My collection of bikes does not follow my politics. I own certain bike because the pleasure I get out of riding them. Some for cruising around the Northend, a couple for commuting/car replacement(Xtracycle) and then there is the wooden bike that I built.
http://tinyurl.com/2egawx

My truck tells about my politics but not the bikes or where I live(Northend). I am not generally a Team Dave fan, but I think it is great he still has his childhood bike.

Dave… BIKES RULE!!! Cars are for the weak!

What would you expect at the local artsy-fartsy movie house? Flicks, indeed! The 27-speed crowd is checking out the latest installment of Spiderman or Fantastic Four!
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But seriously (?), the riders who are fueling the retro-cruiser craze cross political and geographic boundaries. I’m no expert (ahem), but some like the nostalgia, some like the simplicity, and some are “posers” – they are most concerned about how awesome they’ll look as they pedal from place to place. (We can all agree – some of those whitewall-tire curved-tube cruiser bikes are gorgeous!)

Nothing wrong with “posing,” I s’pose – the ultimate bike-posers are the guys (almost always guys) who ride up and down the Greenbelt, or to the bar on North 13th Street, on their $4000 full-suspension 27-speed mountain bikes, or 15-pound Italian road bikes (in the tight-ass Lycra shorts and team jerseys, of course).

Bike riders’ image-consciousness pales by comparison to motorists’, though… don’t you agree? Criminy! Watch the car and truck ads on TV. Clay Aiken can get into his F350 Super-Duty and pretend he’s Joe Macho Lunchbox. Zoom-zoom! Look at the NAMES of vehicles… Chrysler is the leader with Durango… Caliber… NITRO! (Remember back in the Pinto days, when it was BAD when cars exploded?)

I pity the kids nowadays. Back when I was a youth (giving away my age, a bit), the “coolest” kids drove ’57 Chevys, 289 Mustangs, Road Runners, Corvettes. Nowadays it’s a gutless rice-burner Neon with a bolt-on wing on the back (or is that thing a carrying handle?) and an aftermarket exhaust pipe that’s so fat you could stuff CDs into it… and makes the car sound like it has a REALLY bad case of flatulence! (I guess it has to be loud, though, or the kid can’t hear it over the 6000-watt Rolling Ghetto Blaster stereo.)

Okay… I’ve vented. (Speaking of flatulence…)
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I always cringe when I see people riding department store “mountain bikes.” These are the people, generally, who wanted a recreational bike that might, on a tough day, see a couple miles on the Greenbelt. Those bikes are crap.

These single sprocket cruiser bikes are perfect for dinking around like that–they are good bikes that serve the purpose they were designed to serve without all the phony, worthless gizmos that are put on department store “mountain bikes.”

Still, I can’t help but see a certain signature “smugness” that comes with people that ride these bikes around. Actually, they don’t ride them; they just park them and then sit nearby sipping a soy latte and smugly looking around to see if anyone notices their coolness. Basically, these are Toyota Pious people, except without motors.

BoiseCitizen, how many of those 27 “speeds” (actually, BC, it has 27 gear combinations; speeds with any of them depend on how fast you pedal) do you actually use?
I rode a “10-speed” road bike in Boise and nearby for years, but hated those skinny tires, especially on some of the city’s goat-trail streets and landmine sides of the roads (I grew up with a fat-tire Schwinn indestructible bike), so when the cheap “mountain bikes” came out, I got a “12-speed” job. The wider tires made riding the rough stuff a whole lot easier.

But on both bikes, I found I generally used only three gear combinations — a fairly low one for going up steep hills, a medium for cruising fairly level routes at a comfortable speed, and a high one for when I wanted to really zoom down the highway (to try to keep from getting run over).
Seems to me if anyone ever actually shifted through all 27 combos, he or she would spend all his or her time shifting gears, rather than enjoying the ride or actually getting somewhere.

Kind of like the Hummers and the pickups with the huge lights on the roof that never go anywhere steeper than Eighth Street Extension or rougher than the average ACHD paving job — that is, lots of capability that’s never used but is intended only to impress the neighbors or somebody (and enrich the vehicle and bicycle sales people).

Anyway, just curious about whether you (or others) have really found a use for all 27 gear combos.
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Of course, those of us on the Bench need multispeed bikes (though I make do with 10). How the heck would you climb Protest Hill, Capitol, or Americana on a Schwinn Cruiser?

As much as Guardian and most of the others who post here hate traffic and growth and all that comes with it, it astonishes me that you’d actually complain about someone’s choice of bike. So what if they bought a “crappy department store” bike or are just a “poser” with their “northender” bike more concerned about image than biking? It seems to me, if you truly hate the traffic and smog and pollution, anyone riding any bike anywhere for any reason is a Good Thing.

I know it’s not much, but if someone’s crappy bike gets them off the road one day a month, isn’t that a start? If some wannabe rides his cruiser to alive after five to try and pick up chicks, isn’t that better than him driving down there? Hell, the fact that bikes (or at least certain types of bikes) can be seen as desirous status symbols should elate everyone here. Bikes are cool! The young kids want to own one and be seen on it!

I am actually shocked that, given the nature of this website, any of you would be so hypocritical as to cast aspersions upon someone riding a bike.

Gordon,
The number of gears I use depends on where I am riding. If I am riding up to the Boise Ridge road on the Hard Guy trail, I may only use one gear for the climbs. However, when I race at mountain bike races around the region I am continually working to maintain a steady pace. I will use various gears to acheive that. Having the choice sure makes it easier for me. Of course for those sado-masochists out there, you have the option of owning a single speed bike. My preferences are for multiple gears. As for being too busy to enjoy the ride because I am shifting all the time. Well, no. It is part of the experience. I can stop any time and enjoy the view. It is all about being on the bike. Good for you that you are out on yours.

Guardian, now you see why you should never try to be “light-hearted” here. Most of the people who blog here take this site very seriously and can’t handle levity of any kind. Just the thought of the Guardian on his bike with lycra shorts and an Eagles tour t-shirt on kinda’ gives me the willy’s. Some of us need to lighten up just a tad. After all, it’s a great day to bike in a great city. ( Mine’s a speedster recumbant that is just plain fun to ride)

My daily ride has one gear and does not coast. Both me and my bike are fixed. I regularly blow the doors of lycra/spandex clad bike ninnies on their $4000.00 road speed racer specials up the Bench hill roads. I do get stomped by them in the foot hills. If you ever want to truly be one with your bike try a fixie. Be prepared to give blood when you crash one.

OH – bikes and Lucky 13!!! What fun it was the day I was strolling around on 16th street. An SUV pulled up, the coulple’s bikes were on top and I made note of them as they took their bikes down and peddled off.

Imagine my surprise when, less than ten minutes later I was walking past Lucky 13…there were the bikes and the couple sitting with other healthy bike “riders” cooling down with a few beers. I did make note of their “sweat” certainly made by the water from their water bottles.

So much for North End biking. At least the bikes got out of the garage.