an aside: I was out at the Pro Criterium race here in Toronto last
Friday night and while the race was great, the real sideshow was
seeing such a concentration of beautiful and offbeat road bikes. Given
the crowd (primarily road bike afficianados and bike couriers), locked
to every bike stand and fence was another obscure frame make, usually
in rather weathered condition. It was like a spontaneous 70s and 80s
classic road bike trade show - Torpados, Marinonis, Rickerts...all
sorts of cool stuff.
Peter
On May 11, 5:16 pm, pjst...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> I'm doing a survey on what kind of bikes are being used for affordable
> mid-range road bikes, bikes that you'd use for running around town or
> everyday commuting.
>
> Sure, on Sundays keen riders trot out their pride and joys -- the very
> high end Treks, Specializeds, Rossins, Colnagos, Cannondales, etc. but
> there is a fairly limited set of names you see on every day road bike
> frames, the ones that are locked to lamp posts outside the grocery
> store and are most often converted into single speeds.
>
> I suspect that certain brands are chosen because they are lightweight,
> good quality, but not so sought after as to be expensive or appealing
> to thieves. They are also, I suspect, not so precious that they can't
> take the occasional scratches and dings that come from heavy regular
> urban street riding or be "frankensteined" with mix-and-match
> components.
>
> And it seems to be quite regional. In this area (Toronto in Canada)
> the Grade B brands I most often see include: Concorde, Miele, Fugi,
> Fiori, Miyata, Ni****ki. There is an Apollo brand that shows up on
> bikes originally sold in the Vancouver area but which I don't think
> was ever available around here.
>
> What brands/makes/models do you see in your area? What are your
> thoughts on what makes a great beater?
>
> I look forward to hearing your ideas.
>
> Peter
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