Well, from many years working in bike retail, it seems like the most-stolen
bikes (knock on wood) are the most fashionable ones to 14 to 30 year old
working class white boys and men--this means BMX and suspended mountain
bikes. If parked in the greater Portland, Oregon area, a Herse or Confente
(vintage content) would be invisible to Mickey Methlab and Willie Whitetrash
if parked next to a neon-yellow dual suspension Chinese-made 40 lb. mountain
bike fresh from Wal-Mart. Bikes with drop bars and no shock absorbers are
hard to swap out for bags of weed in Mt. Tabor Park!
David Feldman
Vancouver, WA
<randonneurextra@hotmail.com> Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 3:37 PM Subject: [CR]Hot & Cold Air, theft deterrence, and smilin' e-RICHIE
> ... "Even better would be plain old air, cheaper, longer lasting
> >and readily available and a classic in a classic world."
>
> Air?!? What is this, the iBOB?!? I fill my tires with vintage atmosfera
> released from the glaciers above the Sanctuary of Ghisallo -- 97 million
> lira per tank, but worth it!
>
> Apologies for the joke, and a bad one too, but we've all got to pull
> together to keep e-RICHIE's spirits up ... ;-)))
>
> Penitent vintage bike content -- I noticed a lot of us ride nifty old
bikes
> as commuters, which is way cool and shows a real love of the classics
(yeah!
> that's the ticket -- not "it's the
> rock-bottom-cheapest/easiest-solution-out-of-the-parts-bin" ...) That's my
> story and I'm sticking to it ... But I'd add another advantage of
commuting
> on a "less-than-mint" classic, even a Colnago or Cinelli: to most thieves,
> it's just a beat-up old bike, and any bike with fenders is granddad's. A
> shinier Sears Free Spirit (still see a lot of those) would probably be a
> more likely target in my town. Of course, in New York City the bike
thieves
> lurk on the CR!
>
> Be safe on that old iron (or that Richard Sachs),
> Dennis Ryan
> Louisville, KY
>
> _________________________________________________________________
>
> _______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com