Roody

"Riding high-tech road bikes faster and farther is the goal of most cyclists."

True or false?

If false, please inform the LBS owners of the nation! They don't seem to get it.

I-Like-To-Bike

Indeed SSP is totally off the mark. This is a commuter list with this thread discussing simple bikes, not about the the equipment needs of cyclists whose idea of commuting involves using software to measure the altitude of their sustained climbs up 8000' mountains.

And SSP failed to notice my request for info was directed to fender1 in response to his direct observations of the cyclists at the Glenside PA LBS, a location both he and I are very familiar with and does not include 8000' mountains and where the terrain can be traversed with a simple bike. My sister is 68 years old lives in Glenside and uses daily the 3 speed Schwinn that I gave her in the 70's.

What the heck do you (SSP) know at all about cycle commuting or simple cycling pleasures in a city (ANYWHERE) as experienced by non-long distance enthusiasts, non bike club racers, or non snobbish equipment fetishists?

PaulH

Nowhere here has anyone described the ranges of bikes the guy sells. Does he intend to serve a commuter market? Poor folks? Casual riders? Retrogrouches? There seem to be a lot of assumptions floating around, based on little data.

As far as I can tell, a bike shop is a lousy way to make money, regardless of the types of bikes sold. It's good for us that there are people who love bikes, of one sort or another, enough to open bike shops.

Paul

Speedo

+1

Having been one of the pontificators, I started thinking about it, and realized that I have no idea who he's trying to serve, just that the goal is simplicity.

I-Like-To-Bike

I asked that very question on post #6 of this thread. What simple bikes is he selling and where does he get them from when nobody else is selling them in the US; except perhaps in LA where shopping means ordering from overseas or from custom builders.

fender1

I would presume (and I am presuming a whole lot!) that most folks would be served better with simpler bikes. These are people who are looking to ride for fun exercise commuting etc. ie genral riding. Racing bikes are great if you are going to race or train like you are going to race. The harder someting is to use the less likely you are to use it, generally speaking.

I personally like touring bikes and bikes with internal geared hubs. There are not many bikes like that available so I bulit mine. Old schwinn frame + nexus 8 hub. Not everyone has that level of interest, but I do. Again I feel most people are not sure what they even want/really need when the go into a store and that is the biggest problem. I think the simplicity of utiliarian bikes is thier undoing in American culture. They are not sexy, flashy or status symbols, hence they don't sell very well. All "steak" and no "sizzle".

SSP

Hook, line, and sinker ILTB...you're nothing if not predictable.

FWIW, I've commuted by bike off and on for the last 12 years (off when I've worked from home, on when I'm at a client's site). I first started commuting on a low-end mountain bike (equipped with a rack and slicks). Later, I upgraded to a Cannondale R500 road bike.

And for the last 5 years, my commuter bike has been a full carbon Trek 5200 (ridden while wearing lycra clothing! ). Out here on the West Coast, that's not very unusual (though it may be inconceivable out on the Great Plains).

And, as I indicated above, the bike manufacturers *are* starting to respond to the "ute" bike market niche with recent entries by Trek, Specialized, and Breezer (among others). They're not the "simple", heavy, 3-speeds you seem to long for, but they are simple to operate and equipped for commuting, errands, and around town riding. In fact, I recently bought my daughter one of the Trek hybrids, which she's using for commuting to work, and for shopping (sans lycra).

Different strokes for different folks (know-it-all retro-grouches excluded, of course).

Treespeed

Apparently I haven't been clear enough with you, but you obviously have a serious comprehension problem. In one post you sing the praises of a decades old bike your relative rides and the next you talk about how no one sells new 3 speeds in the states! Is Burlington Iowa under a rock or something?!
I'll post a picture this week from the campus of USC and you can count for yourself the thousands of brand new and well ridden single, three, and seven speed cruisers. I can think of at least a handful of brick and mortar shops that have rows of these straight forward classic bikes, or community shops that will help you build up any bike you want from used and donated parts.

You think you have some lock on what the bike commuting public wants way out there in Iowa

That's rich.
Too bad you can't find what you're looking for in Burlington. Even if there was a store that stocked exactly what you were saying is impossible to find I very much doubt you'd spend enough to keep such a store afloat. You're the kind of guy who just pisses and moans about everything but never gets off his @ss to actually do anything productive to create any change. And even better you complain even louder when someone does get off their @ss and actually does what you've been whining about.
If you're so hot on all of those great Dutch bikes then why don't you start importing them? You seem to think there's a huge market for them, but then I guess you wouldn't have anything to complain about except VC.

Electra is going to make a fortune selling new cruisers with internal hubs to folks looking for a new classic bike, and the Amsterdam in flat urban areas. And next fall hundreds of So Cal college kids will spend a whopping $150 for a new beach cruiser to commute around campus. And you'll still be a cranky old man complaining on the internet that all of this is impossible.

chephy

The idea is very nice. Whether it can feed the man is quite another matter.

chicbicyclist

Psst, ILTB, my lbs just left me a message informing me that they just got the Electra Amsterdam in* today.



