On 11/30/2018 10:51 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Friday, November 30, 2018 at 6:40:36 PM UTC-5, AMuzi wrote:

https://www.amazon.com/Huffy-Hardtai...mountain+bikes

You have to admit it _does_ look a lot like a bicycle.

Okay but how would that bike or components last if someone took it off road on rugged trails? I remember many department store BSO's (before suspension forks) where the front fork would bend way forward if the bicycle was ridden off anything more than a few inches in height. I also remember department store bicycle suspension forks that bottomed out if a person standing beside the bicycle pushed down hard on the handlebar - there was no adjustment to those forks either. To me and to others who worked at bicycle shops in the area those department store bicycles were referred to as BSO's = Bicycle Shaped Objects. Oh, that's not to mention the difficulty in keeping the two derailleurs adjusted so that shifts were precise and when you wanted them or wheels that went out of true very easily.

I've previously mentioned the time I helped a young guy with a flat who
was riding his BSO home from work. Soon after I saw him get off his bike
and begin walking up a not-too-steep hill.

I stopped again and asked why he didn't downshift and ride up. He said
"I've learned that if you try to shift gears on these bikes, they break."

He said he bought a new *-mart bike every year. He was astonished that
mine was over 20 years old and had been on multi-thousand mile trips.


--
- Frank Krygowski