Bike Fridays new Tikit folding bike

[[email protected]]

Anyone have opinions on Bike Fridays new Tikit model
folding bike?

Its a folder designed along the lines of the Brompton
to be a very "quick folder".... and to assist in
cycling as a form of transportation over a car

 

[Dane Buson]

[email protected] wrote:
> Anyone have opinions on Bike Fridays new Tikit model
> folding bike?

Well, it's cute looking, and practical (for certain applications). But
I can't find a monetary value for it anywhere. These things are not
considered in a vaccuum generally.

> Its a folder designed along the lines of the Brompton to be a very
> "quick folder".... and to assist in cycling as a form of
> transportation over a car

Well, I know that the Brompton is exceptionally popular with multimodal
train commuters. Not so much with the long distance cycllists.

Of course, that presupposes some decent trains or buses...

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws
of nature!
-- G.B. Shaw

 

[[email protected]]

This video looks nice, but the guy probably folds bikes for a living:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQscBxx7wLE

 

[Pat]

>
> Well, I know that the Brompton is exceptionally popular with multimodal
> train commuters. Not so much with the long distance cycllists.
>
> Of course, that presupposes some decent trains or buses...
>
> --
> Dane Buson -

I know a guy who lives in Jersey and drives to a station every day to take a
train into Manhattan. He and others like him could benefit from such a
bicycle.

Pat in TX

 

[Dane Buson]

Pat <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Well, I know that the Brompton is exceptionally popular with multimodal
>> train commuters. Not so much with the long distance cycllists.
>>
>> Of course, that presupposes some decent trains or buses...
>
> I know a guy who lives in Jersey and drives to a station every day to take a
> train into Manhattan. He and others like him could benefit from such a
> bicycle.

No doubt. Manhattan was one of the US cities that I was thinking about.
It is definitely one of the places that bike could be very useful.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
"Remember kids, don't do crack, it's a ghetto drug"
- Bob Roberts

 

[[email protected]]

On Apr 17, 4:12 pm, Dane Buson <[email protected]> wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > Anyone have opinions on Bike Fridays new Tikit model
> > folding bike?
>
> Well, it's cute looking, and practical (for certain applications). But
> I can't find a monetary value for it anywhere. These things are not
> considered in a vaccuum generally.
>
> > Its a folder designed along the lines of the Brompton to be a very
> > "quick folder".... and to assist in cycling as a form of
> > transportation over a car
>
> Well, I know that the Brompton is exceptionally popular with multimodal
> train commuters. Not so much with the long distance cycllists.
>
> Of course, that presupposes some decent trains or buses...
>
> --
> Dane Buson - [email protected]
> Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws
> of nature!
> -- G.B. Shaw

On Apr 17, 4:12 pm, Dane Buson <[email protected]> wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > Anyone have opinions on Bike Fridays new Tikit model
> > folding bike?
>
> Well, it's cute looking, and practical (for certain applications). But
> I can't find a monetary value for it anywhere. These things are not
> considered in a vaccuum generally.
>
> > Its a folder designed along the lines of the Brompton to be a very
> > "quick folder".... and to assist in cycling as a form of
> > transportation over a car
>
> Well, I know that the Brompton is exceptionally popular with multimodal
> train commuters. Not so much with the long distance cycllists.
>
> Of course, that presupposes some decent trains or buses...
>
> --
> Dane Buson - [email protected]
> Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws
> of nature!
> -- G.B. Shaw

Bike Friday (Green Gear Cycling) is an excellent company. BF has gone
well out of its way to help me with my stock Pocket Tourist, which I
wrecked through my own manic recklessness (hit a 6" curb directly at
full speed). My replacement frame is working great. They customized
the replacement frame to accommodate my height and weight (6'4", 225
lbs), AND paid the shipping. All of which was well beyond any warranty
requirements. Kudos to BF!

However, I suspect they are programming their website in-house. So
they have inadvertently failed to include a minor detail like base
price for the new Tikit model. In my previous emails to BF senior mgmt/
owners, I have always advised that they focus on American Made, and
BF's outstanding customer service, from people who speak ENGLISH as
their native tongue. And NOT focus on price; because frankly, no small
USA company can compete (on simply a price basis) with Chinese-made
folding bikes. (But Good Luck if any after-sales support is needed.)

