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Crime in the Jobs Report
- John Mauldin
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- November 7, 2015
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The Employment Numbers Say a Rate Hike Is Pretty Much Done
Behind the Unemployment Numbers
Who Is Unemployed and Why?
Unemployment in America Is a Felony
Parental Unemployment
Medical Unemployment
The Last Man in America without Uber
Detroit, New York, and Hong Kong
"When more and more people are thrown out of work, unemployment results."
– Calvin Coolidge, US president, 1923-29, in his role as Mr. Obvious
"Unemployment is of vital importance, particularly to the unemployed."
– Edward Heath, UK prime minister, 1970-74
Every now and then you get some good news. Economists had projected a good solid 185,000 new jobs, with the range of expectations running from a low of 150,000 to a high of 240,000. What we got was a boffo 271,000 jobs. Plus some green shoots of potential actual wage-push inflation, the kind of inflation pressure that most workers like, which means that, for a change, wages might start going up faster than inflation.
The unemployment rate dropped a whopping 0.01%, but that was enough to push the rounded number down to a headline 5% unemployment (actual was 5.04%).
In today's letter, we are going to look briefly at the latest employment numbers. Then we'll explore some of the deeper, less understood facets of the employment data. For some of you this may be a lot of detail, but for those of us who think about employment (and you should, as it is THE ultimate driver for your business and investments), understanding how the numbers work and what they mean is important.
But first, we are going to open registration for my annual Strategic Investment Conference very soon. I'll be hosting it in Dallas this year, May 24–27. It will be over at noon on Friday the 27th so you can easily get back home for the weekend. The airport is only about 25 minutes from the conference venue, and Dallas is central, with nonstop connections all over the US, Europe, Asia, and South America. You are going to want to register early, as there will be several events with limited seating that will fill up on a first-come, first-serve basis – your early registration will move you to the front of the line. You can sign up to get advance notice by clicking here.
And now let's take a look at the unemployment picture in America.
The Employment Numbers Say a Rate Hike Is Pretty Much Done
Let's rewind the tape from an email sent out by Philippa Dunne of the Liscio Report so we can see where the new jobs came from:
Employers added 271,000 jobs in October, all but 3,000 in the private sector. Construction added 31,000 (well above its average of 19,000 over the last year, though two-thirds of the gain came from nonres specialty trade, those who finish buildings); wholesale trade, an above-average 10,000; retail, 44,000, also well above average; finance, 5,000, less than half its recent average; professional and business services, 78,000, well above-average; education and health, 57,000, somewhat above average; and leisure and hospitality, 41,000, also somewhat above average. Government added 3,000, all from state government; local was unchanged, and federal, off 2,000.
Manufacturing was unchanged.
This employment report was all about gains in services industries, plus a little in construction. Which squares with the data we have seen in recent months from the regional Fed banks. Manufacturing is getting soft, and services are doing well. Let's look at a few charts that will help tell the story. The first is an amalgamation of the regional Fed manufacturing indexes. The second is the national manufacturing index, and the last one is the national non-manufacturing (read services) index.
In researching this piece I also came across a very useful chart that breaks down unemployment by type. Let's go straight to it and then add a few comments.
First, the above graphs look at both the official unemployment rate and the broader rate, which is called the U6 rate. The gap between the two measures is now the smallest in more than seven years, a sign that slack in the labor market is diminishing. And as the Fed weighs a potential rate hike, what may be more important is the number of people working part-time who would prefer to work full-time – that number posted its biggest two-month decline since 1994. Janet Yellen has referred to this number as often as she has to any other specific number. It is on her radar screen.
I'm in Miami, where I'll be speaking at a conference where my friend David Rosenberg will also present. David has been predicting wage-push inflation from a tightening labor market for over two years now. He kept talking about the data, and I would look at it, but my old eyes couldn't see the same trend or interpret it the way he did. And I admit I may have teased him about the lack of actual follow-through on that bit of data. Today's data suggest that even though it's a little early to declare a trend, there is clearly a hint of wage-push inflation in the air. David may even start taking victory laps. The labor market is getting a little tighter; and for reasons we'll go into below, it may be even tighter than is apparent from the nonparticipation rate. So David may very well be right. Finally.
