5 ms·
I don't think I could ever get over the look of the small wheels. It seems like the fanny pack of bikes: pretty useful but you gotta look dorky if you want to
by yupper32 5y ago
I don't think I could ever get over the look of the small wheels.
It seems like the fanny pack of bikes: pretty useful but you gotta look dorky if you want to use it.
It's vain but I'd find it hard to believe I'm alone here.
- carabiner 5y agoI get random compliments on my Brompton. Like seriously, an old lady stopped on the sidewalk while I was unfolding and said, "That's a beautiful bike." Also teenagers yowling "Nice bike!" as I cruised by. It's weird.
- Swizec 5y agoMy penny board fits in carry-on luggage, is allowed on airplanes, can be ridden inside airports, and looks cool as heck when you ride in the city. Plus it weighs like 3lbs and costs $100. But it’s a little more work to ride than a bicycle
- andrewzah 5y agoAlso a hell of a lot more dangerous. I'll take a bike any day over pennyboards or longboards.
- sbierwagen 5y agoWhat airports are you skateboarding in?
- Swizec 5y agoI've done SFO, CDG, NYC, OAK, and I think Frankfurt. Super convenient and the floor is smooth as butter. The only trouble I ever had was at LJU, which is a tiny airport, where security wouldn't let me bring the skateboard as carry-on. Guessing they aren't as used to seeing weird stuff happening.
- xarope 5y agoI think amsterdam/AMS was where I saw airport staff on kickboards...
- o_____________o 5y ago> looks cool as heck Citation needed
- nikanj 5y agoWe are swiftly destroying the planet because people don’t want to look goofy in a small car, and insist on an aircraft carrier-sized truck. And now the same attitudes go for bikes too?!
- andrewzah 5y agoCorrect, this is unfortunately how humans work. It has to have that cool factor.
- Melatonic 5y agoReal bicycles also have larger wheels for a reason - its much more efficient and rolls over bumps and ruts much easier.
- Antipode 5y agoWhat do you mean by efficient?
- fsckboy 5y agoi don't know what he meant by it, but large wheels are better "flywheels" and that storage of momentum might make sustained pedaling easier.
- Someone 5y agohttps://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/rolling_resistance https://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/rolling_resistance: “Tires with a smaller diameter have a higher rolling resistance with the same inflation pressure, because tire deformation is proportionally greater. The tire is flattened more and is “less round”.”
- hutzlibu 5y agoYeah, guilty of that feeling, too. I am used to MTBs, I think I just would feel ridiculus, like riding a childrens or a clown bike. But if I would live in a big city, I might get over that feeling, since it does seem practical.
- prmoustache 5y agoMore than the look, I'd be more worried about going over the bars at the first deep pothole.
- contravariant 5y agoWith the height of the steering wheel I'd be more worried about falling over backwards.
- Woberto 5y agoMany types of fashions or styles have appeared dorky at some point in time and cool at another point. Maybe you can be part of the group that helps transition these bikes from dorky to cool! Personally, I have a folding bike with small-ish wheels; yeah, it looks quirky, but it works well and fits in my closet, trunk, etc. so I don't care. I'd maybe buy the kwiggle too if I could afford it
- wnolens 5y agoThe bicycle is a real pinnacle of beauty among human invention. When I think about the concepts of "function" and "form" in design, they are at peak marriage in a bicycle (I need not even point to a specific era). I'd own 10 if I had the space. The folding bicycle is bastardized version that shoehorns the concept of portability at the expense of nearly every other quality except "gets from point A to point B". I'm likely wrong and they probably are a great solution for many but goodness.. I love normal bicycles too much to look at a folding bike with anything but cringe.
- habosa 5y agoIt's a bit of a chicken and the egg thing. I thought the same thing when I lived in America. I moved to London where Bromptons are very popular (invented here) and I saw so many people of all kinds riding these tiny-wheeled bikes that I no longer find them to be dorky. Just utilitarian.
- hgomersall 5y agoGenuine question, do you seriously worry about that? I mean, what are you concerned about? That people would think you uncool? What sort of people would think that? People you want to think highly of you? Your position seems so strange to me, I'm just trying to understand it.
- yupper32 5y agoI mean it's the same as fashion for me. I could wear poorly fitting clothes and poorly matched items of clothing, but I don't. I care about how I look and present myself. That's not exactly unique, and it doesn't have to be strongly tied to me caring if people think I'm "uncool".
- hgomersall 5y agoI'm not suggesting it's unique, I'm saying I don't understand it. If you don't strongly care, why does it matter? Are you suggesting your opinion on how to present yourself is not influenced by others? In which case, how do you decide if something is good? This is not at all like poorly fitting clothes. The bicycle is clearly used as designed. I suppose what I don't understand is that I embrace unusual. Something that raises a discussion is partly what makes something interesting and worth doing. It seems to me you present the question around fashion as one of fitting in, and that seems a somewhat depressing view of the world when laid out so starkly. Even though of course I care about what people think about me, I would never admit that as being the reason I would dismiss something a priori. It's that bit that puzzles me most - your openness to being subject to the whims of fashion.
- yupper32 5y ago> and that seems a somewhat depressing view of the world when laid out so starkly > It's that bit that puzzles me most - your openness to being subject to the whims of fashion. So it's not my choice to consider how I look (in fashion or with my choice of bike), it's that I'm open about it? > Are you suggesting your opinion on how to present yourself is not influenced by others? I don't know why it has to be analyzed so deeply. I consider the appearance of the things I buy. I consider both if I like the look and if I think others would like the look. Clothes, shoes, cars, in this case a bike, etc. Some things are pleasing to the eye. Other things are ugly or dorky or weird, which most of the time I'm not looking for in a look.
- jerome-jh 5y agoMore than look I am seriously worried about stability when hitting a pothole. With its small wheels and high riding position, the bike is targeted at people would literally want to fall flat on their face. I would not dare to ride anything with wheels smaller than 18".