Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Why the bottle opener?

While I wouldn't call it an epidemic, I have been noticing more than a few products directed toward cyclists (FG/SS riders in particular) that include bottle openers. I have seen them built into bike seats and bike tools among other things.

How many bottled beverages are left out there? What bottled beverage is so great that young riders are drinking that I know nothing about ? I must invest heavily. What keeps popping in my head is this:

"Bartender, could I get a Newcastle?"
[bartender pulls an NC from the cooler and goes to remove the cap]
"NO, no, no....please, follow me outside to the bike rack. I have something wonderful and profound to show you."

PS- These are real questions because I am old and completely uncool and your world scares and confuses me.

(A) Beer. Many fine beers are not available with twist off lids.

(B) Not all bike riders are drinking at the bar or other place where there is ready access to bottle openers. Last time i pulled a bottle of Left Hand Milk Stout out of my bag while playing bicycle cops-n-robbers in a parking garage I was glad I had an opener on the bike.

(C) Cool kids add their own custom bottle openers, not just off the shelf stuff...
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h170/HandsomeRyan/IMG_0439.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h170/HandsomeRyan/IMG_0438.jpg

While I wouldn't call it an epidemic, I have been noticing more than a few products directed toward cyclists (FG/SS riders in particular) that include bottle openers. I have seen them built into bike seats and bike tools among other things.

How many bottled beverages are left out there? What bottled beverage is so great that young riders are drinking that I know nothing about ? I must invest heavily. What keeps popping in my head is this:

"Bartender, could I get a Newcastle?"
[bartender pulls an NC from the cooler and goes to remove the cap]
"NO, no, no....please, follow me outside to the bike rack. I have something wonderful and profound to show you."

PS- These are real questions because I am old and completely uncool and your world scares and confuses me.

You just made my signature, haha

http://www.guinnesworldrecords.com/images/news/2008/03/Coke_Bottle.jpg

I think that a corkscrew would be more useful.

Thunderbird comes in a twist-cap.

Beerrun!

You don't do this on rides? Only the Moxie's a twist off.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2602489423_0d00e51e4d.jpg

Don't think it's something new, just about every multi tool ever has a bottle opener

Pffft. Bolting stuff to the seat, or carrying it on a tool is for amateurs.

Rodriguez frames braze a bottle opener to the seatstay.
http://www.rodbikes.com/catalog/bottle_opener.gif

We drink beer at the end of most of our rides (the group I ride with), if I were one to drink beers that weren't twist offs, a bottle opener would be useful.

Plus it's just rad

I have never seen anyone drink anything ever than water on a group ride. Sometimes they will mix in some of that electrolyte powder but that's it. We definitely don't drink beer afterwards b/c 10a.m. is a little early for beer.

But I guess if you do those leisurely, slow rides at night it's different story.

its becuase drinking is really cool, so its totally rad to have a bottle opener on your bike. you must be a serious party dude if you can drink anywhere.

its just people trying to be cool. the last thing id want to drink during a ride is beer, dehydration isnt somthing i want.

No, bottle openers are completely useless. Can't call yourself a drinker if you can't open a bottle (non-screw top) without a bottle opener.

Just another "hipster" cool factor.

+1 for the wine bottle opener however.

Late night beer run, turns into a fun ride on the trails, stop and enjoy a beer. This is actually a regular thing for my friends and I.

b/c 10a.m. is a little early for beer.

I don't know about you, but I don't look at my watch to tell when I'm thirsty. :p


the last thing id want to drink during a ride is beer, dehydration isnt somthing i want.

Drinking beer (in moderation) won't dehydrate you, in fact quite the opposite.

I'm all for the wine bottle opener, but using my ever-trusty bic to pop my beers is a bit more convenient...

I pop my beer tops off w/ my chainring b/c I'm HXC!!!!!!

I have never seen anyone drink anything ever than water on a group ride. Sometimes they will mix in some of that electrolyte powder but that's it. We definitely don't drink beer afterwards b/c 10a.m. is a little early for beer.


10 am is never early for beer.

For instance, last week we met at 11am in the park downtown, rode 40 miles at a hard pace, came back to the park and drank beer for a couple hours in the afternoon. Seems to make sense to me.

10 am is too early for ME to have a beer, but in your example it sounds like you were actually drinking at like 1ish.

Anyways, for me, beer is the last thing I want after a hard ride. I usually drink a lot of water, eat something, take a dip in the pool, etc. But then again, Texas is like 100 degrees F right now, so it is not very good "sit on a bench in the park and drink" weather

the best time to drink is early.

dont you guys have bottle openers on your keyrings?

texas sounds miserable - rednecks, bad accents, and hot weather.

My Nashbar multi-tool has a bottle opener. It serves me well when i ride around hitting up all the taco trucks.

tacos, beer, and bikes.
you know how to do it.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2007/11/02/Study-Beer-beats-water-for-hydration/UPI-75631194005695/

just sayin...

the best time to drink is early.

dont you guys have bottle openers on your keyrings?

texas sounds miserable - rednecks, bad accents, and hot weather.

Actually you don't really know what you're talking about. Austin is a liberal city. Summers are hot, but spring fall and winter are nice. You can bike year round no problem. As far as the accents...I think they're charming haha.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2007/11/02/Study-Beer-beats-water-for-hydration/UPI-75631194005695/

just sayin...

I would want to be in the beer drinking group of the study that this article is about. My bet is that they got paid for it also.

to open bottles of your favorite brew.

and texas kicks ass.

i <3 beer. Bell's Oberon=king of them all. my local brewery

Actually you don't really know what you're talking about. Austin is a liberal city. Summers are hot, but spring fall and winter are nice. You can bike year round no problem. As far as the accents...I think they're charming haha.