As my friend Joan McCullough writes:
Wage growth: +2.5%. Can you smell the wage-push? That's the intention, so get used to it. So while extremely premature based on the metrics provided yesterday, not the least of which is wage growth in the 3.5 to 4% range as desirable to achieve 2% inflation, this is a start. And as you know, the FED only needs a "start."
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Behind the Unemployment Numbers
When we look at employment stats, we can easily forget that these percentages are not just numbers. Each category includes real people. Some are happy with their employment classification, but many aren't.
The BLS data don't capture every nuance. Frankly, that would be an impossible task. Laid-off factory worker Bob who sweeps floors at minimum wage 40 hours a week while struggling to avoid foreclosure is "employed full-time." Attorney Bill with a six-figure income and two paid-for homes is also "employed full-time." Bob and Bill are in wholly different circumstances, but we don't see that in the data. We have no good numbers on how many of the 149.1 million employed people look like Bob vs. Bill. Income statistics help, but plenty of financially stressed people have above-average incomes. And the income data used in "research" is often distorted by political agendas. Income data is one example of the sort of statistics that you can torture to make the numbers say what you want them to say.
The BLS data does give us insight into some other employment categories, and that's what I want to discuss today. We will see how many people find themselves in less-than-ideal circumstances and consider why they are there.
The Labor Department's monthly figures come from surveys of both households and employers. Data from the household survey is what gives us the unemployment rate.
The October BLS summary table tells us the civilian noninstitutional population was 251.5 million. This is everyone age 16 and over who isn't in the military, imprisoned, hospitalized, in a nursing home, or otherwise separated from society. That is out of a total population of some 319 million.
The "labor force" is a subset of the civilian noninstitutional population. If you are willing and able to work, you're part of the labor force. The headline unemployment rate is the percentage of the labor force not working when surveyed last month. For October, 7.9 million unemployed in a labor force of 157 million gave us 5.0% unemployment.
Why are these people unemployed? BLS actually gives us considerable detail, but the media seldom dig that deep. Looking at the seasonally adjusted numbers in Table A-11, we see six categories.
• 933,000 were on temporary layoff from permanent jobs.
• 2.1 million were "permanent job losers," meaning they previously had jobs but left them involuntarily.
• 899,000 had completed temporary jobs without finding new work.
• 789,000 were "job leavers" who voluntarily quit their last jobs.
• 2.4 million "reentrants" had left the labor force but were now looking for work again.
• 807,000 "new entrants" had never worked but were now looking.
[Note: I know the numbers don't add up precisely. I think that's because of a seasonal adjustment.]
Now, you can be unemployed without being "unemployed." This is where it gets confusing. Retirees, full-time students, non-working parents, and others not working or seeking work are "not in the labor force." They are neither employed nor unemployed.
This category has bedeviled economists since the last recession. The data is in Table A-16 of the BLS report. What are these 94.2 million people doing if they aren't working? The number has been growing the last few years, but that might be because baby boomers are reaching retirement age.
More interesting is the subcategory of 5.7 million who say they want a job but are not actively looking for a job. How can those two things go together in the same person?
Last month BLS classified 1.9 million of the not-in-the-labor-force people as "marginally attached." That means they want a job, have searched for work in the last year, and would take a job if they were offered one, but haven't actively looked for work in the last four weeks.
Within the marginally attached category are 665,000 "discouraged workers." They didn't look for work (quoting BLS) "for reasons such as thinks no work available, could not find work, lacks schooling or training, employer thinks too young or old, and other types of discrimination."
The other 1.3 million in the marginally attached group didn't look for work, either, but "for such reasons as school or family responsibilities, ill health, and transportation problems, as well as a number for whom reason for nonparticipation was not determined."
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If we were to move the marginally attached people into the labor force as unemployed, the unemployment rate would look significantly worse. The size of the labor force would go up from 157 million to 159.2 million, and the number of unemployed would rise from 7.9 million to 10.1 million. That would make the headline unemployment rate 6.3% instead of the 5.0% BLS reported for October.
