those infomercials

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Have they started running those infomercials for "landriders" yet? I
haven' t seen them. Maybe they don't exist anymore since most people
discovered they're useless [censored]!

Are you referring to those 'automatic' bikes that shift gears themselves? I
don't know first hand what the quality of the bikes are - I assume [censored].

I can almost see the logic behind their business model: 'People were won
over to automatic transmission cars so we will apply the same idea with
bikes!'. Neglecting of course that if people are to be swayed in switching
to a bike that has the 'convenience' self-shifting they will probably be
driving a car instead.

--
'Oh lord!
Won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches
I must make amends.' - janis joplin rendition

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Are you referring to those 'automatic' bikes that shift gears themselves?
I don't know first hand what the quality of the bikes are - I assume [censored].

I can almost see the logic behind their business model: 'People were won
over to automatic transmission cars so we will apply the same idea with
bikes!'. Neglecting of course that if people are to be swayed in switching
to a bike that has the 'convenience' self-shifting they will probably be
driving a car instead.

I've seen these infomercials. Funny - there was one on within the last few
months. Prior to that, I'd seen one many years ago.
Obviously the idea has existed for while.

I understand they work sort of like a cetrifugal governer... the faster you
spin, the more these little sprung flyweights are moved outward which in
turn causes and upshift. (the reverse for down shifting)

Has anyone TRIED one of these? I see all sorts of problems with the idea
applied to bikes but without trying one, who's to say?

*shrug*

C.

"C.J.Patten" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Are you referring to those 'automatic' bikes that shift gears themselves?
I don't know first hand what the quality of the bikes are - I assume
[censored].

I can almost see the logic behind their business model: 'People were won
over to automatic transmission cars so we will apply the same idea with
bikes!'. Neglecting of course that if people are to be swayed in
switching to a bike that has the 'convenience' self-shifting they will
probably be driving a car instead.

I've seen these infomercials. Funny - there was one on within the last few
months. Prior to that, I'd seen one many years ago.
Obviously the idea has existed for while.

I understand they work sort of like a cetrifugal governer... the faster
you spin, the more these little sprung flyweights are moved outward which
in turn causes and upshift. (the reverse for down shifting)

Has anyone TRIED one of these? I see all sorts of problems with the idea
applied to bikes but without trying one, who's to say?

Yah. I remember the old one showing confused cyclists continually glancing
down at their gears while auto-bikers rode past them.

I had two questions: 'How practical, durable and rugged is the mechanism
itself?' and; 'What is the general quality of the bike?'.

--
'Keep on riding north and west
Then circle south and east
Show me beauty
but there is no peace.' -rush

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 13:17:53 -0400, "lowkey" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"C.J.Patten" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Are you referring to those 'automatic' bikes that shift gears themselves?
I don't know first hand what the quality of the bikes are - I assume
[censored].

I can almost see the logic behind their business model: 'People were won
over to automatic transmission cars so we will apply the same idea with
bikes!'. Neglecting of course that if people are to be swayed in
switching to a bike that has the 'convenience' self-shifting they will
probably be driving a car instead.

I've seen these infomercials. Funny - there was one on within the last few
months. Prior to that, I'd seen one many years ago.
Obviously the idea has existed for while.

I understand they work sort of like a cetrifugal governer... the faster
you spin, the more these little sprung flyweights are moved outward which
in turn causes and upshift. (the reverse for down shifting)

Has anyone TRIED one of these? I see all sorts of problems with the idea
applied to bikes but without trying one, who's to say?

Yah. I remember the old one showing confused cyclists continually glancing
down at their gears while auto-bikers rode past them.

I had two questions: 'How practical, durable and rugged is the mechanism
itself?' and; 'What is the general quality of the bike?'.

And what would be the appeal? Shifting a bike isn't exactly tough
work. In the past, with non-click type levers located on the frame,
well I could understand the problem. Having to take your hands off the
handlebar and try to get the lever into the right position, not
optimal.

But with shifting these days, my hands are either resting on the
shifter (grip shifts) or right on top of some other type of shifter.
You don't even let go of the handlebar.

Now, come up with a bike that pedals itself and you've got something!

Quoted message said:

Have they started running those infomercials for "landriders" yet? I
haven' t seen them. Maybe they don't exist anymore since most people
discovered they're useless [censored]!

I hear your buddy, abrown360, rides one.

:-D

Bill Sornson said:

Quoted message said:

Have they started running those infomercials for "landriders" yet? I
haven' t seen them. Maybe they don't exist anymore since most people
discovered they're useless [censored]!

I hear your buddy, abrown360, rides one.

Written before reading the outburst of...stuff. Sorry.

"dgk" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...:

Quoted message said:

And what would be the appeal? Shifting a bike isn't exactly tough
work.

Ya that too. For me, you, hard-core, medium-core types, people who cycle
because they enjoy it. They are looking at a cyclist as they would a generic
car driver rather than a performance car enthusiast.