I know Austin quite well. The city is very small and an island in a sea of madness. I also know that there no real seasons down there. Get up north where the seasons are not limited to "miserable-hot" and "not-that-hot." Winter biking in the snow rules.

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc327/SaxonHall/0621091812.jpg

i always have the ring on. the other opener is on my car keys. so i normally don't have that on me when i am on my bike. but I use one or the other several times a week. when you are hanging out with your friends on the deck or in the backyard, no one wants to run in the house for a bottle opener. we normally drink beers that require one. so it's great to have one handy.

I just carry a pocket knife=P

lighter works for me

i use my eyelids

New Chrome bags have one (still don't know if it was designed that way though) on the buckle.

i use my eyelids

which is all fun and games until someone takes an eye out.

I don't know, I find the whole thing nifty. Who knows when you'd need it, that's for you to determine.

To those who are too cool for school...so you ride hard every single time and never feel like a beer afterward? OK, then these products clearly aren't for you. Go search the road forum for the post about when people ride. Not everyone rides at the crack of dawn.

Most of the riders (road or otherwise) I know are able to ride at a leisurely pace with their friends from time to time. Amazingly, we are able to use our bikes as a means of transportation. Sometimes we are transporting ourselves to movies, shows, sporting events, and bars by using our bikes.

I don't think it's a sign of being a raging alcoholic/hipster/******* to have a bottle opener in a clever place.

Cheers.

I think I have a quote for all my cool friends.

" You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning!"

Also just wanted to let you guys know about some sandals for after the ride by Reef. They put a bottle opener in the sole of the shoe!!

the best time to drink is early.

Affirmitive.


dont you guys have bottle openers on your keyrings?

No, I can open a bottle or find a way to smoke grass in any situation.



texas sounds miserable - rednecks, bad accents, and hot weather.
Austin is one of the weirdest, most interesting places I have ever been!

I think I have a quote for all my cool friends.

" You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning!"

Also just wanted to let you guys know about some sandals for after the ride by Reef. They put a bottle opener in the sole of the shoe!!

but what if you want hard alcohol? Well, reef has an answer for that too

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31MfWNQ4%2BnL._SS400_.jpg

presenting, the Dram

The drams sketch me out, real bad.
I've got a few pairs of the fannings though.

lol. is that seriously a flask in a flip flop? awesome!

texas sounds miserable - rednecks, bad accents, and hot weather.


http://brooklyntx.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/909.jpg http://beer.fishtownbriefcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/lone-star-2-219x300.jpg



These make up for the rednecks, bad accents, and hot weather.

Austin is one of the weirdest, most interesting places I have ever been!

yeah, maybe in the '90s when it was nearly exactly like slacker or when the music scene in the '80s (scratch acid & all that) was psychotic and brilliant but these days it just seems to have become more pedestrian and vanilla. Last time I was there, I felt like I was in williamsburg jr but with people that talked funny. I dont know if it's gentrification or the effect of sxsw, but it's certainly not the same. That said, I do enjoy austin very much (like I can enjoy savannah or nashville or parts of atlanta) -- the rest of Texas and the south can eat a bag of d.

I think I have a quote for all my cool friends.

" You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning!"

Also just wanted to let you guys know about some sandals for after the ride by Reef. They put a bottle opener in the sole of the shoe!!

my friend had a pair of these. he bought them and didn't know. i told him about the bottle opener and he was like oh, that's cool. a week later the bottoms of the sandals were so filth you would not want to open a beer with them. dog **** and chew gum= no bottle top where i put my mouth. and he won a beer dispenser for his apartment a few weeks later. no need for a bottle opener when you have a machine full of cans in your living room.

I think the bikes have them because it is an interesting or convenient addition to the frame. Considering the target market, it isn't a wild assumption.

Also just wanted to let you guys know about some sandals for after the ride by Reef. They put a bottle opener in the sole of the shoe!!My moron friend poured beer down my leg trying to use one of those near me.

http://www.guinnesworldrecords.com/images/news/2008/03/Coke_Bottle.jpg

=

http://www.diabetescaregroup.info/images/type2diabetes.jpg

I needed some of these devices last night on a Budweiser American Ale!

You just made my signature, haha

+1... amazing, honestly.

yeah, maybe in the '90s when it was nearly exactly like slacker or when the music scene in the '80s (scratch acid & all that) was psychotic and brilliant but these days it just seems to have become more pedestrian and vanilla. Last time I was there, I felt like I was in williamsburg jr but with people that talked funny. I dont know if it's gentrification or the effect of sxsw, but it's certainly not the same. That said, I do enjoy austin very much (like I can enjoy savannah or nashville or parts of atlanta) -- the rest of Texas and the south can eat a bag of d.

It depends which part of Austin you are in. Parts of it have become yuppie-fied, but it is still an AMAZING city. It has grown and become more modern since the '90s but it hasn't changed.

I think you are just too caught up in the physical changes that have taken place (high rise condo buildings and chic chic boutique stores). It is still the same city it has always been.

Also, Texas is what makes Austin a great city. People always make it sound like Austin is the only redeemable part of Texas but that's bull. The redneck element is what separates Austin from other liberal cities in other parts of the country. It's the only place where I see a huge, diesel, farm truck w/ a Ron Paul bumper sticker. It's great.

As far as the heat goes, you get used to it. I can ride my bike around in 105f heat no problem. I don't deal well w/ the cold at all. Anything below 50 and I'm really uncomfortable. But I have been in Texas my whole life so I'm sure that has something to do w/ it.

Also, what do you mean by gentrification effect of sxsw and vanilla and pedestrian?