Conversely, if there were a way to address the issues that keep these people only marginally attached, the number of employed people would go up, and the unemployment rate would fall.
So what barriers leave so many people marginalized? I'll list three that I think account for a significant part of the group. We have some hard data, but there will also be some speculation on my part. I'll be curious to know whether your impressions match mine.
Unemployment in America Is a Felony
It has been a very long time since I submitted a resumé or filled out a job application (which is a good thing, because I think I'm essentially unemployable). My adult children and their friends tell me that almost every employer now wants to know if applicants have any criminal convictions in their background. Some even ask if the police ever arrested you, regardless of the outcome.
Thanks to the Internet, employers can and do run background checks on applicants, even if they don't ask questions directly. Your odds of being hired drop sharply if they find anything.
How sharply? This is hard to pin down. Discriminating based only on a criminal record is illegal in many places, so hiring managers won't admit to doing it. In any case, they can always find plausible reasons to put such applicants at the bottom of the pile. The effect is the same.
This is not a small problem. Pool data cited in a New York Times story last February revealed that 34% of all non-working men ages 25-54 had a criminal record. Is that the reason they aren't working? We can't say for sure, but I would bet it is a huge factor.
Thinking as an employer, I can understand why this happens. Legal liability is a big concern. If you own a repair service and your workers go into people's homes, of course you don't want to hire ex-thieves. If your workers drive business vehicles, you would be nuts to hire someone with DWIs or drug convictions. When you are looking at 10 applications for every job, it is easy to throw out the 34% that have felony charges. Boom. Gone. Look elsewhere.
At the same time, does it make sense to arbitrarily rule out an otherwise qualified applicant simply because of a youthful mistake? No, it doesn't. The problem is that a prospective employer doesn't know the individual's story and doesn't have time to find out.
I happen to know more than one young adult who's stuck in that employment category. You probably do, too. They apply for jobs, get positive feedback… and then the employer suddenly loses interest without saying why.
It is extremely hard to stay motivated when this happens repeatedly. What can you do? The conviction will follow you forever. I would bet this explains a big part of the "marginally attached" group. They would work if anyone offered, but they have little incentive to search. They fall back on crime, welfare, or the kindness of family.
It is not just jobs. Most of the nicer apartment complexes in Dallas will not allow anyone with a criminal record to rent. My suspicion is that the situation is similar in the rest of the country. What happens is that we end up creating "ghettos" in certain areas where housing providers will rent to former felons and those who were merely charged with a felony in the past. Getting those records expunged is expensive and difficult.
And while I'm on the topic, the way we treat ex-felons in the justice system is criminal. I personally know of a gentleman who had a youthful drug issue, did his time, got out of prison, and, because he was a jack of all trades, was able to get work fixing things here and there. It was enough to put a roof over his head and feed his two teenage daughters, who were trying to finish high school. But the State of Oklahoma decided that he needed to pay $1000 in fines and reincarcerated him for six months. (Which probably cost them, say, $15,000?) There was no one to take care of his daughters, no one to pay the rent, and so on. This story is repeated all over America every day. The criminal justice system in the United States is more than broken, and it has gotten to the point where it's more than blind; it's simply dumb. Three percent of the country is either in jail, on probation, or on parole.
The only solution I can imagine would be a much stronger economy accompanied by labor shortages. Employers would then have incentives to accommodate less-than-ideal applicants, who frankly might have more incentive than most to work their derrieres off.
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"Family responsibilities" that prevent you from working are another way to land in the marginally attached group. This can describe many situations, of course. Childcare is a big one.
I know families who still match the traditional pattern: Dad has a job; Mom stays home with the kids. I know stay-at-home dads, too. They are the exception. Most families seem to need two incomes to support even a modest lifestyle. If both parents work, who takes care of the children all day? Especially if Grandma lives across the country?
Decent, professional childcare isn't cheap. I know people who spend $1,000 per month per child. That's for just a drop-off day care center. A full-time, reliable nanny costs much more.
As a strictly financial matter, paying that cost makes sense only if it allows one parent to recover the childcare costs plus earn quite a bit more. The job income will be taxable, too, while the imputed income from providing your own childcare is tax-free.