*Disclaimer: I(Me, Myself), by no means imply that I have seen, touched or smelled the bike(Electra Amsterdam, Amsterdam) myself. Whether or not it is physically there, I don't know. I might go check it out this weekend(A period that constitutes Friday afternoon through Sunday midnight[or in some circles, just Saturday and Sunday], the end of the week). Of course, I cannot guarantee you whether or not my experience would be authentic since there is no way I could let you into my brain and experience the sensation yourself.

Opedaler

Some random thoughts from a newbie......

Would I spend a thousand or two thousand dollars on a bike? Yes, if I thought of it as an investment or at least a long term viable purchase. Instead shops promote the "new" bikes as if last years bikes are obsolete. Forget that you spent a couple grand last year.....this years models will make you wish that you hadn't.

Forget functional use. You want to look like Lance so you buy a bike that looks like the one Lance is on in pics and on TV. Forget that riding that bike long term for the average Joe/Josephine might lead to loss of lordotic curve to the lower spine or impinge nerves or damage joints. The rider wants to look like Lance not Miss Marple thanks to advertising.

People are lazy and getting lazier. Convince them that the bike does the work. With this "new" bike it will require little effort on your part. All you have to do is spend the money and the bike will do the rest.

People like shiny new toys. Present them in a certain manner and people will buy them.....maybe not use them.....but buy them.

So what would I like........A bike that feels like a long term purchase. One that I can update without feeling that I'm pouring money down the drain. I don't want a throwaway bike.

A bike that puts me in a moderately dynamic position without wrecking the body long term. I don't need to race anyone but I don't need to waste time fighting the wind all the time either. I want to physically recieve more than I give. ie health and economic benefits outweigh health liabilities and time spent.

Let me know upfront that it takes effort. But the effort diminishes with time and that in time it will fun and rewarding.

Let me know that the bike costs more because it is an investment and that since the shop will not be making their money in volume they will be making it in quality and service. I can live with that if it is the truth. Show me that if I decide to update my bike it won't be outdated in a year to two and that updated components will retro on my bike for less a new bike will cost.

Whew........glad that I got that off my chest.

rando

I like the guy's angle. he's gonna have to have a lot of utility riders or commuters around him to make it. I can't afford any new bike in any of the bike shops that I go to ... I'm not interested in racing and I want something more than a 1-spd fat tire cruiser bike with a fancy paint job. luckily, two of them sell used re-conditioned bikes and many of them are great bikes that they sell for 100-200 or whatever you can talk them down to. that's how I got my univega that I commute on now.

pinkrobe

It's our society's trap. We always want the "new" new thing, regardless of whether or not we need it. It's marketing, plain and simple. I want a custom Ti SS/FG bike that's light and has sweet parts, but I need something that will get me from A to B to A without much fuss. My want will cost me $3k, my need will cost me $500. The owner of the LBS has a definite preference as to which one I buy, as he has financial responsibilities.

jgerry@gmail.co

This bike shop in Framingham , MA is a great shop, but SPECIAL. You will not be pleased if you are looking for a $1k or greater bike. It is eclectic to say the least. It is a FANTASTIC shop for someone looking for a single speed, a mountain bike, or a beginner/intermediate road bike. Hi philosophy does not necessarily parallel a beginning road bike enthusiast, but his bikes and his prices are very reasonable. I've searched high and low and did not find a lower price for my bike ANYWHERE (new or slightly used) !

The bikes he sells are NOT department store brands, (Jamis, Fuji, GT etc..) , go there, look up the number for simply living cycles in Framingham, speak to the guy if you are local. Your exact philosophies may not completely align, but he knows bikes and he steers you towards simplicity if you will listen (I however don't always listen). He much dislikes Shimano Sora shifters (as do most of the folks on this forum) but he also isn't a big fan of clipless pedals (remember simplicity is his mantra), This may eschew many here from working with this guy, but it is not a sticking point if you SPEAK to him (Paul).

I do agree with many of you that this guy should have a small shop in Cambridge (MetroBoston) to cater to the majority of the single speed crowd in the Boston area. I also believe that he could rearrange his shop to make it easier to navigate, but he makes up for it when he talks pricing.

I think his comments in the Globe when taken out of context seemed harsher than they sound, and I laugh even harder on those comments after I talked to the guy.

I'm thinking I may dress in my road bike garb, ride over and say "Look at me know Lifestyle Bike Shope Owner!" Then he would laugh and tighten my shifter cables and we would drink tea because it just seems simpler than Coffee.... :-D

I really enjoyed this gent's company when I bought my bike. He let me try many bikes at my leisure didn't push me into anything, although he LOVES single speeds and or lower complexity bikes.

Good Luck - Stop Speculating - and see this guy !

Cheers

Jason G

robmcl

I said the very same thing a year ago in a similar thread. Fact is, there are/have been more of these bikes available than what is given credit for. Just go into any REI.

This has has a lot to do with why these types of threads get started all the time and last as long as they do.

I-Like-To-Bike

I thought they last a long time because posters are interested in the subject; and/OR because some wait a month or two to respond to someone else's post.

610

I personally would LOVE to buy a used bike if I could find the particular one I want. It would be nice if there was a classified section online where EVERYONE put their bikes on. Rather than have a dozen forums with classifieds.

nowheels

Keswick has a great service dept.....and they still sell a varity of average bikes and guy's like Tommy take just as much time fitting someone with a Serotta as they do with a basic Raleigh.