"Do you have any pins in this color?" The bearded man asking this question pulls a turquoise mallet pedal out of a plastic bag. "Of course," replies the salesman confidently. His display looks like that of a confectionery seller. But what's shining in candy colors are valve caps, headset covers, quick-release skewers and various other small parts that you can screw onto your bike.

Some people are looking specifically for components, one of them walks around the sales tables with a list in his hand. Others surf through the colorful bazaar and make random purchases. And then there's the Pole, who orders on a grand scale: 10 helmets here, all the pairs of shoes there, textiles, components, whatever cyclists need. He goes shopping in Central Europe several times a year. In Poland, he sells the goods to bike stores and directly to end customers.

Bike enthusiasts have been meeting at the particle accelerator in Zurich since the nineties, with a few years' interruption. The offerings range from rare collector's items and high-quality discontinued goods to well-worn equipment. A seller offers a worn pair of bike shoes for sale for one franc and immediately admits that he will throw them away if no one buys them.

It's hard to say how many transactions took place in the Rote Fabrik that afternoon. Hundreds? Thousands? Quite possibly. In any case, the tables are significantly emptier after four hours than at the beginning. After a hectic start, the sales talks become longer and sales at the bar increase. In the end, however, there are still gears, cassettes and brakes left. The shortage doesn't seem to be quite that bad yet.