are annoyed by the Disco kit guys they run into on their weekend clubrides. Sorry guys, until the bicycle police take over, the sport is open to everyone so you'll have to just suck it up. :cryin:


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## BianchiJoe (Jul 22, 2005)

Zwane said:


> there is snobbery in every sub-sub-culture of cycling.... Sorry guys, until the bicycle police take over, the sport is open to everyone so you'll have to just suck it up.


Or make a career out of it like BSNYC...


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Zwane said:


> Sorry guys, until the bicycle police take over, the sport is open to everyone so you'll have to just suck it up. :cryin:


That doesn't mean we can have and make fun.


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