• bitteroldcoot@piefed.social
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    6 months ago

    As a senior with bad knees I will wack you with my cane if you come for my ebike.

    On a serious note, when I retired and started biking again, my knees just screamed. I could barely do 5 miles on a flat course. It just hurt to much, now I ride and ebike.

    • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      the people buying 5K bikes have a lot of money. to them 5,000 is like $5 bucks to you.

      among serious cyclists, they are buying bikes in the 8-10K range every other year or more. because the income of a cyclists is very high.

  • Hello_there@fedia.io
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    6 months ago

    I don’t know, but finding cheap bikes in the US is hard. Seems like all the shops and used listings only have e bikes for hundreds

    • sem@piefed.blahaj.zone
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      6 months ago

      Not sure why the economics dont make sense for businesses, I guess the new junk is cheaper to assemble and sell efficiently than the labor and logistics it costs to refurbish used bikes for sale.

      But in many big cities, you can find a “bike place” staffed primarily with volunteers that reconditions and sells used bikes at reasonable prices.

      • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        refurbishing an old bike is like 8-10 hours of work.

        at 50 dollars an hour that’s 400-500 in cost of labor alone. parts will easily add another 200-300.

        it is not economically feasible to refurb old bikes for sale. it’s typically only done as charity work, or DIY project.

        a new bike takes like an hour or two to assemble, and comes with all the parts.

        even dumpster tier used bikes are usually sold at 200-400 dollar range at bike shops, and have very little profit unless they came in in pristine condition and just need a lube.

        also they are far less safe and reliable than a new bike because you’re using decades old technology. 70/80s bikes are deathtraps with horrible tires, horrible brakes, and very unreliable shifting. things dramatically improved in the late 90s and 2000s.

    • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      you don’t buy them at a shop. you buy them on fb marketplace from someone’s garage sale.

      then you bring it to a shop and you find out it needs 300+ work of work because it’s been rusting away for 2-3 decades.

      cheap bikes only make sense if you have the skills to DIY it yourself.

  • ZombieRasputin@fosstodon.org
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    6 months ago

    @sexy_peach late 80s/early 90s ATB bikes are absolutely PERFECT for daily use. Great gear range, great geometry.

    The only problem I have these days is tire selection dwindling for 26 inch (america) tires. Just not as many companies are producing in that size anymore.

    • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      disagree. most people should be on a road/hybrid bike with 700c wheels.

      ATBs are horribly uncomfortable and slow. but they are ‘vintage’ and ‘alt’ right now so hipster people love them. they will fall out of fashion in the next 5 years as the 2000s becomes retro and gen alpha hits their 20s.

      • ZombieRasputin@fosstodon.org
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        6 months ago

        @TubularTittyFrog I think proper fit would solve both those problems. Bike coops are great for that. Modern road/hybrid bikes tend to have aggressive gearing that tries to emulate race bikes, and I think that makes things much harder for people trying to use their bikes practically.

        • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          No, you have that completely backwards.

          Modern bikes are far more relaxed. those old bikes have incredibly steep and short angles that are horrible for causal riding. they have like 72 degree head angles, which is the same you’d see on a modern criterium bike. most hybrid bikes have like 68 degree angles, and are the handlebars are a lot higher. even most new gravel/road bikes are slacker and more upright than those old 90s mtbs. a lot of new cyclists buy allroad or gravel bikes now because they are comfortable and perfect for everyday riding and have all the mounts for attaching bags.

          the only way you back an old ATB relaxed is by buying a crazy riser stem and riser bars, and then under-sizing the frame. which is precisely what ever IG retro 90s bike build does, and why they cost like $200 in cockpit parts alone to get that effect.