How come bicycle clothing looks so silly?

On Jan 15, 9:41*am, !Jones' Sock Puppet wrote:


I didn't say that bicycle clothing wasn't practical; I said that it
always seems to look so damn silly. *I suspect that the manufacturers
go out of their way to make it thus!

Actually, you went out of your way to link bike clothes to
homosexuals. That may say more about you than about the clothes - but
anyway:

I share your desire to look "normal" on a bike, but I think you're
grossly overstating the difficulty. In thousands of commute rides to
work, I've never once dressed in bike clothes. Almost always, I
simply wore my normal business casual work clothes. True, that's only
seven miles one way, and I take it a bit easy, but it can be done.

For longer recreational rides, there are plenty of mono-color jerseys
out there. There are also plenty of mountain bike shorts that look
like ordinary baggy casual shorts. And there are plenty of ordinary
day-to-day clothes that work just fine on a bike. For utility riding
or vacation city explorations, I use regular lightweight pants or
shorts a polo shirt and ordinary shoes or sandals. In fact,
Rivendell's Grant Peterson has written frequently about the joys of
riding without bike specific clothes.

But there's no denying that on a long ride (30 miles or more) I'm more
comfortable in lycra shorts and a bike-specific jersey. Similarly, if
I go hike in the snow, I change from regular shoes to boots. It's not
a big deal.

Regarding your front shifter: Lots of bike shops should be able to
sell you an old friction shifter. Rivendell usually carries them, but
they're out of stock.

http://www.rivbike.com/

Check http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/shifters.html#topmount

Alternately, take $10, visit a Goodwill store, buy an entire cheap
mountain bike, and cannibalize it's left shifter.

- Frank Krygowski

On Jan 13, 2:34*pm, !Jones' Sock Puppet wrote:
Actually, I kinda *like* men in tight, black panties... but, my
question has always been: How do you wear that stuff in public and
keep a straight face?

Cycling clothes are like the stuff SCUBA divers wear- odd looking to
idiots, but functional, including the bright colors. What would
really look silly is riding your bike in, say, a football uniform.
-Paul

On Jan 15, 7:06*am, !Jones' Sock Puppet wrote:
In '70, one could buy a decent bicycle for $20 - $30 at a hardware
store. *I paid $48.33 in '68 for my '66 Schwinn equipped with a Bendix
kickback and that was considered extravagant. *In '70, I was in
Vietnam, so I didn't have a bicycle; however, in '72, I was driving a
cab and considered 40 bucks to be a decent night's book... I probably
averaged $30 to $35.

I was in Georgetown, DC in October doing a little urban hiking...
granted, that's a pricey neighborhood. *We walked by a bike shop and
their window display bike had a $22K price tag!!! *Sheeze! *That's
more than I paid for my first *house*! *It's even a fairly large part
of it when adjusted for inflation.

When you put multiple thousands of dollars into a bicycle, what you
have is a fetish, not transportation.

Jones

You can buy a $70 bike at walmart, target, kmart. they'll ride fine
and can be used to commute.

Per !Jones' Sock Puppet:
In '70, one could buy a decent bicycle for $20 - $30 at a hardware
store. I paid $48.33 in '68 for my '66 Schwinn equipped with a Bendix
kickback and that was considered extravagant. In '70, I was in
Vietnam, so I didn't have a bicycle; however, in '72, I was driving a
cab and considered 40 bucks to be a decent night's book... I probably
averaged $30 to $35.

Inflation plus the magic of compound interest.

Check out http://tinyurl.com/3bursr
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Current data is only available till 2007. In 2007, $49.00 from
1970 is worth:
$261.58 using the Consumer Price Index
$213.20 using the GDP deflator
$287.40 using the value of consumer bundle *
$265.19 using the unskilled wage *
$442.27 using the nominal GDP per capita
$651.49 using the relative share of GDP
-----------------------------------------------------------------

I bought a bike for my #2 daughter couple years back for about
$130. Multi-speed der setup. She's still riding it regularly.
--
PeteCresswell

On Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:03:18 -0000, in alt.war.vietnam "Clive George"
wrote:

Re friction shifters - thumb shifters still exist in various forms.

