Further to yesterdays post about Peak Gravel, having lived through Peak Fixiewhich, in case youre lucky enough to have missed it, looked like this:[Unlike the frog in the boiling water, I can assure you that everybody knew how ridiculous this was even as it was happening.]I can tell you that one of the surest signs we were getting to Peak Fixie was when the so-called fixie conversion began to appear everywhere you looked:The recipe was simple: take a frame, preferably a nice old road bike with horizontal dropouts (or, you know, a Softride), and then destroy it* by sticking a track wheel in the back and a Trispoke, Spinergy Rev-X, or Aerospoke in the front. *[Converting a Softride into a fixie does not destroy it, as you cannot destroy that which is already destroyed.]Of course Sheldon Brown had been a proponent of fixed-gear conversions long before it was cool:And of course a fixed-gear or singlespeed conversion is a perfectly good use for an old frame. Like most trends, it started innocently enoughtrack bikes were expensive, but someone interested in exploring fixed-gear riding could turn an old 10-speed into a fixie for about the price of a rear wheel and a cog. However, by the time I started this blog in 2007, fixed-gear conversions had become a disease, with deranged people everywhere defiling perfectly good Colnagos in what was perhaps the darkest period cycling has ever seen:Today, the equivalent of the fixed-gear conversion is the gravel conversion, and its a term so oft-G**gled that there are video tutorials and search engine-optimized, AI-generated articles about it everywhere you look:Just as the fixie or singlespeed conversion was a perfectly reasonable thing to do in plenty of cases, so too is a gravel conversion, since replacing the tires and adding wider bars with more hand positions to an old mountain bike can greatly increase its rideability. At the same time, it can also go too faror, in the case of the lazy gravel conversion, not far enoughand its when this happens that you know youre getting close to Peak Gravel. And until whenever the next Ultraromance ride is, the best place to assess the current state of gravel bike conversions is where the rubber hits the road the supple tire hits the gravel, and thats Craigslist. So lets take a look, and rate them according to the Bike Snob NYC Gravel Market Index:Lets start with New York. There are few if any gravel conversions listed within the city limits, which either means were not at Peak Gravel yet, or were way beyond Peak Gravel. In any case, most of the conversions show up under the more from nearby areas heading. First, we have this:Delusional pricing is the surest sign of Peak [Insert Trend Here], though in this case the price is fairly reasonable, at least by Craigslist standards. At this same time, this is a fairly lazy conversion, as the curator hasnt changed the tires for tanwalls, or even removed the reflectors, much less fitted it with 650b wheels. A hastily-assembled flip like this is generally a sign of an overheated market, so Id put that at about a 75 on the BSNYCGMI scale.Then theres this:Some actual effort went into this one, both in sourcing an older frame with some style, and in attempting to implement a coherent aesthetic theme. The pricing is a bit ambitious since all the money obviously went into that Brooks, and the use of both a threaded-to-threadless adapter and the cloying term retromod detract from what is otherwise a decent bicycle. Id put this one no higher than 70, though so far its definitely a front-runner for a JBAR Award.*[The Just Buy A Rivendell Award is given to any rider who should just buy a Rivendell already.]Looking for something more upscale? Here you go:Covid project? Crust fork? This has bubble written all over it. Also, theres absolutely nothing gravel about those handlebars, and overall this feels more like a basket bike that needs a basket. (Were probably at or close to Peak Basket Bike too, but thats beyond the purview of this particular market analysis.) Price is high, though perhaps warranted for the name recognition factor. This is an 88 on the scale.Next up is something from Trek:This is not a restomod, this is a refurbished bicycle. Also, the description says you can entertain gravel and super wide tires in the future, which is certainly true, as long as you dont use this bicycle. Rampant speculation and flagrant use of buzzwords for a decidedly non-gravelly bicycle. 98 on the scale.Things are a lot better in the Bay Area, at least if this is any indication:Its an old Jamis with drop bars. Its cheap. No annoying buzzwords. The bar tape picks up the yellow accents on the frame. This bike isa good value?!? 40 on the scale!But thenNot only does the ad mention both Rivendell and Crust and make liberal use of buzzwords, but the seller is also asking $750 for an old hybrid, which is indeed a hefty price tag. And unlike the endearing Jamis with the yellow bar tape, these bars arent taped at all:Yes, the seller says hell tape the bars before purchase, but too little too late. This is at least a 90.And finally, to Portland.Back when I started this blog, Portland was a bellwether for all things cycling, so I figured Id see what the gravel conversion situation was out therebut instead of gravel conversions I found people selling all their bikes:I guess its over for Portlandand not just for gravel, but for bikes. And thats not a good sign. 100 on the scale.Taking all these in aggregate yeilds a nationwide BSNYCGMI of 80.1428571429.Get out while you can, and go long on late 90s/early 00s road bikes.