/n/ — Brainrot in the cycling world

Can you post examples of what you consider a practical bike VS what others see as a practical bike in your opinion because your post is somewhat confusing.

>>2066650 (OP)
if shoes contained a mechanism that allowed you to give a small, consistent input from your legs and the shoes walked for you much faster even up strenuous hills, then it really wouldn't matter how much the shoes weighed as long as the output was greater than your ordinary leg strength, right?

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>>2066650 (OP)
The only example of a bike that I'd consider comparable to lead shoes is riding a fatbike not in winter or on the beach. Even a soft-tail downhill MTB is reasonably efficient on a flat road. It sucks compared to a roadbike, but it beats walking, every day of the week.
Next door thread says that Electra Townie is the most popular bike in the US, and it's a good example of a "good enough" bike. It goes. That's all that's expected of it, and that's what it does. It's the equivalent of cheap sneakers. Not as good for morning jogs as proper running shoes, not as good at walking 15 miles a day as hiking boots, good enough for everyday use.

No one cares this much.

I'm not retarded enough to think carbon is like a glass cannon but if you parked a carbon bike on a bike rack everyday it would destroy it

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>>2066660
>Next door thread says that Electra Townie is the most popular bike in the US, and it's a good example of a "good enough" bike. It goes.
That's a great example of lies via statistics. If you count sales by SKU #, and sort most to least, you're going to get market outliers at the top of the list, because it's a low-information market. The rest of the market may have 100 different models for one classification. The Electra Townie may have 5 serious competitors at best, because the buyer is just going to garage it after 2 or 3 rides. So there's no need to tweak it to steal customers away from the competitor. And if Trek is the best selling brand, duh, it's going to come out looking like an incredibly popular bike. Whereas comparatively speaking it's not that popular.

If you take an honest look at the market you'll probably find that by lumping all same-ish bikes into buckets, like say, Gravel, Road, MTB, Hybrid, the Electra suddenly doesn't look so popular. Even if you break it down more to say, Road Endurance, Road Aero, Cross Country, CX, etc, you're still going to vastly outnumber the Electra Townie even in the more autistic categories.

>>2066650 (OP)
I didn't realize how strong my legs were from riding my 1948 skip tooth chain bike until I got back to Japan and hopped on my six speed girly bike. Like, I can just leave it in top gear and it's still easier to ride than my classic tank bike.

>IF YOU ARENT WEAIRNG LYCRA, FACE DOWN ASS UP, AND CARRYING Z E R O EXTRA WEIGHT, YOU ARE A LITERAL FUCKING CHILD
you already had a thread
>>2054733

i have never seen an "electra townie" in my life and can only surmise that this new wave of /n/ posts about it is viral marketing

>>2066681
you probably have and just didn't realize it because they're just basic-ass cruisers and nobody gives a fuck

>>2066684
nope. no one here rides cruisers. the typical entry level bike is a "hybrid" "mtb" from canadian tire or an oldschool road bike with very straight body lines.

NOOOOOOO YOU NEED TO GET A "Dutch Style" BIKE OR ELSE YOU'RE A FRED NOOOOOOOOO

>>2066689
Damn right brotha

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>>2066681
Remember that a thing doesn't have to be widely used to be "the most popular thing", it just has to fill in the vacuum of mediocrity that's left when the market runs out of people who care.

For example, Coors represents less than 4% of all beer sold in the country, yet it's the "most popular" in about half the country. Miller is slightly less than Coors, yet if you slice the data in an intentionally misleading way, you can make a technically true statement that makes these beers look overwhelmingly dominant even if you almost never see people drinking them IRL.

>>2066694
>>2066673
It's not exactly dishonest, it's just that the market as a whole isn't dominated by any one single brand, so if you have a single model of bike that manages to capture 10% of the market when the other 90% is shared among literally thousands of different Walmart specials, then it is, technically, the best selling single model of bike, it's just that this doesn't actually say anything noteworthy about the industry as a whole.

>>2066695
It is being intentionally misleading to make a false argument. As you said, it says nothing noteworthy about the industry as a whole. Yet people are stating this "technically correct" thing as if it's a huge gotcha that proves all the other bikes are for dorks larping as pros.

>>2066650 (OP)
It's all in your head, Lance, slow down now, this is NOT a race

>>2066673
Even if it isn't actually #1, bikes like it are popular worldwide. Omafiets in Europe, mamachari in Japan, every single rental bike in the world, a simple step-through with a simple drivetrain, no suspension and pudgy puncture-resistant slicks is THE standard bike worldwide.

If you don't ride a beach cruiser you are falling behind.

My new movie will prove this.

>>2066650 (OP)
rent fucking free, every time.

