GreenGuy
16th January 2014, 22:13
It is, of course, the bicycle. I think it belongs here at Avalon, for it actually is a machine that joins science and spirituality - and practicality - in a unique way. As the world hurtles toward its chosen destiny, paradigms are falling left and right. One of the paradigms that is losing its grip on society is Car Culture. I love cars, but I don't have one. I save thousands of dollars a year, stay in shape, and enjoy the trip almost no matter wherever I am.
Many cities around the world have prioritized bicycling with great results. It turns out that the benefits to the local economy of encouraging urban cyclists are far greater than meet the eye. Bicyclists shop closer to home, and although they spend less per visit at local stores, they shop more often and actually pour a larger amount of money per capita into local economies over time than customers who drive to shop. Infrastructure costs go down. Depending on "push-pull" strategies and local land use, significant improvements can result in air quality, traffic accidents, and overall quality of life in cities.
"The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart." ~Iris Murdoch
There's just no getting around the fact that bicycling makes you feel good. When you're happy, you smile. People smile back.
The bicycle was mostly invented and perfected in the 19th century. Subsequent improvements have mostly been in the area of materials. It is a mainstay of worldwide transportation. Like many guns, today's bikes are an example of century-old engineering coupled with space-age metallurgy. Materials like titanium, reinforced carbon fibers and high-end plastics make the latest bikes incredibly efficient, lightweight - and very pricey.
"It would not be at all strange if history came to the conclusion that the perfection of the bicycle was the greatest incident of the nineteenth century." ~Unknown
I've been an avid cyclist for over 50 years. I've designed, built and repaired bikes. I've really studied their engineering - materials, geometry and construction methods as well as history of bicycles and their component parts. I've ridden some of the most exotic and expensive bicycles in the world. I've also owned a stable of secondhand cruisers, vintage bikes, circus bikes, and various oddball human-powered vehicles. I've owned as many as a dozen bicycles at once, and ridden most of them regularly.
Today I have two bikes: a 45-year-old Peugeot ten-speed that I'm restoring, and a Diamondback mountain bike that I found in a thrift store for $30. I wound up putting another $120 or so into it, but it's my daily ride, and there's nowhere it won't go.
A bicycle is a prosthetic wheel, and I'm convinced a nobler machine has never been invented. Beside the health benefits and apart from the economic advantages, cycling makes you happy. You become more intimate with the weather and nature, as well as your town. You can hear birds and smell plants - say hello to people walking their dogs, and collect your thoughts or simply think nothing. It's an endorphin extravaganza. It's seriously subversive when you think about it!
"For instance, the bicycle is the most efficient machine ever created: Converting calories into gas, a bicycle gets the equivalent of three thousand miles per gallon." ~Bill Strickland
With no emissions, I might add.
New bicycles are incredibly expensive due to the proliferation of exotic materials and better engineering of crucial systems like braking and shifting.Practical disc brakes have been developed, and for some reason many frames incorporate springs and shock absorbers which not only add weight but convert forward motion to useless up-and-down motion. For some reason, manufacturers keep adding to the number of gears a bike carries - bikes today have as many as 30 speeds when the truth is that very few folks ever mastered the gearing on a ten-speed. It isn't the number of speeds but the range between the highest and lowest gears that's important. Unless you live in extreme territory, you will virtually never use your highest and lowest gears. You will use a half-dozen or less of the ones in the middle.
But the baseline engineering of bicycles has not changed in over 100 years. And this means that if you know what you're looking for, you can find a great bike, dirt-cheap. One that could last the rest of your life if you take care of it. When I found my ride in a thrift store it was covered with mud, leaves and spiderwebs. Under the crud I recognized a good frame of the type I prefer - chromoly tubing and hard-tail, traditional geometry - and the wheels looked sound. The mid-range derailleurs were intact as were the brakes. It was a no-brainer. I took it home, fixed it up, added a rear rack (used, $20), a high-end road saddle, and a pair of vintage steel quill pedals with toe clips. Also super-bright LED head and tail lights.
For a long time I kept knobby off-road tires on the bike, but more recently I've switched to a very fat semi-slick in the back and a narrower tire in front with plenty of tread but no knobs. I haven't tested this combo in the rain yet, but on dry asphalt it gives me great control with a quieter ride and less rolling resistance. I also don't know how often the smoother tires will get flats.
My total investment is under $150, though I'm about to upgrade the bottom bracket which will bring it to around $200. I would love to locate a couple pairs of Lyotard platform pedals from the 1950s and 60s - unfortunately sellers have begun to recognize their scarcity and quality! Still, it's all incredibly cheap for transportation that is nearly as fast as a car in the city, can zip through alleyways and parking lots, is fun, and costs nothing to drive.
