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A beach cruiser with 5 to 7 gears is about all one needs for riding about town to the neighborhood store or to a job several miles away. The upright seated position makes it easier to see the world around you.
You're right, but I was talking about Americans...
Please note that that is in The Netherlands-- a country about the size of Cook County, so small you can't drive your car far enough to get the oil warmed up and not frothing., and all those bikes look like the one I pointed out as being OK-- none of them riden with a seat so small it only fits up your crack and manubria narrow and low positioned so you must lay down prone to steer.
and BTW-- if you do the math, helmets only help avoid injury if you wer to fall off and land on your head while standing still. Follow the money in & from the hellmet lobby to understand the helmet regs.
Last edited by guidoLaMoto; 04-06-2023 at 07:32 AM..
A beach cruiser with 5 to 7 gears is about all one needs for riding about town to the neighborhood store or to a job several miles away. The upright seated position makes it easier to see the world around you.
I'd even suggest that the multiple gears are not necessary when the bike is used for basic errands around town.
For commuteers, there's folding bikes that can be easily carried inside and stored next to your desk, etc. They may seem pricey, but you can buy one for less than one monthly payment on a car....and no need to dread gas prices, not to mention parking fees.
Last edited by guidoLaMoto; 04-06-2023 at 07:38 AM..
I'd even suggest that the multiple gears are not necessary when the bike is used for basic errands around town.
For commuteers, there's folding bikes that can be easily carried inside and stored next to your desk, etc. They may seem pricey, but you can buy one for less than one monthly payment on a car....and no need to dread gas prices, not to mention parking fees.
Such bikes would be good for park and ride situations. They can easily fit in the trunk and be used for going through city traffic to the job.
Most cruiser bikes don’t have gears. Some communities have hills and having 5 to 7 gears would make those hills easier. On flat roads those gears could help to increase your traveling speed. Last time I had a bike it was a combination bike for road and trails. Sadly someone stole the front wheel while it was locked outside. I now live in a bike friendly area again. Awaiting the proper bike for myself.
You're right, but I was talking about Americans...
Please note that that is in The Netherlands-- a country about the size of Cook County, so small you can't drive your car far enough to get the oil warmed up and not frothing., and all those bikes look like the one I pointed out as being OK-- none of them riden with a seat so small it only fits up your crack and manubria narrow and low positioned so you must lay down prone to steer.
and BTW-- if you do the math, helmets only help avoid injury if you wer to fall off and land on your head while standing still. Follow the money in & from the hellmet lobby to understand the helmet regs.
Well, I'm an American male in my 60's and still enjoy riding my second-hand Schwinn (Taiwnese-made), an aluminum step-thru hybrid comfort bike with panniers, to do certain errands and for recreation (after having been a bike commuter for most of my career), don't own a helmet, never wore spandex, and my bike has a nice wide seat to cushion my derriere (and those sensitive nerves and blood vessels down there). We are not a different species from the Dutch and can catch on the way they did. A few decades a go they didn't have anything near the ridership they have now, and some videos show how the streets they ride bikes by the thousands on now looked back then, crowded with cars and trucks, no bikes.
Like the people in the Dutch video I'm no athlete or racer and have no interest in pretending to be one. I just love riding and find it an enjoyable way to get from A to B. In the video I loved how parents piled their kids on their bikes (no helmets) and how the mother reached back to check that her kid was still there, didn't fall off and go "splat!"
Alot of the crappola bikes made in China are based on blueprints of American designs from 30+ years ago. I know because I own a Schwinn made in China, and it has a freehub (or is it freewheel?) cassette (whichever is the older design). I love it and ride it often, but it was a "major tech project' to upgrade the gearing when my skill level rose to that level. But give me my gears, you can have your single-speed-cruiser-with-coaster-brakes from 1986.
Bikes are always under constant revision to the design, be that for efficiency or aesthetics
but "sustainability" is a weird concept. Store your bike out in the yard subject to the elements, it will degrade right before your very eyes. Chain it to a pole outside, be prepared to cry one morning when you find somebody stole your bike. Store it indoors and maintain it well, it will last forever. My cromoly-steel-framed mountain bike from 25 years old, is perfectly fine and usable these many years later.
"efficiency and sustainability" is also built into the price point. compare the ride & feel & durability of:
- $149 walmart steel framed special
- $799 local bike shop aluminum hardtail
-$1399 local bike shop multi-geared full-suspension alum journeyman
-$2499 lance-tour-de-france road bike or modern hybrid
I dont know the eBike world very well, but the things that sell for sub- $1400 weigh 60lbs, so they are useless if you run out of electricity and have to pedal it home. I think a decent and performant eBike will run you closer to $2000+
I have with my own eyes and hands briefly examined a $10,000 carbon-fiber-everything-no-holds-barred eBike. I'm sure its amazing piece of technology that makes my Schwinn look like a Flintstones Tricycle compared to IronMan's MarkV suit, but you can buy a decent used car for $10k (I think) and the world is filled with people with more money than brains, I always say.
Bikes for sunny afternoons, but Cars when you have to go somewhere far and carry passengers and cargo. its fun to play for day "everything I need is in the village, bike-distance away"
but when you have Fortune 500 job or want to see a concert downtown (and public transportation stops running at midnight) its Car-time.
Aluminum has low tolerance to repearted deformations, as in vibrations on a moving bike https://www.quora.com/Does-aluminum-...th-age?share=1 therefore has a considerably shorter useful life for this application.
That's a non-issue with bikes. They just don't go see enough deformation/vibration in regular use for metal fatigue to ever become a problem.
Maybe in Kansas or some other place that is completely flat. Live in a town with hills and you'll want some gears.
The thing is, using gears as a proxy for "unnecessary complication" is a misunderstanding of how bicycle gears are used, how complex they really are, how much they cost, and how much maintenance and repair they require.
For an ordinary commuter-errand bike, either the old standard Sturmey Archer three speed hub or a simple five speed rear freewheel with derailleur is inexpensive, highly durable, reliable, and allows you to cycle terrain you would simply have to walk up otherwise. Repairs on the SA 3 speed are complicated, but you don't have to do them but maybe once every 40 years. Derailleurs are simple as can be, all the parts are right out there in front of you and it's easy to understand how they all work.
There's a huge difference between a 5 speed rear derailleur bike and a triple front cog 10 rear cog electronically shifted doohickey with a myriad of little plastic parts all hidden away and no user serviceable parts inside.
And by the way, Eastern Kansas is a rolling hilly terrain. There are a few steep ones. It's the approach to the foothills of the Ozarks.
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