Go Beth! You nailed it. Thank you for reminding me that when I bought
my first mountain bike 18 years ago, I sold my Raleigh Team USA for
$100 in order to make it happen. After years of fussing about this
brake or that tire or what saddle works best for under $200, it's easy
to forget what reality is like for most folks. My Atlantis frame cost
around $1000 several years ago. That's about what an LHT sells for now
as a complete bike, last time I looked. Even at that price, a good
many of the folks for whom it would be an ideal bike consider it
beyond their reach or even outrageously expensive.
I keep building "grocery bikes" mostly out of parts I have lying
around, because I'm not comfortable locking my nice bikes up at the
supermarkets in my area. Inevitably, these grocery bikes end up with
cool stuff on them and it becomes apparent that they are no less
likely to be ripped off. Just easier to replace. That just seems
hopelessly silly, but I can't help it.
On Jan 4, 6:50 pm, beth h wrote:
> Steve said:
>
> >>I suppose nobody cares that much about 559.
>
> Au contraire.
>
> The number of real-world bike shops (i.e., those that focus on mass-
> produced bicycles retailing for under $1,000) doing a roaring business
> in 650b is VERY low. 650b, while it offers a lovely ride and a great
> in-between wheel size that certainly fits a niche, is more likely to
> be found through custom builders, and from mail-order houses
> specializing in outfitting those custom frames.
>
> At our shop, we do carry 650b rims and tires. We probably get asked to
> build custom wheels in that size four or five times a year; and we've
> sold exactly ten 650b tires to customers in the last 6 months.
> We also carry 26"/559 wheels, rims and tubes. We sell them by the
> hundreds.
>
> The largest number of bikes I've ever seen with 650b wheels -- about
> twelve of them -- were all in one room at the recent Oregon Manifest
> bike show. All of those gorgeous bikes were custom built. Some were
> available for sale and among those the cheapest one sold for around
> $4,000. The winning bike at the show is currently for sale, for a cool
> six grand. While these bikes represent some fantastic -- and even, in
> many cases, truly sensible -- ideas in bicycle design, I do not
> consider them to be real world bikes.
>
> I consider a real-world bike to be a mass-produced, LBS-quality bike
> that would retail for between $400 and $1000 complete. That is a bike
> that the majority of hourly-wage workers in this country can afford,
> even if they have to save up for it for several months (as a number of
> our customers have had to do).
> Based on that criteriae, there is not yet a real-world bike on the
> market that is built around 650b wheels.
> That's not to say it won't happen. I certainly could happen. But in
> order for it to happen, 650b proponents would have to be willing to
> accept a lower common standard in order to make the bike accessible to
> many more people.
>
> At present, 650b is still being sold on its performance, and in no
> small part its hip, French coolness.
> As an individual who loves hand-built bikes and beautiful components
> that perform beautifully, I GET cool, I actually DIG cool and in fact
> I am blessed enough to be able to RIDE cool to work every day.
> But as a bicycle salesperson it is very hard for me to sell that kind
> of cool to someone who rides daily for transportation, works in a
> dicey neighborhood and has to lock their bike to the gas meter in an
> apartment building basement every night. That level of cool is simply
> too expensive to buy, and to risk, at the present time.
>
> For my money, THE way to go for real-world bikes IS 26"/559. The wheel
> size has been around for ages, offers zillions of tread choices and
> price ranges, and can be cobbled together with a used frame and parts
> to provide a VERY servicable, extremely rideable bike at a price that
> an hourly wage worker can handle.
>
> I love -- no, I ADORE -- the 26"/559 wheel size and I am sure I'm not
> alone. That is why I worried when I heard that the Atlantis might go
> away. The Atlantis is an absolute wet dream of a 559-dedicated bike
> and it should live forever. I hope it will.
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