is it just me??

[webber]

hi all first post so bear with me do we as cyclist (people) try to pigeon hole everything ive got a few bike always room for more (as long as we don't tell the wife lol)and I buy mine on what it is rather then who made it and ive got a pashley clubman 3 speed fixed hub that ive been riding a lot lately now when I bought it (30% off) I bought it for the fixed sturmey and the looks don't we all but all I keep reading is that its for hipsters and not very well thought out now I think its a great bike and ive had a few (bikes that is) I no there marketed at people who are not likely to do more then the odd loop of hide park but its really well made I quite like the hub brake and it always puts a smile on my face so if it was made by a different firm would people look at it differently I wonder anyway would love to hear your thoughts

 

[byegad]

Totally agree function over form every time. While it's true that sometimes they go together, think Supermarine Spitfire or Hawker Hunter, it's not always the case. I ride my trikes, not look at them.

 

[buzzy-beans]

Hello and welcome.
It's not what you ride but how you ride them that counts.............. as for me I try to ring the last drop of mph out of any bike I put my leg over.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

It's not what you ride but how you ride them that counts.............. as for me I try to ring the last drop of mph out of any bike I put my leg over.

Different kinds of bikes tend to encourage different riding styles. Despite your above comment, I can't see you trying to break any speed records on a Raleigh Twenty ladies shopper bike or old-school heavy roadster no matter what. The designers of those sort of machines didn't build them for get up and go, they were built to be practical and functional.
If I compare my old Raleigh rigid MTB to my Pioneer hybrid, there is not that much difference in weight - less than 4 lbs, yet the Pioneer feels more lively and encourages a more spirited riding style - in short bursts at least. The MTB frame is more relaxed and just likes to be ridden in a steady fashion at a moderate pace. It doesn't really reward the rider for the extra effort involved in pushing it hard.

 

[gavroche]

Hi and welcome. I suggest that a bit of punctuation would make reading your post easier.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I'm glad you said that, not me!. Normally I tend to dismiss long, single sentence postings lacking in punctuation as illiterate; however in this case the spelling is fairly OK so I refrained from commenting.

 

[Fonze]

Hello there ..

 

[buzzy-beans]

Different kinds of bikes tend to encourage different riding styles.

Normally I would agree with you, but even a cast iron step through ladies bike with a net to stop the dress getting caught in the spokes, a full chain guard and a large size wicker basket on the front and only 3 speed sturmy-archer gearing, even something as generally pedestrian as that can be made to move really quite fast!
Yes I was witness to this once at a velodrome (well actually a steeply banked tarmac oval track that could once be found in Gosport), when the rider beat of this rattling old bone shaker trounced an entire field of similarly aged boys on lightweight racing bikes.

 

[roadrash]

Different kinds of bikes tend to encourage different riding styles. Despite your above comment, I can't see you trying to break any speed records on a Raleigh Twenty ladies shopper bike or old-school heavy roadster no matter what. The designers of those sort of machines didn't build them for get up and go, they were built to be practical and functional.
If I compare my old Raleigh rigid MTB to my Pioneer hybrid, there is not that much difference in weight - less than 4 lbs, yet the Pioneer feels more lively and encourages a more spirited riding style - in short bursts at least. The MTB frame is more relaxed and just likes to be ridden in a steady fashion at a moderate pace. It doesn't really reward the rider for the extra effort involved in pushing it hard.

Ahem... point of order, what makes you think a Raleigh twenty is a " ladies " bike

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I've ridden my own 3-speed light roadster pretty hard and fast in short bursts just for the hell of it, but I couldn't ride it like that for any significant distance, nor would I even want to. The thing that makes bikes different from each other, aside from weight, is the kind of feedback they give you from the road according to frame geometry, tyre specs etc. The less lively a bike feels, the less it "gives you back" for pushing it hard for a sustained period. I get why riders on very light twitchy bikes go fast, I just think they are missing the whole point though, which is mainly to enjoy a bit of fresh air and scenery. rather than staring down at the road and their front tyre

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Ahem... point of order, what makes you think a Raleigh twenty is a " ladies " bike

Two reasons, one it isn't a traditional triangle frame, and the other one is you don't generally see blokes riding them!

 

[roadrash]

neither of those points make it a ladies bike

 

[alicat]

to the forum.

My Shimano Nexus 7 step-thru shopper bike is my favourite. Please don't tell my other bikes.

A full stop when you have made a point (geddit?!) goes a long way to help your readers work out what you are saying.

 

[Mrs M]

The Clubman looks very smart
I have a Pashley Tube Rider and like the 5 speed hub gears and brakes.
Uncomplicated and lovely to ride.

 

[Randomnerd]

Hi and welcome. I suggest that a bit of punctuation would make reading your post easier.

I'm glad you said that, not me!. Normally I tend to dismiss long, single sentence postings lacking in punctuation as illiterate; however in this case the spelling is fairly OK so I refrained from commenting.

Effing grammar police along to castigate a new member. Brilliant. What give you the right to be so snotty and patronising? FFS