Good points, Jim.
I think it's just our nature to try to put things in little boxes. If we
want to define a "city bike", all we can really do is list features that
might best serve a particular individual in a particular city. Would
you call a messenger's ratty old fixie NOT a city bike? He probably
gets more use out of it than any commuter does on their sensible bike.
Is a bomb-proof, 26"-wheeled, fendered, fully-lit, racked, 5 speed bike
better? Maybe, but for whom? Personally, I don't need all that;
someone else may.
All of this, circling around to NAHBS, shows that we all like to dabble
in the "what if". I went to NAHBS to two solid days last year; I saw a
huge variety of ideas. Some of the stuff is artsy, look-what-I-can
build kind of stuff; other bikes were so well designed that it's hard to
believe anyone could ever come up with anything better.
When you come right down to it, who cares who wins what category at
NAHBS? Everything that won something was exquisitely built, a lot of it
is innovative, and some of it was actually practical. It's all
subjective, but I'm glad it's all being done. The industry is blooming
with creativity!
Dave
On 3/3/2013 9:27 AM, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery wrote:
It's not clear (to me, anyway), what criteria are used by the judges at NAHBS.
That best-of-show time-trial bike isn't my cup of tea, but it seems likely that
its builder demonstrated considerable skill in building it. There are a lot of
skilled artisans exhibiting at NAHBS, and I imagine picking a winner across a
huge range of styles is difficult, not to mention subjective. That said,
there's no particular reason why a NAHBS-winning bike has to have anything in
common with a Rivendell.
Attempts to categorize bikes drive me a little nuts. How can you define a "city bike" by
specifying particular wheel sizes or components or accessories? My bikes have more to do with my
tastes and preferences than they do with the fact that I ride them in a city. Furthermore, I don't
own a bike that can't be ridden in any city. What you are really asking is "what features
characterize your stereotypical city bike?" Such stereotypes reflect branding and marketing
more than anything.
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