New trends and fads follow a predictable path in the Washington area. First there are pioneers, next come early adopters, then the general public and eventually, some time after that, the Washington Post. Once the Post gets around to publishing an article on the new trend or fad, you can bet that it’s only a matter of months before it’s completely over.

So it has gone for the fixed-gear bicycle. Today the Post dedicated over 1,700 words and a frontpage billing in the Style section to the fixie, tracking the single-gear bike’s roots as a tool of the urban messenger to its growth into a hipster necessity. Reporter David Montgomery speaks to the folks who swear by fixies, and delves into the internal divisions within the ranks of their adherents. (Front brake or not? Flip-flop hub, yay or nay?)

I’m personally not a fixed-gear convert. (Why? One word — performance.) After today, though, I feel downright rebellious with my 10-speed rear cassette. And now that the Post has all but announced the slow death of the fixed-gear fad amongst cycling pioneers, what’s next?