Having said all this in boring detail, BF's bikes are very
customizable. So anyone who is considering a BF purchase, needs to
call them on their toll-free #. And, you need to ASK for whatever
specific upgrade you want. IMHO, they are very flexible in their bike
configuration, but YOU need to have the bike experience and expertise
to know what to ask for.

Just to show that I am not simply a shill for BF, I must say that the
OEM components on my stock Pocket Tourist can best be described as
generic junk (brake levers, brakes, pedals, derailleur, tires, seat,
you get the idea). So if I had it to do over again, I would look for a
friend who is seriously into bikes, on a conference call, when I
placed the order. And not buy their stock bike (Pocket Tourist). It
will be a disappointment for any serious cyclist.

Dane: I could write a book on how CTA is a fraudulent public transit
bureaucracy, but hey, don't let me get started.

Re: GBS, I work in a univ library, but I am their IT guy, so I just
try to keep up re English lit- J.

 

[[email protected]]

On Apr 17, 7:58 pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Apr 17, 4:12 pm, Dane Buson <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > [email protected] wrote:
> > > Anyone have opinions on Bike Fridays new Tikit model
> > > folding bike?
>
> > Well, it's cute looking, and practical (for certain applications). But
> > I can't find a monetary value for it anywhere. These things are not
> > considered in a vaccuum generally.
>
> > > Its a folder designed along the lines of the Brompton to be a very
> > > "quick folder".... and to assist in cycling as a form of
> > > transportation over a car
>
> > Well, I know that the Brompton is exceptionally popular with multimodal
> > train commuters. Not so much with the long distance cycllists.
>
> > Of course, that presupposes some decent trains or buses...
>
> > --
> > Dane Buson - [email protected]
> > Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws
> > of nature!
> > -- G.B. Shaw
>
> On Apr 17, 4:12 pm, Dane Buson <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > [email protected] wrote:
> > > Anyone have opinions on Bike Fridays new Tikit model
> > > folding bike?
>
> > Well, it's cute looking, and practical (for certain applications). But
> > I can't find a monetary value for it anywhere. These things are not
> > considered in a vaccuum generally.
>
> > > Its a folder designed along the lines of the Brompton to be a very
> > > "quick folder".... and to assist in cycling as a form of
> > > transportation over a car
>
> > Well, I know that the Brompton is exceptionally popular with multimodal
> > train commuters. Not so much with the long distance cycllists.
>
> > Of course, that presupposes some decent trains or buses...
>
> > --
> > Dane Buson - [email protected]
> > Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws
> > of nature!
> > -- G.B. Shaw
>
> Bike Friday (Green Gear Cycling) is an excellent company. BF has gone
> well out of its way to help me with my stock Pocket Tourist, which I
> wrecked through my own manic recklessness (hit a 6" curb directly at
> full speed). My replacement frame is working great. They customized
> the replacement frame to accommodate my height and weight (6'4", 225
> lbs), AND paid the shipping. All of which was well beyond any warranty
> requirements. Kudos to BF!
>
> However, I suspect they are programming their website in-house. So
> they have inadvertently failed to include a minor detail like base
> price for the new Tikit model. In my previous emails to BF senior mgmt/
> owners, I have always advised that they focus on American Made, and
> BF's outstanding customer service, from people who speak ENGLISH as
> their native tongue. And NOT focus on price; because frankly, no small
> USA company can compete (on simply a price basis) with Chinese-made
> folding bikes. (But Good Luck if any after-sales support is needed.)
>
> Having said all this in boring detail, BF's bikes are very
> customizable. So anyone who is considering a BF purchase, needs to
> call them on their toll-free #. And, you need to ASK for whatever
> specific upgrade you want. IMHO, they are very flexible in their bike
> configuration, but YOU need to have the bike experience and expertise
> to know what to ask for.
>
> Just to show that I am not simply a shill for BF, I must say that the
> OEM components on my stock Pocket Tourist can best be described as
> generic junk (brake levers, brakes, pedals, derailleur, tires, seat,
> you get the idea). So if I had it to do over again, I would look for a
> friend who is seriously into bikes, on a conference call, when I
> placed the order. And not buy their stock bike (Pocket Tourist). It
> will be a disappointment for any serious cyclist.
>
> Dane: I could write a book on how CTA is a fraudulent public transit
> bureaucracy, but hey, don't let me get started.
>
> Re: GBS, I work in a univ library, but I am their IT guy, so I just
> try to keep up re English lit- J.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Yeah, well, I meant to include the following link in my previous post
http://orion.neiu.edu/~jbollyn/bike/dinotte-tail-light.jpg - J,

