UniChris

While fully agreeing that Streetsblog tends to play all of the political victimhood cards all of the time, that's not a fair analysis of either the linked article or my posts here.

The article specifically talks about how coops get used bikes back on the road. And I've already mentioned at least twice in this thread that the last bike I bought was on the used market. It's not that those options don't exist - and not that they don't end up being one of the more common solutions - rather it's that they are insufficient to fill the need.

Consider that a used bike has to start out new, someone has to buy it, and it has to have enough residual worth after they're through to be useful to ride, fix up, or as a source of parts. Fewer and fewer of the bike-like things sold have that staying power - if it works (as the one I found did) fine, but otherwise who wants the bendy components off a department store bike?

Next realize that the used market has drastically dried up over the past year. Last fall it took me about a week of looking to find something for my nephew. Given that the goal was just to get him from a 20" onto a 24 to break into 20-30 mile rail trail rides while the weather was still nice instead of that step-up only happening in the Christmas time frame in which something new and shiny might have been in the cards, a week of looking was fine. But if instead of enabling recreation for a kid, if the need was for someone who needed to get to their job after their car broke or their previous bike was stolen, a week of searching the used market doesn't cut it.

Used bikes certainly have a place - but by themselves, they're not a sufficient supply for the need, especially when fewer and fewer re-use worthy assemblies are starting into the system.

Given all the effort bike coops put into keeping things going, I'd like to see them have a feed of quality basic bikes to be maintaining, rather that a lot of crummy junk with the occasional "real bike" find or donation mixed in.