I wanted to jump back in here, perhaps because I think there's a lot of discussion going on and although the singlespeed v. geared debate may be a good one, I wanted to comment on what Kyle said. Sure, a NEXT or Magna can last a long time when you overhaul it right out of the store, etc. and i've seen people riding 10-20 year old department store bikes (irrespective of the fact that their quality keeps going down). Nonetheless there is no intent by the "people" designing, marketing, and selling these bikes to do anything else than pocket a smug margin off a cheap bicycle that *will* end up in the trash pretty quick. This is theft and exploitation.
We need to work towards increasing the visibility and demand for inexpensive commuters. Some solution can and should be made to provide an alternative within the price range of a department store bike that would clearly be better, and a way to make that difference accessible and known to the people who would be riding them. Sure geared bikes are good, but Singlespeeds that hold up are better than a geared bike that will fail and won't be fixable. We've had day laborers come into our shop before to do an earn-a-bike, and for everyone who tries to pick up an unservicable department store bike, we'll sit with them and talk to them and demonstrate the differences between that and a perhaps less shiny but sustainable alternative.
Current environmentalism and bicycle greenwashing have proven to be a joke in this regard. Shimano's *Coasting *initiative with Trek and whoever else is pumping out 'commuters' that fit only the gentrifying or suburban middle-class; Austin's recently witnessed the joke coffee-shop/shower facility/bike store called Mellow Johnny's where Mr. Armstrong's commuter-focus seems to include only one or two expensive commuters and some $6,000 road bikes. I know bike collectives do a good job getting real commuters on real bicycles, but maybe there's something else that can be done with shops and manufacturers to provide bikes that fit the needs and income of those who most use them... The "invisible riders" and the rest of us.
-sherief
On Thu, May 29, 2008 at 1:00 PM, Chris Wells re-cycles@rogers.com wrote:
I am always surprised by the number of customers requesting a single speed here in Ottawa. We aren't exactly mountainous but it is by no means flat and personally I can't even get around on a 3spd. However many seem to prefer and be perfectly happy with a 20-50 year old single speed. As long as they are happy and riding then who are we to complain or criticize?
Chris
PS I imagine most vintage single speeds stick to the downtown core and avoid hills while I tend to commute 20+km and often don't have time to explore ways around the hills.
--- Michael Wolfe gzuphoesdown@gmail.com wrote:
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@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
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@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 _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
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