Bicycle. . .

[ihcoyc]

I gave up my bicycle back in the late 1970s. Getting a drivers license had a lot to do with it. The fact that my bike — an old orange chopper bike, with monkey bars, a banana seat, a sissy bar, and a small front wheel — was getting quite worn out had something to do with it. I replaced it for a while with a green racing style bike, which I hated to ride. Those were the kinds of bikes that were being sold in the early 1980s.

Bicycles went downhill during those years: they ceased to be conveyances, and turned into sporting goods. There was no place to put a basket on those 1980s bikes. They had complicated and fragile derailer gears. They had anal probes where the seat was supposed to be. Worse, they had straight handlebars, or bars that curved down, forcing the rider to ride in a hunched over position. They were ridden by people wearing lycra and Devo helmets. You couldn't ride one of these things to work.

I got a bicycle at a yard sale: an aluminum Chinese model, with upright handlebars and a wide seat, coaster brakes and no gears. Started riding it again. It amazes me how many places are uphill, and i never noticed. ut this bicycle seems practical enough to actually be useful; the Chinese of all people ought to know how to build a practical bicycle for use as a conveyance rather than as part of some sort of competitive health regimen.

Comments

[siani-hedgehog.livejournal.com]

i bought a bike this year. i never had any trouble in the 80s getting a decent bike - my racing bike had front and read bags and a rear carrier. but i find most bikes really uncomfy, and i see no benefit at all in all the gears and stuff - i had 18 speeds and rode in one of them all the time. so i bought a 1948 Raleigh ladies bike. lovely upright position, backswept handlebars, Brooks saddle, one gear and rod brakes. i love it.