[TheThinkTank] low end bikes, Invisible riders

[Michael Wolfe]

the only "crime" i see here is converting a bike into a single speed.  While
such a ridiculous notion might be fine for bike messengers of days past
who did see the benefit of it being cheap and stupid such that no one would
ever consider stealing one, it's out of place for ordinary civilians.  Isn't
the point to get bikes to ordinary people?  Most people, as children learned
to ride bikes with gears which begs that even a child can see the benefit.
Even as this discussion was going on yesterday a neighbor pulled up to his
home with a 30 pack on the top tube of his Magna and then proceeded to
shuttle a child off to another destination in the same manner.  The notion
of a one gear bike to suffice for his daily activities would seem ludicrous
to him for sure.   The bikes they have stay outside all night and never seem
to disappear which seems to support the theory suggested yesterday.  hmmmf.




On 5/29/08, kyle mckinley <bicirider at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> the biggest problems with the walmart bikes seem to be related to (a)
> shifting and (b) weight. both of these are mitigated by turning the bike
> into a single speed. The safest way to do this on the cheap is to take apart
> the freewheel and only leave one gear (so that it won't shift up and break
> the axel) and use just the middle chainring in front.
> The shocks on magnas and the like usually don't have much travel, so it
> seems to work pretty well to pull it off and replace it with an old rigid
> fork from the boneyard (as opposed to "real" modern mountain bikes that
> require a problemsolver rigid fork to not result in a dangerously steep
> headtube angle).
> I agree that it is a good idea to rehad these bikes. The problem for a lot
> of orgs is that there isn't the room to store both the walmart bikes and the
> older, nicer, communters and mountain bikes. And those old bikes are better
> for the rider, and less of a nightmare to fix up.
> Moreover, regarding this whole thread; I can appreciate the general sense
> that it is important to help everyone feel good about zer bike--even if it
> is from walmart--but I would still contend that by purposefully
> manufacturing bikes that break immediately, and are super difficult to fix
> when they break, these companies are perpetuating a crime against the
> bicycle... a crime so vast that the only point of comparison is the
> dasterdly deed of "carbon fiber".
> Surely there is a way that we can learn to articulate a rejection of the
> continued manufacture of these bikes (most of which, despite our best
> efforts, head quickly to the landfill) without blaming our patrons for
> buying them. How exactly we do that depends on the individual
> interaction--and how busted the roadmaster actually is.
> thanks-
> kyle
> On Wed, May 28, 2008 at 1:38 PM, james blesdoe <jamesbleds0e at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>> At the Bicycle Kitchen we have started making the Wall Mart bikes work and
>> placing them on the street.  We use we  them for training our volunteers
>> and even though they are only fact similes of a real  bicycle i use a Murry
>> for polo.
>>
>> One poor fellow, who's bike feel off the bus bike rack and front wheel
>> mangled dragged his single speed coaster brake pin striped be-fendered Huffy
>> to  our shop.  He said, "i have had (when offered a modern bike) those and
>> they get stolen. I ride this everywhere. I have never had problems with it.
>> i like it  and just want to keep it."  he lost the front fender and we found
>> a new front wheel. cost him twenty bucks and he is back on the road.
>>
>>
>> Happy rollin
>>
>>
>> Jim
>>
>> *Michael Wolfe <gzuphoesdown at gmail.com>* wrote:
>>
>>  I like where the discussion is going on Low End Walmart bikes. To
>> provide an interesting prospective, check out this article in Bicycling
>> Magazine. It highlights a part of the cycling population that we not only
>> fail to recognize, but often are oblivious to.  It's kind of long but a
>> worthy read.
>>
>> http://www.bicycling.com/article/1,6610,s1-3-12-13639-1-P,00.html
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>
>
> --
> If an Easyrider rides easy, then a bicirider rides bicis
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