"Bike expo" = "legions of soccer moms on comfort bikes"
 

Our local bike shop (sort of a mega bike shop--BGI in Indy) had it's spring expo and tent sale this weekend.

I went there hoping to see some new and interesting stuff. This shop usually has a pretty good selection of all kinds of bikes (roadies, MTB, kid bikes, etc), so I expected to see some innovative roadie stuff and good pricing on all kinds of bikes.

When I got there, though, I saw hundreds and hundreds of comfort bikes in every color and every gearing configuration imaginable. I also saw lots and lots of kids bikes in every sparkly color imaginable. There were stacks of helmet boxes, all kinds of bells and infinite kinds of devices to haul bikes on the back of SUVs.

At first I was pretty disappointed in the expo, then I realized that I'm really glad that the LBS will sell hundreds of comfort bikes to soccer moms this weekend. Hopefully that means they'll make enough money to keep the doors open the rest of the year and all those soccer moms will help lobby our local government to build more bike lanes and bike trails!

YOU GO SOCCER MOMS! Whip out those credit cards and ride those comfort bikes. Then call your legislator and tell them how important bike lanes and more trails are!!:)

Your Bike Expo was not like the one in Seattle :D .

We had Burley and Pac-Mule for trailers, some of the local frame makers, LBSs having great sales, demonstration of new products, etc. However, it was put on by Cascade Bicycle Club, not an LBS, so that's probably why the difference.

East Hill

Or, at the very least, your area will become a hotspot for slightly used comfort bike sales this fall!

one thing you forgot - with summer comming up nothing nicer than riding behind a soccer mom in a pair of knicks

as I rode the American River Bike Trail today on a 30 miler....I marveled at the wide range of bikes and riders on the path. Yeah, my Bianchi was better than most...and not as good as others...so what? I love seeing people on bikes. My wife' first bike was a Giant comfort bike...she rides a Bianchi roadie now and she is 50 years old. Nothing is wrong with bikes or the people who ride them.

mmmm, soccer moms.

Forget the bike lanes; we need Indy roadways with lanes that can be safely shared by cars and bikes. Surprised to hear that BGI wasn't trying to sell expensive gear to bike geeks.

You know, enlisting soccer moms in "the cause" might be the best strategy. Look at what they did for drunk driving. Until MADD came along, nobody gave a damn. Hell, it was considered normal--well at least funny. Now drunk drivers actually go to jail.

Back on topic:

An LBS here is having one of those this coming weekend. They're taking it a step further with a "Women Only" night on Friday, followed by "Women Only" test rides Saturday morning.

I had promised to take a friend and help her pick out a bike. I had to call the shop to be sure they'd let me in, with my Y-chromosome and all. Anyway, given her abilities and ambitions, it'll probably be a comfort bike.

They just do that the rest of the year:)

+1
I am happy to see any person riding any kind of bike. There is nothing wrong with soccer moms on comfort bikes. In fact nothing would make me happier than to see legions of soccer moms out there on bikes, instead of SUVs.

Better that they move around on bikes than in SUV's, yakking on their cell phones or screaming at the screaming kiddies in the back seat, forgetting the fact that they're piloting two ton death machines. Me? I don't like soccer moms in general, but if this promotes bicycling in a large way, then I definitely support it :)

Good for the soccer moms being out there on their bikes (if they like them, then they will ride them). They are far safer on a bike than trying to maneuver a big SUV, clogging up the road with roadkill.

I hope they come well equipped with fenders and all are low maintenance bikes--good tires, no gear adjustments, and good brakes. Last thing soccer mom's need is to look after a bike or they will go unused.

I was on that trail last weekend with my daughter when we saw a woman stopped near one of the trailheads. She was wearing a skin tight, racer cut, mostly backless tri-suit that showed off her incredibly tight athletic body, and she was riding a $5000+ Cervelo P3 TT bike. I recently broke up with my girlfriend, and if my daughter hadn't been along for the ride I might have stopped and asked her to marry me. :D

Strange: this post seems to have changed since I first saw it.... :rolleyes:

Reality check: shops know what sells, and "ordinary people" are more interested in something that is primarily inexpensive and secondarily comfortable.

They won't buy road bikes because that's not as comfortable as a comfort bike is.

And from being a recumbent owner--I know that people admit that recumbents are more comfortable, but they won't buy them because they think that recumbents cost too much.
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If I had to guess, I'd say the most useful bike for an average person would be a "comfort"-type bike with a geared hub and a big rack and baskets on the back.... 7-speed hubs are still pretty expensive however, and US bike companies suck when it comes to attaching racks (the racks don't need to be welded onto the frame, but why the puny screws???).
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http://breezerbikes.com/bikes.cfm

These are pretty inexpensive when you factor in having to buy fenders, racks, and lights separately from the bikes themselves. People look for cheap because bikes are only looked upon as toys.

The only recumbents I saw were two "tricycle" types that seemed to be targeted toward folks with limited mobility.

And yep, the 7 speed (and some 21 speed) comfort bikes you describe is pretty much what was being sold at this particular expo.