Grant isn't saying it saddens him that people use beaters for everyday riding, he's expressing doubt about being afraid to ride lovely Rivendells in any but "ideal" and "special" occasions.
I largely agree with Grant; sure, have a pretty or "vanity" bike but don't be paranoid about it; but have others that you don't mind scraping or loading or locking up outside. My own habit is made easier because I have bikes customized pretty exactly for the different kinds of riding I do: stripped gofast, fully equipped errand bike with almost identical geometry and fit and sharing many of the same parts; "road" bike for our sandy dirt; and a beater single speed sandy dirt bike with upright bar. The gofast gets expensive parts and is treated with extra care, tho' I certainly do use it for grocery shopping (up to~30 lb in the occasional-use Sackville Medium, and I even ride it occasionally on firm dirt and gravel; the errand bike gets expensive parts but I built it to load it and park it in bike racks at need (tho' I rarely have need, and I'd not do so unless things were very safe); road bike for dirt built with mid-level parts where possible, tho' top of line rims tires bar brakes and saddle; Monocog gets top of line tires but otherwise acceptable low end or already used parts (ENO single crank because it gives a low Q and I got a good deal; thanks Bill). I *would* like to add a throwaway utility bike for shopping lockup in less than perfectly safe conditions, but so far I have been able to wheel my bike into the stores and businesses I can comfortably ride to. Commenting as I read the other parts of the blog. But at least the Hummer e-bike has an integrated kickstand plate! There are e-bikes and e-bikes; some are really motorcycles; so it all depends on what you mean. There have been near-quarrelsome debates about e-bikes on the iBoblist and the bulk of opinion, mine included, is that, if the motors are *assist* devices -- meaning they are not little motorcycles -- and *if they have a ~ 20 mph cutoff,* they are acceptable for iBoblist discussion. In fact, one of the moderators (whose name I shall not shame by revealing it -- but *you know who you are*) owns what looks to be a very nice (and expensive) e-bike to regain fitness after an illness or injury. At closing-in on 68, I would certain consider an e-assist bike if the alternative was riding less. So, including the e-assist type in push-bike legislation and regulation doesn't bother me. I'd regulate the motorcycle type much more strictly; perhaps regulate it as a moped. As for the new Silver line of products, I wish they'd go ever more against the grain and sponsor a close-ratio 3-speed hub with pretty aluminum shell, like the AR (direct, +7%, -7%). (Kidding, but it certainly would continue their cross-wise product approach.) + 1 and 1,000 more for the basic Shimano aero ever; lever perfection, IMO. Afghan people (Afghani is the currency), or rather the dominant Pathans, often have light hair and blue eyes, especially when children. [image: image.png] Love sardines. Skipped to beausage bit; read the other stuff many times before. I'll spare you another photo of the 1999 Joe Starck gofast. On Sat, Nov 5, 2022 at 4:15 PM Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! < jonasandle...@gmail.com> wrote: > Did you read Grant’s Blahg? He covers a lot of ground, but most notable to > me was the Please Don’t Be Precious About Your Rivendell section. In sum, > Grant is saying it saddens him to think of people riding beater bikes > instead of their Rivendells to do daily, monotonous tasks - because those > tasks make up a lot of real life. If one “saves” their Rivendell, it will > not realize its potential, sit mostly unused and then pass to one’s heirs > who will sell it in “near mint” condition on EBay, and how sad. What was > the bike for? > > I have found myself both guilty and innocent on the matter. My #1 favorite > bike is my raspberry Platypus. I ride it all the time, because I bought it > to ride it, but I also dread any harm coming to it, and I do guard it from > that. I got a second Platypus that I dedicated to shopping and traveling > with and promised not to be precious about it. But now and then I still am > tempted to backslide. When traveling to the Philly Bike Expo I dithered > about which bike to bring. I didn’t want my raspberry Platy damaged while > locked up at racks and I feared it being stolen. Roberta said, “I don’t > think you have a choice, Leah. That’s the bike people will expect you to > bring.” And she was right, and I did. > > Then, there is Pam. Pam is at the other far end of the spectrum. Her bike > is a model of beausage. Innumerable paint chips and little spots of rust > cover her tiny Betty frame. Her Backabike bags are full of holes and the > elastic closures are worn out. She locks it up and never worries about it. > She did not obsessively stare out the restaurant window to see if it was > still locked to the rack while we were at dinner (like yours truly). But > she loves her bike, has real affection for it. She looked at me, eyes > shining, and said exactly that. Ana, PurpleRiv, is another good example to > us. She adores her bike, but has not spared it from hard work. Her bike has > hauled obscene loads and taken her everywhere. I remember there was that > one fateful camping trip for she 1. Posed it for a photo, only to have it > topple and slide down the face of a boulder next to it. I believe she said > she sat there and wept for 2 hours over her Joe Bell paint. And who among > us would not do the same? 2. Same trip, another photo op, and the bike fell > off a cliff. > > So, who truly loves their Rivendell? The one who lavishes it with care and > protection? Or the one who pulls it out of the garage and into all of life > - the mundane and the adventurous? > > On one end of the spectrum we have those who will only take a Rivendell > out for special occasions so as not to spoil it, and on the other…well, we > have Pam and Ana, who will give it a good thrashing. (Oh, don’t take it > personally, friends, I’m being funny about both types of owners.) > > I find myself wanting to be precious but fighting it and succeeding *most* > of the time. I’m lucky that the raspberry paint hides beausage and dirt, so > it looks pretty new. But a dent in the top tube or a large chip in the > paint would really hurt my feelings. Heaven help me. > > Where are you on the spectrum? What words of wisdom might you have? What > strategies do you employ? Do you want to change? Or are you > unapologetically staying put on the matter? It might be fun to hear > perspectives. > Leah > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2f5fe184-d6ba-46f7-bd7f-256f8563c16cn%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2f5fe184-d6ba-46f7-bd7f-256f8563c16cn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgvzqxLiWkR%3DLQcW-ptjYK8b7MO3dd94G2M0P9w0NZcYzw%40mail.gmail.com.
