Informal survey results; the sort-of-winner is...

[Werehatrack]

I had to visit the campus of Rice university this past Friday for
business reasons, and i thought that while I was there, i'd pull a
little informal survey of th bikes locked to the racks I encountered
on the campus. It should be noted that this won't be reliably
representative of the entire bike population on that campus precisely
because it surveyed only those units which were in weather-exposed
locales; bikes stashed in dorms and offices are obviously not
accounted for in this list.

That said...

Out of 73 bikes, the most common make and model:

18 units were Roadmaster Mt Fury, of which over half (11, to be
precise) were drop-frame versions. Additional notes: At least one of
these Roadmasters is known not to have been moved in the past two
years.

The rest of the pack:

Magna (not all marked with a model), 9 units
Giant (various models), 5 units
Roadmaster (various non-Fury versions), 5 units
Next (not all marked with a model), 5 units
Huffy, various models, 3 units.
Bianchi, models not recorded, 2 units.
Trek, models not recorded, 2 units.
No legible decals or badges: 7 units.
The rest were various brands of which only one each was recorded.
There were a few I'd never seen previously, and one whose decal I
suspect was a custom die-cut that wasn't actually the brand or model.
(I'm pretty sure that "Gefickt" is somebody's idea of a way to thumb
their nose at the campus morality cops.)
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Tom Sherman]

Werehatrack wrote:

> I had to visit the campus of Rice university this past Friday for
> business reasons, and i thought that while I was there, i'd pull a
> little informal survey of th bikes locked to the racks I encountered
> on the campus. It should be noted that this won't be reliably
> representative of the entire bike population on that campus precisely
> because it surveyed only those units which were in weather-exposed
> locales; bikes stashed in dorms and offices are obviously not
> accounted for in this list.
>
> That said...
>
> Out of 73 bikes, the most common make and model:
>
> 18 units were Roadmaster Mt Fury, of which over half (11, to be
> precise) were drop-frame versions. Additional notes: At least one of
> these Roadmasters is known not to have been moved in the past two
> years.
>
> The rest of the pack:
>
> Magna (not all marked with a model), 9 units
> Giant (various models), 5 units
> Roadmaster (various non-Fury versions), 5 units
> Next (not all marked with a model), 5 units
> Huffy, various models, 3 units.
> Bianchi, models not recorded, 2 units.
> Trek, models not recorded, 2 units.
> No legible decals or badges: 7 units.
> The rest were various brands of which only one each was recorded.
> There were a few I'd never seen previously, and one whose decal I
> suspect was a custom die-cut that wasn't actually the brand or model.
> (I'm pretty sure that "Gefickt" is somebody's idea of a way to thumb
> their nose at the campus morality cops.)

There are considerably more (percentage wise) bike store quality brands
in this list than I recall seeing parked around the University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign campus.

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

 

[Dan Daniel]

On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 22:47:26 GMT, Werehatrack
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I had to visit the campus of Rice university this past Friday for
>business reasons, and i thought that while I was there, i'd pull a
>little informal survey of th bikes locked to the racks I encountered
>on the campus. It should be noted that this won't be reliably
>representative of the entire bike population on that campus precisely
>because it surveyed only those units which were in weather-exposed
>locales; bikes stashed in dorms and offices are obviously not
>accounted for in this list.
>

Nor does it account for stolen bikes. Maybe this is sort of an
evolutionary tactic- only the worst survive?

 

[Werehatrack]

On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 16:02:53 -0800, Dan Daniel
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 22:47:26 GMT, Werehatrack
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I had to visit the campus of Rice university this past Friday for
>>business reasons, and i thought that while I was there, i'd pull a
>>little informal survey of th bikes locked to the racks I encountered
>>on the campus. It should be noted that this won't be reliably
>>representative of the entire bike population on that campus precisely
>>because it surveyed only those units which were in weather-exposed
>>locales; bikes stashed in dorms and offices are obviously not
>>accounted for in this list.
>>
>
>Nor does it account for stolen bikes. Maybe this is sort of an
>evolutionary tactic- only the worst survive?

That may well be. There was exacly one bike not secured by a lock; it
was an old 27-inch "Paris Sport" roadie whose stem was so loose in the
steerer that it was flopping around. I noted a fair number of bikes
in relatively even distribution among the groups whose chains were not
just rusty, but actually kinked near the der, a sure sign that those
haven't been in motion for quite a while. There was also one
name-brand unit that I didn't count because all that was left of it
was the frame locked to the parking rack; it's been there for about
three years if I'm not mistaken.

I'm almost curious enough to go back and make a more detailed survey
recording the location and chain-rust factors so that I can return
after a few months and see which bikes have remained obviously
immobile.