Suppose you have two preschool children. Mom has a $4,000/month job offer. To take it, she must spend as much as $2,000 on childcare. She'll spend probably $1,500 more on taxes, commuting costs, and work clothes. Should she take the job? Probably not. Or she could cut back on the quality of the childcare she invests in and deal with guilt and worry about her children.
On the other hand, working when you break even or even lose a little can make sense if you continue to accrue retirement, keep your health insurance, and maintain an employment record that will lead to better-paying jobs in the future. When you stay home with the kids for a few years, it's hard to regain that ground professionally. The economic impact of the choice to work or not to work is not limited to the years when the kids need childcare.
Deciding not to work puts the woman in the "marginally attached" category. She might work if a much-better-paying job came along, but she doesn't actively look for one. I think this is a very common scenario that explains a substantial fraction of the "marginally attached" category.
To be in the labor force, you must be physically able to work. You have no doubt seen stories about the sharp rise in disability claims since the last recession. Are that many people really disabled? Fourteen million get a disability check. About 57 million people – 19 percent of the population – had a disability in 2010 (the latest statistic I could find), according to a broad definition of disability, with more than half of them reporting that the disability was severe.
Here again, we don't have good data. State governments and the Social Security Administration have a process for investigating disability claims, and I'm sure some people file false claims. The agencies probably do their best, but they can't catch every fraudulent claim.
People who are legitimately disabled may or may not be in the labor force. They can earn small amounts without affecting their benefits. I think this is a good thing. The work gives them something to do and probably makes an otherwise hard life a little more bearable. A story came out this week that fits right in here.
Princeton economist Angus Deaton and his wife, Anne Case, also a Princeton economist, published a paper with surprising mortality data. Deaton, by the way, was recently in the news as the 2015 Nobel laureate in economics.
Their paper looks at death rates for middle-aged (ages 45–54) white Americans. They found a sharp increase in mortality rates between 1999 and 2013 for this particular group. The difference is stark and especially pronounced for those with lower education levels.
Even more surprising is what kills these people. It isn't heart attacks or cancer. The most common causes of death were suicide, drug overdoses, and liver diseases linked to alcoholism.
Why are middle-aged white Americans dying at higher rates now? I can't even begin to explain the racial aspect. Neither can Deaton and Case, apparently, but here is their economic speculation. I added some paragraph breaks.
Although the epidemic of pain, suicide, and drug overdoses preceded the financial crisis, ties to economic insecurity are possible. After the productivity slowdown in the early 1970s, and with widening income inequality, many of the baby-boom generation are the first to find, in midlife, that they will not be better off than were their parents.
Growth in real median earnings has been slow for this group, especially those with only a high school education. However, the productivity slowdown is common to many rich countries, some of which have seen even slower growth in median earnings than the United States, yet none have had the same mortality experience.
The United States has moved primarily to defined-contribution pension plans with associated stock market risk, whereas, in Europe, defined-benefit pensions are still the norm. Future financial insecurity may weigh more heavily on US workers, if they perceive stock market risk harder to manage than earnings risk, or if they have contributed inadequately to defined-contribution plans.
This makes sense, but I still don't see why the same factors didn't raise death rates for non-white Americans of the same age. But we certainly know that middle-class workers have massively underfunded their retirement programs.
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How does this relate to employment? Among Deaton and Case's cohort of 45 to 54 year olds, there were probably many people who didn't work. They were chronically sick, addicted, mentally ill, or otherwise incapacitated. According to the statistics, there were many fewer such people 15 years earlier, but the apparent large increase calls into question much of our historical data.
Deaton and Case drill into the problem:
Our findings may also help us understand recent large increases in Americans on disability. The growth in Social Security Disability Insurance in this age group is not quite the near-doubling shown in Table 2 for the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) measure of work limitation, but the scale is similar in levels and trends.
This has been interpreted as a response to the generosity of payments, but careful work based on Social Security records shows that most of the increase can be attributed to compositional effects, with the remainder falling in the category of (hard to ascertain) increases in musculoskeletal and mental health disabilities. Our morbidity results suggest that disability from these causes has indeed increased.
