On Aug 18, 10:02 pm, Earl Grey <earlg...@gmail.com> wrote: >especially if it reinforces the perception (in his/her mind, and in folks >watching >him/her zip down the road) that a bike is nothing more than an >expensive toy for a rich person's sport, who is frivolously taking >road space away from people who *need* to go somewhere in their cars.
and that perception would change if it was largely commuters taking up motorists' road space? not sure about that - drivers who don't like cyclists could care less whether it's a speedy roadie or some fred with overflowing panniers commuting to work. > Maybe that road racer will eventually realize that a bike can be used > for transportation, and will go out of his/her way (as s/he must > today) to find a bike that fulfills those needs. But unfortunately I > think it is equally likely that the limitations of the bike they own > (and the bikes they see on the road) will lead them to believe that > all bikes are toys. cycling is sport/recreation (and nothing more) for some. for others, it's much more than that. like Steve said, there's really no point in trying to convince the former otherwise - not everybody is crazy about bikes. they simply want some exercise, maybe some competition (again, cycling *is* a sport) and a social outlet. that doesn't make for a poorer society - cycling is a good thing regardless of how it fits into somebody's lifestyle. these same people might ride the metro or take the bus to work everyday (actually, this seemed common when I lived in DC and NYC). i see your point, but there are too many assumptions here. >Imagine for a moment that the car industry offered us nothing but >trunk- and top-less Formula 1 cars (racing bikes), military spec >Hummers (mtn bikes) oh, and a few Yugos (today's standard hybrids) and >a few Jeep Wranglers (low-end mountain bikes). A ludicrous proposition >(though sensible cars *are* few and far between), yet that is what the >mainstream bike industry looks like today. it's what the mainstream bike industry looks like to someone who is crazy about bikes and has very specific knowledge and requirements when it comes to bikes. and even for geeks like us, it's not that bad. salsa, surly, jamis, etc. - are these Yugos? > So, thanks, Grant and everyone who is dedicated to showing there is an > alternative. Absolutely. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