--
'The exodus is here
The happy ones are near
Let's get together
Before we get much older' -the who

dgk said:

And what would be the appeal? Shifting a bike isn't exactly tough work. In
the past, with non-click type levers located on the frame, well I could
understand the problem. Having to take your hands off the handlebar and
try to get the lever into the right position, not optimal.

Yeah, I totally agree, though having three on one side and eight on the
other is still confusing even for experienced folk. I remember in high
school in the 80s I actually taped a gear ratio chart to my 12 speed's
handlebars. lol

The ONLY reason these exist, imho, is the fact that you can't buy regular
pedestrian internally geared bikes like the rest of the world rides. Be it
3 speed SA, 8 geared Sachs, or zillion gear Rohloff, they're pretty easy
to understand as the gears progress in a logical series of well spaced
ratios. Wouldn't it be swell if you could go down to Xmart and get a
Shimano equipped coaster brake 3 speed with fenders and rack for $200?
Most of western Europe can. Sure they're hi-ten bikes with single wall
rims, but perfect for what they're used for, and not so dear that they
scream "steal me".

I've also seen a lot of city bikes overseas that simply dispense with the
front derailleur, not a bad idea either.

I did see a couple landriders ridden by an elderly couple last week--they
seemed to be having a blast, so I kept my pie hole shut.

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 13:17:53 -0400, "lowkey" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"C.J.Patten" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"lowkey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Are you referring to those 'automatic' bikes that shift gears themselves?
I don't know first hand what the quality of the bikes are - I assume
[censored].

I can almost see the logic behind their business model: 'People were won
over to automatic transmission cars so we will apply the same idea with
bikes!'. Neglecting of course that if people are to be swayed in
switching to a bike that has the 'convenience' self-shifting they will
probably be driving a car instead.

I've seen these infomercials. Funny - there was one on within the last few
months. Prior to that, I'd seen one many years ago.
Obviously the idea has existed for while.

I understand they work sort of like a cetrifugal governer... the faster
you spin, the more these little sprung flyweights are moved outward which
in turn causes and upshift. (the reverse for down shifting)

Has anyone TRIED one of these? I see all sorts of problems with the idea
applied to bikes but without trying one, who's to say?

Yah. I remember the old one showing confused cyclists continually glancing
down at their gears while auto-bikers rode past them.

I had two questions: 'How practical, durable and rugged is the mechanism
itself?' and; 'What is the general quality of the bike?'.

I haven't seen the infomercials yet this year. From what I've heard,
the bikes are dreck, made of cheap components that you can' t replace.
I've heard of people finding them in the garbage. Wrenches won't even
touch them because there are no parts for them.

One thing i remember from the ad was that the bikes only come in 3
sizes or something like that. SO they showed one woman riding and her
leg was stretched all the way down totally straight. I thought, that
doesn't look very comfortable! Not to mention bad for your knees.

Quoted message said:

Have they started running those infomercials for "landriders" yet? I
haven' t seen them. Maybe they don't exist anymore since most people
discovered they're useless [censored]!

The commercials have been running regularly in North Florida for some
time. Like most infommercials, they exaggerate the difficulty of
whatever the product is supposed improve upon. And while I personally
don't find shifting all that tricky, some people are intimidated by the
thought of it. So what's the problem if those folks go out an buy one
of these bikes? At least they're out riding and enjoying life. A few
may even upgrade from the Land Rider to a better bike. You know,
something everyone in the NG would approve of. Even Fabs. But then
they might be jeered because they spent too much money on a bike.
Yeah, better not buy one.

Art

<[email hidden]> wrote: So what's the problem if those folks go out
an buy one of these bikes? At least they're out riding and enjoying life.
A few may even upgrade from the Land Rider to a better bike. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's ONE possible scenario. Or, they might go out and discover that
riding is more than just shifting, and get disgusted with the whole mess.
The bike goes into a dark corner, and they go back on the couch in front of
the TV. Next time someone mentions biking, their reaction is: "Oh, I tried
that. It was no fun."

"Leo Lichtman" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

<[email hidden]> wrote: So what's the problem if those folks
go out an buy one of these bikes? At least they're out riding and
enjoying life. A few may even upgrade from the Land Rider to a better
bike. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's ONE possible scenario. Or, they might go out and discover that
riding is more than just shifting, and get disgusted with the whole
mess. The bike goes into a dark corner, and they go back on the couch
in front of the TV. Next time someone mentions biking, their reaction
is: "Oh, I tried that. It was no fun."

Having seen the recent infestation of the Sunday morning airwaves with
these commercials, I can't help but be amused by the fact that they're
advertising to people who won't even get out of the house to go to church,
or to beat the Baptists before they exhaust the local Golden Corral or
Shoney's Big Boy buffet. They are also extremely dishonest in the way they
show people 'properly' riding one of 'them thar high-falutin' bikes'.

You've also missed the obvious bonus.

Think how EASY it is to sell the bike at a yard sale when you can advertise
"As Seen On TV" and "Shifts Itself".