Increased morbidity may also explain some of the recent otherwise puzzling decrease in labor force participation in the United States, particularly among women.
By "morbidity" they mean sickness. The last line means they suspect people, especially women, are leaving the labor force for medical reasons.
You can read the study online for yourself. It is only six pages. The paper is more readable than most economic research. It really throws a wrench into some common assumptions. Some 500,000 American workers who should still be with us are now dead. What would the unemployment rate look like if they were still alive and healthy? We can only speculate. Moreover, it seems like that millions more in this group are very unhealthy. They are out of the labor force, as are family members who care for them. They are also consuming healthcare and other resources. That's not positive for anyone. We would all be better off if these people were healthy and working.
There are a lot of other factors, some of them anecdotal, that may contribute to the large number of people who are not participants in the labor force. I hear a lot about age discrimination against older workers – people who are 50+ but not yet of retirement age. Job coaches actually tell people not to go back more than 10 years on their resumés or to include college graduation dates. I imagine it's easy for older job seekers to give up the search and try to live on their savings or under-the-table work until they can get Social Security.
Another subcategory in the "marginally attached" group might be those with specialized skills that aren't in demand where they live. The factory closed, but you can't move because your house won't sell. Learning to do something different in the latter part of your work life can be challenging.
Then there are people who are in a gap between jobs. You quit job A and have job B lined up, starting next month. You aren't employed now, but you aren't looking for work, either. Thousands of folks probably fall in that group at any given time.
And as I mentioned, there are many people who are recovering from illnesses or caring for relatives. "I'll start looking for work as soon as the doctor lets me."
There is also the growing phenomenon of young people simply opting to stay home and not work. This from Pew Research:
[L]et's look in particular at the youngest part of the eligible workforce. The share of 16- to 24-year-olds saying they didn't want a job rose from an average 29.5% in 2000 to an average 39.4% over the first 10 months of this year. There was a much smaller increase among prime working-age adults (ages 25 to 54) over that period. And among people aged 55 and up, the share saying they didn't want a job actually fell, to an average 58.2% this year."
What we may be seeing at last is that many people who have been classified as "marginally attached" have already opted to go to work, along with many who were initially "not looking for jobs" and many who finally opted to take jobs at lower wages. So now, in order to entice additional workers, businesses may have to think about paying more money.
That is precisely what is supposed to happen in a tight labor market, and we have been waiting for one of those since the end of the Great Recession. Maybe the worker can finally catch a break. That would be good for everybody.
The Last Man in America without Uber
It really is quite the sad thing. I seem to be the last man in America without Uber. Not for lack of trying. I have downloaded the app so many times – and updated it! – and I and my staff have on at least a dozen occasions communicated with the staff at Uber, who have assured me that my account is open; but every time I go to use it, it doesn't work. My credit card is not accepted; I'm holding my tongue wrong; someone or something has flagged my account, and I can't fix it until I talk the next day to somebody from Uber; and that takes another day or two.
By the way, when I say "talk," I mean conduct an email conversation with an Uber employee. None of us have ever been able to get an actual live person on the phone. The irony is, there is someone else successfully using my credit card (with my permission) for Uber.
Oddly enough, my Uber app's not working has saved me a good bit of money. I try to use it and it doesn't work, and my friends who are with me all feel so sorry for me that they whip out their phones and get me an Uber car, and of course they have to pay for it on their nickel.
Detroit, New York, and Hong Kong
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I find myself in Miami this afternoon, waiting for our rooms to open up, sitting in a restaurant finishing this letter and listening to Danielle DiMartino Booth and David Kotok at the next table. Jeff Saut and I will debate tomorrow morning with host Todd Harrison at the T3 Financial Festival. David Zervos, Barry Ritholtz, Downtown Josh Brown, the guys from Fast Money, and other friends are all here, which will make for fun parties and good conversations.