"The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands, and when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community." ~Ann Strong
Riding a bike is a positive act on so many levels, and one of my favorites is that it starves the huge corporations that feed on our addiction to the internal-combustion engine. From insurance to battery cables to oil to tickets, I don't have to deal with any of it. The amount of wealth that stays in my pocket instead of bleeding into the system is significant.
I could save up for a better bike, or build a collection like I used to have, but I am happy with the machine I have. It's on the ugly side - or at least very plain - so it's unlikely to be stolen. It's dirty and covered with dust and mud. It's light enough for city streets and tough enough for moderate off-roading. It has gear shifters that I like - thumb levers on the handlebar instead of a twist-grip. The brakes are good and they don't shriek. And 90% of folks would never give it a glance, and of those who do, 90% would overlook the subtle customizing that makes it a dynamite ride.
"The bicycle had, and still has, an almost classical moderation in the kind of pleasure it offers. It is the kind of machine that a Hellenistic Greek might have invented and ridden. It does no violence to our normal reactions; It does not pretend to free us from our normal environment." ~J. B.Jackson
A cyclist's enemies are traffic, dogs, hills and weather. There are ways of dealing with them all, and there are times when every sane person stays indoors or takes the bus. Living in a smallish city as I do, I can reach nearly any part of town in less than half an hour. We have no hills to speak of, but the wind can be fierce. Lows in the winter reach below freezing, and last summer topped out at one-oh-eight in the shade on my patio. I don't have a car, so I am out in it, whatever the weather. Sometimes I have to double the time allowed to get somewhere because of headwinds - but I know I'll sail on the way back!
"Mankind has Invested more than four million years of evolution in the attempt to avoid physical exertion. Now a group of backward-thinking atavists mounted on foot-powered pairs of Hula-Hoops would have us pumping our legs, gritting our teeth, and searing our lungs as though we were being chased across the Pleistocene savanna by saber-toothed tigers. Think of the hopes, the dreams, the effort, the brilliance, the pure force of will that, over the eons, has gone into the creation of the Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Bicycle riders would have us throw all this on the ash heap of history."
~ PJ O'Rourke
I don't really have anything against the Coupe de Villes of the world. It's the drivers. I've been spit on, cursed at, and had beer bottles thrown at me, and I've been hit four times (by cars, not beer bottles). Most people, to be fair, seem to play well with others and manage to share the road. And although I remain pretty assertive in traffic, I've learned a few tactics too, as evidenced by the fact that I haven't gotten hurt on a bike in over 30 years now. Not even when a pickup turned in front of me last year and I caved in the side of his truck. Didn't even knock me off my bike. That was one of my happiest moments.
"Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever it is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any time between the beginning and the end he stops moving and does not get off the bike will fall. This is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society." ~ William Golding
Many cities around the world have prioritized bicycling with great results. It turns out that the benefits to the local economy of encouraging urban cyclists are far greater than meet the eye. Bicyclists shop closer to home, and although they spend less per visit at local stores, they shop more often and actually pour a larger amount of money per capita into local economies over time than customers who drive to shop. Infrastructure costs go down. Depending on "push-pull" strategies and local land use, significant improvements can result in air quality, traffic accidents, and overall quality of life in cities.
"The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart." ~Iris Murdoch
There's just no getting around the fact that bicycling makes you feel good. When you're happy, you smile. People smile back.
The bicycle was mostly invented and perfected in the 19th century. Subsequent improvements have mostly been in the area of materials. It is a mainstay of worldwide transportation. Like many guns, today's bikes are an example of century-old engineering coupled with space-age metallurgy. Materials like titanium, reinforced carbon fibers and high-end plastics make the latest bikes incredibly efficient, lightweight - and very pricey.
"It would not be at all strange if history came to the conclusion that the perfection of the bicycle was the greatest incident of the nineteenth century." ~Unknown
I've been an avid cyclist for over 50 years. I've designed, built and repaired bikes. I've really studied their engineering - materials, geometry and construction methods as well as history of bicycles and their component parts. I've ridden some of the most exotic and expensive bicycles in the world. I've also owned a stable of secondhand cruisers, vintage bikes, circus bikes, and various oddball human-powered vehicles. I've owned as many as a dozen bicycles at once, and ridden most of them regularly.
Today I have two bikes: a 45-year-old Peugeot ten-speed that I'm restoring, and a Diamondback mountain bike that I found in a thrift store for $30. I wound up putting another $120 or so into it, but it's my daily ride, and there's nowhere it won't go.
A bicycle is a prosthetic wheel, and I'm convinced a nobler machine has never been invented. Beside the health benefits and apart from the economic advantages, cycling makes you happy. You become more intimate with the weather and nature, as well as your town. You can hear birds and smell plants - say hello to people walking their dogs, and collect your thoughts or simply think nothing. It's an endorphin extravaganza. It's seriously subversive when you think about it!