 

[Dane Buson]

[email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Apr 17, 4:12 pm, Dane Buson <[email protected]> wrote:
>> [email protected] wrote:

>> > Anyone have opinions on Bike Fridays new Tikit model
>> > folding bike?
>>
>> Well, it's cute looking, and practical (for certain applications). But
>> I can't find a monetary value for it anywhere. These things are not
>> considered in a vaccuum generally.

> However, I suspect they are programming their website in-house. So
> they have inadvertently failed to include a minor detail like base
> price for the new Tikit model. In my previous emails to BF senior mgmt/
> owners, I have always advised that they focus on American Made, and
> BF's outstanding customer service, from people who speak ENGLISH as
> their native tongue. And NOT focus on price; because frankly, no small
> USA company can compete (on simply a price basis) with Chinese-made
> folding bikes. (But Good Luck if any after-sales support is needed.)

Oh, no doubt. It's just one of my (many) pet peeves when manufacturers
say "Here's this cool new model we're selling on our website!" Then
they don't include any details as to cost and their pricing list has not
been updated to include it.

Not that I'm interested personally, as I have a folder already.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
Q: How do you put a phone down, Mike?
A: You're a crappy instrument on a noisy POTS line. You don't have CID, you
don't do anything useful, and your dial drops pulses. I'd be better off with
something from $CHEAP_ASIAN_VENDOR.
- Warwick answering Mike Andrews in asr

 

[[email protected]]

On Apr 18, 12:35 pm, Dane Buson <[email protected]> wrote:
> [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
> > On Apr 17, 4:12 pm, Dane Buson <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> [email protected] wrote:
> >> > Anyone have opinions on Bike Fridays new Tikit model
> >> > folding bike?
>
> >> Well, it's cute looking, and practical (for certain applications). But
> >> I can't find a monetary value for it anywhere. These things are not
> >> considered in a vaccuum generally.
> > However, I suspect they are programming their website in-house. So
> > they have inadvertently failed to include a minor detail like base
> > price for the new Tikit model. In my previous emails to BF senior mgmt/
> > owners, I have always advised that they focus on American Made, and
> > BF's outstanding customer service, from people who speak ENGLISH as
> > their native tongue. And NOT focus on price; because frankly, no small
> > USA company can compete (on simply a price basis) with Chinese-made
> > folding bikes. (But Good Luck if any after-sales support is needed.)
>
> Oh, no doubt. It's just one of my (many) pet peeves when manufacturers
> say "Here's this cool new model we're selling on our website!" Then
> they don't include any details as to cost and their pricing list has not
> been updated to include it.
>
> Not that I'm interested personally, as I have a folder already.
>
> --
> Dane Buson - [email protected]
> Q: How do you put a phone down, Mike?
> A: You're a crappy instrument on a noisy POTS line. You don't have CID, you
> don't do anything useful, and your dial drops pulses. I'd be better off with
> something from $CHEAP_ASIAN_VENDOR.
> - Warwick answering Mike Andrews in asr- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I get the feeling that BF (the company) is mostly a passion of the
owners. They just love to design, make and sell custom folding bikes.
They can afford to indulge their passion, without always having one
eye on the bottom line. A great business model, if you have the
resources to pull it off.

On second thought re: my earlier post, I think perhaps they have not
firmly decided on a base price for the Tikit. Maybe they first want to
see what kind of market interest there is in this new model.

Perhaps one should not think of BF as just another bike manufacturer.
In my experience, they do business quite differently from other
companies - J.