There was a fabulous article about Danielle in the November issue of D magazine. She told me the writer interviewed her on and off for a year, and the only quote anybody will remember is the one in which she used the words delusional and Fed in the same sentence. She was Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher's speechwriter and go-to on Wall Street research; but now that she has joined Philippa Dunne and Doug Henwood at the Liscio Report, she is free to speak her own wickedly razor-sharp mind. It will be interesting to watch her career. Incidentally, I am trying to get her to introduce me to her publicist!
I'm essentially home for the next two months, except for occasional day trips that will take me to Detroit, New York, and maybe a few other places. I really need to hang around the apartment, work on my book, and get back into the gym regularly.
Number-two daughter, Melissa, is having her 35th birthday party tomorrow. She has agreed to help me work on this book project, coordinating the some 100 volunteers who want to be involved plus consolidating a lot of the writing work. She brings a great deal of enthusiasm, which we are all hoping translates into results.
On a side note, if anybody knows an executive at Nuance Software, I would really appreciate an introduction. Now it's time to hit the send button. Friends are starting to show up, and I want to stop being the only guy having to work at the bar. You have a great week.
Your planning to stay in the labor force for a long time analyst,
John Mauldin
P.S. If you like my letters, you'll love reading Over My Shoulder with serious economic analysis from my global network, at a surprisingly affordable price. Click here to learn more.
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Scanning in the Margins: Vestiges of Melville in Wordsworth
While it is common to find the traces of readership in the margins and end-pages of books and manuscripts, often those traces do little to illuminate the thoughts and subsequent works of that particular reader. The form that these traces take can be as complex as actual sentences with textual notes that curl and loop around the margins of the printed lines, or as brief as a check drawn to highlight a particular passage. Known as marginalia, these tracings to the expert eye provide clues that elucidate a writer's inner thoughts while reading a particular passage and often shed light on later works.
The Melville Marginalia Online project represents the efforts of one group of experts to find, annotate, and then make available to the educated public the marginalia written in texts by the great American novelist and poet Herman Melville. The Digital Library has been working with the scholars at the Melville Marginalia Online to digitize the same editions owned by Melville; these editions can then be accessed in the Melville Marginalia Collection, and are used by the scholars who add in the marginal notes of Melville and scholarly commentary on those notes to create a truly scholarly version of the text.
In early June the Melville Marginalia Online scholars were able to go one step further and secured access rights to digitize an actual physical volume owned and annotated by Melville. This volume, the Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, is richly annotated by Melville and important to scholars of Melville's life and thought; indeed an article has been written about this specific volume by Thomas Heffernan. And this book has really traveled: Melville took this volume with him on an ocean voyage to the Pacific in 1860, with his brother Thomas as captain. Now owned by the Woodstock Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., the work was transported to Villanova for digitization. As time was limited to keep the book in-house, members of the Digital Library Team worked quickly to complete all of the scans and to check the quality of all of the images before the book was back on the road again, this time going south. Some books seem to live lives filled with constant streams of movement, fated to pass between owners, or in this case, to travel the world!
Here is a link to the digitized work.
Scott Grapin (left), and Teri Ann Pirone and Johanna Hibbs (right) scanning the Wordsworth volume.
Michael Foight scanning (left), and a sample of Melville's Wordsworth marginalia (right).
For more information about this volume and Melville's Wordsworth marginalia, see:
Melville and Wordsworth / Thomas F. Heffernan. American Literature, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Nov., 1977), pp. 338-351. [JSTOR link]
For more on literary marginalia, see:
Marginalia: Readers Writing In Books / H. J. Jackson. Yale University Press, 2001.
Romantic Readers: The Evidence of Marginalia / H. J. Jackson. Yale University Press, 2005.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Losing weight is one of the top resolutions made each year, yet only 20 percent of people are able to achieve successful weight-loss and maintenance.
Now, Jessica Bartfield, MD, internal medicine who specializes in nutrition and weight management at the Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care, has revealed the top four reasons why many dieters fail to lose weight.
Firstly, she said, that most people underestimated the amount of calories that they consumed per day. Food eaten outside their home tended to be much larger portion sizes and much higher in calories.
Next, she said, that typically people needed to cut 500 calories per day to lose 1 pound per week, which was very difficult to achieve through exercise alone, so it required about 60 minutes or more of vigorous activity every day.
