Woman, 82, still rides same bike she was given at 13
telegraph.co.uk
telegraph.co.uk
Somewhere along the line I read advice not to let objects become totems. I heeded that over the years and have let things go when they seemed to acquire power over me. But sometimes I wish I held on to a few more things from sentiment if not practicality.
I have a ceramic milk jug of my great-great-grandfather who was a Civil war veteran (alongside his son) which my daughter will take responsibility for when she gets her first home --- it may be that she will donate it to a library or museum --- her choice.
Similarly, I have thousands of books --- my will directs that any which my children do not wish to keep are to be taken to my memorial/funeral service and each person attending will be asked to take at least one, and to relate how they knew me and why they picked the book which they did. (A project for future me is to get acid-free bookplates w/ archival adhesive and apply them to all my books, or maybe I'll just print bookmarks on acid-free paper and put one in each book)
Unfortunately, none of the bikes which I had when I was younger survived/were kept (in particular, the Huffy Wind 15-speed had its frame bent on a rainy day because I was never taught to put your foot on the front wheel to slow down) --- currently have two, a folding Montague Swissbike and a Twicycle --- we'll see how they hold up and if I get a third (lusting for a Helix folding bike).
Lastly, while I don't have the exact bow (Bear Archery Little Bear) which I got for Christmas when I was 10, I bought one like to it for my son when he expressed an interest in archery, so at least he has that.
Also, strongly consider not waiting until death to pass along heirlooms. Give them when you can still enjoy someone else enjoying them, it keeps the memories alive through time. Possessions are fleeting, but we remember how something (or someone) made us feel.
Might make a nice tradition for bibliophiles. Somewhat evocative of the "I was a friend of <the deceased>." from Frank Herbert's _Dune_ which is where I got the idea from --- that and a friend's funeral where his nieces seemed somewhat taken aback by folks such as myself who were in attendance whom they had could not recall having seen before (the only one I had seen previously was a babe in arms at the time, and that didn't seem meet to bring up).
The kids are also supposed to take all the unopened bottles from my liquor cabinet and offer them to the Honor Guard/Chaplain as a thank you, with a request that they use them to drink a toast in my honor at some later occasion.
My mom died when I was 20, so I've had this wallet for a few years longer than I ever had with her.
My wife gave it to me about 18 years ago (when we were dating). We laugh about me looking for a replacement, but never do.
She gave it to me a few years before her death because she couldn't lift it safely any more, and knew I would actually use it and appreciate it. Suffice to say that I still use it frequently, and hope to have it see its centennial jubilee in use.
It was one of the most beautiful partings with a cherished object I'd ever heard of.
I think maybe it’s not about not letting objects become totems, but about being deliberate and intentional about which, and why.
I have a lot of friends that keep “altars”; collection of objects sacred to them (and objects that are prayers). I think they’re probably right to do so.
I definitely don't need them anymore but keep them around as a cool antique which I might need again someday and as a reminder that contemporary designs aren't necessarily better... Crazy that they've been in service for longer than anyone alive in my family.
For example, serious long distance cyclists mostly still use old fashioned hard leather saddles, which case a lot less pain and numbness on a long ride than the modern padded ones.
Those fat padded seats only come on those $200 bikes sold to people who don’t ride bikes because it looks more comfortable.
Modern race seats are molded material- plastic or carbon fiber, with a small layer of padding and then a covering. There may be race seats without padding, but most have a little. They have a small amount of padding that is then often used with padded shorts.
One time I feel asleep in the other bedroom, with our old mattress which was a lot firmer, and I woke up without any pain. Tried a few times on both, and yes, the firmer mattress is better for me.
The miracle is that the battery is still chugging along, my guess is that it must be around 70% capacity compared to new. I do realize this was quite a big gamble since who knows how much longer the battery will last.
I wish e-bikes was designed to be more modular and less proprietary so you could easily swap out for example (parts of) the motor and battery for a reasonable sum. As examplified in TFA the frame can last more or less forever and the rest of the parts are changeable and can also last a pretty long time.
Next time I get an e-bike I will probably convert an mechanical bike using a Bafang kit or something like that, since they seem to have more of those traits.
Ebikes can be repairable, but a lot of the prefab ones are truly awful, intentionally confusing wiring and controllers that are locked down, etc.
Better to build your own, check the endless sphere forums for some good guides.
this thread covers why prebuilt ones are unfixable https://endless-sphere.com/sphere/threads/tons-of-dead-1-2-y...
Their manic attention to detail is only surpassed by an almost fanatical devotion to documentation and standardization.
