Commuting - Commuter bikes are the nerds of the bicycle world

Consider these bicycles (both mine). This one:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_pfcaGbw_lfs/TFDyYXdhdkI/AAAAAAAAAWY/PAK-TjA_Prg/s800/bianchi2.jpg
is the school track star. Lean, sleek, fast, not an extraneous ounce of fat. Guys want to be him, girls want to be with him.

This one:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_pfcaGbw_lfs/TFDyYsUkTrI/AAAAAAAAAWc/4I_RtSdzRdY/s800/raleigh2.jpg
is the kid in your math class with taped up coke bottle glasses and a pocket protector in his polyester shirt with the top button done up. Smart, practical, will probably have a well-paying job someday, but he ain't dating a cheerleader.

Discuss.

Didn't those guys on Revenge of the Nerds end up with the last laugh? But seriously, a rigid fork with a longer steering tube and a less severely-angled stem would cut down on the nerdiness factor of that Raleigh. Nice Bianchi, BTW!

Nothing nerdy about that Bianchi!

Nothing nerdy about that Bianchi!

No, but it seems that many around here wouldn't consider it to be a proper commuter bicycle, due to its lack of fenders, rack, lights, reflectors, and 28+mm tires.

Well, I don't get people who think that your bike has to be ugly to commute on it. If I were you I'd just commute on the friggin' Bianchi!

The short kid...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/forrest15.JPG

I'm sorry, Sixty Fiver, but somehow that Twenty is just too cool to be considered nerdy.

Weak. Neither bike is nerdy. The green Bianchi screams "check it out retro!" and the other bike says "stealth utility commuter."

Nerdy bikes are the ones that are ridden by nerds. Who would never be caught on either of your two bikes.

Nice rides, though!

I'm sorry, Sixty Fiver, but somehow that Twenty is just too cool to be considered nerdy.

Oh but he gets teased a lot... got called a "nice sidewalk bike" yesterday...

tri bikes are far nerdier.. i mean come on, the helmet, the "rpg laucher" water bottles on the back and those aerobars! :D

The whole thing screams nerd.

PLUS tri bike riders can't ride, so like the nerd stereotype they are un co-ordinated...

Ten years later, the hybrid still goes hiking on the weekends and is generally just concerned with having a good time, even though he's got a good-paying job he actually enjoys. Coincidentally, he ended up getting a lot more chicks in college than that d-bag former track star road bike who kept starting fights whenever he got drunk.

Weak. Neither bike is nerdy. The green Bianchi screams "check it out retro!" and the other bike says "stealth utility commuter."

Nerdy bikes are the ones that are ridden by nerds. Who would never be caught on either of your two bikes.

Nice rides, though!

I know both of these bikes... intimately.

The Bianchi is a track star and the Raleigh is the linebacker on the school football team that just rolls through everything.

This is the kid in the math class with the taped up glasses and pocket protector...

http://www.alaska-in-pictures.com/data/media/7/recumbent-bicycle_31.jpg

Who gets excellent grades and becomes very wealthy and by which is then able to attract the hot chicks who never gave him the time of day while he was in school...

http://www.2blowhards.com/archives/recumbent%20bike%20-%201.jpg

not nerdy (but it does have a rack on again)

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu132/gavriel_bucket/DSC_2479.jpg

not nerdy (but it does have a rack on again)

Oh, definitely nerdy. But it is the nerd that never gets picked on because he is a head taller than everybody else.

Raleigh: Nerdy.

Twenty: Nerdy.

Schwinn: Not Nerdy.

That being said, Nerdy ≠ Not Cool. The Raleigh is neither nerdy nor cool, the Twenty nerdy but cool, so too the Schwinn.

Also, put me in the camp that believes that commuter needn't be nerdy. It's fender-ed up and such, but I don't think mine's nerdy...is it? :ride:

http://p6.hostingprod.com/@chaadthomas.com/buzz_profile.jpg

is the kid in your math class with taped up coke bottle glasses and a pocket protector in his polyester shirt with the top button done up. Smart, practical, will probably have a well-paying job someday, but he ain't dating a cheerleader.


I was that kid and I was dating the head cheerleader until we both went to separate colleges....

Ken

But seriously, a rigid fork with a longer steering tube and a less severely-angled stem would cut down on the nerdiness factor of that Raleigh.

That would be like the nerdy kid getting new glasses. Sure, there's no tape anymore, but he's still a nerd.

This is the kid in the math class with the taped up glasses and pocket protector...

http://www.alaska-in-pictures.com/data/media/7/recumbent-bicycle_31.jpg

'Bents are the special needs kids.


Who gets excellent grades and becomes very wealthy and by which is then able to attract the hot chicks who never gave him the time of day while he was in school...

http://www.2blowhards.com/archives/recumbent%20bike%20-%201.jpg

and alt-bikes are the goth chicks (or, back in my day, the Sinead O'Connor wannabes).

I thrive on being different, so it doesn't matter to me. Nerdier bikes get more love around my house.

Also, put me in the camp that believes that commuter needn't be nerdy. It's fender-ed up and such, but I don't think mine's nerdy...is it? :ride:

http://p6.hostingprod.com/@chaadthomas.com/buzz_profile.jpg

Still nerdy, but aware of his nerdiness enough to have some deliberate fashion sense.

not nerdy (but it does have a rack on again)

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu132/gavriel_bucket/DSC_2479.jpg

That's the tall doofy kid that tries too hard to be cool with the clothes and shoes...
but all fashion becomes cartoon when hung on his lanky uncoordinated body.

