thbirks

What if biking was influenced mainly by commuting instead of racing and recreation. I was thinking about this on a ride the other day and wondered how bikes would be different. I figure that all bikes would be designed with fender and rack mounts for starters. There would probably be some cool stuff, like bike rims with highly reflective coatings. What do you all think?

ViciousCycle

If bike accessories were primarily sold with commuting in mind, bike shops would never sell those one rinky dink headlights that can only run for three hours before the AA batteries dim.

For that matter, more patch kits would also come with sandpaper instead of those metal scrapers that will scrape holes right through your inner tube.

LittleBigMan

I like your thought, T.H.

I was at one of the many bicycle shops in Atlanta one day, and the owner said, "We are all about transportational cycling."

I liked that. His bike was in plain view. If it wasn't so big, I would have wanted to ride it.

Every shop has it's vision. One shop employs mechanics with tattoos and tank-top undershirts. Another sells road machines (lots do.) But this one touched my little beater.

Later, I read an article quoting this same man. He was talking about how to train your children to ride with you (on the street.)

Actually, :cool:

Allister

Hmm. Things would be different.

For a start, the rack mounts on my Cannondale mountain bike would actually be able to take a rack without me having to grind it back to fit around those fat tubes. They might also have designed a fender that fits a Headshok fork. What WERE they thinking?

Then again, there probably wouldn't be any such thing as mountain bikes.

ViciousCycle

In Chicagoland, shops make money off of recreational cyclists by charging for routine repairs. But shops make money off of us commuting cyclists even when we do a good chunk of our own repairs. We go through things like chains, tires, lubricants, etc. more quickly so we need more of them. And we buy tools & accessories that the casual cyclist would have no clue what to do with.

Hillary and I are currently finishing a bicycle repair class at a local bicycle shop. The class starts just after the shop closes. And during the start of the last class, a customer talked his way into the shop to get a repair done that he couldn't handle himself. A flat tire. On a mountain bike with quick release tires. I wonder if he has his car towed to the shop when he runs out of gas....

MichaelW

I guess without the racing influence, I would have attatched my front wicker basket with steel bolts, instead of the weight-saving titanium ones.

ViciousCycle

Perhaps bike designs might also take into account how the bikes will take abuse as they are locked up. I will probably need to replace a fraying derailleur cable soon because of the U-lock rubbing up against the cable when I lock up the bike.

And quick-release components are a dual-edged thing for commuters. On the one hand, they make it easier for us to perform maintenance. On the other hand, it means more stuff that we need to lock down in order to deter thieves who will steal individual components.

Merriwether

Bikes would be stronger, though heavier.

Thin rims and tires, like road bikes.

Deraillers and chains more like mtb's than road bikes for better performance in the snow/sleet/ice.

Longer, sturdier racks.

Bigger, more waterproof panniers.

Better lighting! Cheaper, brighter, less hassle. Integrated would surely be offered, but I would be wary because replacement would be more expensive.

More reflective stuff on the bike and accessories.

OnStar, so you can unlock your bike when you lose the key.

cdc28p

If you go any third-world country where bikes are the daily vehicles of choice, you'll see that they are really different from the ones sold here. In Vietnam, where I rode a bike for 6 years, most of the bikes are sold with sloping top tubes (like women's bikes, not compact frames), fenders, hybrid tires (700x35, not skinny road tires or knobby mountain bike tires), bells, riser handlebars with bar ends curving toward the rider, and something I've NEVER seen here: a rear rack that carries people, not goods! These rear racks have cushion so that you can carry a kid or even your significant other. Things are carried in a front basket. And of course, most bikes have only one speed. Derailleurs are unheard of. Unfortunately, helmets are equally foreign. But man, nothing beats the experience of biking with a bunch of other kids from your neighborhood, going out to dinners, movies, for just a friendly soccer game...

LittleBigMan

Biking to a friendly soccer game...

What would our American/(Japanese) Nintendo-oriented kids say to that? Man, they brag about how fast they can press a button.
Whatever happened to kids who are so physically fit just from playing that...well, sitting around is just too dull?

Getting out of breath is a real rush. :thumbup: Just give me some more of that groovy oxygen.

Sorry, didn't mean to change the subject! We were talking about bike commuting being commonplace, or something like that.

Allister

I've been thinking about this, mostly in comparison with the marketing of cars. Leaving aside the question of whether this is a valid comparison or not, let's consider it.

Cars are used extensively, sometimes exclusively for commuting to and from work, yet from my observations very few vehicles or accessories are marketed specifically for commuting. Consider all the car advertising you've seen in the last few weeks. How much of it shows them blasting down the open road (usually empty), showing their use as long distance tourers? Then there's the utilitarian ads, usually showing how much storage space they have for the shopping, or how easy they are to park.

How much of it accurately represents the commuting experience? The blank stare from sitting in stationary traffic, 'wall to wall' cars, the horns blowing, the agro and the fumes? I only ever see this in headache tablet ads.

Back to the actual equipment. There doesn't seem to be much recognition of 'normal' commuting in the design of motor vehicles. If there was we'd see cars that all but shut down when 'idling' in stopped traffic, and don't penalise you with the inefficiency of a normal restart of the motor. It's not only cleaner, it'd be significantly cheaper to run.

