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"Bicycles are not toys. " Yes and no. I think what most people think of when they think bicycle is the throw away kind that you buy at you local big box retai

"Bicycles are not toys. " Yes and no. I think what most people think of when they think bicycle is the throw away kind that you buy at you local big box retailer or sporting goods store. These are toys in the sense the they were likely meant for casual recreation and at most might get a tire patched or some other simple repair.

mikepurvis 5y ago
My kids all ride former-toy bicycles that I've had for a song from FB Marketplace and nursed back to health. But yeah, I think the GP is speaking aspirationally. We need to get to a place where bikes are considered infrastructure the way a vehicle is, that everyone has one, and has a selection of shops around them to service it, same as everyone currently has lots of garages, dealers, and gas stations around to meet the needs of their automobile.
- Broken_Hippo 5y ago
  I very highly doubt we are going to get there until electric bikes (even if electric-assisted bikes) are the standard and affordable. Bikes might be great for most folks on flat land, but mountains are an uphill battle (pun intended) for anyone starting out as an adult and simply put, not everyone is going to do such a thing. Additionally, most places I've lived didn't have bike racks (small to medium sized towns in Indiana), nor did a lot of workplaces put much money into employee break rooms. You can change out of those wet clothes in the public restroom, but it would be unacceptable to show up wet with sweat. Cars just require parking spaces, and employers don't have to provide those.
- sokoloff 5y ago
  If bikes get to that point, that means buying parts online to me. Making it hard to get parts is not generally supportive of cycling IMO. I buy almost all of my parts to service our cars online. Amazon, RockAuto, and brand-specific parts suppliers (PeachParts, HandA/Bernardi, Ricambi, etc.) I can recall going to a physical dealer 3 times in the last 20 years and each time it was for a “I need it exactly this afternoon and I’m willing to pay for it in dollars and inconvenience”.
  - dublinben 5y ago
    The point is that if you're performing your own service of your car, you're already more of an enthusiast than your bicycling counterpart. Cycling for transportation needs to work for the mainstream, buy it from a dealer on installment, take it to the shop for routine maintenance, treat it as an appliance consumer. Enthusiasts will always find a way in spite of bad infrastructure.
  - southerntofu 5y ago
    Maybe to you it's a more convenient experience, but not everyone has the same approach to shopping. Some are happy to receive advice for specific products (or to have someone tell them what quality level they're going for), while others are simply happy to be able to have a human interaction at the counter (i'm in both categories). Moreover, i'm not convinced online shopping is better for society at large. From an ecological perspective, from an anti-monopoly perspective..
    - bradlys 5y ago
      Ecological perspective, it's better than having a single person driving a significant distance to a specific destination. (On top of the maintenance of that destination) Whereas - delivery wise... you're like a few hundred extra feet of driving maybe. (Assuming you live in a city/decently-sized suburb) Packaging is the only issue that needs to be solved more efficiently but there are potential solutions to that.
  - r00fus 5y ago
    Not everyone is capable of handling the labor portion of the (labor + parts) equation of servicing a bike (not to mention a fleet of bikes for family). I certainly can only handle the basics and the family rides a decent amount of miles/wk. I buy local - many times it's even cheaper than Amazon - and I live in an expensive metro.
    - sokoloff 5y ago
      Presumably the people who can’t (or won’t) do the labor are already buying parts from their shop though, right? I doubt many people are buying parts on Amazon (or previously from Nashbar) and asking a bike shop to install them.
Rapzid 5y ago
I think of my road bike and the mountain bikes I owned when I did that.. So toys(sports equipment). But yeah, the majority of the US population probably thinks recreational bikes for their kids and maybe the ones they own to ride with their kids.. Also toys.
silisili 5y ago
My wife and kid wanted cruiser style single speed bikes...what you'd call a toy. And I'm not hung up in that word, it is what it is. But they bike a couple miles a day going to and from school. They sit all day in the sun and rain and just keep ticking away. They were both less than 200, and honestly, I don't see what would be gained in spending more given the criteria, other than perhaps appeasing 'bikesnobs'(is that a thing? I was thinking of something like beer snobs). Sure it's not a race bike, or mountain bike, but they still work just fine for transportation.
- aix1 5y ago
  If the bikes are serving their purpose, IMO there's absolutely no reason to replace them with anything else. (Speaking as someone who personally would be highly unlikely to buy the type of bike you're describing.)

mikepurvis 5y ago

My kids all ride former-toy bicycles that I've had for a song from FB Marketplace and nursed back to health. But yeah, I think the GP is speaking aspirationally. We need to get to a place where bikes are considered infrastructure the way a vehicle is, that everyone has one, and has a selection of shops around them to service it, same as everyone currently has lots of garages, dealers, and gas stations around to meet the needs of their automobile.

