The Black And White Club

I have a question for those of you who have kids:  Did you ever have to explain to them that, no, you didn't see things in black-and-white when you were young?

Believe it or not, I actually had to reassure one of my students that we were not colorblind back in the day.  Of course, that student could have taken that statement as an explanation of why we needed to have the Civil Rights Movement.  And I've been accused, at different times in my life, of seeing things in the presence or absence of all colors.  They'll say that about you if you have convictions and stand up for yourself.

I got to thinking about the world before technicolor because I came across a copy of a 40-year-old issue of Bicycling! magazine. Everything printed in it was in black and white. The November 1974 issue was one of the first I read, and I was introduced to all sorts of things not mentioned in Eugene Sloane's Complete Book of Bicycling.  (The mid-'70's was probably the last time an American could publish anything with such a title without seeming arrogant or ignorant or both.) 

In addition to Reynolds and Columbus (which Sloane referred to as "Columbia" in the first edition of his book) tubing, I learned about Tange, Falk, Vitus, Ishiwata and Durifort.  That last name was the trademark of a high-quality French carbon steel tubing (Those terms weren't considered mutually exclusive in those days) that came in straight-gauge and double-butted. 

 "Club racers"--a kind of bike all but banned from the US market when a bunch of lawyers with too much time on their hands decided they were "dangerous"-- were often made from it. The Stella SX-73--of which reviewer Larry Burke wrote glowingly forty years ago--is an example of such a bike, if with slightly longer (and therefore more amenable to light touring) geometry.

Such bikes typically had racing geometry and came with basic or mid-level components, save for tubular ("sew-up") tires and rims.  The idea was to offer a fast, responsive bike at a reasonable price, or one that could be used, without too much modification, for light touring.

(These are different from British "club bicycles" of the 1930's to 1960s, which were typically constructed from Reynolds 531 tubing and had higher-quality components.  However, they usually had Sturmey-Archer internally-geared hubs--usually one of the higher- end or close-range models--or a "flip-flop" hub on the rear, as derailleurs were not widely used in the British Isles until the 1960's.  Tosca, my fixed-gear Mercian, is modeled somewhat on such bikes.)

A few people crashed those French club racers and the frame tubes collapsed. When the CPSC lawyers got wind of stories about them, they decided the public simply had to be protected from them--never mind that most riders walked away intact from such crashes in spite of not wearing helmets, as was the practice in those days of "leather hairnets".

Anyway, I've noticed that a few high-end builders and producers are offering their own versions of "club racers".  Could British club bikes be next?  Then Tosca will get even more attention than she gets now, and nobody will remember her in black and white!

I'll close this post with a funny story:  I actually used the photo I've posted in a paper I wrote about circadian rhythms.  The trees look somewhat autumnal, but the guy on the bike is wearing shorts and a T-shirt.  Even though the weather was warm, the trees were still losing their leaves, as they are wont to do at that time of year.  

If I recall correctly, I got an A on that paper. 

Evolutionary Cycling Gifts

We all know that cyclists are the highest form of humanity.  We are the ne plus ultra of evolution.  

This is not a biased opinion.  It's cold, hard scientific fact--or, at least, a very well-founded theory.  I have evidence:

 



That T-shirt can be found on Zazzle, where I also found this poster:


 


among other fun and interesting cycling gifts.

Hmm...Is it hypocritical of me to promote the purchase of gifts the day after I wrote a diatribe against Black Friday?  If it is, I'm sorry:  I'm human--though the most evolved sort because I am, after all, a cyclist.;-)

Black Friday Bicycle Shaped Objects

"Toys come in boxes.  Real bicycles come assembled and ready to ride."

I don't remember who said that.  I'm guessing it was the proprietor or a salesperson in one of the bike shops in which I worked.  And I'm guessing the proprietor or salesperson was admonishing someone who brought in a department-store bicycle for assembly or who tried to assemble such a bike and made a bad thing hopeless.

I'm recalling that bit of wisdom, if not the sage who imparted it, because today is Black Friday.

For those of you who are not in the US, this day--the day after we give thanks and exchange heart-warming stories (or get into fights) with people with whom we would not sit at the same table at any other time--and give thanks for, well, whatever.   This is the day on which stores--mainly the big-box variety--run "sales" on some of the worst junk imaginable, much of which will end up under Christmas trees four weeks later and in landfills four years--or even four months--later.

The boxes full of stuff meant to be assembled into bicycle-shaped objects are among the sale items I'm talking about. One of the "big-box" retailers--which, thankfully, does not have a store anywhere near me--has offered, on each of the few Black Fridays--a "freestyle BMX" bike with pegs and helmet for $49.99 and boys' and girls' 20 inch bicycles for $29. 

If you're a vegan,  bear with me for a moment as I use an analogy most people (Americans, anyway) will understand.  It's scarcely possible to get a steak dinner, let alone a good one, for $29.  Add drinks and dessert and you'd be hard-pressed to keep the tab below $50.   At least, that's the case here in New York.

Now, you might be thinking that buying a cheap bike for a kid isn't such a bad idea because he or she will trash or outgrow it within a couple of years.   Or you might be on a tight budget (Trust me, I understand!) and are shopping for a few kids or grandkids.  I don't have kids or grandkids, but I understand the joy in seeing a kid's eyes light up on Christmas morning.  (I've experienced it with my nieces and nephews as well as the children of friends, if that counts.)   However, I'd think about what I'm teaching kids when I give them disposable junk.  

More to the point, though, I'd be concerned about giving a kid (or anyone) something that's potentially unsafe.  In bikes, as in most things, you get what you pay for (up to a point, anyway).  Cheap bikes are made cheaply, from cheap materials.  Now, if I were buying such a bike for a kid (which, of course, I wouldn't), I at least have some residual level of skill as a mechanic and could at least ensure the bike is properly assembled.  However, not everyone who buys such a bike can make such a claim. Nor can some of the "mechanics" employed by some stores that offer assembly.

If you were to bring such a bike to a shop to be assembled, you'll pay enough for the service that it, combined with the price of the bike, will total not much less than the price of  a bike shop bike.  Shops don't charge what they charge out of spite or to gouge customers:  Proper assembly and repair (which bikes in boxes sometimes need) takes time and therefore costs money.  And a mechanic in any bike shop worthy of the name wants to take the time to do it right because the shop's reputation rides on the work done in it.

So...If you really, truly, must participate in that orgy of consumerism called Black Friday--which has been likened to the running of the bulls--don't buy a bike, especially one for a kid, in a big-box store.  If you're a regular reader of this blog, I don't have to tell you that.  But you might want to tell your less-informed (about bikes, anyway) friends and relatives what I've said--or pass along this post.