Mainstream niche?

I've been looking through some 2007 catalogs and it seems if there's a new trend to be had it has to be the growing number of niche bikes being offered by mainstreram companies. More and more companies seem to be finding room for such oddball categories as single speed cross bike, fixed gear road bikes (not track bikes), fully loaded commuter bikes, and other breeds that previously one had to go to a resourceful mechanic or custom frame builder to acquire.

Some brands have always been known for flying their freak flags. I mean seriously, if you were actually surprised that Bianchi produced a single speed cyclocross bike then you clearly haven't been paying much attention to the industry. On the other hand you have mainstream companies like Raleigh making a nice fixed gear road bike and 29" single speed MTB, Schwinn making electric bikes, and Trek making a high-end commuter bike. I have to wonder what is driving such bikes. Is it that people are tired of yet another carbon fiber road bike or dual suspension MTB? Is it because today's avid cyclists are not as mechanically competent as cyclists of previous generations and therefore can't cobble together such Frankenbikes on their own? Or is it simply a way for brands to try and distinguish themselves in an era where so many bikes seem to be generically plucked from the Big Book O' Asian Bike Parts?

Sales of such bikes do seem to be doing well. I've chatted with a few people in the business about some of their more niche models and was surprised to hear things like "amazing sales" in the same sentence as "29" MTB. This is a refreshing change from 10 years ago when I remember such daring bikes as the Bridgetone XO-1 and Bianchi Project series dying on the vine in stores.

Finally, amidst all of this you have Redline. Redline has long been a company that only built niche bikes starting with the now ubiquitous cyclocross bike and later extending to include the 925 fixed gear bike and a series of single speed MTBs in both 26" and 29" flavors. So what new niches are they going into? Road bikes and hybrids! When everyone else starts going niche they start going mainstream. Gotta love it!