"Whites Only"?

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 18:03:54 -0700, Mark Hickey wrote:
Neil Cherry wrote:

I couldn't justify buying an expenisive bike until I figured out that
I was putting more miles on my bike and less on my car (1996 Saturn -
72K miles, 1990 Trek 1100 - 40K miles, Mongoose RX100 - 20K
miles). Once I figured out that I was spending less money by buying a
better quality bike the cost wasn't such a shock. New car = $20K, New
bike 1.5K. Length of ownership: car ~10 years, Trek ~10 years, RX100 -
5 years so far. Even the maintenance is lower on my car when I use the
bike more.

I put about 5,000 "replacement" miles on my bike a year (those are
miles I'd otherwise have to drive). Figuring a very low per-mile
figure of $0.20 (for most newer cars, it's probably twice that, but my
trusty Jeep has 165,000 miles on it, so isn't depreciating very fast.
It also gets reasonably good gas mileage (around 24-25mpg on the open
road), so the $0.20 should cover the mileage even with gas at $2.00+.

That means I'm saving about $1,000 a year on a car, which can be spent
on a bike. Obviously if I spend a $2,000 on a bike, it's going to
take a few years to break even (after all, you do have to spend a
little on tires and tubes and chains and cassettes, etc.)... but after
that, it's gravy.

So you see (Maggie...) owning a bike doesn't cost anything - why, you
virtually get rich riding one. ;-)

I was thinking more in terms that the more I use my bike the less I
use my car so the cost of the car goes down. Of course I don't buy
the most expensive parts (ex. $9 tires) but I do look for quality.
So while I purchase Ultegra (works better than 105 in most cases, from
my experience) I won't purchase racing weight items as they tend to
wear out too fast. I've, especially, noticed that in the tires. The
less expensive tires tend to be heavy (and thick) while the more
expensive tires light weight and thin. If I need light I'll work on my
middle were I still needs to take off pounds. Or I can empty out the
Camelback of the $20 in change. Or I can stop towing the BOB and it's
load.

I'll spend the money on quality and durability not on light weight. I
think I'm only spending about $500 a year. Mostly on a new rear wheel
as I tend to destroy them! Can't someone make a wheel that stands up
to street abuse!

--
Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry
http://home.comcast.net/~ncherry/ (Text only)
http://hcs.sourceforge.net/ (HCS II)
http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog

:
: Most Americans don't exercise, and they look at those who do with a
: combination of disdain and jealousy.

I think you are leaving out 'amusement', 'indifference', 'astonishment', and
'befuddlement'.


: People will spend $40000 on an SUV but don't understand someone spending
: $1000 or more on a bike. These same people have no problem plunking down
big
: money on plasma TVs and other electronics which will be obsolete in a few
: years. Bikes basically last forever, especially quality ones. :-)

What about those expensive motorcycles? What about those people spending
$100,000 on motor homes with a car being towed behind them? Have you ever
noticed that most motorcycle riders are fat?

Pat in TX

Gooserider wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

RonSonic wrote:
I speak of the shooting sports.
Moderate physical exercise ...

??? Moderate physical exercise?

Well, everything's relative, I guess. A box of bullets is kind of
heavy when compared, say, to a coffee and donut...

Google IPSC or IDPA and get back to us, Frank.

:-) OK, as much physical exercise as eating donuts and coffee REAL
FAST!

Nothing against pretending to be a gun-blazing hero. It may be fun, I
suppose. But it still doesn't sound like much exercise.

Take a look at this hardened athlete, the organization president:
http://www.ipsc.org/

RonSonic wrote:


Hell, just stand there and complete a bullseye match. It doesn't look
hard, and
it isn't in a grunt and huff and puff way. It just requires correct
tension and
control of every muscle in your body.

Come on, guys. I've done target shooting. I know what it's like.

You're right, it requires concentration, steadiness, control of muscle
tension, control of breathing and even (at the top level) control of
your heartbeat. In those ways, it's about as demanding as billiards or
landscape painting.

But it's not exercise.

"Maggie" wrote:

I can't justify
spending 800.00 on a purse, but I have.
snip
I will guess that I will never own a bike that costs over 500 dollars.

So you're saying your purse is 1.6x as important as your bike?

Now I might be able to see paying $800 on a set of panniers.... ;-)

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

Neil Cherry wrote:

...
I'll spend the money on quality and durability not on light weight. I
think I'm only spending about $500 a year. Mostly on a new rear wheel
as I tend to destroy them! Can't someone make a wheel that stands up
to street abuse!

Get a bike with plenty of rear tire clearance, build a 36-spoke wheel
with a Sun Rhyno Lite rim, and put on a 50-622 Schwalbe Big Apple tire.

--
Tom Sherman - Earth

"Maggie" wrote in message
oups.com...

I could never justify spending thousands for a bicycle, because I am
not going to be in competition or "go for the gold" I can't justify
spending 800.00 on a purse, but I have.

I guess spending thousands on a bike is a luxury which some people can
afford and if you can afford it, why not? We only get one go around in
this life, why not indulge sometimes.


Exactly. I'm planning a pretty extravagant bike purchase of a custom
Rivendell bike. It's going to be very expensive by non-cyclist standards,
but to own hand brazed custom steel that will last forever is a good thing.
I'm not going to race. I'm not going for the gold. I just want something
made for me, that will be comfortable to ride, and is versatile. It's still
WAY less than a new car, though. :-)

wrote in message
oups.com...

Gooserider wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

RonSonic wrote:
I speak of the shooting sports.
Moderate physical exercise ...

??? Moderate physical exercise?

Well, everything's relative, I guess. A box of bullets is kind of
heavy when compared, say, to a coffee and donut...

Google IPSC or IDPA and get back to us, Frank.

:-) OK, as much physical exercise as eating donuts and coffee REAL
FAST!

Nothing against pretending to be a gun-blazing hero. It may be fun, I
suppose. But it still doesn't sound like much exercise.

Take a look at this hardened athlete, the organization president:
http://www.ipsc.org/

Sprinting from stage to stage isn't exercise? IPSC is pretty tough.

wrote:

Nothing against pretending to be a gun-blazing hero. It may be fun, I
suppose. But it still doesn't sound like much exercise.

Take a look at this hardened athlete, the organization president:
http://www.ipsc.org/

Fabrizio Mazzoleni?

(Better link is http://www.ipsc.org/image/iroapres.jpg.)

--
Tom Sherman - Earth

RonSonic wrote:

...
Ya know it doesn't have the aerobic element of cycling, but in every other way
is an excellent sport for any man or woman to take up, recommended over stick
and ball games by no less than Thomas Jefferson, I speak of the shooting sports.
Moderate physical exercise combined with unparalleled exercise of the mind and
body control....

Can I bring this to the local shooting range
http://members.cox.net/johnahamill/armorrail.jpg?

--
Tom Sherman - Earth