Feels like we are on the cusp of a seed change in cycling. Getting so I can’t support my bikes. Parts are disappearing. Rim brake rims, 5 arm cranks and chainrings, triple cranksets, rim brake hubs, 10s parts let alone 9s, 8s etc., Non-tubless tires, Non-disc forks, etc etc. The marketers say “you must buy road bike discs” and the sheep march to the tune. Solutions without problems.
Then on the horizon are eBikes which threaten to complete eliminate non-electric bicycles. On a recent tour from Munich to Verona Italy over 50% of the bikes on the trails were eBikes. Visited familiar high-end road bike shop and it was so different. Owner said high-road bikes were now a niche and he made his living selling eBikes 80%. Volume sales drive everything in the mass production world.
Will take longer in the US because no one commutes but as volume brings prices now manufacturers are going to be pushing the ebike. More consumables for the seller in the form of batteries and bikes that don’t have to be sold on performance basis. Lightness or fineness of components is unimportant.
I can see a time soon when our world is gone.
You might also find a good interview with Lloyd Alter of treehugger.com on his point of view of bikes of a green transportation society.
I know we are on the receding edge of what we all knew as “road bikes” – but, the niches that are the Handmade Show or the Builder’s Ball or even French Fender Days still keep me engaged.
What goes around comes around and, even though E-Bikes will be a huge part of the story, they will never “replace” bicycles. More people riding will, hopefully, make the roads safer though.
It remains to be seen – and, I will still hold out hope that some diligent parents will “teach their children well.”
HubBub Online – Home of the HubBub Helmet Mirror… and more!
vision zero article in washington post is interesting
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/suburbs-try-vision-zero-to-protect-walkers-and-cyclists-on-roads-designed-for-vehicles/2019/11/30/4b29e3fc-1081-11ea-b0fc-62cc38411ebb_story.html
Thanks! Vision Zero podcast coming up next week with Leah Shahum from the NY Symposium.
Feels like we are on the cusp of a seed change in cycling. Getting so I can’t support my bikes. Parts are disappearing. Rim brake rims, 5 arm cranks and chainrings, triple cranksets, rim brake hubs, 10s parts let alone 9s, 8s etc., Non-tubless tires, Non-disc forks, etc etc. The marketers say “you must buy road bike discs” and the sheep march to the tune. Solutions without problems.
Then on the horizon are eBikes which threaten to complete eliminate non-electric bicycles. On a recent tour from Munich to Verona Italy over 50% of the bikes on the trails were eBikes. Visited familiar high-end road bike shop and it was so different. Owner said high-road bikes were now a niche and he made his living selling eBikes 80%. Volume sales drive everything in the mass production world.
Will take longer in the US because no one commutes but as volume brings prices now manufacturers are going to be pushing the ebike. More consumables for the seller in the form of batteries and bikes that don’t have to be sold on performance basis. Lightness or fineness of components is unimportant.
I can see a time soon when our world is gone.
You might also find a good interview with Lloyd Alter of treehugger.com on his point of view of bikes of a green transportation society.
Cheers
Thank you for writing!
I know we are on the receding edge of what we all knew as “road bikes” – but, the niches that are the Handmade Show or the Builder’s Ball or even French Fender Days still keep me engaged.
What goes around comes around and, even though E-Bikes will be a huge part of the story, they will never “replace” bicycles. More people riding will, hopefully, make the roads safer though.
It remains to be seen – and, I will still hold out hope that some diligent parents will “teach their children well.”