I'm looking at the Suntour friction shifters like these.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SUNTOUR-POWER-TH...1%7C294 %3A50

I can't tell whether they'd shift a nine-speed cassette or not. More
importantly, I need to research whether or not they'd have the width
of draw for a three-cookie front cage.

I do favor those shifters, though... they're classics!

Jones

On Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:00:42 -0800 (PST), in alt.war.vietnam
" wrote:

On Jan 15, 7:06*am, !Jones' Sock Puppet wrote:
In '70, one could buy a decent bicycle for $20 - $30 at a hardware
store. *I paid $48.33 in '68 for my '66 Schwinn equipped with a Bendix
kickback and that was considered extravagant. *In '70, I was in
Vietnam, so I didn't have a bicycle; however, in '72, I was driving a
cab and considered 40 bucks to be a decent night's book... I probably
averaged $30 to $35.

I was in Georgetown, DC in October doing a little urban hiking...
granted, that's a pricey neighborhood. *We walked by a bike shop and
their window display bike had a $22K price tag!!! *Sheeze! *That's
more than I paid for my first *house*! *It's even a fairly large part
of it when adjusted for inflation.

When you put multiple thousands of dollars into a bicycle, what you
have is a fetish, not transportation.

Jones

You can buy a $70 bike at walmart, target, kmart. they'll ride fine
and can be used to commute.

Oh, in today's market, methinks I'd budget about $500 or so for a
decent commuter. Then about half again for the racks, fenders, and
panniers... those accesories ain't cheap!

Jones

On Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:08:51 -0500, in alt.war.vietnam
"(PeteCresswell)" wrote:

Current data is only available till 2007

The word "data" is a plural noun. If you're going to copy and paste,
at least use a literate source.

Jones

On Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:07:42 -0800 (PST), in alt.war.vietnam "Paul G."
wrote:

On Jan 13, 2:34*pm, !Jones' Sock Puppet wrote:
Actually, I kinda *like* men in tight, black panties... but, my
question has always been: How do you wear that stuff in public and
keep a straight face?

Cycling clothes are like the stuff SCUBA divers wear- odd looking to
idiots, but functional, including the bright colors. What would
really look silly is riding your bike in, say, a football uniform.

I always wear a skydiving outfit and a parachute in case I ride over a
cliff... and a big knife strapped to my calf in case I meet any Iraqi
commandos... and 3/4 liter of Jack Daniels in my pack in case...
well... and 3/4 liter of Jack Daniels Old #7 in my pack. I suppose I
could make a Molotov cocktail out of it if I met a tank.

Jones

"!Jones' Sock Puppet" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:03:18 -0000, in alt.war.vietnam "Clive George"
wrote:

Re friction shifters - thumb shifters still exist in various forms.

I'm looking at the Suntour friction shifters like these.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SUNTOUR-POWER-TH...1%7C294 %3A50

I can't tell whether they'd shift a nine-speed cassette or not. More
importantly, I need to research whether or not they'd have the width
of draw for a three-cookie front cage.

They'd handle the front. I'd leave the rear as indexed using whatever
shifter you prefer, especially with 9s - IME you don't need the adjustment
you need on the front, and the little steps for 9s are just that little bit
tiny for me to do in friction mode well.

Re complaining about your desired bike being $500, $750 with accessories.
Nowt wrong with a bike costing that, but it's worth noting it's in no way
comparable to the bikes costing "a days wage" you're trying to compare it
to. The modern bike is superior in an awful lot of ways, and you can still
get equivalents to the cheap ones you're thinking of.

Clive George wrote:
"!Jones' Sock Puppet" wrote in message
...

I agree with you that any dedicated clothing is out of place in an
office environment; imagine walking in wearing a SCUBA outfit... but,
if cycles are to become a viable form of daily transportation, then
reasonable clothing will have to develop.

Already has - go to most clothing shops. See what people wear in places
where they do use a bike for daily transport - it's nothing special.[...]

Easy for someone in the UK to say. Normal clothing does NOT work well in
a high temperature, high humidity environment.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
LOCAL CACTUS EATS CYCLIST - datakoll