 

[Alan Hoyle]

On 18 Apr 2007 16:16:23 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

> I get the feeling that BF (the company) is mostly a passion of the
> owners. They just love to design, make and sell custom folding bikes.
> They can afford to indulge their passion, without always having one
> eye on the bottom line. A great business model, if you have the
> resources to pull it off.

> On second thought re: my earlier post, I think perhaps they have not
> firmly decided on a base price for the Tikit. Maybe they first want to
> see what kind of market interest there is in this new model.

I was at Bikes @ Vienna in northern Virginia this past weekend (bought
a folder for my fiance'), and they had a Bike Friday Tikit there. It
looked pretty cool and the folding process was really neat. They were
asking ~$1200 for it, which was out of our price range (we ended up
picking out a Dahon Vitesse with a Sturmey Archer 5 speed internal
hub; she loves it so far).

-alan

--
Alan Hoyle - [email protected] - http://www.alanhoyle.com/
"I don't want the world, I just want your half." -TMBG
Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.

 

[[email protected]]

On Apr 19, 10:49 am, Alan Hoyle <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 18 Apr 2007 16:16:23 -0700, [email protected] wrote:
>
> > I get the feeling that BF (the company) is mostly a passion of the
> > owners. They just love to design, make and sell custom folding bikes.
> > They can afford to indulge their passion, without always having one
> > eye on the bottom line. A great business model, if you have the
> > resources to pull it off.
> > On second thought re: my earlier post, I think perhaps they have not
> > firmly decided on a base price for the Tikit. Maybe they first want to
> > see what kind of market interest there is in this new model.
>
> I was at Bikes @ Vienna in northern Virginia this past weekend (bought
> a folder for my fiance'), and they had a Bike Friday Tikit there. It
> looked pretty cool and the folding process was really neat. They were
> asking ~$1200 for it, which was out of our price range (we ended up
> picking out a Dahon Vitesse with a Sturmey Archer 5 speed internal
> hub; she loves it so far).
>
> -alan
>
> --
> Alan Hoyle - [email protected] - http://www.alanhoyle.com/
> "I don't want the world, I just want your half." -TMBG
> Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.

Chinese labor is much less $ than what American workers earn. From
www.dahon.com:

....our bicycles are assembled in our factories in Taiwan, Macau, the
Czech Republic and China...

J.

 

[Will]

On Apr 17, 4:12 pm, Dane Buson <[email protected]> wrote:

> Well, it's cute looking, and practical (for certain applications). But
> I can't find a monetary value for it anywhere. These things are not
> considered in a vaccuum generally.

The price is in the orange-ish box about 1/2 way down the page...

$1195

http://www.bikefriday.com/tikit-launch

 

[[email protected]]

On Apr 19, 4:02 pm, Will <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Apr 17, 4:12 pm, Dane Buson <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Well, it's cute looking, and practical (for certain applications). But
> > I can't find a monetary value for it anywhere. These things are not
> > considered in a vaccuum generally.
>
> The price is in the orange-ish box about 1/2 way down the page...
>
> $1195
>
> http://www.bikefriday.com/tikit-launch

You are absolutely right, but as I say, BF is trying to do their web
site design and updates on the cheap. Potential customers should not
need to hunt for the price. I think that is called, in business-speak,
customer focused - J.

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>,
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Apr 19, 10:49 am, Alan Hoyle <[email protected]> wrote:
> > On 18 Apr 2007 16:16:23 -0700, [email protected] wrote:
> >
> > > I get the feeling that BF (the company) is mostly a passion of the
> > > owners. They just love to design, make and sell custom folding bikes.
> > > They can afford to indulge their passion, without always having one
> > > eye on the bottom line. A great business model, if you have the
> > > resources to pull it off.
> > > On second thought re: my earlier post, I think perhaps they have not
> > > firmly decided on a base price for the Tikit. Maybe they first want to
> > > see what kind of market interest there is in this new model.
> >
> > I was at Bikes @ Vienna in northern Virginia this past weekend (bought
> > a folder for my fiance'), and they had a Bike Friday Tikit there. It
> > looked pretty cool and the folding process was really neat. They were
> > asking ~$1200 for it, which was out of our price range (we ended up
> > picking out a Dahon Vitesse with a Sturmey Archer 5 speed internal
> > hub; she loves it so far).
Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.
>
> Chinese labor is much less $ than what American workers earn. From
> www.dahon.com:
>
> ...our bicycles are assembled in our factories in Taiwan, Macau, the
> Czech Republic and China...