Another reason as to why the dieters failed to lose weight was that people needed a steady stream of glucose throughout the day to maintain optimal energy and to prevent metabolism from slowing down, which they didn't do.
Finally, she said, people who slept for less than six hours had higher levels of ghrelin – a hormone that stimulates appetite, particularly for high- carbohydrate/high- calorie foods. In addition, it also raised levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that could lead to weight gain.
BDST: 1549 HRS, Oct-07, 2013


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Uber revises privacy policy, wants more data from users
Users will be in control in either case, and will be able to choose whether to share that data with the ride-hailing company, wrote Katherine Tassi, managing counsel of data privacy at Uber in a blog post Thursday.
The company has faced criticism in the past over how it handles sensitive information, particularly over its so-called "God view" tool that apparently lets some Uber employees track the location of customers that have requested car service. U.S. Senator Al Franken wrote to Uber last year for information on its privacy policy, including on measures taken to limit access to the tool.
Uber's new policy for both riders and drivers goes into effect July 15, and follows a review by law firm Hogan Lovells, which recommended simplifying existing policies to make them easier to understand. It is available in 23 languages, covering most of the languages spoken in the 57 countries where Uber operates. The new privacy statements are "half as long as before, with much less legal jargon," Tassi wrote.
Under the proposed privacy statements, Uber will use its app to collect the precise location of the user's device when the app is running in the foreground or background, if the app is allowed to access location services through permissions in the mobile OS. The company may also arrive at the approximate location of the user from his IP address.
This information will be collected in addition to precise location data about a trip collected from the Uber app used by the driver when a rider uses the service. Disabling the collection by the app of precise location data from the device will also not limit the company's ability to derive approximate location from the rider's IP address.
Uber will also ask for access to the address book on customers' devices, again through the permission system on the mobile platform. It said it may access and store names and contact information from user address books to "facilitate social interactions" through its services and for other purposes.
The company needs these permissions to be able to offer newer services and features, such as ordering food through UberEATs, Tassi said.
Uber will also collect ride transaction details, information on calls and SMS messages between drivers and users, device information, information on how users and site visitors interact with its services, and log in information when using services. It may also collect information from other sources which the rider uses to interact with Uber services, such as linked Facebook and Google Wallet accounts.
The company retains permission to hand over customer data to third parties like vendors, marketing partners and law enforcement officials under certain circumstances.
John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com


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Waynesville reclaims its gateway glory
A dedication ceremony for Waynesville's latest art installation will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 27.
The event will include music, food and recognition of donors who made the $5,000 arch possible. Private donations funded the entire project.
The "Gateway to the Smokies" arch was placed over the entrance to the mini-park at the corner of Main and Depot streets last week, just in time for the kick-off of the Folkmoot international festival.
During the dedication, people will have a chance to buy a cookbook for $10 featuring favorite recipes from local restaurants, bed and breakfasts, and residents. The proceeds will go toward future public art projects.
Longtime residents who remember the original arch that the new one is based on have voiced their support for the piece, which was planned and coordinated by the town's public art commission.
"We've got an awful lot of really excited people about it," said Jan Griffin, chair of the public art commission.
Related Items
The new arch is a replica of an old arch that spanned across Main Street and touted Waynesville as the "Eastern Entrance" to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The original arch was built in 1936 by Oscar Briggs, father of local historian Bruce Briggs. It was taken down sometime in the 1970s.
Ted Dake, owner of Moto-Fab Metalworks, crafted the piece on display today. Dake is a well-known metalworker who makes custom yard art and signs.
The mini-park will eventually contain three artworks. One other is already in place — a hand-forged metal railing with subtle references to the Smokies, including mountain peaks and salamanders.


text:
The list of selected staff publications may be searched by keyword or author and can be sorted by year.
Defining success and determining best practices for social media measurement in museums.
Defining success and determining best practices for social media measurement in museums.
Borrowing terminology from German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies, this paper uses the archetypal qualities inherent in traditional village life (Gemeinschaft) vs. life in big cities (Gesellschaft) as a framework for understanding museum approaches to on-line community.
