"City Bike" Hot New Category at Bicycle Industry Show

On Sep 29, 8:43 am, A Muzi wrote:
Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
are no lights supplied until you get all the way up to their top-of-the-line
model, the World Adventure-http://www.schwinnbike.com/products/bikes_detail.php?id=954.
Chalo wrote:
They put vertical dropouts and a chain tensioner on a bike that comes
*from the factory* with a gearhub?!?!! Are they on crack? (I mean,
this is Pacific Cycle we're talking about, so it's probably a
combination of betel nut and counterfeit Valium, but still... WTF?)

Or just PCP and toluene? Sky Yaeger isn't at Bianchi any longer.
Bianchi also has an internal gear bike with the wrong ends and a
tensioner for 2008. Whatever for? Why, 'urban bike' with disc brake of
course.
O tempora, O mores.

Well, the frame does give you the option to change over to a
conventional derailleur arrangement if you like -- and as a
manufacturer, you can use the same frame for a lot of models. It looks
to me like Schwinn just took a hybrid frame and hung a bunch of trick
stuff on it -- going the kludge route to use the internal geared hub.
At that price point, personally, I would rather have a Pilot or a
Portland. -- Jay Beattie.

On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 04:05:00 -0700, SMS wrote:

Let's just say it's extremely rare (like never), to see one of these
commute bikes out at night using only the dynamo lights.

Not true here in NYC. Most here commute with no front light at all. I use a
dynamo light. We don't need more. All streets have street lights.

Don www.donwiss.com/joyrides (e-mail link at page bottom).

A Muzi wrote:

Bianchi also has an internal gear bike with the wrong ends and a
tensioner for 2008. Whatever for? Why, 'urban bike' with disc brake of
course.
O tempora, O mores.

I see, I guess. That seems like a reason to use sliding dropouts
(with caliper tabs), not vertical ones.

One of the best things about using a gearhub IMO is a tidy, trouble-
free chainline with no chain dumping and no great-balls-o'-filth
pulleys.

Chalo

Don Wiss wrote:
On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 04:05:00 -0700, SMS wrote:

Let's just say it's extremely rare (like never), to see one of these
commute bikes out at night using only the dynamo lights.

Not true here in NYC. Most here commute with no front light at all. I use a
dynamo light. We don't need more. All streets have street lights.

Don www.donwiss.com/joyrides (e-mail link at page bottom).

That's true, on well lit streets like in NYC you can get by with
whatever keeps you legal. Around here there are quite a few Breezer's
around but the commutes are such that everyone puts better lights on them.

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 14:55:57 -0700, SMS wrote:

Don Wiss wrote:
On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 04:05:00 -0700, SMS wrote:

Let's just say it's extremely rare (like never), to see one of these
commute bikes out at night using only the dynamo lights.

Not true here in NYC. Most here commute with no front light at all. I use a
dynamo light. We don't need more. All streets have street lights.

That's true, on well lit streets like in NYC you can get by with
whatever keeps you legal. Around here there are quite a few Breezer's
around but the commutes are such that everyone puts better lights on them.

Well, to be legal here one needs lights, but it is never enforced. So
headlights are rare. Blinkie tail lights are more common, but it is far
from universal.

To change the subject. In Europe (at least in The Netherlands) tail lights
can't blink. Is this technically also true in the US?

Don www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).

In article ,
"Mike Jacoubowsky" writes:
At least it doesn't have slidy-outy coffee cup holders.

You can make fun of cup holders all you want,

Thank you, I will. At least, the mechanised/motorized ones
that slide out like a CD player tray. I also like to make
fun of electric toothbrushes, electric backscratchers,
electric card shufflers, etc. But Western Civilization
really hit the skids with the advent of cable TV and handheld
remote controls, so people could watch such pap as infomercials
about auto-shifting bicycles.

I /won't/ make fun of no-draft windows on cars, nor
manual chokes. Those relics were actually practical.

but people sometimes decide
with $23k car to buy based on how many cupholders it has.

