Have You Broken It?

Every mountain biker (at least the ones I've known) has done something the oppressed people of this world strive, and sometimes manage, to do.  What is it?

Break their chains.

All right, that's worse than a dad or prof joke. And if any of you are oppressed, or descendants of people who were, and are offended by the joke, I apologize.

OK, so here's a difference between mountain bikers and at least one oppressed group of people.  Of the latter, Karl Marx said that if they united, they had nothing to lose but their chains.  On the other hand, I don't know of any cyclist who wants to lose their chain.  For those in bondage, getting rid of chains is the first step, so to speak, of mobility.  In contrast, a bike without a chain goes nowhere.

During my first two years of mountain biking, I broke or wore out more chains and sprockets than I did in two decades or so of road riding.  Bombing down trails, hopping over rocks and skipping over small streams definitely was harder on drivetrain components, and bikes in general, than "hammering" on pavement, even if both kinds of riding exerted my body in more or less the same ways--though I don't think I got cut, bruised or banged up on the road unless I crashed, which I didn't do often.

As hard as off-road riding was on my equipment, I never broke or even significantly damaged a frame.  Then again, I rode only steel frames. (The Cannondale mountain bike I bought a few years ago, and gave to an emergency room doctor early in the pandemic, never saw dirt, mud or rocks while I rode it.) Some, including, perhaps my younger self, might say I wasn't riding hard enough.

What got me to thinking about my experiences with mountain bike equipment?  I came across a survey Jeff Barber posted on the Singletracks blog. He asks, "Have you ever broken a mountain bike frame?"  Not surprisingly, some readers responded with their stories.  

Image from Ruckus Composites

So now I'm wondering:  Are mountain bikers--or BMXers or other riders who make their bikes hop, jump and absorb all manner of impact--more or less likely to break their frames than other riders?  And do they still, as I did, find that their drivetrain components don't last as long as those of road bikes?

Ancient Wisdom

 The unexamined life is not worth living.

That pearl of wisdom has been attributed to Socrates and Plato. What we know about Socrates comes from his pupil Plato because the itinerant teacher never wrote anything down. 

Anyway, the exact quote goes something like “a life without introspection, self-reflection and critical thought is meaningless." At least, that’s what I’ve heard from folks who know more ancient Greek than I know—which is to say, any at all.

Anyway, if Socrates and Plato knew about cycling, they might’ve added it to their list of what makes a life worthwhile.

Tariffs Against China, Via Norway

 The other day, I recounted some of the ways Trump’s tariffs, particularly the ones levied against China, could affect the US bicycle industry and community.  Some retailers, distributors, importers and even manufacturers have said the new taxes could “devastate” or even “destroy” the industry. Whether or not those predictions are too dire, there will be ripples or even tidal waves no one will have predicted.

Case in point:  On Tuesday Norwegian company Bike Finder announced it is pausing exports of its devices to the US.  According to the company, the decision was made “not out of necessity, but strategy.”

So why is a Norwegian company essentially boycotting the US over its trade war with China?  You guessed it: While the bike tracking devices, which fit into the handlebars, and the software in them, are designed and developed in Norway, they are manufactured in China.

Other bicycle accessories (especially electronics)—and bicycles—have similar stories behind them: they are created and marketed by companies in North America and Europe but fabricated in China.