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"Chopper" bicycles
A couple of times lately I have seen something that looks very much
like a miniature Harley-Davidson motorcycle tooling around the streets. Get a little closer, and they prove to be bicycles, with raised handlebars, chopped forks, and massive tires that look like you'd have to buy replacements from a motorcycle shop. It looks to me like these things must be horribly slow and inefficient, but I think it would be interesting to hear from anyone who has actually ridden one. Do they have any advantages, other than being "kewl?" Bill ----------------------------------------------------- | When the power of love overcomes the love of power | | the world will know peace. | | -- Jimi Hendrix | ----------------------------------------------------- |
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wrote in message ... A couple of times lately I have seen something that looks very much like a miniature Harley-Davidson motorcycle tooling around the streets. Get a little closer, and they prove to be bicycles, with raised handlebars, chopped forks, and massive tires that look like you'd have to buy replacements from a motorcycle shop. It looks to me like these things must be horribly slow and inefficient, but I think it would be interesting to hear from anyone who has actually ridden one. Do they have any advantages, other than being "kewl?" They're just "kewl". Not meant to go fast or handle very well. I rode one as a kid---and I was very happy when it finally died so I could have a BMX. They're not good as a kid's only bike, but I would imagine riding with buddies who have the same bike would be fun. |
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In article ,
"Gooserider" writes: They used to be artistic expressions of uniqueness and other expressable stuff. Now there are "stock", commercially manufactured chopperz available. And I see more people riding those things, than real Works of Art. The whole deal has been culturally appropriated, for crass commercial gain. But, Tom, I rode one in the late 70s, and it was bought at Sears. But I'd bet it wasn't much like nowadays' Nirve Switchblade production bike, which aspires (or pretends) to be something like from he http://www.dclxvi.org/chunk/what/index.html Cycling trends are cyclical, I guess. I figure it's all just down to fashion, and the mainstream catching up to the avante garde, as per usual. Personally I'm not really all that much into choppers, but I do appreciate how they contribute toward expanding cycling beyond the realm of mere sport & recreation; in this case, as Art. I figure riding 'em might be as as much Art as building 'em. Anyhow I like how cycling is so multi-faceted, encompassing art, science, sport, lifestyle ... all kinds o' stuff. Real choppers celebrate that. Factory choppers cash in on it. cheers, Tom -- -- Nothing is safe from me. Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca |
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"Tom Keats" wrote in message news In article , "Gooserider" writes: They used to be artistic expressions of uniqueness and other expressable stuff. Now there are "stock", commercially manufactured chopperz available. And I see more people riding those things, than real Works of Art. The whole deal has been culturally appropriated, for crass commercial gain. But, Tom, I rode one in the late 70s, and it was bought at Sears. But I'd bet it wasn't much like nowadays' Nirve Switchblade production bike, which aspires (or pretends) to be something like from he http://www.dclxvi.org/chunk/what/index.html I remember it had a looong fork, sissy bar, slick wide rear tire, and a plastic faux tank. It was similar to the Jesse James chopper bike. It really was a useless machine. |
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On Sat, 6 Aug 2005 17:26:01 +0000 (UTC), wrote:
A couple of times lately I have seen something that looks very much like a miniature Harley-Davidson motorcycle tooling around the streets. Get a little closer, and they prove to be bicycles, with raised handlebars, chopped forks, and massive tires that look like you'd have to buy replacements from a motorcycle shop. It looks to me like these things must be horribly slow and inefficient, but I think it would be interesting to hear from anyone who has actually ridden one. Do they have any advantages, other than being "kewl?" These are the extreme form of the very low-slung bikes that seem to be trendy among early teens at the moment. Sometimes I feel like giving them a lecture about what they're doing to their knees, but what's the point? They probably smoke, too. I vaguely remember being indestructible at that age :-) -- Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw |
#8
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On Sat, 6 Aug 2005 17:26:01 +0000 (UTC) in rec.bicycles.misc,
wrote: It looks to me like these things must be horribly slow and inefficient, but I think it would be interesting to hear from anyone who has actually ridden one. Do they have any advantages, other than being "kewl?" when i was out garage saling last weekend, a kid at one sale had one. it weighed a TON. it's a real motorcycle wheel & tire on the rear, and that weighs more than my bike all by itself. |
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wrote in message ... Do they have any advantages, other than being "kewl?" Bill Not that I can think of. And of course, it depends on your definition of 'kewl' as to whether or not they actually are 'kewl' ;-) According to my teenage son, this *is* seriously kewl... http://www.cervelo.com/bikes/2005/P3-Carbon.html Cheers, helen s |
#10
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wrote in message ... A couple of times lately I have seen something that looks very much like a miniature Harley-Davidson motorcycle tooling around the streets. Get a little closer, and they prove to be bicycles, with raised handlebars, chopped forks, and massive tires that look like you'd have to buy replacements from a motorcycle shop. It looks to me like these things must be horribly slow and inefficient, but I think it would be interesting to hear from anyone who has actually ridden one. Do they have any advantages, other than being "kewl?" The current offerings are clearly based on the "American Chopper" and similar high art form TV shows. The Canadian Tire version even refers to it being cobranded with Orange County Choppers in its sales hype. See: http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortmen...=1119360088188 Geez, what an address!! They actually look quite nice but -they weigh a ton and will do a great deal to ensure that its owner's enthusiasm for cycling will be brief. My knees hurt just looking at it! Cheers, Roy |
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