How's this:

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=162154&d=1280414487

Also, put me in the camp that believes that commuter needn't be nerdy. It's fender-ed up and such, but I don't think mine's nerdy...is it? :ride:

http://p6.hostingprod.com/@chaadthomas.com/buzz_profile.jpg

Looks about as nerdy as a Lakers fan decked out in yellow and purple.

I was that kid and I was dating the head cheerleader until we both went to separate colleges....

I was that kid too, and the only time the head cheerleader talked to me was when she needed help with her computer homework.

My commuter:
Nerdy kid? Or perhaps the kid that played a few sports but wasn't good enough at any of them to get much time off the bench.

My commuter:
Nerdy kid? Or perhaps the kid that played a few sports but wasn't good enough at any of them to get much time off the bench.

Not nerdy, but not what many would call a proper commuter bike, either.

Here's the retro-nerd Eagle Scout who was personable enough to know everyone and was kinda a teacher's pet but not necessarily the guy who stayed out of trouble and often times took jokes beyond the point they were funny but made for epic stories in retrospect.

162159

not nerdy (but it does have a rack on again)

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu132/gavriel_bucket/DSC_2479.jpg

Ah... there's that kid that hangs out with his friends behind the school smoking up and drinking PBR.

:)

Well rather than "nerd," isn't the proper term "Fred?" The blue one is my Fred ride... my all around commuting "truck." This is an older pic... I just got new panniers and a new saddle... I'll have to take another pic sometime.

The red one is my sports car. zoom zoom.

1) Girls ride bikes, too. High school was a long time ago; time to update your gender norms.

2) All bikes are nerdy because they are not expensive cars. Sorry to burst bubbles.

162211Hmm, My commuter is probably the aging but alas still dashing, English teacher at the high school.
Has a thing for certain lines in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and also sponsors the chess team oh wait that's me. Let's try this again.

My commuter is the kid who gets good grades only in history class and gym class. Probably sits alone at lunch and doesn't know what a cheerleader is. His only friends are on the cross country running team.
Out of touch with his time, he participates in civil war reenactments on weekends where he plays the part of a well dressed Southern general.

Hmm, My commuter is probably the aging but alas still dashing, English teacher at the high school.
Has a thing for certain lines in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and also sponsors the chess team oh wait that's me. Let's try this again.

My commuter is the kid who gets good grades only in history class and gym class. Probably sits alone at lunch and doesn't know what a cheerleader is. His only friends are on the cross country running team.
Out of touch with his time, he participates in civil war reenactments on weekends where he plays the part of a well dressed Southern general.

162200

Here is your English teacher... :)

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/reg2009a.JPG

Here is your English teacher... :)

Indeed! And I bet you can dig up a picture of the French foreign exchange student too...

Leiniesred...your attachment link seems to be broken, at least for me.

Indeed! And I bet you can dig up a picture of the French foreign exchange student too...

Of course...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/edith2010a.JPG

Leiniesred - thanks, I can see that now. Nice!

Sixty Fiver - Hmm...I guess even French exchange students can be a bit nerdy, but in an oddly sexy way...

The English teacher bike is great!

I'll have to get a better photo of mine, so the forum can diagnose exactly what type of nerd bike mine is.

All bikes are nerdy because they are not expensive cars. Sorry to burst bubbles.

Incorrect. Cars are the schoolyard bullies that pick on the nerdy kids.

So far, none of the bikes pictured has a basket or milk crate which I feel completes the nerd factor.

The eagle scout prankster sports a front basket.

So far, none of the bikes pictured has a basket or milk crate which I feel completes the nerd factor.

Now you're getting into über-nerd, Dr. Sheldon Cooper territory.
http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/8000000/Dr-Sheldon-Cooper-The-Guy-the-big-bang-theory-8053333-750-600.jpg

1) Girls ride bikes, too. High school was a long time ago; time to update your gender norms.

2) All bikes are nerdy because they are not expensive cars. Sorry to burst bubbles.

Sorry to burst your bubble, there are bikes that are more expensive than some cars.

Now you're getting into über-nerd, Dr. Sheldon Cooper territory.

I'm glad to know that I'm in with good company.;)

Wait, I'm not cool?

162254Not sure about the nerd name I would give it, however I figure nerdiness is a theft deterrent .

tri bikes are far nerdier.. i mean come on, the helmet, the "rpg laucher" water bottles on the back and those aerobars! :D

The whole thing screams nerd.

PLUS tri bike riders can't ride, so like the nerd stereotype they are un co-ordinated...

Shame you're in Canada. I'd turn my son loose on you and you'd eat those words as you waved while he dropped you like a sack of potatoes. Can you run 5k in 15 minutes then do a 40k TT in 53 minutes and get off and run another 15 minute 5k? :)

Shame you're in Canada. I'd turn my son loose on you and you'd eat those words as you waved while he dropped you like a sack of potatoes. Can you run 5k in 15 minutes then do a 40k TT in 53 minutes and get off and run another 15 minute 5k? :)

Ya, but i'd probably need one of those nerdy bikes!

162254Not sure about the nerd name I would give it, however I figure nerdiness is a theft deterrent .
That bike looks stealable to me... better lock it well!

Shame you're in Canada. I'd turn my son loose on you and you'd eat those words as you waved while he dropped you like a sack of potatoes. Can you run 5k in 15 minutes then do a 40k TT in 53 minutes and get off and run another 15 minute 5k? :)

Y'know, Winchester is closer to Toronto than, say, Chicago.

nerdy???? i think more elegant design in a swiss army knife/subaru sort of way (which probably by default makes it nerdy :) )

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w142/squirtdad/IMG_0248.jpg

the other option (and I have commuted on this......even fit a rack and fenders (barely) once upon a time)

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w142/squirtdad/IMG_0619.jpg