The Chinese need it more. And what do you have against our friends the
Czechs and Taiwan (ROC)?

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

 

[[email protected]]

On Apr 20, 12:28 am, Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
>
>
>
>
>
> "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > On Apr 19, 10:49 am, Alan Hoyle <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > On 18 Apr 2007 16:16:23 -0700, [email protected] wrote:
>
> > > > I get the feeling that BF (the company) is mostly a passion of the
> > > > owners. They just love to design, make and sell custom folding bikes.
> > > > They can afford to indulge their passion, without always having one
> > > > eye on the bottom line. A great business model, if you have the
> > > > resources to pull it off.
> > > > On second thought re: my earlier post, I think perhaps they have not
> > > > firmly decided on a base price for the Tikit. Maybe they first want to
> > > > see what kind of market interest there is in this new model.
>
> > > I was at Bikes @ Vienna in northern Virginia this past weekend (bought
> > > a folder for my fiance'), and they had a Bike Friday Tikit there. It
> > > looked pretty cool and the folding process was really neat. They were
> > > asking ~$1200 for it, which was out of our price range (we ended up
> > > picking out a Dahon Vitesse with a Sturmey Archer 5 speed internal
> > > hub; she loves it so far).
>
> Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.
>
>
>
> > Chinese labor is much less $ than what American workers earn. From
> >www.dahon.com:
>
> > ...our bicycles are assembled in our factories in Taiwan, Macau, the
> > Czech Republic and China...
>
> The Chinese need it more. And what do you have against our friends the
> Czechs and Taiwan (ROC)?
>
> --
> Ryan Cousineau [email protected]://www.wiredcola.com/
> "I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
> to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Begin sermon:

The brave new world of the global economy makes goods and services
cheaper. The most efficient provider is rewarded, and the others get
bought out or go out of business. I think Dahon threw in the Czechs
and Taiwan to make their choice of labor more palatable to Americans.
Unless I miss my guess, the bulk of their labor is provided by China.
Those laborers are typically paid barely enough to survive. The
businesses, and the Chinese government, ravage the environment,
treating the air, ground and water like limitless sewers. So their
cost of doing business is much lower than in the USA. Those workers
will work hard every day, until their dying day. Pensions? Quality
health care? I doubt it.

At some point, Americans will realize that buying cheap Chinese goods
is making a deal with the devil. More and more American workers will
be displaced. It does not matter much to me personally, because my job
is a secure as job security gets.

None of this matters much to most Americans. All they care about is a
good bike at an (artificially) low cost. Until it is their own ox
being gored.

End sermon - J.

 

[Alan Hoyle]

On 19 Apr 2007 09:54:43 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

> Chinese labor is much less $ than what American workers earn. From
> www.dahon.com:

> ...our bicycles are assembled in our factories in Taiwan, Macau, the
> Czech Republic and China...

Between the two of us, we have four US-built bikes: (2 Treks and 2
Cannondales). I think we've done plenty to help the US worker, and we
bought the Dahon from a local bike shop. Besides, Bike Fridays
anywhere close to our price range don't have the fast, no-tools
break-down feature. I think we can all agree it would be better to
have a bike that actually gets used.

Going back to bikes, do there exist folding, SPD-compatible
clipless pedal? The Dahon's platforms might be preferable in the
general case, but if they exist, they might be worth looking at.
If they're the platform/SPD variety, even more so.

-alan


--
Alan Hoyle - [email protected] - http://www.alanhoyle.com/
"I don't want the world, I just want your half." -TMBG
Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.

 

[[email protected]]

Alan Hoyle <[email protected]> wrote:

>Besides, Bike Fridays
>anywhere close to our price range don't have the fast, no-tools
>break-down feature.

isn't that what the Tikit was designed for.... fast and
clean folder?

