Can we bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle?
 

Originally Posted by wahoonc
"Around here the criteria is if they are pretty much complete and able
to be rolled around. (good thing too because I have at least 6
framesets that I hope she has forgotten about)

FWIW her counts usually include the ones in the "soon to be scrap"
pile too. By my count we have 16 ready to ride, but some of those are
for show and go, not daily riders."

***

I think bikes can be both for riding and show...

Remember the good old 1890's? ;)

Well, I'm sure you don't, but back then that piece of junk called the
"automobile" hadn't hit the streets (or dirt roads), but there were
bike ways and the fashionable elite would ride a bike the way they
drive Supersized Unnecessary Vehicles today.

http://velonista.com/wp-content/uplo.../gentleman.jpg

They may look a little bit "funny" to modern times, but imagine what
they would have thought of driving around in a box on wheels.

Anyway, I think that we can bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle,
and I will celebrate it with my Amsterdam Classic, my Electra Towney
and my red chopper with h-u-g-e ape hanger bars. See you around!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a land where SUVs rule, it may seem counterintuitive or even stupid
to ride a bike... But a man gotta do, what a man gotta do.

http://webspawner.com/users/bananarevolution

Can we bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle?
 

On Aug 19, 2:46 pm, ComandanteBanana
wrote:
snip
Anyway, I think that we can bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle,
and I will celebrate it with my Amsterdam Classic, my Electra Towney
and my red chopper with h-u-g-e ape hanger bars. See you around!

We can't bring back the Golden Age, but as any comics historian will
tell you, there is always the Silver Age. Just look at all that
pavement out there just begging to be ridden on when those smelly,
noisy, cars are gone. And since it was designed to last 50 years with
vehicles weighing 40 tons driving on it, just imagine how long it will
last with vehicles weighing less than 500 pounds. All it will require
in the way of maintenance is regular sweeping to prevent plant
erosion, since we don't have the weight to grind sprouts into powder
like motor vehicles.

Can we bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle?
 

On Aug 20, 2:11 pm, Opus wrote:
On Aug 19, 2:46 pm, ComandanteBanana
wrote:snip
Anyway, I think that we can bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle,
and I will celebrate it with my Amsterdam Classic, my Electra Towney
and my red chopper with h-u-g-e ape hanger bars. See you around!

We can't bring back the Golden Age, but as any comics historian will
tell you, there is always the Silver Age. Just look at all that
pavement out there just begging to be ridden on when those smelly,
noisy, cars are gone. And since it was designed to last 50 years with
vehicles weighing 40 tons driving on it, just imagine how long it will
last with vehicles weighing less than 500 pounds. All it will require
in the way of maintenance is regular sweeping to prevent plant
erosion, since we don't have the weight to grind sprouts into powder
like motor vehicles.

Good point. A Silver Age also makes sense since that's when you have
EXPERIENCE, and you learn to appreciate things. All those cars that
came after the Golden Age didn't make any sense and had a price. We
were TRASHING EVERYTHING, in exchange for COMFORT THAT MADE US FAT AND
STUPID.

We still have time to rectify.

Can we bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle?
 

This "golden age" malarkey is just twaddle caused by wearing rose
colored glasses and being nostalgic for a past that never was. I came
of age about the time of the "bike boom" of the 1970s and cycling is
vastly better now.

Can we bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle?
 

ComandanteBanana wrote:

http://velonista.com/wp-content/uplo.../gentleman.jpg

Those helmets they're wearing don't look like they are Snell approved.

Can we bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle?
 

On Aug 19, 10:46*am, ComandanteBanana
wrote:
Originally Posted by wahoonc
"Around here the criteria is if they are pretty much complete and able
to be rolled around. (good thing too because I have at least 6
framesets that I hope she has forgotten about)

FWIW her counts usually include the ones in the "soon to be scrap"
pile too. By my count we have 16 ready to ride, but some of those are
for show and go, not daily riders."

***

I think bikes can be both for riding and show...

Remember the good old 1890's? ;)

Well, I'm sure you don't, but back then that piece of junk called the
"automobile" hadn't hit the streets (or dirt roads), but there were
bike ways and the fashionable elite would ride a bike the way they
drive Supersized Unnecessary Vehicles today.

http://velonista.com/wp-content/uplo.../gentleman.jpg

They may look a little bit "funny" to modern times, but imagine what
they would have thought of driving around in a box on wheels.

Anyway, I think that we can bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle,
and I will celebrate it with my Amsterdam Classic, my Electra Towney
and my red chopper with h-u-g-e ape hanger bars. See you around!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------*-----
In a land where SUVs rule, it may seem counterintuitive or even stupid
to ride a bike... But a man gotta do, what a man gotta do.

