mickle
innit
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Anyway, there's something very creative about starting a thread about something you don't believe exists, well done.
No more bizarre than starting a thread about God surely?
Anyway, there's something very creative about starting a thread about something you don't believe exists, well done.
No more bizarre than starting a thread about God surely?
Really? You know no-one who has something big and heavy with off-road tyres stuck in the back of their garage or shed because it's so slow and painful to ride it anywhere on the tarmac? I can think of a few I know.Ive never met anyone that said ..i just dont know what to get....or ..i got the wrong bike, damn hybrid confusion
I now people like this, they all got MTB(SO)s not 'hybrids'.Really? You know no-one who has something big and heavy with off-road tyres stuck in the back of their garage or shed because it's so slow and painful to ride it anywhere on the tarmac? I can think of a few I know.
Really? You know no-one who has something big and heavy with off-road tyres stuck in the back of their garage or shed because it's so slow and painful to ride it anywhere on the tarmac? I can think of a few I know.
We can't possibly know how many people are riding around on the wrong bikes.
Perhaps we are getting a little closer to the crux of the matter.
I think the question is, do the unsuspecting public end up buying heavy bikes with unsuitable offroad tyres for their needs because too many bikes are categorised as hybrids, or for some other reasons?
If I put myself in the position of someone who wants to buy a light, nice hybrid for £X00, I would want to do a bit of research and comparison between potential candidates' weights, tyre details and range of gears as a minimum. Lo and behold the first challenge is how many buyers would consider these parameters important, secondly we will quickly find that bike weights are usually NOT easy to find even if one knows how, and similarly for detailed tyre specs (bearing in mind most people don't know what 700x28c means). Try it yourself if you like, then ask how many buyers would jump through those hoops. Finally as we all know, asking the spotty teenager behind the counter in Halfords, the average LBS or Argos/Asda is not going to give you a reliable answer either. So what chance does the average buyer has?
I suspect many people buy the wrong bike because:
1) They have a preconception of what they want which is not what they need (e.g. one with suspension, including rear suspension)
2) They can't assess the benefits of paying more (for lightness, or quality, which might not be obvious even with a quick test ride)
3) Even if they ask for help to decide, sound information and advice is not readily available reliably
4) There are one hell of a lot more lousy cheap bikes than good cheap bikes for sale out there.
I then ask myself if hybrids or their subsets are given other labels as those already proposed in this thread, would it help such buyers much? My feeling is that it would not.
If we want to help the unsuspecting buyers buy better bikes, something else is needed.