We'd probably also see much smaller cars for all those single occupant commuters. How big a vehicle do these people really need to transport thier own sorry arse and a briefcase a couple of dozen kilometres? Those little two seaters that are basically a moped back end with a small cabin stuck to the front that they rent to tourists on the Gold Coast would make ideal commuter vehicles.

It's curious that this 'niche' in the market hasn't received more attention. But I suspect it hasn't for the same reason that commuter bicycles haven't. Some of the clues to this can probably be found in the 'do I really want a road bike...' thread. simply put, it's not glamorous enough. Getting to work and back is not only boringly utilitarian, it is downright distasteful as a general concept. Not something that advertising execs are willing to admit into their idealised little world.

Now, those of us that have found the joy in the commute that only biking it gives know different, but there's the catch. You're probably not going to convince anyone of this that hasn't done it themselves, at which point marketing is pretty much futile anyway. I realise thbirks' original post was regarding the 'influence' on biking, but I would suggest that marketing plays a major, if not the only role in providing this influence, certainly at the shop floor level, and ultimately our purchasing decisions are limited by what's actually available.

I suspect that given my observations of car marketing (which may or may not be accurate - I don't watch much tv lately), even if everyone started commuting by bike, there still wouldn't be much attention given to it in the magazines and ads and at the shop floor. It just lacks that 'sex appeal', that instant thrill-seekers gratification that fast road bikes and aggressive looking mountain bikes seem to have. Even hybrids, and so called 'comfort' bikes are pushed as recreational devices, and the fad for cruisers speaks for itself.

It's a pity really, as there's a big potential market in creating stuff that is actually useful for commuter/utilitarian cyclists, some of which have already been mentioned in this thread.

I've got half a mind to actually do something about it. (I don't want to be a draftsman for the rest of my life)

um.... sorry that went on so long. This happens sometimes when I get thinking.

Chris L

But you were right, commuting just isn't sexy enough to entice most people to actually buy something. You don't even need to look at the car ads, just pay a visit to your LBS and see the posters on the wall. They might talk about a super-spanky, ultra-fast road bike, or a majorly-tough, built like a tank MTB, but generally nothing to do with commuting will get a mention.

Like it or not, we're just not taken serously enough on the road. People only think of cycling as a sport and bikes as toys rather than any kind of serious transport alternative.

Meanwhile I'll just continue to ride and (internally at least) mock the lard-butts trapped in the smog-boxes getting frustrated. One guy had three attempts at abusing me today and failed dismally every time. He seems to forget two things:

1. I once worked as a telemarketer and did it for over a year, so there isn't a taunt or insult that I haven't heard.

2. I come from Werris Creek, and men from Werris Creek always win. A Werris Creek man (or woman) is the only person in the world who can enter a revolving door behind you and come out in front .

What were we talking about again?

Chris

thbirks

thanks for the replies. I know that commuting isn't sexy or thrilling but what I meant was imagine if things were reversed and commuting was what manufacturers used to market bikes and racing and recreation riding was a small underserved segment of bicycling. I'm not saying that this would ever happen but maybe in an alternate universe, You know what I mean?

I guess this is my mind working in strange ways but I think it would be funny to see commuting poseurs. You know, some guy with his bike all kitted out with fenders, rack and lights just so he can go hang out in front of the coffee shop and look cool.

Ellie

Well, there are those new Mercedes Smart cars. Over here, anyway. Just 2 seats, in a very small box. I saw some in London when I was queueing through some traffic in my metro (with 3 other people and an awful lot of cricket gear in!) and they looked a lot more sensible than the big land rover things next to them. You could have fitted the entire line in half the space if everyone had been in them, and the bike couriers would've had loads more space to go around them.

I think small cars tend to be more European though.

Ellie

Allister

I guess in this alternative universe masseur sandals would be seen on the catwalks of Paris, Lada would be winning the Monaco grand prix, polka music would be topping the charts and meat and three veg would be considered haute cuisine

... and he could use his orange flag to beat back the adoring fans

Actually, I find this image disturbing, but strangely compelling.

LittleBigMan

HAHAHAHA!

Actually, Mr. Birks, this is already how I see myself... :cool:

ViciousCycle

Road bike warriors often have the standard lycra look, but it's a relief that the commuter bikers don't have any standard uniformity to their look.

I carry my on-the-road repair tools inside my backpack, but I once came across a commuter who had his wrench hung prominently on a loop on the back of his backpack. Something that says "self-sufficient commuter biker" loud and clear. Well, that would only make him a poseur if it actually turns out that he would end up having to push his bike to the shop in order to get a flat repaired....

MichaelW

In Norwich, a small city in the UK, there is according to local lore, a different pub for every day of the year, and a different church for every week. The best pubs seem to have bike parking facilities.
One saturday I went to a pub for the opening of a memorial bike rack, to honour a local drinker/cyclist. Cycling to get around town is just a normal part of life there.

Its strange that in some towns, getting around on a bike is normal, and in others it is a dorky thing for weirdoes.

technogirl

I thought my alternate universe involved apes riding bicycles...whoops...wrong parallel universe!



Okay, ya got me. I confess I hang out at the coffee shop and try to look cool with my bike gear. Actually, I have yet to see a sitcom with someone who rides a bike for a living...oh wait, that "Dark Angel" series chick did. Wasn't she a bike messenger? Well, instead of the coffee shop, she always hung out at some bar...guess it could happen.

Chris L

And will you tell me what is wrong with apes riding bikes?



Chris