 

[[email protected]]

On Apr 20, 11:08 am, Alan Hoyle <[email protected]> wrote:
> Bike Fridays
> anywhere close to our price range don't have the fast, no-tools
> break-down feature. I think we can all agree it would be better to
> have a bike that actually gets used.

"Fast" is a matter of degree.

Our Bike Friday New World Tourists do their "quick fold" in, oh, maybe
a minute. It unfolds in maybe two minutes. No tools required.

In quick-fold mode, the bike won't fit into it's travel suitcase, but
that's not usually my objective. It quick-folds small enough to lug
onto a train or stow inside a car's trunk. And the full suitcase fold
takes me only about fifteen minutes, IIRC.

- Frank Krygowski

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>,
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Apr 20, 12:28 am, Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > On Apr 19, 10:49 am, Alan Hoyle <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > > On 18 Apr 2007 16:16:23 -0700, [email protected] wrote:
> >
> > > > > I get the feeling that BF (the company) is mostly a passion of the
> > > > > owners. They just love to design, make and sell custom folding bikes.
> > > > > They can afford to indulge their passion, without always having one
> > > > > eye on the bottom line. A great business model, if you have the
> > > > > resources to pull it off.
> > > > > On second thought re: my earlier post, I think perhaps they have not
> > > > > firmly decided on a base price for the Tikit. Maybe they first want
> > > > > to
> > > > > see what kind of market interest there is in this new model.
> >
> > > > I was at Bikes @ Vienna in northern Virginia this past weekend (bought
> > > > a folder for my fiance'), and they had a Bike Friday Tikit there. It
> > > > looked pretty cool and the folding process was really neat. They were
> > > > asking ~$1200 for it, which was out of our price range (we ended up
> > > > picking out a Dahon Vitesse with a Sturmey Archer 5 speed internal
> > > > hub; she loves it so far).
> >
> > Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.
> >
> >
> >
> > > Chinese labor is much less $ than what American workers earn. From
> > >www.dahon.com:
> >
> > > ...our bicycles are assembled in our factories in Taiwan, Macau, the
> > > Czech Republic and China...
> >
> > The Chinese need it more. And what do you have against our friends the
> > Czechs and Taiwan (ROC)?
> >
> > --
> > Ryan Cousineau [email protected]://www.wiredcola.com/
> > "I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
> > to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos- Hide quoted
> > text -
> >
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> Begin sermon:
>
> The brave new world of the global economy makes goods and services
> cheaper. The most efficient provider is rewarded, and the others get
> bought out or go out of business. I think Dahon threw in the Czechs
> and Taiwan to make their choice of labor more palatable to Americans.
> Unless I miss my guess, the bulk of their labor is provided by China.
> Those laborers are typically paid barely enough to survive. The
> businesses, and the Chinese government, ravage the environment,
> treating the air, ground and water like limitless sewers. So their
> cost of doing business is much lower than in the USA. Those workers
> will work hard every day, until their dying day. Pensions? Quality
> health care? I doubt it.
>
> At some point, Americans will realize that buying cheap Chinese goods
> is making a deal with the devil. More and more American workers will
> be displaced. It does not matter much to me personally, because my job
> is a secure as job security gets.
>
> None of this matters much to most Americans. All they care about is a
> good bike at an (artificially) low cost. Until it is their own ox
> being gored.
>
> End sermon - J.

I always wonder about two things when hearing this sermon:

1) what did the workers do before?

2) what shall they do after?

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

 

[Pat]

>
> I always wonder about two things when hearing this sermon:
>
> 1) what did the workers do before?
>
> 2) what shall they do after?
>
> --
> Ryan Cousineau

You may "wonder" but you don't care, do you? I guess you might when and if
it impacts your livelihood. Until then, it's just "too bad for the other
guy."

I don't know about Dahon's customer service, but the people at Bike Friday
are terrific. They even sell other, smaller items for less than many
retailers. If you doubt this, check out their prices for Thomson seat posts
or SPD pedals. In the meantime, you can tell yourself that you are glad you
settled for second best.

Pat in TX