I get that this is a culture piece, and I don’t have any issue with writing about how people are interacting with each other as it pertains to their interests. But this is very much a story where the bikes are just props and the characters are the stars. And that sort of story is a dime-a-dozen, since we could always have a look at similar characters but involving cars, or pets, or model figurines.
My trouble here is that the focus gets lost when the drama is elevated to become the point. IMO, bikes are tools of exploration, of community, of access, of land use, and so much more. No doubt that bike riders fall into many different camps, and those camps don’t necessarily mingle with each other. But if the point strays any way away from “just get on a bike and go”, then I think that’s complicating people’s relationship with bicycles for no good reason.
I’ll be frank when I say that only a few lines in this article gave me any value when reading. I like that people are trying new rides they’ve never done, or seeing existing bikes in a new perspective. Those sorts of experiences are what I’d want to read more of, rather than episodes of opinions with a smattering of tangential facts sprinkled in between.
Well said. I didn’t really get why shots had to be fired in any direction here. Just highlight/celebrate the cool subculture and it’s differences.
Yeah I was thinking the same. This was me and my friends 30 years ago. We were poor bike messengers who liked to go urban mountain biking, but at least we wore helmets.
I’ve been digging out and saving those 35 y/o bikes from my youth recently. Most of the shimano trigger shifters have failed, but otherwise you can just lube stuff up, adjust the cantilevers and put new tubes in and go. Those bikes are dead easy to keep on the trail.
Yay. My shitty, suspension-free, forearm-rattling, dinged-up, 25-yo Bridgestone bike is going to be worth something.
Also, I’ve ridden on those trails. Views are great. But you’re going to want to wear a fucking helmet and maybe some padded gloves, unless you think you’re too cool to become a meat crayon.
PPE always
Great … so now shitty old cheap bikes are going to become bougie and expensive.
Maybe this is how SF will solve the homeless crisis? All those franken bikes cobbled together from stolen parts will now be in high demand with all the tech bro counter culture wannabes.
The new $150 bikes from Walmart just need to be properly reassembled and they’re fine.
Sam Pilgrim had a series of videos where he bought local bikes from Walmart under $150 and took them down the world’s toughest black diamond mountain bike trails. They did fine.
I can’t stand mountain and road bike culture, it’s only about consumerism. When traveling, I sometimes buy a Walmart bike for the week, then give it to someone at the end of the trip, who will use it for daily transport.
If YOU put it together? Probably good enough, just don’t trust Wallyworld to do it.
Thier country is literally falling around them and they have the time to make a big deal about the clothing they wear while biking.
Yeah don’t they know people are only allowed to be upset about one thing at a time?
So, fascism, and Lycra. Got it. I’ll be happy to watch it burn down.
