#141
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randonneur
On Sunday, June 3, 2018 at 2:13:19 PM UTC-5, Emanuel Berg wrote:
wrote: The early 1980s were a very few years after 1976. 1976 was when Adventure Cycling (they were called something else at first) organized the first cross country USA bike ride. It was not the first time anyone had ever ridden across the USA. But it was the first nationally publicized cross country ride with a "big" organization sponsoring, organizing, it. They organized groups of riders and had ride leaders for each group. So bike companies were merely trying to capitalize on this new market for touring bikes. Riding a touring bike across the country was a new thing. And you needed a new bike to do this. OK, so all it takes is one organization to do something by all means cool and then the whole industry will start producing equipment for others to do (versions of) the same thing? I don't recall exactly when skateboards were invented, but some kid, youngster had the bright idea to attach some roller skate wheels to a board. And the skateboard was born. Lots of companies make skateboards now. And many cities have skate parks with various concrete things in them so kids can use their skateboards. AND think about snowboards. Some genius fairly recently had the idea to use a surfboard on snow. And now snowboarding is in the Olympics. Touring by bicycle has been around for a long time. If you look it up you will find people who toured via bicycle back at the turn of the century. Maybe even with those old high wheeler bicycles. But touring by bicycle never got too popular in the USA or world. Some of us outliers do it. But like backpacking over a long distance, the Appalachia Trail, it requires a lot of effort to haul lots of gear and camp or stay away from home for a long time. Most bicyclists want to be back home and sleep in their own bed every night. So bicycle touring is not too popular. Randonneuring, where you ride 200, 300, 400, 600, 1000, 1200 kilometers in a limited amount of time, is not too popular either. But some of us have done it. Why? Who knows.. Thus companies made the bikes people wanted to buy. Its called capitalism. Companies sell what people want to buy. Is this what you do on Usenet as well? Write posts that people want to read? -- underground experts united http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573 |
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#142
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randonneur
On Monday, June 4, 2018 at 9:12:36 AM UTC-5, jbeattie wrote:
On Sunday, June 3, 2018 at 12:06:32 PM UTC-7, wrote: On Sunday, June 3, 2018 at 11:06:52 AM UTC-5, Emanuel Berg wrote: sms wrote: True. It would be odd for them to be the tire it shipped with. I recall that during the touring bike heyday of the 1980's OK, what was it about the 80s and randonneuring? Good bikes and roads but still not insane traffic like today? -- underground experts united http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573 Stop using the word randonneuring incorrectly. You are talking about touring. Not randonneuring. The early 1980s were a very few years after 1976. 1976 was when Adventure Cycling (they were called something else at first) organized the first cross country USA bike ride. It was not th e first time anyone had ever ridden across the USA. But it was the first nationally publicized cross country ride with a "big" organization sponsoring, organizing, it. They organized groups of riders and had ride leaders for each group. So bike companies were merely trying to capitalize on this new market for touring bikes. Riding a touring bike across the country was a new thing. And you needed a new bike to do this. A touring bike. Thus companies made the bikes people wanted to buy. Its called capitalism. Companies sell what people want to buy. It was called Bikecentennial with its offices in Missoula Montana, which meant that all their routes went through Missoula, which is a little dopey if you look at the map of the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikecentennial But if you did the route, you could stop by the office and sign a book -- which is probably collecting dust somewhere. -- Jay Beattie. Adventure Cycling, the name after Bikecentennial, is still very active and "big" now. They have lots of routes all over the USA. And sell lots of other gear too. Still in Missoula. Signing the book or getting your picture is still very active. Every issue of the Adventure Cycling monthly magazine has a picture of a bike tourist who stopped at the Missoula office. At the very end of the magazine. They write up a short story about the person.. |
#143
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randonneur
