repost
"Mark Lape" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:...
Quoted message said:I did not think my comment on my Landrider bicycle would elicit any further
comments, but let me address them in the order they were received:1. To Mr. Kruger; I have seen, and met, and talked to, other Landrider
owners, but in my case I will confess that if a Seven Cycle bicycle were
to pull up next to me, or more correctly pass me by, I would not know it
unless I was told, and frankly, seeing a $5,000 bicycle on the streets of
Pittsburgh would be a shocker. In the same vein, I doubt that any serious
bicyclist really ever looks out for a Landrider, so not perceiving one
might be the better description.2. To Mr.Gilbert; You have correctly surmised that all Landrider bicycles
are in fact "were-bikes" and force their owners into nocturnal rides,
unknowingly riding throughout the night, only to return in the morning
with no memory of their night ride and a puzzlement on why they are still
so tired the next day. Please do not tell anyone else. Thank you.3. To Mr. de Guzman; Again a perception viewpoint of "if I have not
perceived a Landrider in my bicycle riding they must not exist or are
actually being ridden" Again we are talking about a presumption of
supposed data to fit a conclusion. It seems to follow: A) Landrider
bicycles are joke bikes. B) Landrider owners are not serious bicyclists.
C) Never looking for a Landrider reinforces A & B to prove them correct.
As to a secondary market, maybe contented bicyclists don't need to trade
or dispose of their bicycles when they fall out of supposed fashion, for
the next new thing. And if we are going to write that Landrider owners
never ride, we have to group as you correctly did a whole lot of other
bicyclists who have a whole lot of bikes other than Landriders just
gathering dust!I like my Landrider, just like each of you like the bike you are now
riding, and I hope we all have many years of smooth riding ahead of us.
Thank you."Luigi de Guzman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...Quoted message said:Mark Lape said:Although updated April 14, 2004, any company that has sold 40,000
Landrider
bicycles and you have only ever seen one in a pawn shop, seems to imply
that
there are, at a minimum, 39,999 Landrider owners who are content with
and
maybe even enjoy riding their Landriders', just like you enjoy riding
your
bicycle.Interesting way to look at things, but somewhat flawed. The fact that
there is no secondary market for LandRiders to me suggests any one of a
number of things:1) LandRider owners are perfectly content cyclists. You are one, so
this might be the case. But then, I have never actually seen a
LandRider on the street, the trail, the park, or anywhere else, so I
have no way of verifying this locally.2) There is no demand for LandRiders in the secondary market. Again,
tough to judge.The most likely case is
3) LandRider owners never ride, anyway. This isn't their fault, really.
My personal experience suggests that there are vastly more bicycle
*buyers* than there are bicycle *riders* in the United States. People
buy bikes, then never get around to riding them. Maybe their hills are
too steep. Maybe the bike doesn't fit them, and aggravates some ache,
pain, or old injury. Maybe they don't really know how to ride. Maybe
theyr'e scared. Maybe they don't have time to ride.Whatever the reasons, the bike ends up mouldering in a garage or on a
hook somewhere, forgotten. The bike is bought, but shows up neither on
the street nor the secondhand market. Thus, the bicycle is "consumed,"
as a commodity, but not used as a vehicle or a recreational device.This explains the vast numbers of Bike Boom bikes from the '70s that can
be had in almost-as-new condition for reasonable prices.-Luigi