They still make replacement parts for 30+ year old designs, and sounded almost apologetic when explaining to me (very patiently) that a critical component for an embedded device manufactured in Western Germany was no longer available, so I had to upgrade the control to the next generation (introduced way back in 2012 or so...).
No sweat - the replacement device could be configured as a drop-in replacement.
I wish more companies were like that.
Devices built from the ground up to be modular, not because of regulations, but because of market forces?
Framework is solving the “I’d like something modular but slicker than a Clevo and with a support line that is willing to go a bit further than selling an ODM unit to a middle man like Sager.”
If you don’t know who Clevo is but you know who Framework is, that means Framework’s plan is winning.
For E Bikes there are a couple big brands with good support and some boutiques that will take care of you. The big box store stuff using Bosch parts are more of a Wild West.
Standard battery inter connectors, software APIs, etc.
What I really want is detailed schematics, ideally machine-readable, so I can attach things together at the lowest level that my use-case requires, while still able to use high-level interfaces if I need to.
When two devices that naturally speak the same, simple wire protocol have to interoperate via USB-C because of regulations, I cry a little. This isn't how things were meant to be, and isn't what the regulations were meant to achieve.
I think front hub motor + internal geared hub on back + belt drive is the ideal bike for me. Only downside is not getting to do power wheelies :)
I enjoy working on my bikes as they're fairly standard as far as parts go. Swapped the original 26" tires for 640Bs, removed front derailleur for more rear gears, changed hand bars, etc. The bike has grown and changed along with me through the years.
You mean confirming that the time you already knew it was, was actually correct.
Just like you also wake up 2 minutes before the alarm goes off.
Oh man, as a recent android to iOS convert I thought I was just doing it wrong. The alarm feature of this phone is utterly useless it’s so unreliable. It just decides randomly (from what I can tell) to silence itself with no user interaction. Luckily it hasn’t resulted in major life consequences yet, but I’ve learned to not even bother with it.
Thanks for returning a tiny bit of my sanity!
Whichever programmer or team was responsible for this “feature” that decides you know better than me, why?!?
My current conspiracy theory is it’s the wearables team since then only way to be certain you will at least get some physical/audible feedback it’s time to wake up is by wearing your Apple Watch to bed. Then you get to deal with frantic charging it before your flight or whatnot, fun times!
And yeah, my decades-old alarm clock remains reliable (though it can be a struggle to remember how to set the time after the power goes out…)
I'm convinced that this was one of the reasons that the sleep schedule app was created, because they wanted to see if a different team wouldn't introduce the same bug.
I got at least 21 years of use out of a €125 purchase, I'm sure it must be the single best thing I've ever bought.
There are plenty of products (eg. especially cars) that are much, much more reliable than their older counterparts.
And when a bike costs more, as a layman, you have a hard time judging if it costs more because of more profit or better quality.
If you’re willing to pay the same (inflation adjusted) I think the overall quality is considerably better than 30+ years ago.
The other bad issue is battery fires - quite a few deaths there.
In UK you are already required to ride on road. What if I wanna ride slow on pedestrian paths and fast on roads?
All of this regulation is just gonna force people into cars.
Also, shopping at MEC 16 years ago was a different time.
That's incredible.
While having a few advantages, it's not universally great.
I have an e-bike and it’s enabled me to cycle on steep inclined and hilly roads that I would be unable to do otherwise. Having an e-bike encourages you to cycle a lot more than you typically would imo. I use it as my primary form of transportation.
I’m just surprised that people continue to use old bikes when the newer technology around them has continued to improve.
From the linked study: > E-bikers take longer trips by e-bike and bicycle, compared to cyclists.
> Physical activity gains from active travel are similar in e-bikers and cyclists.
The second point is non-obvious IMO and interesting.
The first point makes sense though IMO. AFAIK the majority of pedal bike trips are short ranges. A subset of bike riders travel larger distances. This averages out to be relatively short distances. An e-bike I believe is not attractive for a short distance (why pay the cost when a cheaper pedal bike that you will ride for 10 minutes would do just as well and for a fraction of cost?). I think it makes sense that e-bikes then push that distance-travel average up over conventional bikes.
My main use of a bike is X miles per day to work and back. Shopping trips and some weekend activities add miles, but the baseline is commuting. I'm not particularly athletic. I have some friends who commute on e-bikes, and I'm fully supportive. It's all good.
Switching to an e-bike won't add hours or miles to my baseline. I mention this anecdote only to illustrate that the effect of an e-bike depends heavily on circumstances.
