Some bikes in China
 

I'm currently living abroad in Southeast China in the Guangdong Province teaching English for a few months.

I've been amazed at all the bikes here, here are some from Hong Kong and the small city of Shuizhai

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3463/...905fe8a3_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3516/...a98e1219_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3661/...f3293028_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3644/...d78c6bbf_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3321/...d5318b5c_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3546/...8c1c8304_o.jpg

kick ass!

I love seeing well used bikes.

Wow! From scanning the parking lot pic I gather that the Chinese don't even ride NEXT bikes! :roflmao2:

Where in Guangdong are you? I was in Dongguan and Zhuhai a couple of years ago, and all of the factories I was touring had extensive covered parking areas for the employees' bikes.

What does the double top tube do for the bike? Does it improve stiffness under heavy loads?

The double top tube helps sell the bike. Really, it should add some strength to the frame, just I've never heard anyone say why you needed that extra strength. But they made some old Raleighs that way, some old US cruisers were similar, industrial bikes are built that way today. It's like asking why modern men's bikes need a top bar when women's bikes work just fine without one- it's because that's the way bikes ought to be.

I've read about the Chinese bikes supposedly being designed to carry a pig on that double bar, but have my doubts about that story, as other people were using the double bar before then, and it seems like an exceptionally poor way to carry a pig.

In that top picture though I was looking really close, and I'm hard pressed to find more than one or two Diamond Frame bikes in the lot. The Step Through frame must be a really popular frame style there... I can't imagine that all those step through bikes are owned by women. Maybe they don't have frame style sex issues like some in America do...

I dunno, in a factory-type setting like that, you COULD have 500 bicycles all ridden by women...

I don't know what the double top tube does, but the single top tube serves a BIG purpose with men's bikes. If you pedal hard at all, you can immediately feel the difference between a women's bike and a men's bike. The women's bike isn't all that pleasant, as you can feel the frame flexing.

I visited China about two years ago (a city 3 hours north of Shanghai called Taizhou) and I was suprised at the lack of bicycles - the vast majority of vehicles were electric scooters, electric bikes (with nobody pedaling), and motorcycles/mopeds. The distinct lack of urban density in the city (despite a population of 5 million) may had something to do with that though.

In my roughly thirty five years of bike riding, I think I have ridden almost every type of frame you could think of, I know what frame flex feels like. Currently I’m riding a Mixte frame due to flexibility issues with my hips, not the bike frame, surprisingly solid little frame design…
Some bike frames do flex more than others, but I dare say, unless it is a really junk frame, most people no matter how hard they hammer on the pedals, if blindfolded could not tell you whether they are on a Diamond frame, or a modern Step through frame, as all frames have varying flex amounts. As a matter of fact, the most ridged feeling frame I have ridden on in quite some time, turned out to be an Aluminum U-frame Step through, very much like what Breezer uses on their Uptown 8 City bike.

All and all, I didn’t intend on high jacking this thread about frame styles… What I said about the picture was a simple observation, nothing else. Much like Politics, Religion, and Music; people have their beliefs about bicycle frame types… But, much like other subjects, often have a hard time finding real evidence to back up their beliefs. :)

I disagree, but I confess not to have done blind tests, and I'm not equipped for doing them.

Fair enough :)... Could be a fun test, or just really really dangerous...

Hmm, maybe if we just put a shroud of some kind over the frame before giving it to the tester, we could do it.

There are lots of blind tests I'd like to do. I believe Jobst Brandt when he says that a rider can't feel the differences among the various spoking patterns, but I don't think this has been proven.

And what is the purpose of the struts from the stem to the fork dropouts? It looks like they would reduce the flex in curved fork blades. This effect would be easier to achieve with straight fork blades.

The stand on the last bike is nice as it keeps the bike upright while you are loading the rear rack.

The struts ("truss rods") were also used on old US cruisers. Once again, I think they'd add some strength, but you could do the same thing by just beefing up the fork a bit, which leads me to believe they're cosmetic more than anything.

You ain't seen nothing yet.......

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/t...c_id=1313&v=s0

Some of those cruisers had springer forks, where the whole fork levered against a spring. Modern "lowrider" bikes often use this design (sometimes relocating the spring outside the fork for that "slammed" look when parked).

I have to say, too, that step-thru and mixte frames are much, much nicer than diamond frames when you've got a basket or other large cargo load on the back. The only thing I don't like about my around-town bike (the one with a rear rack, slide-on basket, and dynohub) is its diamond frame.

Pig cart.

Yeah the bunch of bikes in the first photo belong to the students at the school I'm teaching. Many of them commute to school on them or use them to travel into town during their breaks.

I've seen many boys and men use 'women's' step-through frame bikes over here.

I've shown some of the students pictures of my LHT, and they are amazed at the size of it lol.

A large reason that the step through is so popular is the common practice, in China, of stepping off the bike whenever one stops. Also, in general, while westerners mount the bicycle horse style, by throwing our leg over the back, the Chinese step on form the front (I have to say, in three years I never quite got the hang of mounting the bicycle the way they do).

If you have time there I recommend going by a good bike shop (seems it was the Giant dealer in my city) and find out of they have a riding club (They will probably call it a racing team because organized sports teams often get some perks) that goes on regular weekend rides. You do not need to speak good Chinese to enjoy riding with them. It is good fun and you will see places you will never have seen in the area that you live otherwise.

They may not be forthcoming about the weekend rides (ours were generally about 100km to a variety of different destinations and routes). I was first told about the evening fitness rides that were about 20km. Then after about two weeks of seeing that I was able to keep up the weekend rides were mentioned.

Thanks for those pictures… those are some beautiful bicycle in there own (how should I say?) well used way. :) I love to see a practical people using what they have, to get the job done. It may not always look shinny, or stylish, but functionality often has a beauty all of it’s own. I really liked the strange frame that looked like a cross between a U-frame and a Mixte... very different concept, but with the right materials, it looked like it would do the job...

Then I guess you woouldn't be surprised that in 2007 the Chinese government reported 40 million private cars in China? And in January 2009 the chinese bought more cars than the US? As China moves into the modern world things can change drastically from what we expect. At one time Japan was awash in bikes now they can't even make down town Tokyo car free ecxcept on Sunday. This is not to say there aren't plenty of bikes in Japan.

Here's a picture from a train station in Japan:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1169/...c59ebcad7e.jpg

I've seen pictures like that from all around, and sometimes its like looking in to an alternative reality. Where I live three bikes parked together is unusual, and though I've ridden through the winter, based on tracks in the snow on the main mup, its just me and one other guy most days.

Thanks for posting those pictures. Great shots.