on 11/21/11 7:53 AM, Joe Bartoe at jbar...@hotmail.com wrote: > So, my road bikes are not just toys but transportation. Gloriously fast transportation. They > are a tool that I use to get outside and stay fit. The idea that I somehow need to attach bags > and racks to get usefulness out of my bike is ridiculous. There are times when it is > appropriate, but even then I have a feeling that most on this list go a bit overboard.
I don't think anyone was saying that is the only way to make a bicycle "useful". One thing is that the paradigm for buying a bicycle has been to mindlessly mimic racing setups, which has several direct and indirect effects on how the bicycle wants and tends to be used. When I roll home on a rainy day, and someone passes me on an open wheeled racer which has been fitted with seatpost mounted rear fender so that road spray still showers them, it strikes me that they are using a less appropriate tool for the job. Nothing more or less. I applaud the fact they are riding. The other thing is that most of us have been on the receiving end of semi-snarky "you got a picnic in that?" comments, which makes it perhaps a bit easier to gloat when smilingly passing a pro-team-kitted rider on a low-clearance bicycle. The more hours you ride, the more you realize that outside of the upper echelons of serious racing circles, the bicycle iteself makes much, much less difference The point is, of course, that one person's "overboard" is another's "spartan outing", and what should determine that is the rider's needs and choices. My pack setup tends to morph with the seasons, as more layers demand greater carrying capacity. For me, I'm done getting sluiced during the winter, and I'm finished stuffing my jersey pockets with clothing and layers and bars because my seat pack only takes a tube, a mini tool and a patch kit. But, I still like duking it out a bit on climbs with unknown riders, or seeing how hard I can push it into a quartering crosswind. Whether it's the loop into work, or longer rides, I'm the one I have to keep happy, which is the whole point, eh? - J -- Jim Edgar cyclofi...@earthlink.net -- 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-bunch@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.