It's probably the best instance of RE-cycling in normal cycling.

HA!

Wish someone had one at a yard sale around here...

I'd buy one just to hang on the wall - and be able to speak with impunity
about the design.

C.

"wvantwiller" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Leo Lichtman" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

<[email hidden]> wrote: So what's the problem if those folks
go out an buy one of these bikes? At least they're out riding and
enjoying life. A few may even upgrade from the Land Rider to a better
bike. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's ONE possible scenario. Or, they might go out and discover that
riding is more than just shifting, and get disgusted with the whole
mess. The bike goes into a dark corner, and they go back on the couch
in front of the TV. Next time someone mentions biking, their reaction
is: "Oh, I tried that. It was no fun."

Having seen the recent infestation of the Sunday morning airwaves with
these commercials, I can't help but be amused by the fact that they're
advertising to people who won't even get out of the house to go to church,
or to beat the Baptists before they exhaust the local Golden Corral or
Shoney's Big Boy buffet. They are also extremely dishonest in the way
they
show people 'properly' riding one of 'them thar high-falutin' bikes'.

You've also missed the obvious bonus.

Think how EASY it is to sell the bike at a yard sale when you can
advertise
"As Seen On TV" and "Shifts Itself".

It's probably the best instance of RE-cycling in normal cycling.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Leo Lichtman said:

<[email hidden]> wrote: So what's the problem if those folks go out
an buy one of these bikes? At least they're out riding and enjoying life.
A few may even upgrade from the Land Rider to a better bike. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's ONE possible scenario. Or, they might go out and discover that
riding is more than just shifting, and get disgusted with the whole mess.

Maybe the Land Rider is just the right bike to stick
a rocket engine on -- see if it autoshifts right
off the cluster :-)

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

[email hidden] (dgk) wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Now, come up with a bike that pedals
itself and you've got something!

</snip>

To late. They already did. I think they call them "motorcycles" or
something like that...

- -

"May you have the winds at your back,
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

"Chris Zacho "The Wheelman"" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

To late. They already did. I think they call them "motorcycles" or
something like that...

Panasonic has a folding electric bike that's rated pretty good.
(and it IS based on a "bike" not a scooter or motorbike...)

Leo Lichtman said:

<[email hidden]> wrote: So what's the problem if those folks go out
an buy one of these bikes? At least they're out riding and enjoying life.
A few may even upgrade from the Land Rider to a better bike. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's ONE possible scenario. Or, they might go out and discover that
riding is more than just shifting, and get disgusted with the whole mess.
The bike goes into a dark corner, and they go back on the couch in front of
the TV. Next time someone mentions biking, their reaction is: "Oh, I tried
that. It was no fun."

Biking without shifting, it's like taking a Ferrarri and bolting the V12
to a 3 speed Slush-er-matic, it takes the fun out of it.... Heck you
might as well drive a Taurus....

I always like shifting on a bike, it seems natural, and adds to the
experience. Modern bikes with indexed shifting make it easier. Fixed
gear is for masochists, and Landrider looks like something for someone
who would rather be driving an Oldsmobile....

W

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Have they started running those infomercials for "landriders" yet? I
haven' t seen them. Maybe they don't exist anymore since most people
discovered they're useless [censored]!

The commercials have been running regularly in North Florida for some
time. Like most infommercials, they exaggerate the difficulty of
whatever the product is supposed improve upon. And while I personally
don't find shifting all that tricky, some people are intimidated by the
thought of it. So what's the problem if those folks go out an buy one
of these bikes?

They can get a much better "easy to operate" bike from a bike shop,
including fitting and post-sales support.

I rescued one of these from the curb on trash day. It was a complete
piece of junk. I thought perhaps I could salvage some components, but in
the end, threw out everything but the frame. That, while poorly made,
with globby welds, heavy tubing and POS headset, was interesting in that
it was a 26" wheel frame with slack angles, rigid fork, canti studs and
rack braze-ons -- a very utilitarian configuration that's kind of hard
to come by (at my price point). I threw some MTB components on it,
fenders and racks, and my wife loves it as a commuter, although it's
kind of heavy. The frame and fork (minus headset & BB) were all I could
use, even on a beater.

"Tom Keats" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Leo Lichtman said:

<[email hidden]> wrote: So what's the problem if those folks go
out
an buy one of these bikes? At least they're out riding and enjoying
life.
A few may even upgrade from the Land Rider to a better bike. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's ONE possible scenario. Or, they might go out and discover that
riding is more than just shifting, and get disgusted with the whole mess.

Agreed. Although I go against the crowd and would not advise someone new to
cycling to go out and buy an expensive bike because it may not be for then
and they will probably bang it up more in the beginning.

But I would not advise starting out on a total piece of [censored]. Question is:
Is this bike a PoS? My suspicion is yes but I don't know it for a fact.

My rule of thumb is that anything advertised via infomercial is either an
out-and-out fraud or simply garbage.

--
'Oh lord!
Won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches
I must make amends.' - janis joplin rendition