[TheThinkTank] bicycle shaped objects

Wed May 28 09:50:04 PDT 2008

That's why when I bought my wife a COSTCO Magna, threw it on the stand to
build/tune up, met those low quality parts I returned it, and bought a $300
trek.  10 years ago, and the trek is still in GREAT condition!!

On 5/28/08, Sherief <sgaber at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I think the whole department store bike issue is a real obstacle to
> cycling.  On the one hand, prices of decent entry level bikes have gone up
> up up in recent years, making the 149.95 price point on a lot of those
> wal-mart beasts seem reasonable.  However, as has been our experience at the
> Austin Yellow Bike, and one that I'm sure others have noticed, those bikes
> are effectively disposable.  All of the parts within them are near
> irreparable.  Hubs that you can never quite adjust because the cones start
> pitting from the box, bad springs, rust, etc.  You pay less but if you
> actually intend to ride then you end up paying more for a replacement or
> futile service.  This more often than not puts a sour taste in people's
> mouths for cycling and the gateway never happens.
>
> I've thought about some way we can get the knowledge out about the virtues
> of used/older bikes, etc. and the pitfalls of those tantalizingly cheap
> department store bikes, combined with the refurbishing and sale of (better)
> used bikes.  A lot of people don't realize that a bike *should* last you 20,
> 30, even 100 years. I've almost wanted to stand around in the department
> store bicycle section and hand people leaflets, perhaps shouting "It's a
> trap!".   When people come into our shop to work on those bikes the
> difference is made clear enough to them, but something broader could be
> interesting...
>
> Snobbery towards department store bikes, and more importantly those who
> ride them, is counter-productive and doesn't help anyone, but department
> store bikes must nonetheless be stopped.  Their disposability and hassle is
> arguable anti-bicycle.
>
> -sherief
>
> On Tue, May 27, 2008 at 9:17 PM, Gern Blanston <getgern at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> When people ask me what the best bike to get is...I answer, "The best bike
>> is which ever one you will get on AND RIDE!, not just have it sit in
>> storage."
>>
>>
>> On 5/19/08, Cuper <cuper at neighborhoodbikeworks.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> And what about for the people are won't to come into your coop for all of
>>> the perceived social, racial, economic, and other barriers we all know way
>>> too well?  By telling folks *who are already intimidated by you* that those
>>> bikes are garbage, and implying that anyone who buys one is stupid, you are
>>> alienating potential shop users and customers.
>>>
>>> Those department store monsters aren't great, but can be "gateway
>>> bikes."  If you find a more positive way to pitch your product (instead
>>> slamming what many people feel is the best they can do), the folks who are
>>> riding department store bikes now are light years more likely to come to you
>>> in a year or two or five.
>>>
>>> jimmie
>>>
>>> --
>>> Neighborhood Bike Works		tel: 215.386.0316
>>> 3916 Locust Walk		fax: 215.386.7288
>>> Philadelphia, PA  19104		www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org
>>>
>>> Providing opportunities to youth through bicycling.
>>>
>>> NBw has a listserv! To stay in touch, subscribe to BikeStreetJounral at NeighborhoodBikeWorks.org at www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org/mailman/listinfo/bikestreetjournal.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> veganboyjosh at gmail.com wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, May 11, 2008 at 8:17 AM, Bruce Lien <bikedadlien at yahoo.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> how do low income families who can only stretch their budgets far enough
>>>> to buy their kid a bike for under $100, $70, or $40 do so? While some might
>>>> advocate they buy used bikes, check out the junk sitting at the Goodwill
>>>> with exorbitant prices on them, sold as is and you can see why that is not a
>>>> viable option. Garage sales are great alternatives, but again the bikes are
>>>> sold "as is" which often leaves a bike in need of some TLC from a good
>>>> mechanic.    Bruce
>>>
>>>
>>> several things the people on this list have or have access to:
>>>
>>> volunteer power/time/energy.
>>> bike knowledge.
>>> decent--better than dept store bikes.
>>>
>>> this is just a brainstorm that just came to me after reading gary,
>>> rafael, and bruce's emails....but what if we could somehow get the word out
>>> to these low income families with no LBS that the coops are the place to go.
>>> some kind of mailorder thing...i'm not sure how it would work, but if we're
>>> operating on a national level, then shouldn't we be able to address at least
>>> some of the basic needs of everyone in the country?
>>>  just an idea, i've been thinking about for all of 30 seconds. unlike
>>> gary's and rafaels, which both sound awesome and doable...
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
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>>
>>
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