Always hate to hear about bike crashes and injuries. No bike is free of risks. It's a piece of equipment that must be operated with competence. Many consequences of falling short of that are just a poor experience to the rider like using too tall a gear on a hill. A majority of the negative outcomes do have physical risk, not just falling down. The bike business balances on that edge.
As a long time year round commuter in a four season city, I'm all about advocating the same when others show interest. I veer away from specific bike recommendations and guide inquirers to shops who I know and trust. A bike is like a tennis racquet in a way. A good one is really obviously better in many ways, but neither it nor a bad one will make up for not having the basic skills developed to play the game. Lots of people buy pro racquets that live in closets, same as bike that are buried in their garages. It's just a much bigger waste of money. A guy that lives across the street from the coffee shop where a long standing group ride meets came to join one Tuesday evening. He's a tech guy that bounces between several locations in his work and apparently interested in cycling and joining in on the weekly ride. He's rides up on one of the first Scott CFRP rigs the TdF riders used that year that I'd seen in person. A $10k bike and the kit that at a glance you would take to be of a veteran rider. He wasn't. Someone actually up-sold him all that stuff and he really barely knew how to ride at all and the idea that we were going to ride in the street, across bridges with traffic produced unresolvable illogical fright to him. After the ride, which had been one of the more ambitious routes for the longer days near the solstice, I never saw that guy or his bike again. I don't ever want to be the person that promoted an individual on an idea that they are not particularly capable of in concept or physical aptitude. Our friend who moved to the city on a shoestring (if even that), got rid of her car, got a job in a field she dreamed about and is in school to prepare her for a career in the field was the alternative to the group ride guy. She is physically ambitious and physically poised from being a country tomboy who pursued dance to the professional level with the Joffrey Ballet in Europe before she got serious about a life's vocation. When I suggested that she could use a bike for transport, shopping and fun (another sufferer of the maladies from a neurotic running habit), she was into it. My advice was primarily that it must fit and position you well for your realistic use. We found that with a Public R-16 flatbar which accommodates her size and provides a position that anticipated riding up hills, in traffic, with loads and without. If I'm going to direct someone to a particular format, model or brand of a bike, I'm going to follow through to be sure they are happily getting a a return on their investment in both the bike and cycling. I started guiding our friend around where she lived and showed her how to use available bike paths and routes to connect her with shopping, sightseeing and work. She admitted that she'd never biked in the street with cars but by following my wheel, doing what I did, signaling when I did, she grew quickly confident in her skills and doesn't take any yard of her riding less than seriously. She's now a smart, confident rider and gained the recognition as such by those around her as such. With the shortening days she was interested in how to ride in the dark and I took her on a ride around town after commuting volume (and her pharmacology exam). As she experienced the difference between day and night riding, learned how much more important being seen and signaling intentions when in or near traffic, she really enjoyed it and wanted to see more. We were out for almost four hours and a food truck burrito. That's how I am comfortable being any more directing with the interests of others becoming commuters or cyclists. BTW- she's been trolling the internet and objectifying Rivendell bikes. She thinks she'll buy one before a car when she finishes school and starts working. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 3:10:38 PM UTC-4, Ash wrote: > > A new coworker who's also new to bikes, was going to get one for his > commute. I commute to work on bike sometimes and may have talked about > bikes/biking in happy hours. Maybe because of that he came to me one day > to consult what bike to buy. I gave my *opinion* about what would make a > good commute bike: wider tires, rim brakes, cromo frame/fork, upright > riding, ability to carry some stuff, etc. I gave him an intro to > Rivendell as well. Offered to lend my Joe A for a fews days if he wanted > to get a better idea what I was talking about. > > Like most folks who are new to the world bikes would be, he wasn't sold > the need to spend $1.6k (a Clem) on a bicycle for his short 2 mile > commute. He ended up buying a bike that cost him 1/3rd of that. It came > with disc brakes. > > Quite sadly, he had a bizarre crash couple of weeks ago. Needed a surgery > to fix his wrist, get stitches on his face and so forth. He now has a > steel rod in his forearm. Here's what happened apparently: he was > peddling back from an event in his neighborhood on a Saturday afternoon. > He encountered a patch of potholes along the bike lane. He's not sure > what exactly occurred next, but all of the sudden he went over the > handlebars and landed on his chin :( > > I've been wondering how in the world a bike can simply flip at slow > speeds. That too, on a flat road. I'm beginning to think the combo of > disc brake and short wheelbase might have something to do. In my limited > experience with discs, my impression is that they can be much sharper > relative to rim brakes. They are perhaps less forgiving on someone not > experienced in biking. Someone who does not have a feel for how much to > sqeeze the front brake vs the rear. Once the front wheel is locked, an SWB > is more likely to flip over than, let's say, an Appa or Clem, I'm thinking. > > In 2016, a cousine of mine had similar accident while riding with his > friends on a flat trail. Both his wrists were shattered. It took him > nearly 5 months to recover and return to work. (majority of the time he was > dependent on his wife to shower, wear cloths, etc etc.) > > I’ve always appreciated LWB of my Appa and MIT Atlantis from comfort > standpoint. Now on I’m also be thanking them for being safer by design. > > In future if I hear about someone shopping for a bike, I'll be sure to > insert myself firmly into the process (even if it will annoy them) and try > harder make them get a Riv. Sometimes it is a delicate task. I have to > make sure I don't make them think bikes are unsafe except Rivendells. *A* > bike is better than no bike. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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