>>2066681
I see them literally everywhere where I live, pretty much every grocery store in town has at least one parked on the bike rack, and they're easy to spot because the name of the bike is printed right on the back of the saddle. For what it's worth, I live in a bedroom community and the coast is about 10 miles away, so I'm close to the beach but I wouldn't consider where I am a beach town strictly speaking.

>>2066650 (OP)
>Yet if I do the same with a bicycle, all the urbanists want to suck my cock for being "practical". With bicycles, riding something comfortable, efficient, that doesn't ride like a boat anchor, is tryhard, show-off behavior.

Carbon is simply and totally unfit for urban lock-up situations, throwing into a truck, and shoving into a corner of a garage. It can and will get damaged and it can and will break and that can send you flying under a car.

That being said I'm extremely pro aluminum frames. They are better than steel. I don't care if you can't bend them back like steel, that's not worth the weight to me.

I do think forks should be steel only for the sake of safety and comfort.

All practical bike should be alloy frame and steel fork

Carbon is great for serious racing and careful use

>>2066727
>My new movie will prove this.
THE CHILLEST RUSH
A neon-pink title card slams onto the screen: MAXIMUM RELAXATION.
We see a pair of tanned calves pedaling with the urgency of a sloth on vacation. MAKO (24, wearing a bucket hat and a Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned to his navel) is navigating the treacherous "Red Zone" of the boardwalk.
He isn't on a fixie. He’s on "The Big Kahuna"—a 60-pound, rusted beach cruiser with handlebars wide enough to snag a passing hang-glider.
MAKO (V.O.)
People think being a courier is about fixed gears, steel frames, and urine-soaked spandex. They think it's about v = d/t.
Mako narrowly avoids a toddler by back-pedaling his coaster brakes. The bike screams like a dying whale.
MAKO (V.O.)
But me? I don't believe in math. I believe in vibes.
THE MISSION
Mako’s handlebar basket contains a single, lukewarm Açaí Bowl.
THE STAKES: If the granola gets soggy, Mako doesn't get his five-star rating. If he doesn't get the rating, he loses his "Top Shaka" status on the delivery app, SandDash.
THE ANTAGONIST
Suddenly, a sleek, carbon-fiber blur whistles past. It’s VIKTOR, a "Real" Courier. He’s wearing an aerodynamic helmet that makes him look like an aggressive cicada.
VIKTOR
(Screaming)
ON YOUR LEFT, CASUAL! BRAKES ARE DEATH!
Viktor leans into a sharp turn at 30mph. Mako doesn't lean. Mako just drifts slightly to the right because a cool breeze caught his shirt.
MAKO
(To himself)
Your chakras are misaligned, bro.
THE CLIMAX: THE STAIRS OF DOOM
Mako hits a dead end: The Santa Monica Stairs. Viktor is already halfway up, bike on his shoulder, sprinting like a Navy SEAL.
Mako looks at the stairs. He looks at his cruiser, which has no gears and weighs as much as a small refrigerator.
MAKO
Time to engage the "Overdrive."

Mako reaches into his basket, takes a sip of a coconut water, and whistles. A group of TEENAGE SKATER KIDS appears from behind a dumpster.
MAKO
Yo, little homies. Five bucks and a hit of this organic jerky if you carry the Kahuna up for me.
While Viktor is gasping for air at the top, his quads vibrating with lactic acid, Mako is being carried up on a literal throne made of skateboards and peer pressure.
THE DELIVERY
Mako rolls up to a mansion. He arrives exactly three minutes late. Viktor is already there, collapsed on the pavement, vomiting into a rose bush from overexertion.
The door opens. A KAREN appears.
KAREN
(Looking at Viktor)
Ugh, gross. Is he dying?
MAKO
(Handing over the bowl with a wink)
Nah, he just forgot to hydrate his soul. Here’s your bowl, Brenda. I added an extra sprinkle of "Ocean Mist" (it's just sea salt he found in his pocket).
She checks the bowl. It’s a melted purple soup.
KAREN
It’s completely liquid.
MAKO
It’s a "Deconstructed Smoothie," Brenda. Very avant-garde. Very 2026.
KAREN
...Oh my god, I love it. Five stars.
THE AFTERMATH
Mako pedals away at a blistering 4 miles per hour. He passes Viktor, who is being loaded into an ambulance.
MAKO
(Calling out)
Keep it high-speed, soul-crusher!
Mako pops a wheelie. The chain falls off immediately. He doesn't care. He just lets the momentum carry him toward the sunset.
FADE OUT.

