Had to Laugh...
 

I had a funny Classic & Vintage meets 21st century moment the other day. Riding home on the '78 Raleigh Super Course, I happened to meet a friend riding his fancy new carbon fibre Trek. He'd not seen this bike before and asked, pointing at the down-tube "what are those things?"

:lol:

:lol:

...and the kicker, He wasn't kidding.

Nice....nothing a like a little sarcasm.

Nope it was an honest question... He's a bit new to "biking" as everyone insists on calling it these days and had never seen downtube shifters before. Scary. Funny. Worthy of Ridicule.

"biking" :lol: 'round here if you mention biking or "I'm on my bike" everyone expects a motorcycle. Its a fun way to fail at picking up chicks.

Same situation with my brother in law this summer and one of my Gitane's. He looks over the bike and then zeroes in on the brake hoods and says "where are the shifters?" My reply - "look a little lower".

Yep, most of the newcomers who come to me looking for a bike are women. Many have ridden someone else's bike, maybe once or twice. The most common statement is: "I have to reach down there to shift?" All I can say is, "for this price, you do." I guess the quill stem is self-explanatory. One asked me? Why did you take off the speedometer thing?

Similar story, gave my daughter and a couple friends a ride to the movies one day in my old 4spd mustang, and the friend sitting in the pass seat asked what I was doing. Being the smart @zz that I am, and trying to cover up the fact that I didn't know what she meant I just said 'driving'. She said "no, I mean with that" as she pointed at the shifter.

also, have you noticed how many younger people >>>CAN NOT<<< tell time with an anolog clock?

Ken.

You know, sometimes I get inquiries about my bike, 60's Rickert road bike, and how much it weighs. My first response is usually, "Its 531, so its fairly light". I wonder if people know what 531 is?

That is funny

I sort of had one tonight myself. I had to explain to the shop employee ringing up my sale what this was.

OH kendall they can't make change unless the register tells them how much to give back LOL

These "kids" also don't know what albums, tape or Especially 8-tracks are. A guy I teach with had a clock in his room with a round face and 2 hands and no numbers. A kid said, "what time is it?" He said "look at the clock". The kid said, "but there's no numbers". So He whips out his pen and proceeds to write arbitrary numbers (3, 12 19, 32 etc... all around the clock. ;D) He also added a Post it note to the center that said, "Well GUESS stupid!!". A week later he got called to the office. We all laughed about that one, but sadly we're raising a generation of morons who can't tie their shoes since the invetion of velcro, can't read a book, can't add, subtract multiply, divide w/o a calculator. I bet the CHinese can take apart a bike and put it together blindfolded ! ('cause they all have one!!!!) But I rant

Hehe, I had the opposite thing happen to me. I sold a road bike with Ultegra brifters and had to teach the buyer how they worked since he had been riding his '82 Peuguot since.....'82 ;)

A few years ago a teenage girl gave me a dirty look when she asked the time and I answered "quarter 'til eight." Her friend explained that was a real answer.

Oh lordy, what have I started? :)

Years back, I was once in a "Record" store and two young girls were browsing the racks. One said to the other: "I didn't know Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings." Yes, she was looking at a Beatles "album".

Next I think I'll invite my mate around to listen to music on my valve (tube) stereo. ;)

honestly I'm more surprised they'd heard of "Wings".


In truth, someone would have to teach me too, I've never briftered. I have no clue how to use a brifter. I have a general idea but I've never done it.

Same here.

Hey, Ed, what kind of audio gear do you have?

J

I still have ONE !!!!!! The kids won't use it.... (I suspect they think... it's HAUNTED)

[OFFTOPIC]
Quite a bit. A mix of older, newer, DIY and commercial. The main setup is an Adcom GFA585 power amp that I repaired after a friend gave it to me when it toasted his speakers. That drives Magnepan SMGa panel speakers that I reconditioned extensively - almost to the point of remanufacture! Source is either a Squeezebox, Onkyo CD player or a JVC receiver that makes a good tuner.
We also have a pair of 60's David Bogen tube amps that I like to warm up now and again and some little ADC speakers of the same vintage, just for fun. "back home" in the UK I still have a great valve amp that I built from a kit, a D/A converter for CD that I designed, plus a NAD cd player.

It's a great hobby, and one I find that I enjoy more by building kits or fixing rescue bargains than dumping megabucks. Audio/Hifi on the cheap is the best kind.

It's the same with cycles!
[/OFFTOPIC]

funny you mention the phone. I had this silly idea for an "App" or whatever they call them for the I phone, that mimics a dial....

Probably should have patented that

I'll agree with the buying cheap part and "challenge" that setup :) Thorens 145 with good needle at 0,5 g, Naim audio seperate amp/preamp, Cambridge CD, what started out as Wharfedale speakers. Basic stuff, until a guy who designed all but the casing of the Goldmund Apologues in the Met (C.Y.) revisited the speakers, which were then split out as pic'd by another guy. Cost to me maximum 50 bucks and when I'm in the mood, the system is on and it's Heaven on Earth. There is lead in there, sand, and a piece of chewing gum. So this is off topic, without being totally so, because the kids just know "boom boom boom" with 12" subwoofers with a few exceptions. Levelling to the lowest possible common denominator to increase sales and reduce costs. And that is what is happening in the bike world too. That and the hi-IQ idiots for whom everything NEW HI-TECH is better. So, I'm not totally off topic, I hope...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2280/...81bcee6a_b.jpg