"For instance, the bicycle is the most efficient machine ever created: Converting calories into gas, a bicycle gets the equivalent of three thousand miles per gallon." ~Bill Strickland
With no emissions, I might add.
New bicycles are incredibly expensive due to the proliferation of exotic materials and better engineering of crucial systems like braking and shifting.Practical disc brakes have been developed, and for some reason many frames incorporate springs and shock absorbers which not only add weight but convert forward motion to useless up-and-down motion. For some reason, manufacturers keep adding to the number of gears a bike carries - bikes today have as many as 30 speeds when the truth is that very few folks ever mastered the gearing on a ten-speed. It isn't the number of speeds but the range between the highest and lowest gears that's important. Unless you live in extreme territory, you will virtually never use your highest and lowest gears. You will use a half-dozen or less of the ones in the middle.
But the baseline engineering of bicycles has not changed in over 100 years. And this means that if you know what you're looking for, you can find a great bike, dirt-cheap. One that could last the rest of your life if you take care of it. When I found my ride in a thrift store it was covered with mud, leaves and spiderwebs. Under the crud I recognized a good frame of the type I prefer - chromoly tubing and hard-tail, traditional geometry - and the wheels looked sound. The mid-range derailleurs were intact as were the brakes. It was a no-brainer. I took it home, fixed it up, added a rear rack (used, $20), a high-end road saddle, and a pair of vintage steel quill pedals with toe clips. Also super-bright LED head and tail lights.
For a long time I kept knobby off-road tires on the bike, but more recently I've switched to a very fat semi-slick in the back and a narrower tire in front with plenty of tread but no knobs. I haven't tested this combo in the rain yet, but on dry asphalt it gives me great control with a quieter ride and less rolling resistance. I also don't know how often the smoother tires will get flats.
My total investment is under $150, though I'm about to upgrade the bottom bracket which will bring it to around $200. I would love to locate a couple pairs of Lyotard platform pedals from the 1950s and 60s - unfortunately sellers have begun to recognize their scarcity and quality! Still, it's all incredibly cheap for transportation that is nearly as fast as a car in the city, can zip through alleyways and parking lots, is fun, and costs nothing to drive.
"The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands, and when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community." ~Ann Strong
Riding a bike is a positive act on so many levels, and one of my favorites is that it starves the huge corporations that feed on our addiction to the internal-combustion engine. From insurance to battery cables to oil to tickets, I don't have to deal with any of it. The amount of wealth that stays in my pocket instead of bleeding into the system is significant.
I could save up for a better bike, or build a collection like I used to have, but I am happy with the machine I have. It's on the ugly side - or at least very plain - so it's unlikely to be stolen. It's dirty and covered with dust and mud. It's light enough for city streets and tough enough for moderate off-roading. It has gear shifters that I like - thumb levers on the handlebar instead of a twist-grip. The brakes are good and they don't shriek. And 90% of folks would never give it a glance, and of those who do, 90% would overlook the subtle customizing that makes it a dynamite ride.
"The bicycle had, and still has, an almost classical moderation in the kind of pleasure it offers. It is the kind of machine that a Hellenistic Greek might have invented and ridden. It does no violence to our normal reactions; It does not pretend to free us from our normal environment." ~J. B.Jackson
A cyclist's enemies are traffic, dogs, hills and weather. There are ways of dealing with them all, and there are times when every sane person stays indoors or takes the bus. Living in a smallish city as I do, I can reach nearly any part of town in less than half an hour. We have no hills to speak of, but the wind can be fierce. Lows in the winter reach below freezing, and last summer topped out at one-oh-eight in the shade on my patio. I don't have a car, so I am out in it, whatever the weather. Sometimes I have to double the time allowed to get somewhere because of headwinds - but I know I'll sail on the way back!
"Mankind has Invested more than four million years of evolution in the attempt to avoid physical exertion. Now a group of backward-thinking atavists mounted on foot-powered pairs of Hula-Hoops would have us pumping our legs, gritting our teeth, and searing our lungs as though we were being chased across the Pleistocene savanna by saber-toothed tigers. Think of the hopes, the dreams, the effort, the brilliance, the pure force of will that, over the eons, has gone into the creation of the Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Bicycle riders would have us throw all this on the ash heap of history."
~ PJ O'Rourke
I don't really have anything against the Coupe de Villes of the world. It's the drivers. I've been spit on, cursed at, and had beer bottles thrown at me, and I've been hit four times (by cars, not beer bottles). Most people, to be fair, seem to play well with others and manage to share the road. And although I remain pretty assertive in traffic, I've learned a few tactics too, as evidenced by the fact that I haven't gotten hurt on a bike in over 30 years now. Not even when a pickup turned in front of me last year and I caved in the side of his truck. Didn't even knock me off my bike. That was one of my happiest moments.
"Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever it is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any time between the beginning and the end he stops moving and does not get off the bike will fall. This is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society." ~ William Golding