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>>2066894
>>2066895
I’m not a regular visitor to this board, or serious cyclists. 10/10

>>2066894
>>2066895
i would actually watch a feature length movie like this. calling out over-the-hill californians (and how over-the-hill californian "vibes" are) whilst tacitly admitting that truly, we all wish we were that chill (and that wealthy to enable such chillness)

unironically better than whatever >>2066298 was trying to accomplish

only thing i would change is that VIKTOR is not a character. the bike is the character. similar to how mr bean had the THREE WHEELED CAR as his nemesis, not the driver of said car. to keep the pace it's an e-bike and constantly suffers electrical and mechanical problems and bursting into flame is a running gag (it is perfectly fine by the next scene, somehow). the rider is some dude in bootleg motorcycle leathers and his name/face are never revealed, nor even his reason for hassling MAKO. (he is a metaphor for All Other Cyclists, similar to how the Three Wheeled Car is the embodiment of All Other Traffic)

i may steal your idea and just write a screenplay myself for yuks

>>2066650 (OP)
Because chasing the dragon of efficiency only the most efficient vehicle and that materials science, considering all economic pressure, wouldn't settle into the most reasonable brew......

Leading to what should be the most practical thing in the world, become a fetishized jerk off for yuppies who drive luxury cars with bike racks to ride their bike......not that hard to see...

>>2066726
>every single rental bike in the world
I am not sure where you're getting your information but the only bikes I've ever rented were road bikes. A scott foil, and a pinarello dogma. Not only that but this was in europe, the fabled land where everything is slow and everyone hates fun and cars are banned. I rented those bikes, and carried them around the alps in a motor vehicle, because the public transport there sucks unlike in the USA.

>>2066681
You're kind of right but keep in mind there's a guy here who thinks cannondale is an obscure startup brand being shilled by viral marketers

>>2068147
I think he means like a bikeshare rental bike, like new yorks "citi bike" rentals, which are as he describes

>>2069968
He frames it with commonest street bikes, not the step through battleships of bike shares.

>>2069969
i would be surprised if he didnt mean what i say

>>2069968
That's a completely different style of bike though, have you ever used one of those? No, you haven't.

>>2069968
Not just those, if you go a level up to "oldschool" rental places, their fleets will, more often than not, also mostly consist of baisic step-throughs and mtb-shaped objects. Maaaaaybe a bottom tier roadie from local Decathlon, on 3x7 Claris and with tires so bad you'll struggle to keep up with said mtb-shaped objects. High dollar road bikes like ones you rented are only available in super-specialized, and stupidly expensive, places where they'll give you a tour of their exquisite two-wheeled vehicles like you're on some combination wine tasting and suit tailoring, with the obviously gay somelier/tailor dude putting a tape to your crotch before giving you the options that suit your gooch the best. These places, and those bikes, are decidedly not normal.

>>2069961
i have never seen a cannondale ever in my entire life. it's all Trek and Giant and if you want a "retro" used bike theyre 99% Peugeots

>>2070002
I never seen an peugeots bicycles, that's a french car brand.

>>2070002
I never saw a peugeot until I went to college, it seems to be one of those brands rebellious youth are all ga-ga for because it's obscure

>>2070002
I've never seen alpinestar elevated chainstay bicycles but they're a dime a dozen in france. You're a bit of an idiot.

>>2066650 (OP)
I've also had it with these urbanists trying to suck my cock all the time, like slow down, boys, chafing is a real thing you know.

>>2070036
They made a whole bunch of bicycles up to the 90s so it's not rare at all to find them all over Europe. Most of them were sold in France, Belgium and Spain. I've seen some in Germany, the Netherlands and Italy too.
Peugeot used to be one of these industrial groups that made everything, though mostly cars.
They're making bikes again but are trying to do upmarket ebikes for the most part. They still do kitchenware as well.

>>2069982
i live in NYC and part of my commute daily is by citibike, not that it matters.

>>2070177
And you think a citibike rides like an omafiets or an electra townie?

>>2070179
i know they do, i owned one
i can take a picture next time i visit my parents in queens

>>2070179
Outside of citibikes being super stiff 25 kilo bricks so that rapscallions don't toss them into rivers for sport, as opposed to floppy steel stepthroughs weighing half that, they are pretty similar indeed. Upright, undergeared and usually undermaintained bikes that go, but just about.

>>2070654
They're heavy so they don't break. And the gearing is fine for what they weigh. You wouldn't be able to do much with higher gearing, and the low gears are low enough for most hills. If you're trying to climb fort george hill or something the drivetrain inefficiency will get to you before any gear ratio inadequacies are a problem

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>>2070179
>>2070651
Had my dad take a picture of my old bike, he has it in storage. So I used to ride this, and now I ride citibike to commute, and I feel comfortable telling you they’re very similar

>>2070660
>They're heavy so they don't break.
lead is heavy. i guess lead never breaks.

>>2070684
If they made a lead bike and sold it for $5000 I'm sure some unracers would buy it just to show how they're not like those elitist "cyclist" snobs

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>>2070684