I think a better generalization might be that an e-bike combined with a lifestyle change can result in better fitness. This is where I see the great benefit of e-bikes, and why I encourage my friends to get them.
Just spitballing a number, if the bike supplies 50% of the effort, then a lifestyle change could consist of increasing your use of a bike by 2x or more. This is not implausible because a lot of people get virtually no exercise at all.
Oddly enough the most frequent question I get about cycling is: "When are you going to get an e-bike?"
I think there will always be a few remaining uses for a bike that is cheap, maintainable by the owner, light enough to carry up a stairs or throw into a car, can be stored anywhere, indefinitely, and used on demand, doesn't catch fire, and is powered by the lipids stored in your body. ;-)
I read the abstract of the study you linked, and it does not say that people who use e-bikes are more fit than people who use regular bikes.
It says that e-biker have slightly less "metabolic equivalent task" minutes per week compared to cyclists.
Newer technology is not necessarily always better. A lot of the e-bike utility derives from having a working motor and battery. Those two are probably the most expensive fragile items in a bike. Good luck dealing with the fire when your battery explodes. Good luck getting home when your battery goes flat and you have to ride a heavier bike home and you are in the middle of nowhere because with a working battery you can. Oh, yes let's a buy a backup battery and increase your bike costs. Good luck getting a new battery when your bike supplier dies.
As an example, a replacement battery pack for the e-bike model I bought is 25% of the price of the bike. I'd assume the motor and other electronics would ring up to another 25%. Since I bought a cargo e-bike, there's really no meat motor bike to compare the remaining price to see how it aligns.
Any data available for how often that happens? I have never heard of a single instance, nor it even being a risk even.
> Good luck getting home when your battery goes flat and you have to ride a heavier bike home and you are in the middle of nowhere because with a working battery you can.
Indeed the 'stranded with a heavy bike' was a problem. Less so now that e-bike ranges are 60+ miles.
> Oh, yes let's a buy a backup battery and increase your bike costs
I don't think this makes sense. Have you heard of this as common? Do you know any manufacturers who recommend this? The shelf life of batteries is years and years. A replacement would be idle..
> Good luck getting a new battery when your bike supplier dies.
Bikes are relatively simple. Happily the wiring can be redone if need-be to retrofit to something new
And if a previous bike user switches to ebikes, generally they would have been considering another alternative instead (e.g. Motorbike, car, public transport, etc.)
And once they start with ebikes, I don't expect them to ever switch to mormal bikes anymore.
I don’t have one yet, but I’ve seen a dramatic increase of older people cycling up canyon roads on pedal assist e-bikes. They can do rides with e-bikes that they otherwise couldn’t, and they can go further and/or longer. I’m certain I’ll replace my all-mechanical cycle with an e-bike at some point, and I think it will help me stay in shape and continue to enjoy long-distance cycling as I age.
In town, people are replacing car trips to the store and the pub with e-bike rides. That’s both more active, and better for the environment, than car or motorcycle trips, no?
Not only that, as a cyclist, it’s been helpful to have more and more riders representing the need for bike lanes, bike safety, and bike awareness.
I don’t see any major downsides to the e-bike trend, and there are a lot of upsides. It seems universally great to me.
Just because an ebike can go further does not mean they are mostly used in that way. The proper thing to say is that bikes enable unfit people to go further than they could with a normal bike. Most fit people can cycle distances that ebike readers wouldn't do even if the bike can do it. How many people travel across cities with an ebike?
What types of distances are you thinking of? 'Most fit people's feel is a bit ambiguous since we are likely speaking about less than one third of the population (at least in the US).
Cross town trips seem to be a place where e-bikes shine IMO. At least gauging by the anecdata that e-bike commuters in the last 15 years have gone from rare to occasionally to the majority of bicycle commuters (at least on many days, and along my commute route, that is not the best connected and is at least 6 miles one way)
If you are doing a long trip you are right but most people will find some other way to do those trips even if they had infinite battery.
In practice, those that would go more than 70 miles round trip on a bike is a very limited number of people to begin with. Even given infinite battery and/or infinite time, it's just not a lot of people. Hence why I think the 'more than battery distance' aspect is not well appreciated. A car centric culture would just not even consider such distances as an option at all. Hence the perspective IMHO that going for more than 90 minutes is just a non option for everyone, even though it is.
My experience riding with e-bikes is how and why I come to say this. They simply can't do a century plus ride. For extreme distance rides (inter-state) - even more so. At those points, non motor is better. I've met just one person doing a tour on an e-bike (that is way less than 1% observed). While that is anecdata, it greatly contrasts with the ballpark 40% to 80% cyclists I observe commuting via e-bike vs non assist pedal bike.
time matters for most people. Thus what matters is how far they can get in about half an hour. It doesn't matter if we are talking about walking bikes, cars, helecopters: how ever far you get in half an hour matters.