They're nutz. We're all nutz. I'm inclined to buy the
brand that has a picture of a lion or tiger or other
feline on the packaging. How I sorely miss Standard Lager[*]!
How I luv Tiger Sauce[tm]. How I'm now considering doing
a run to the tobacconist's for a tin of Panter cigarellos,
and maybe pick up a bottle of Chat Noir (both of which go
quite well after a lasagna feeding frenzy.)

The art of marketing is to circumvent peoples' sensibleness
and appeal instead to their base instincts. The art of being
a consumer is to (try to) remain sensible. Marketing/consuming
is such an adversarial relationship. And there're the business
folks like yourself -- clowns to the left of you, jokers to the
right ... stuck in the middle of it. You have my utmost respect
and my deepest condolences. Reconciling marketeering and consuming
must be the most demanding art of all.

The bike industry
could do far worse than incorporate the means to easily carry your Starbucks
or Peets coffee back home.

It's called a Thermos[tm]. They've been around awhile ;-)
There're probably electrified/mechanised/motorized versions now.


cheers,
Tom
[*] That stuff makes the best redeyes.

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

On Sep 29, 2:13 pm, "Gooserider" wrote:

I'm sure Frank Krygowski will chime in---but more lumens are better.

Well, I don't want to disappoint you! ;-)

But "more lumens are better" is a much too simplistic way of
evaluating a headlight. Where you put those lumens is at least as
important. I learned that after a friend bought a fairly expensive
rechargeable halogen headlight set that was nowhere near as useful as
my "nothing special" generator set.

Others have talked of riding Paris-Brest-Paris using their SON/Lumotec
sets and having the "rechargeable" brigade ride behind them, because
they could see better by the SON's light.

The only case in which
dynamo lights would be superior, in my mind, is touring. Otherwise, a good
LED rechargeable system is going to give you more light. Now, if I was
touring, or going to be places without access to electricity for long
stretches, then I'd run the dynamo.

I agree, I wouldn't tour without a dynamo light. (I made that mistake
once or twice, and won't repeat it.) But for me, the dynamo is
absolutely the most practical electricity source for a
transportational bike like those being discussed.

Would you really put up a rechargeable headlight system in any other
transportation vehicle? "Sorry, honey, we'll have to walk home from
the movie. I forgot to recharge my car's headlights."

- Frank Krygowski

On 2007-09-29, Don Wiss wrote:

To change the subject. In Europe (at least in The Netherlands) tail lights
can't blink. Is this technically also true in the US?

It varies from state to state. In my neck of the woods a blinking tail
light is illegal, but I've never heard of it being enforced.

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007, (Tom Keats) wrote:

Thank you, I will. At least, the mechanised/motorized ones
that slide out like a CD player tray. I also like to make
fun of electric toothbrushes, electric backscratchers,
electric card shufflers, etc.

Actually electric toothbrushes can be useful as they generally will do a
better job then you can do by hand. One thing that is useless, like the
other two you list, is electric can openers. And then maybe electric
knives, though I've never used one.

Don www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 19:22:18 -0400, Don Wiss
wrote:

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 14:55:57 -0700, SMS wrote:

Don Wiss wrote:
On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 04:05:00 -0700, SMS wrote:

Let's just say it's extremely rare (like never), to see one of these
commute bikes out at night using only the dynamo lights.

Not true here in NYC. Most here commute with no front light at all. I use a
dynamo light. We don't need more. All streets have street lights.

That's true, on well lit streets like in NYC you can get by with
whatever keeps you legal. Around here there are quite a few Breezer's
around but the commutes are such that everyone puts better lights on them.

Well, to be legal here one needs lights, but it is never enforced. So
headlights are rare. Blinkie tail lights are more common, but it is far
from universal.

To change the subject. In Europe (at least in The Netherlands) tail lights
can't blink. Is this technically also true in the US?
Technically true in Ontario Canada, but not enforced. Even the
bike-mounted cops use blinkies.

Don www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).


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