[SDCBC] [CABO] Fwd: [CBC] Wired mag article on city bikes

[Danette Hoffert]

A completely different topic but you are not going to believe this one.  Or
sadly, you will.  Nice to know government paid workers are being paid for
assault and battery ("road rage").
Danette

http://laist.com/2007/09/24/hollywood_bus_d.php



On 9/28/07, Gene Carman <gcarman at san.rr.com> wrote:
>
> I find it somewhat amusing to see that here are comments on fixie
> riding, (and a resurgence) and yet I have been lead to believe that
> too many areas in the US are too hilly for bikes such as Finland's
> city bikes or Amsterdam style bikes.
>
> Certainly similar hill restrictions exist for fixies.
>
>
> At 08:02 PM 9/27/2007, John Forester wrote:
> >At 04:38 PM 9/27/2007, Jim Baross, Jr. wrote:
> >
> > >FYI.
> > >Do you ride a fixie or one-speed yet?
> >
> >
> >Yet? About 1950, as a university student, I was riding all over the
> >Berkeley Hills on 88" fixed, because I had a double-sided hub and I
> >had not got around to repairing my Cyclo Oppy derailleur. But I
> >repaired the derailleur, probably before I entered the Navy; too much
> >strain in both ascending and descending.
> >
> >I now have a Schwinn Paramount track bike with (as I remember) 66"
> >fixed and two brakes. I would ride that on the flatter portions of
> >Silicon Valley and even in the foothills, reaching something like 135
> >rpm on descents. But not over the real hills.
> >
> >I also have a 1930s Schwarzkopf track bike with wooden rims and no
> >brakes, used by a German track team in the 1930s and left behind in
> >St. Louis, but that I use only for parades and theatrical effects.
> >
> >Is John Eldon correct in saying that the current fixie craze will not
> >last long? I would not make that prediction. There were always those
> >who recognized its superiority in flatland traffic riding, or even
> >over mild hills, but these were cycling enthusiasts, not beginners.
> >So, I suppose, there will be fixed-gear enthusiasts for some time to
> >come. Messengers frequently use fixed.
> >
> >The article fails to distinguish between one-speed freewheel bikes
> >and fixed-gear bikes; I think that these serve two different
> >populations. The one-speed is simple and suitable for short flatland
> >trips. Its prevalence in such places as The Netherlands makes some
> >American dreamers think that it is equally suitable for American
> >utility cycling, as it has been for American useless cycling. (I
> >don't have a good word for this, but I expect you know what I mean.)
> >I don't doubt that, but I believe that very few American trips can be
> >suitably made by the one-speed, even fewer than can be suitably made
> >by the multi-speed bicycle. The multi-speed has many advantages,
> >particularly as the trip length increases and as the grades get
> >steeper. Therefore, I think that one-speed bicycles are not a new
> >phenomenon on the American scene, but are just the new form of the
> >one-speeds that have been around for decades, and won't form a much
> >larger market.
> >
> >
> >John Forester, MS, PE
> >Bicycle Transportation Engineer
> >7585 Church St.
> >Lemon Grove, CA 91945-2306
> >619-644-5481 www.johnforester.com
> >
> >
> >_______________________________________________
> >
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-- 
Danette M. Hoffert's email
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