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OMG, The kids these days and their bicycles...



 
 
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  #11  
Old May 22nd 09, 12:50 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
Peter Cole[_2_]
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Default OMG, The kids these days and their bicycles...

SMS wrote:
Peter Cole wrote:


A couple of years ago my son's friend came by with a bike he
had been riding that he had found curbside on trash day. The kid knew
enough to pump the tires & oil the chain, but when his freewheel
packed it up, he was clueless.


Well that's fair enough, I don't expect most kids to know how to deal
with replacing a freewhel.

Turns out it was a screwball Maillard Helicomatic (Peugeot bike) & he
was dismayed when I told him it was unrepairable -- no problem,


"http://www.yellowjersey.org/helico.html"


Yes, I know, but some things deserve to be retired. Besides, what's the
value of a wheel off a trash day bike? I replace one with another, don't
usually bother with serious repairs, I probably already have a lifetime
supply of (free) replacements.
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  #12  
Old May 22nd 09, 12:54 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
Richard Riley
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Default OMG, The kids these days and their bicycles...

(Tom Keats) writes:

In article ,
SMS writes:

The next night (last night) the troop had their committee meeting at my
house. Even though I'm not on the committee (they don't want first year
boy scout parents on the committee because they think we're too used to
Cub Scouts were the parents run everything rather than the scouts). So
one item of discussion was a concern that some scouts were walking home
from troop meetings by themselves rather than being picked up by an
adult. Jesus H. Christ, some of these kids are 17 years old and the
adults are worried about them walking 1/8 to 1 mile at night.

I could get into "back in my day..." like my dad used to do, but I won't.


It's just not the same world anymore, and perhaps a lot more
dangerous for an urban kid nowadays than it was back in the days
when if the cops saw your house lights on late at night, they'd
stop by to see if everything's all right, and you could leave the
back door open during those hot 'n sultry summer nights.

cheers,
Tom


Sure you could ... I just happened to be reading about Ted Bundy. Was he
around on those hot 'n sultry nights?

I think squawking about kids if the day is just an age thing. I found
myself doing it recently. We tend to forget our own mistakes and lazy
moments as we get older. Certainly stuff like the boy scouts etc seems
to be as strong as ever in the UK at least even if the fat kids are
getting fatter ... but hey, at least in the good old days you didn't
have to pick them for your team as winning was actively encouraged...

--
Web :
http://www.shamrockirishbar.com, http://www.richardriley.net
  #13  
Old May 23rd 09, 04:44 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
Frank Krygowski[_2_]
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Default OMG, The kids these days and their bicycles...

On May 21, 9:39*am, Peter Cole wrote:

I blame the parents. If the parents (dads, to be sexist) don't
understand simple bike operation & maintenance, how can they teach their
kids?


It's a problem, all right, and not just for little kids.

We're Warm Showers hosts, so we get to meet a fair number of bike
tourists. One guy, perhaps 25 years old, stayed overnight a few years
ago, riding west from his media job in New York City (although he'd
been raised elsewhere). It was his first bike tour.

Anyway, all the way from NYC to Ohio, his seatpost had been slipping
down as he rode. The bike was brand new and post seemed to be the
right size, but there was some burr of metal in the slot that
prevented the pinch bolt from doing its job. He was desperate to find
a bike shop.

Instead I got a hacksaw blade and cleaned out the slot. He was
astonished at my skill and my collection of tools. (Wow! A hacksaw
blade!)

And BTW, that same guy seemed fascinated by the Amish, who have large
communities not far from here, right on his route. We recommended
some good Amish restaurants to him, but later found out he got nervous
and decided to eat in the Burger King instead. He was afraid that the
Amish would be mean to him because he was not one of them!

He was a nice guy, and I give him lots of credit for doing the tour.
But I hope he got inspired to learn a little about tools and about the
world - things that should have happened when he was 12!

- Frank Krygowski
  #14  
Old May 23rd 09, 04:55 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
Frank Krygowski[_2_]
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Default OMG, The kids these days and their bicycles...

On May 21, 7:24*pm, SMS wrote:
Peter Cole wrote:
I blame the parents. If the parents (dads, to be sexist) don't
understand simple bike operation & maintenance, how can they teach their
kids?


I blame the Japanese vehicle manufacturers. Here's why. Back in the days
when everyone owned American cars (or English or German cars as the case
may be), it was very common to do your own maintenance, and cars needed
a lot of it. ...

Then the Japanese auto companies began exporting much more reliable
vehicles that needed much less maintenance, and the U.S. and European
companies copied their efforts. Now there's not only a lot less stuff
the home mechanic needs to do...


That's certainly part of it!

My brothers and I had a paper route (delivering by bikes, naturally).
When I started the route, we had 49 customers. By the time the
youngest gave it up there were hundreds of customers, and the younger
brothers were hiring kids to help them.

Anyway, the first car I had was an old Fiat sedan. That's where I
learned to do brakes, wheel bearings, head gaskets, new pistons,
exhausts, etc. etc.

By the time one of my younger brothers was able to drive, he was able
to buy a barely-used Toyota. Nothing on that car ever seemed to
break.

To this day, I'm a far better mechanic than he is. He blames the
Toyota.

- Frank Krygowski
  #15  
Old May 24th 09, 02:28 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
[email protected][_2_]
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Default OMG, The kids these days and their bicycles...

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=free+range+kids
 




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