Originally Posted by
bhtooefr
And that's why I'm advocating subsidies for repair of bicycles for poor people.
Anything that keeps poor people mobile so they have a fighting chance to move up a few rungs in status is good. I would be willing to pay more taxes for free (and better) mass transit for poor people too.
Originally Posted by
bhtooefr
Also, coaster and drum brakes don't require the wheels to be true...
For some reason the poorest people in NOLA do not ride coaster brake bikes. They ride cheap multi-geared WalMart "mountain" bikes or similar such junk. Bad assembly and crummy wheels and components make matters worse. Our car-free Hispanic work force, our African American poor as well as every homeless person, (most homeless are Caucasian here) love those multi-geared WalMart bikes. None of these people own a lock more effective than a boot lace, if any lock at all.
People with some means (still living in poverty) might have coaster brake bikes. I do not know why this is true. The next class of people - our service workers in the tourist industry (food service and lodging) draw enough pay to start affording the cheapest coaster brake bikes from actual bike shops as well as the silly WalMart bikes. This group comes in all colors (literally, because multiple tattoos are very fashionable here).
This info is informal. I am out and about all the time on my bike in poorer neighborhoods, Downtown, and sometimes have to spend an entire workday inside a popular bike shop near the French Quarter (Bicycle Michael's) doing contract work. I worked on their sales floor/repair diagnosis team for several years as well as Bayou Bicycles in Mid City for a year. When a cyclist rides past me (I could be looking out of a restaurant window) I notice how much air is in their tires (usually almost none) and every other detail - sort of an informal 30 year census of all things bicycle. When you are in the bike business it helps to notice what is going on in the real world with bicycles.
My situation may be unique. But again, don't pass laws to punish the few (fixie kids) that will punish a vast population (20% of my city) of people who are doing their best to just survive and don't really need a perfectly functioning bicycle to be safe on it.