Broken_Hippo 5y ago
I very highly doubt we are going to get there until electric bikes (even if electric-assisted bikes) are the standard and affordable. Bikes might be great for most folks on flat land, but mountains are an uphill battle (pun intended) for anyone starting out as an adult and simply put, not everyone is going to do such a thing. Additionally, most places I've lived didn't have bike racks (small to medium sized towns in Indiana), nor did a lot of workplaces put much money into employee break rooms. You can change out of those wet clothes in the public restroom, but it would be unacceptable to show up wet with sweat. Cars just require parking spaces, and employers don't have to provide those.
sokoloff 5y ago
If bikes get to that point, that means buying parts online to me. Making it hard to get parts is not generally supportive of cycling IMO. I buy almost all of my parts to service our cars online. Amazon, RockAuto, and brand-specific parts suppliers (PeachParts, HandA/Bernardi, Ricambi, etc.) I can recall going to a physical dealer 3 times in the last 20 years and each time it was for a “I need it exactly this afternoon and I’m willing to pay for it in dollars and inconvenience”.
- dublinben 5y ago
  The point is that if you're performing your own service of your car, you're already more of an enthusiast than your bicycling counterpart. Cycling for transportation needs to work for the mainstream, buy it from a dealer on installment, take it to the shop for routine maintenance, treat it as an appliance consumer. Enthusiasts will always find a way in spite of bad infrastructure.
- southerntofu 5y ago
  Maybe to you it's a more convenient experience, but not everyone has the same approach to shopping. Some are happy to receive advice for specific products (or to have someone tell them what quality level they're going for), while others are simply happy to be able to have a human interaction at the counter (i'm in both categories). Moreover, i'm not convinced online shopping is better for society at large. From an ecological perspective, from an anti-monopoly perspective..
  - bradlys 5y ago
    Ecological perspective, it's better than having a single person driving a significant distance to a specific destination. (On top of the maintenance of that destination) Whereas - delivery wise... you're like a few hundred extra feet of driving maybe. (Assuming you live in a city/decently-sized suburb) Packaging is the only issue that needs to be solved more efficiently but there are potential solutions to that.
- r00fus 5y ago
  Not everyone is capable of handling the labor portion of the (labor + parts) equation of servicing a bike (not to mention a fleet of bikes for family). I certainly can only handle the basics and the family rides a decent amount of miles/wk. I buy local - many times it's even cheaper than Amazon - and I live in an expensive metro.
  - sokoloff 5y ago
    Presumably the people who can’t (or won’t) do the labor are already buying parts from their shop though, right? I doubt many people are buying parts on Amazon (or previously from Nashbar) and asking a bike shop to install them.

Rapzid 5y ago

I think of my road bike and the mountain bikes I owned when I did that.. So toys(sports equipment). But yeah, the majority of the US population probably thinks recreational bikes for their kids and maybe the ones they own to ride with their kids.. Also toys.

silisili 5y ago

My wife and kid wanted cruiser style single speed bikes...what you'd call a toy. And I'm not hung up in that word, it is what it is. But they bike a couple miles a day going to and from school. They sit all day in the sun and rain and just keep ticking away. They were both less than 200, and honestly, I don't see what would be gained in spending more given the criteria, other than perhaps appeasing 'bikesnobs'(is that a thing? I was thinking of something like beer snobs). Sure it's not a race bike, or mountain bike, but they still work just fine for transportation.

aix1 5y ago
If the bikes are serving their purpose, IMO there's absolutely no reason to replace them with anything else. (Speaking as someone who personally would be highly unlikely to buy the type of bike you're describing.)