On Monday, June 4, 2018 at 11:22:27 AM UTC-5, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Mon, 04 Jun 2018 14:13:09 +0200, Emanuel Berg wrote: Jeff Liebermann wrote: [...] At the time, subtleties such as 700c vs 27" hadn't entered my decision making process. I was more interested in the paint color (Sherwood Green), how much junk I could carry, a comfortable ride (long wheel base), and how cool I would look riding it. Very interesting post! It's mostly about my favorite topic, me. As for the color, obviously that's very important. If you don't get happy instantly by looking at the bike (because you don't like the color), this sets the tone (or shade) for the hole riding experience and possibly the whole day depending on how perceptive/sensitive you are. Color are emotional which is why kids and girls care so much for them... Adult men are equally affected by color. "How to Use the Psychology of Colors When Marketing" https://smallbiztrends.com/2014/06/psychology-of-colors.html You'll find hundreds of such articles on the psychology of color on the internet. No two will agree on how it works, some bother to provide statistical marketing research evidence of such preferences, few make the association with symbols (Karl Jung), and none offer a connection to subliminals (Wilson Bryan Key). My purchase decision of a Sherwood Green Miyata 610 did not involve much research or thought. In 1984, Miyata offered the 610 only in Artesian Blue and Sherwood Green. The LBS where I purchased it only had green in stock in my frame size. The 1000 was available in Mountain Blue and Dark Platinum. Either color would have been acceptable, but the price of the 1000 was too high for me. The 210 was another option for touring, but none were in stock in my frame size. So, why the emphasis on buying from inventory? Because for me, it was an impulse decision. I was laid off or fired from an engineering job two years earlier and decided to become a consultant. I was putting every penny into the business and was in desperate need of "retail therapy" or other means of escaping the stress. After an intense morning design review, I was recovering from a fast-food lunch when I noticed an LBS nearby that I hadn't previously visited. Two hours of haggling later, I left with the green 610. I had only planned to look at price tags and bargains, but I think the green color convinced me that it was time to buy. Note that my current vehicle is a green Subaru Forester, I live in a green forest, and much of my clothing is green. So, where did my preference for green come from? When I was in school, I made a futile attempt at acting. In one play, I was one of Robin Hood's merry men. That brought me some trivial acclaim and some minor attention from the girls. None of that stuck, except for the green costume, which I eventually extended to my choice in bicycle and automobile color. I agree that the color of a bicycle might color your riding experience. You don't ride a bicycle, you wear it. Unfortunately, the industry has yet to invent a way to match one's mood with the color of the bicycle. I had hoped that electrochromic paints (that change color with applied voltage or frequency) would be developed for the purpose. What I still fail to understand is the Bianchi celeste color, which to me looks very much like vomit. The best I can offer is that some people prefer repulsive colors, possibly to induce race competitors into losing their lunch. Bubble gum and vomit? I would not say that. But the celeste color is definitely feminine. Not masculine. So why they chose that color for an item sold almost exclusively to men is a mystery. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/steven-kruijswijks-celeste-and-pink-bianchi-oltre-xr2-gallery/ Hmmm... Looks like celeste has been darkened slightly and replace by a lighter "CK16": https://www.bianchi.com/images/800-600-Fix/0272bf28-86fb-4822-a420-d01421c0df6a -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#144
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randonneur
On Wednesday, June 6, 2018 at 3:54:08 PM UTC-5, sms wrote:
On 6/3/2018 9:06 AM, Emanuel Berg wrote: sms wrote: True. It would be odd for them to be the tire it shipped with. I recall that during the touring bike heyday of the 1980's OK, what was it about the 80s and randonneuring? Good bikes and roads but still not insane traffic like today? For some reason, bicycle touring was extremely popular then. I think that it grew out of Bikecentennial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikecentennial. The Hosteling movement was also at its peak so it was easy to find cheap places to stay. Now, at least in the U.S., the number of hostels has been drastically reduced, and the remaining ones are often not much of a bargain, even though I prefer them if they have private rooms. We stayed at a hostel in San Diego a couple of months ago, and I stayed in one by myself near Yosemite last month. Back in 1992 when I toured Europe for the summer, I spent many nights in hostels. Pretty common in Europe. Not the USA. Sort of rode from hostel to hostel for determining my route. Also stayed in cheap pensiones. And friends, people met along the way, distant family. Have not checked recently on whether hostels are still common in Europe or not. There was/is an age limit. It is International Youth Hostel. Think 27 was the max age. If it was enforced. |
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