*http://webspawner.com/users/bananarevolution

I think that we *ARE* in the Golden Age of bicycling right *NOW*. We
have indexed shifting that is nearly foolproof no more trying to shift
just by feel and sound (which is great for the hard of hearing and the
newbie to bicycling). We have tires that are highly pucture resistant.
We have a choice of frame materials that can be built up into a
bicycle that gives a comfortable ride over a long distance. We have
lights that throw a good beam of light down the road a good distance
so we can ride at night and still see where we are going without
having to slow to a crawl. Plus, we have thousands of miles of paved
roads that we can ride our bicycles on without bouncing our inner
organs all over the place. Im all honesty, I think that bicyclist have
never had it so good as they do now. We get a lot more bang for our
buck now that we did in the late 1970's and early 1980's.

Cheers from Peter

I really think we have better bike POTENTIAL than Holland
 

Originally Posted by trackhub
"I doubt we will see a return to the golden age of the bicycle, i.e.
the 1890's. This country is just car-centric. Entire areas are built
around the car. Shopping malls, fast-food joints, movie mega-plexes,
and all the roads that go to them.

Will it ever change? It might. I still think that the bike will
endure, and survive the age of the automobile."

***

Well, I really think we have better bike POTENTIAL than Holland...

Hey, I'm not kidding, just that being at the bottom, we can only go
up!

Besides our nightmarish s-p-r-a-w-l can be turned into an opportunity.
No, we may never be riding comfort 3 speed Dutch bikes, but our g-r-e-
a-t-e-r distances allow for faster bikes that will bring out the real
athlete within. Of course, under the skin of a couch potato, there's a
potential Armstrong.

More or less. The key word is "POTENTIAL."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a land where SUVs rule, it may seem counterintuitive or even stupid
to ride a bike... But a man gotta do, what a man gotta do. (Hey,
ladies can be tough too!)

http://webspawner.com/users/bananarevolution

Can we bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle?
 

On Aug 20, 6:59 pm, Tim McNamara wrote:
This "golden age" malarkey is just twaddle caused by wearing rose
colored glasses and being nostalgic for a past that never was. I came
of age about the time of the "bike boom" of the 1970s and cycling is
vastly better now.

It's only radically better on the dirt trails... After all, there was
no mountain bikes in the '70s. ;)

Was that boom related to the oil embargo? I think we need an oil
crisis to really mean BUSINESS.

Can we bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle?
 

On Aug 20, 7:13*pm, SMS wrote:
ComandanteBanana wrote:
http://velonista.com/wp-content/uplo.../gentleman.jpg

Those helmets they're wearing don't look like they are Snell approved.

It's all about fashion... After all, there were few if any cars
terrorizing people back then. ;)

Can we bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle?
 

On Aug 20, 7:43*pm, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Aug 19, 10:46*am, ComandanteBanana
wrote:





Originally Posted by wahoonc
"Around here the criteria is if they are pretty much complete and able
to be rolled around. (good thing too because I have at least 6
framesets that I hope she has forgotten about)

FWIW her counts usually include the ones in the "soon to be scrap"
pile too. By my count we have 16 ready to ride, but some of those are
for show and go, not daily riders."

***

I think bikes can be both for riding and show...

Remember the good old 1890's? ;)

Well, I'm sure you don't, but back then that piece of junk called the
"automobile" hadn't hit the streets (or dirt roads), but there were
bike ways and the fashionable elite would ride a bike the way they
drive Supersized Unnecessary Vehicles today.

http://velonista.com/wp-content/uplo.../gentleman.jpg

They may look a little bit "funny" to modern times, but imagine what
they would have thought of driving around in a box on wheels.

Anyway, I think that we can bring back the Golden Age of the Bicycle,
and I will celebrate it with my Amsterdam Classic, my Electra Towney
and my red chopper with h-u-g-e ape hanger bars. See you around!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------**-----
In a land where SUVs rule, it may seem counterintuitive or even stupid
to ride a bike... But a man gotta do, what a man gotta do.

*http://webspawner.com/users/bananarevolution

I think that we *ARE* in the Golden Age of bicycling right *NOW*. We
have indexed shifting that is nearly foolproof no more trying to shift
just by feel and sound (which is great for the hard of hearing and the
newbie to bicycling). We have tires that are highly pucture resistant.
We have a choice of frame materials that can be built up into a
bicycle that gives a comfortable ride over a long distance. We have
lights that throw a good beam of light down the road a good distance
so we can ride at night and still see where we are going without
having to slow to a crawl. Plus, we have thousands of miles of paved
roads that we can ride our bicycles on without bouncing our inner
organs all over the place. Im all honesty, I think that bicyclist have
never had it so good as they do now. We get a lot more bang for our
buck now that we did in the late 1970's and early 1980's.

Cheers from Peter- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes sir, it's all true. But at the same time, it's like I say...

I'M READY FOR THE ROAD, BUT THE ROAD IS NOT READY FOR ME!

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onefanaticdotcom wrote on 08/20/2009 12:53:56 PM:
"People who ride their bicycles on the street need to have their head
examined. They are sharing the road with 3,000 pound machines and one
wrong move and you're a goner. I remember seeing people on Bicycles on
Sheridan Street right before 1-75 literally riding their bikes as cars
almost swiped them with the passenger mirror. Literally inches from
death. Yet, there was a sidewalk right next to them - empty. Why would
you even risk your life?"

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/brea...ents_Container