[TheThinkTank] low end bikes, Invisible riders

[Michael Wolfe]

I've been pondering the same idea.  I'm sure there will be many
disagreements in what is the perfect commuter bike.  I've been them looking
at them a lot lately including a very nice three speed at REI.   Of course
this is out of the specrtum of the goal but a good starting point.
http://www.rei.com/product/761468

Remember the 100 dollar mtn bike frames Nashbar sold a few years back?  I
imagine something like that with a basic set of components.  Flat bars.
Single chainring.,  6-7-8 gears in the back.  700c 32 tires.  all else
simple yet functional.

hmmm..

On 5/29/08, Sherief <sgaber at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I'm starting to think now about what the minimum cost of a new bicycle
> along the lines we're talking about would be... It would take some research
> but with a decent cheap steel frame, the rest could conceivably fall in line
> for around $100-150, could it not?  With a little work and some fine tuning
> between this think tank, maybe we could get something rolling and in each of
> our respective neighborhoods start actually competing.  Thinking about here
> in Austin, a hopeful starting point is that we're better positioned
> (geographically and in the community) than any walmart to offer or promote
> such a bicycle to people who need bicycles.
>
> What about build kits even, along the lines of ronald's comment?  Save on
> the labor-intensivity of this kind of project on one hand, and offer people
> a discount for building up their own new bike, helping them along the way
> and teaching them the repair skills they should know for their new bike?
>
> On Thu, May 29, 2008 at 2:40 PM, ronald ferrucci <
> ronald.ferrucci at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Agreed. I actually meant road bike, it is 9:30 pm here in italy and I
>> have been drinking. Also, my fingers sometimes make decisions my mind
>> is not aware of.
>>
>> I do not think most people need all the gears. When I ride around in
>> the city I use my fixed gear, because really that it all I need. Never
>> had a problem. when I go for longer rides, I take my road bike,
>> because I may like to be able to shift into lower gears for wind or
>> hills or higher gears for straights and particularly downhills. Of
>> course I am talking in the past tense, since I only have the one
>> geared bike in italia.
>>
>> Again, I think bike collectives can be useful because people can get
>> an actual good bike used for less than the cost of a cheap crappy bike
>> at wal-mart, and they can learn how to maintain them and therefore
>> also save on expenses in the long run.
>>
>> On Thu, May 29, 2008 at 9:25 PM, Erik Ryberg <ryberg at seanet.com> wrote:
>> > Single-speed bikes are real bikes.  Like any tool there are all kinds of
>> > trade-offs to be made.  Brakes cost money, require maintenance, and
>> weigh
>> > something, but on the other hand they are needed if you want to survive
>> the
>> > ride, so most people opt to carry a set.  Gears have all the same
>> > disadvantages and if you live in a flat place and all your riding is
>> done
>> > for straightforward utilitarian purposes, then it might make sense to
>> stick
>> > with a single speed.  There's no need to tell a person that they don't
>> have
>> > the sense of a child, or that they are ridiculous, or that they are not
>> even
>> > an ordinary person just because they prefer a single speed.
>> >
>> > I just wish there was a way to give the bike-criminals over at Wal Mart
>> a
>> > bit of real competition, at least in a small way, with new bikes that
>> > actually work and that still only cost what the Magnas do.
>> > -Erik
>> >
>> >
>> >  ronald ferrucci wrote:
>> >
>> >> If they get to
>> >> the point where they need and understand the gears, I think they will
>> >> realize it is time to upgrade to a real bike.
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>>
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>
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