I am of course explicitly not talking about most people. Which is my point - at greater ranges fewer people would be willing to bike, but e-bikes enable larger ranges, but at a point it flips back to non-assist.
sure fanatics will bike 100 mile, or some such, but the rest of us have lives to live and we don't have time to waste getting places. The destination is the point. That an ebike get us there in reasonable time is important, exercise is a nice side benefit.
Cycling is actually the fastest way to get around NYC and London most of the time if you’re able to keep a consistently high speed
I also live on top of a hill, and an ebike has greatly increased my will to commute, especially when cycling home after gym.
The problem is regulation. Any bike that has a throttle, or isn't capped to 25kph should be illegal to drive without registering it as a motor vehicle. Yet I've never seen anyone actually enforce this.
Now imagine the same with an automobile. It was a terrible mistake to build a car centric world where we sit in metal boxes to go to massive parking lots with enormous stores to fill our cars with useless crap that lasts a moment in time.
The bike itself though has been constant issues, like the front bearing wore out in 50 miles because they didn’t add enough grease and the tires aren’t rated for the weight the bike says it is. So avoid that brand!
it cost more than 4x my regular bike and that was at 45% of its list price because it was used
When I moved to Amsterdam, my first bike (which I loved!) was stolen in a month. My Dutch acquaintances were not surprised. Getting your bike stolen, way of life...
I am not Dutch but I lived there for 10 years.
In my country of origin I live in area others would call Dutch or Scottish so we are also rather cheap.
Because Dutch, Scottish or area of people I live nowadays frugal nature has negative connotation.
I’d say having bicycle for so long is impressive but at the same time it is not really worth it if you can get a new one supposedly better spending less than quarter of your monthly income.
Low price are great for allowing people to afford a comfortable life, but also really drive a culture that doesn’t value maintenance or repairs.
- People who like forced automatic software updates
It's hard to define the quality of a bike. Bikes are like an "ecosystem" that depends on dealers and at least modestly knowledgeable users, and a continuing supply of spare parts. It's not surprising that the longest-serving bikes are in countries with a strong cycling ecosystem.
A new bike made by a reputable brand like Trek is likely to be of very good quality, and benefits from some improvements in materials that have occurred since 1949, such as aluminum wheels and puncture resistant tires. If it receives light-duty service, such as commuting and shopping, and is proactively maintained, it can last forever.
The main threat to a decent bike is neglect. Also, "sportive" use of a bike, such as racing or off-road, brings its own list of issues, including obsolescence. The Dutch are deservedly famous for their bike culture, but their typical use is a few miles per day on well maintained roads and paths.
For the "Ship of Theseus" comment by @ytss:
35 years ago, by first good bike got hit by a car and I had to replace the frame. I took parts from it and put it on a new frame. After 2 decades that frame cracked, un-repairable.
So on my current ride, all that is left is the original bike are the break levers and break fittings and racks. Can that be considered still the original :)
What do you mean by that? Unless it’s an e-bikes most modern bikes are extremely standardized and IMHO generally better quality than older bikes (unless we’re exclusively talking about fixed gear steel frame ones)
I do not remember the details, I saw a blurb on a bicycling site that manufactures are starting to create bikes that regular people cannot repair.
I think I heard the following over the last couple of years:
* a kind of automatic gear shifting, but very lite weight
* Cables are somehow routed through the frame
* I thought I heard there is a shifter that no longer needs cables.
* And I know about tubeless tires.
* I did hear about using Mars Rover tires for bikes, that should great, but last I heard they were very expensive. Not sure if they hit the general market yet.
All of that to me points to a very complex system.
Otherwise there are plenty of framebuilders doing bikes like in the school days.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fixed_bollard_bicycl...
My wife rides an Azor with a classic 'cross' frame; these are also known as preacher's bicycles, because it (allegedly) allowed them to ride one in a frock without resorting to a ladies bicycle.
Both frames have a nice bit of heft, which is really great from a traffic safety standpoint because of the stability you have.
Reading between the lines, the frame is one of the only components that has stayed constant over the lifetime of the bike. But then, it's also the one we most strongly associate with the bike's identity.
Later edit: From here [1]
> Most cyclists experience some knee pain over the course of their riding career. A systematic review and various studies report the incidence of knee pain ranging from 36% to 62%[1] [2]and it is the second most reported overuse injury for cyclists