Originally Posted by
FBinNY
The sad irony is that the bikes I most often see ridden are the so-called BSOs sold by big Walmart and the like. Yes, those of us who fancy ourselves as real cyclists would never own these. But these low end bikes are all that many people who use bicycles as daily transport can afford.
So true. It kills me every time I see some poor (literally) guy lugging himself to work on a 45 lb. full suspension BSO that functions most effectively as a pogo stick. No wonder these guys buy cars the minute they can afford them.
The same money properly applied could have purchased a semi-decent commuter, if mainstream America even knew what a proper commuter bicycle looks like. I was just in Germany. Almost every bike I saw had fenders, racks, and lights. Many had generators and IGHs. Why aren't there fleets of these things in U.S. cities?