Biking culture gets a makeover

[phantom power]

"People think that this is messing with the paradigm of biking," said company founder David Schmidt, 39, a self-proclaimed nonconformist who previously owned a window-cleaning business where he regularly repelled off the side of commercial buildings like Seattle's Space Needle. "The bike culture is almost its own little group."

By Schmidt's accounts, it's an unfriendly world filled with attitude and disdain. His company, which operates stores in Seattle and Chicago, is offering a non-intimidating alternative to lure the relaxed crowd. Customers are encouraged to come into the shop to just hang out, often with a complimentary glass of beer. Many are well-heeled and of a certain age, with pocketbooks fat enough to afford price tags of up to $3,000.

They don't belong to cycling clubs. Some haven't ridden in years. They are searching for stylish and reliable transport for short commutes or errand junkets. They don't want to worry about the hassle of changing into special clothes just to pedal leisurely to the office. Recall the bike scene with Paul Newman and Katherine Ross in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

"A woman came in yesterday and the first thing out of her mouth was, ‘I hate bikes. But I'm retiring; I'm going to start riding a bike,'" said Schmidt. "That happens a lot."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6513RD20100602

http://dutchbikeco.com/

[NoNothing]

1. Just go back to the penny-farthing

Forward into the past!

[wtmusic]

11. Too dangerous

The invention of the "safety bicycle" in the 1880s was the direct result of injuries sustained from falling from a height of 5 feet or more.

[Greyskye]

2. Really? He was driven off of the side of commercial buildings like Seattle's Space Needle?

Damn I hate rookie editing mistakes, especially in fields where correct language usage is how you deliver your product.

The word she's looking for is 'rappelled', not 'repelled'. Sigh.

[tinrobot]

3. Ah yes... cycling cliques, I know them well

The fixie crowd has to dress as close to homeless person as possible, and handlebars wider than 8 inches are a source of derision.

The roadies dress in spandex clothing resembling Superman suits and any bike heavier than 17 pounds is laughed off the street.

Mountain bikers measure their worth by how many scrapes are in their bike's paint job and how many stitches are in their shins.

I tend to hang with the roadies, but my bike is too heavy and my clothes too loose to be an official member.

I think this guy might be on to something, or he may just be starting a whole new clique - The 'slow cycling' movement.

[kristopher]

4. Any place where cycling is a basic means of transport...

...the "slow cycling" crowd makes up 99.9% of the riders.

Of course that stat is hyperbole, but when people commute by bicycle to and from a commuter train station they are faced with certain realities that dictate their choices - lack of security for expensive bicycles for example. Heavy sweating and clothing changes are also problematic for most. So while the 99.9% is a made up number, it is probably accurate or even a bit on the low side.

[NNadir]

5. No surprise there...

...I mean the made up number part.

Like I always say, "If you don't know what you're talking about, make stuff up."

I would bet a lot of money that a lot of the "hydrogen HYPErcar" car cultists here have never practiced bicycle communting in their useless lives.

Anyone who has bicycled for any appreciable period of time, let's say a few years, as a sole means of transport probably ended up despising the car culture and most of its "lipstick on a pig" denizens.

[phantom power]

7. I'm seeing an increase in the 'electra townie' demographic.

Anecdotally.

I think it's a good trend, since I assume it indicates cycling growing beyond the 'roadie' or 'extreme' demographics.

[wtmusic]

17. Have you checked out randonneuring?

"Randonneuring is long-distance unsupported endurance cycling. This style of riding is non-competitive in nature, and self-sufficiency is paramount. When riders participate in randonneuring events, they are part of a long tradition that goes back to the beginning of the sport of cycling in France and Italy. Friendly camaraderie, not competition, is the hallmark of randonneuring."

http://www.rusa.org/

"Endurance" is misleading, because it doesn't always involve long distances. I find this ethic very appealing, but it requires lots of time I don't have.

[NNadir]

6. We should all hope that the bicycle culture becomes broader.

You know that there's not a bicycle rack at my son's high school and that bicyclists, including my boy, are often at risk of being run over by people who drop off their kids because the bus is apparently too pedestrian, excuse the pun.

Just last week a kid got hit by a drop off mom.

I am loathe to quote from the "we'll all die without oil" website, but I found this bit kind of amusing: http://www.theoildrum.com/node/2902">How Walkable is Your Neighborhood?

We need to think about "bikable" communities, and "bikable" workplaces, but I don't expect we'll hear much about that from highly paid "green" oil industry consultants.

Have a K&R.

[bhikkhu]

9. Last week I pedalled over to my daughter's school for a show

I locked my bike up in the old beat-up rack they have there...it was a beautiful spring day, there were about 400 kids in class there, and one lone bicycle.

Back when I went to school about 25% cycled, 10% took the bus, 60% walked. There was never any traffic problems at the school from kids getting driven by their parents.

[depakid]

8. Those things seem pretty expensive for what you get

I wonder if they're popular with the thieves?

[Kolesar]

10. Heavy, flexible, inefficient bikes that can't climb hills, starting at $1,599.00?

Is that what you mean?

[wtmusic]

12. Bikes For The Rest Of Us

is a very fun blog which is at the focus of this movement.

http://bikesfortherestofus.blogspot.com/

At BFTROU I found A.N.T. Bikes, which is a small shop in Boston which makes handbuilt commuter bikes as well as very cool retro recreations:

http://antbikemike.wordpress.com/antique-style/

[Kolesar]

13. That 8-speed costs $100 more than my 27 speed Bianchi

And it doesn't even have a brand name for the wheels. I know what kind of performance to expect out of that bicycle--slow and tiring.

[wtmusic]

14. Not sure which one you're talking about

but if it has a Shimano internal-hub shifter (Alfine, Nexus) there's very little maintenance and you get a chainguard (no grease marks on the pants). These are big pluses for commuters.

Commuter bikes don't have to be unwieldy either. Check out Trek's Soho, which for just under $1K has a lightweight aluminum frame and belt drive:

http://www.jacksbikes.com/contents/en-us/d1128_Trek_Soho_2009.html

AND it comes with a stylish Trek commuter coffee mug, and style is something you really can't put a price on :D

[phantom power]

15. One thing that I don't get is the price point...

I don't understand what I would get for paying around $1000 more than I'd pay for an electra. Which isn't to say there isn't anything, I just don't know what it is.

[wtmusic]

16. A comparable Electra Royal 8i is around $1,000

so they're not that much more. Dutch Bikes offers some nice little touches like a Brooks leather saddle and lugged construction (vs ugly welds at joints) which kick up the price a notch.

[IDemo]

18. I was biking to my previous job

That was a 5 mile route, mainly through quiet residential areas with little traffic, and only one major intersection.

Now, I'm more than double that and the route would be suicidal on a bicycle, so the bike has been changed: