I need Rando bike inspirations..

[palincss]

Originally Posted by oliver

Handlebar bag, front rack, and decaleur I guess. You could also include the dynamo hub and lights; I've ridden with a number of people that use battery powered lights.

Carrying gear up front is but one way. In the UK they call the sport "Audax," and the custom is to carry gear in back. I happen to prefer carrying stuff in front because access is much easier (no need to dismount, park the bike and walk around back to get at the bag to put away that windbreaker I removed at mile 5) but where you put it is far less significant than the fact that you have that luggage at all.

And I certainly wouldn't call a bag large enough to hold a jacket and a pair of warm tights "rando specific." I find a use for that sort of a bag on practically every ride for at least six months in the year.

As for lights - yes if you ride after sundown they're required. But no one ever said they had to be dynamo powered; and no one ever said dynamo lights were useful only for randonneuring. Most of the Schmidt stuff was conceived as commuter gear.

I've used dynamo powered lighting on my commuters after decades of battery lighting, and it was a delight and a revelation: no more having to remember to recharge the battery, no more running out of juice two miles from home just as I was plunging into the darkness as the bike trail went beneath the bridges on the Four Mile Run because the battery had aged and no longer held enough charge for three full trips home.

Battery power can be fine provided you stay on top of charging and battery replacement and provided the run time required is within the capacity of the battery (or you have replacement batteries and are happy to change batteries in the dark after your lights have failed). But staying on top of charging was something I always had trouble with as a commuter -- far too many "Oh Sh**!!" moments when I realized I hadn't recharged after the last use just as my lights started going dim. And I'm certainly not the only one.

There are several ways to meet the needs for storage and for lighting. Different people find one or another of those ways preferable. None are specifically anointed as being the "one and only true randonneuring way."

[colker]

NO one ever mentions the Rivendell Atlantis.. the original "please comeback rando bike".
It may not be low trail or a magic carpet ride or corners like it´s on rails or any other expression of bike writting high IQ .. but it´s built exactly for what everybody talks about now: versatile, able to carry a lot of stuff, fat tires, smaller wheels etc..

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by palincss

And what percentage of the owners of road racers use the bikes for any racing purpose? In my mind, the only uncertainty there is how many zeros to the right of the decimal point.

As far as "any rando purpose" is concerned, if the point of such a bike is to be comfortable on rides that would otherwise be tiring, to be able to carry enough to let you comfortably adjust your clothing over a 20-30 degree range of temperatures, to be safe if you're riding at dusk and after, and to be comfortable should it rain (all of which pretty much defines the mission these bikes are designed for) then you really do not need the little yellow brevet card or the time limits between controls or even the 200K or greater distances to qualify as a "rando purpose."

That purpose, in fact, coincides far better with the real world riding most people do than a racing bike.

What world do you live in where the average high-ish end consumer of bicycles (That is truly, anyone spending more than $750 on a bike) has the kind of time where they need to carry a bunch of **** on a ride? Or are deeply concerned about temperature control? or bringing a book or a pair of swim trunks? We're talking about a minority of a minority here.

The reality, demographically speaking, is that most people are happy to get 1-2 hours on a bike ride at any given time. Theyre busy the rest of the time surviving or doing other things.

I have to make time to ride my bicycle. It doesn't work the other way around. I don't meticulously plan and pack. I get on a fastish bike (the user on the other hand) and try to have a good, fun, efficient use of a couple of hours before I go tend to my real world obligations.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

What world do you live in where the average high-ish end consumer of bicycles (That is truly, anyone spending more than $750 on a bike) has the kind of time where they need to carry a bunch of **** on a ride? Or are deeply concerned about temperature control? or bringing a book or a pair of swim trunks? We're talking about a minority of a minority here.

The reality, demographically speaking, is that most people are happy to get 1-2 hours on a bike ride at any given time. Theyre busy the rest of the time surviving or doing other things.

I have to make time to ride my bicycle. It doesn't work the other way around. I don't meticulously plan and pack. I get on a fastish bike (the user on the other hand) and try to have a good, fun, efficient use of a couple of hours before I go tend to my real world obligations.

You're projecting your personal world view/reality on way too many other people and the habits they hold regarding bike riding.

In my world, cycling and the time I spend doing it is "the real world" not some alternate reality.

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by charliedid

You're projecting your personal world view/reality on way too many other people and the habits they hold regarding bike riding.

In my world, cycling and the time I spend doing it is "the real world" not some alternate reality.

It's not projecting, its aligning with what the vast majority of consumers require in a bicycle. Which run counters to the point I was responding to with race bikes and average bike riders. Did you read it?

[icepick_trotsky]

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

It's not projecting, its aligning with what the vast majority of consumers require in a bicycle. Which run counters to the point I was responding to with race bikes and average bike riders. Did you read it?

Sure but to what end?

Who cares what other people do with their bikes or time?

On that note....the vast majority of consumers do not need a racing bike and hundreds of thousands, maybe millions would be better served never buying one.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

What world do you live in where the average high-ish end consumer of bicycles (That is truly, anyone spending more than $750 on a bike) has the kind of time where they need to carry a bunch of **** on a ride? Or are deeply concerned about temperature control? or bringing a book or a pair of swim trunks? We're talking about a minority of a minority here.

Perhaps you only ride on "perfect" days. I ride all year, and any time from September through April temperature control is an issue for me. This weekend it was 50 at 9:30 when the ride rolled, and it was over 70 when we finished. Do I care if I am in a minority? Hell, I am a cyclist - that's a minority right there. I am a cyclist who rides over 8,000 miles a year, an even tinier minority. I'm concerned with my personal comfort, not that of some statistical average cyclist.

Originally Posted by livingminimal

The reality, demographically speaking, is that most people are happy to get 1-2 hours on a bike ride at any given time. Theyre busy the rest of the time surviving or doing other things.

I don't care about those demographics. My short rides are 2-3 hours long, and my long rides are anywhere from 5 to 12 hours long. If you only have 60-90 minutes to ride, I don't think you ought to be too worried about randonneuring, which after all is a sport where the short rides begin at 124 miles (200 km = 62 * 2) and go up from there, and where over 13 hours are allowed for those 200 km rides.

Originally Posted by livingminimal

I have to make time to ride my bicycle. It doesn't work the other way around. I don't meticulously plan and pack. I get on a fastish bike (the user on the other hand) and try to have a good, fun, efficient use of a couple of hours before I go tend to my real world obligations.

Then why are you commenting on bikes for randonneuring? That would make as much sense as me commenting on equipment for scuba diving (when the closest I get to being under water happens in the shower).

[R3awak3n]

I love carrying stuff on my bike with a bag. Its awesome. Just today on my commute it got too hot and I took my jacket off and put it in the bag. Rando bikes or bikes with at least a place to put stuff are great and versatile. They are not just weekend ride bikes but can actually be used day to day.

This is my "rando"



I don't even see it as a randonneur bike but a bike that can do everything. I commute on this thing, I go camping with this thing, I do laps in the park with it, I go on long rides with it, short rides, rain, snow, sun, whatever. Its my nost versatile bike and probably my favorite bike I ever had

[beeatnik]

Rando bikes are so weird.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by beeatnik

Rando bikes are so weird.

Five years ago I proclaimed that "Rando is the new Fixie"

Today I declare Iamright.

[beeatnik]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

Or they might for the next six months while John Prolly has em hot.

I forgot that Jinbok is 15 years old so I had to grab my annotated Urban Dictionary to translate his OP.

"I need a bike that looks like that dope naked mountain man Papi's old weird bike (the rad stoke dude sponsored by speshulized). The rusty bike with all the crap hanging all over it. But I want mine to be really, really expensive with like 14 different shiny colours so it can get some mad John Prolly love. As for intended use, I'll be riding this whip with Bae to all 12 new breweries near our loft-style apartment. So, one 2-3 mile ride per month (don't be jelly!). Oh, don't forget to peep my adventure blog website store in 3 months! Good lookin out and thanks for the solid. Peas!"

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Five years ago I proclaimed that "Rando is the new Fixie"

Today I declare Iamright.

a year ago you would be right, now its all about mountain bikes. Just look on radavist for the current fad.

also, the fixie craze happened because fixies are cheap, rando bikes aren't so everyone and their mother aren't going out buying randos like they did made in taiwan fixies.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

a year ago you would be right, now its all about mountain bikes. Just look on radavist for the current fad.

also, the fixie craze happened because fixies are cheap, rando bikes aren't so everyone and their mother aren't going out buying randos like they did made in taiwan fixies.

You're thinking about this too much ;-)

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by charliedid

You're thinking about this too much ;-)

lol, maybe I did. Now back to work for me.