I may also go see what the bike shops near campus have for sale in the
bike lock lines. It was almost amusing to see a $55 Kryptonite lock
securing a $54 Roadmaster.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[[email protected]]

On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 22:47:26 GMT, Werehatrack
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I had to visit the campus of Rice university this past Friday for
>business reasons, and i thought that while I was there, i'd pull a
>little informal survey of th bikes locked to the racks I encountered
>on the campus. It should be noted that this won't be reliably
>representative of the entire bike population on that campus precisely
>because it surveyed only those units which were in weather-exposed
>locales; bikes stashed in dorms and offices are obviously not
>accounted for in this list.
>
>That said...
>
>Out of 73 bikes, the most common make and model:
>
>18 units were Roadmaster Mt Fury, of which over half (11, to be
>precise) were drop-frame versions. Additional notes: At least one of
>these Roadmasters is known not to have been moved in the past two
>years.

[snip]

Dear Werehatrack,

The people have spoken!

(Assuming that Rice students are considered such.)

The immovable Fury Roadmaster is presumably studying
theology--here I stand, I can do no other.

M. Luther

 

[Mark Janeba]

Dan Daniel wrote:
> On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 22:47:26 GMT, Werehatrack
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>I had to visit the campus of Rice university this past Friday for
>>business reasons, and i thought that while I was there, i'd pull a
>>little informal survey of th bikes locked to the racks I encountered
>>on the campus. It should be noted that this won't be reliably
>>representative of the entire bike population on that campus precisely
>>because it surveyed only those units which were in weather-exposed
>>locales; bikes stashed in dorms and offices are obviously not
>>accounted for in this list.
>>
>
>
> Nor does it account for stolen bikes. Maybe this is sort of an
> evolutionary tactic- only the worst survive?

How do we know none of those bikes were stolen? I would expect quite
the contrary, given the circulation of stolen bikes common at large
university campuses.

(When I was inhabiting such a campus, I commuted on a "Lazarus," or so I
had painted on the downtube, resurrected from the junk heap; it was only
a one-mile commute. The better bikes stayed home.)

Mark Janeba

 

[Dan Daniel]

On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 17:33:00 -0800, Mark Janeba
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Dan Daniel wrote:
>> On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 22:47:26 GMT, Werehatrack
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I had to visit the campus of Rice university this past Friday for
>>>business reasons, and i thought that while I was there, i'd pull a
>>>little informal survey of th bikes locked to the racks I encountered
>>>on the campus. It should be noted that this won't be reliably
>>>representative of the entire bike population on that campus precisely
>>>because it surveyed only those units which were in weather-exposed
>>>locales; bikes stashed in dorms and offices are obviously not
>>>accounted for in this list.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Nor does it account for stolen bikes. Maybe this is sort of an
>> evolutionary tactic- only the worst survive?
>
>How do we know none of those bikes were stolen? I would expect quite
>the contrary, given the circulation of stolen bikes common at large
>university campuses.
>
>(When I was inhabiting such a campus, I commuted on a "Lazarus," or so I
>had painted on the downtube, resurrected from the junk heap; it was only
>a one-mile commute. The better bikes stayed home.)
>
>Mark Janeba


See, as I said, only the worst survive! Being cheap and ugly and
barely usable is what makes a great bike for an area like a college
campus.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 18:10:27 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

>On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 22:47:26 GMT, Werehatrack
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Out of 73 bikes, the most common make and model:
>>
>>18 units were Roadmaster Mt Fury, of which over half (11, to be
>>precise) were drop-frame versions. Additional notes: At least one of
>>these Roadmasters is known not to have been moved in the past two
>>years.
>
>[snip]
>
>Dear Werehatrack,
>
>The people have spoken!
>
>(Assuming that Rice students are considered such.)

Some of them (and I can't say if it's a majority at present) probably
consider themselves to be much better than just "people". This is,
after all, a school that takes pride in being considered on the same
level as the Ivy League schools. OTOH, it also has some traditions
that are out of character, such as the Baker 13.

>The immovable Fury Roadmaster is presumably studying
>theology--here I stand, I can do no other.

Tires flat as Spring pool
Unfurious Roadmaster
Riderless, rusting.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Mark Janeba]

Dan Daniel wrote:
> On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 17:33:00 -0800, Mark Janeba wrote:
>>(When I was inhabiting such a campus, I commuted on a "Lazarus," or so I
>>had painted on the downtube, resurrected from the junk heap; it was only
>>a one-mile commute. The better bikes stayed home.)
>
> See, as I said, only the worst survive! Being cheap and ugly and
> barely usable is what makes a great bike for an area like a college
> campus.

Exactly. That's why I built the Lazarus. (I remember somebody asking
me "Lazarus, huh? Is that a good brand?")

Similarly I refurbished a garage-sale Steyr three-speed for my wife to
commute on. Got some flat-black paint and did the ugliest, messiest
paint job I could. Later "upgraded" it with aluminum rims and the
like, but its critical property was its being too ugly to steal. I
think it's the bent white-and-rust Raleigh fenders that really help in
this dept.

Mark Janeba