Social media are altering how museums interact with the public. But how are they affecting the ways that museum professionals approach their jobs? How are large organizations dealing with new pressures for a more nimble, experimental approach to content creation, and a more personal level of engagement with staff? How do museums manage the 'brand' with so many people creating content, while also being flexible and bringing out the many voices in an institution? With the authors' multiple perspectives, this paper highlights some of the ways that social media are changing the ways that staff communicate and work together, and addresses issues such as whether to distribute management of social media content across an organization or to centralize efforts; how to find tactics for educating and training staff about what social media are; and how social media can further the mission, set new expectations for current staffing positions held within the museum, and promote a cultural shift that embraces collaborative, agile ways of interacting with our peers and our audiences.
Reviews issues related to preserving and exhibiting software in museums.
Provides a capsule history of the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC).
Reviews the development of the Naval Research Laboratory.
Reviews the process of naval research and development in the post World War II era.
Summarizes holdings of National Museum of American History in computer history.
Reviews experience of visitors using electronic interactives in museums.
Provides a biographical review of John A. Dahlgren and his role as a naval innovator and developer of naval ordnance.
Summarizes the history of the Universal Product Code.
Provides an in-depth history of the development of radar at the Naval Research Laboratory in the 1920s and 1930s.
Catalog for the exhibition of the same name.
Companion book to the Places of Invention exhibition.
An anthology of essays on the role of invention in mitigating environmental issues.
An overview of the invention of Technicolor.


text:
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text:
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Backlash Conspiracy: Divide and Conquer
Not only was Hasselbeck apparently on the sidewalk when she was hit, but she's also pregnant, which made the incident doubly distressing. Frankly, this news hit me harder than a New York City sidewalk cyclist hits a pregnant daytime TV talk show host. Not only am I a firm believer of cycling in the street, but I'm also a tremendous fan of "The View" and never miss an episode. Scoff if you will, but the chemistry among Hasselbeck, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd, and Barbara Walters is both heady and addictive--in fact, it's enough to make you lactate in your Rapha jersey.
So naturally, when I heard the news about Hasselbeck, I was highly distraught. "How could this happen?," I demanded of the Universe. "And why did he have to hit the pregnant one? Why couldn't it have least been one of the menopausal ones, like Joy Behar or Barbara Walters?" I knew then that I could not rest until I either brought the scofflaw to justice, or I got tired, whichever came first. Then it hit me. Who is the foremost advocate of sidewalk cycling in New York City?
That's right--it's that "schluffing" guy.
I knew I was on to something, so I high-tailed it over to the Schluffmeister's blog. While he hadn't admitted to the crime, I had already decided that he was the guy who had plowed into Hasselbeck and her unborn child on the sidewalk, and so I scoured the blog for clues. You'll note that the Schluffer's blog is called "The Thoreau You Don't Know," and sure enough I found this: a post about a "Thoreau" Twitter page that I suspect is authored by Schluffleupagus himself. I then visited the "Thoreau" Twitter page, where I read this:
But while I may have brought one rolling fetus-seeking missile to justice, unfortunately it appears that things are only going to get worse before they get better. A number of people have forwarded me this article from the New York Times (a publication which has written enough cycling-related fluff in the past few weeks to stuff a protective suit for Elisabeth Hasselbeck) which indicates that Dutch city bikes may be the next big thing. This means that next time you get hit while you're standing on the sidewalk, it will probably be by somebody schluffing a bike that weighs like 50 pounds:
Some might argue that these bikes, with their fenders, chain guards, and generator lights, are practical. Furthermore, they might also argue that a bicycle which allows a person to ride comfortably in street clothes is a good thing for cycling and for New York City. On the surface this may appear to be true, but if you dig deeper you realize there's something insidious about the whole thing. As the article does point out, the unwieldiness of an Amsterdam houseboat anchor like this literally outweighs its practicality. It's a lot like those giant bloated fanboat-like bike racks they're suddenly installing downtown. In fact, it's becoming increasingly obvious to me that New York City cycling is now being co-opted by special interests. Just look at the clues:
1) City installs giant bloated fanboat-like bike racks that are way too big for normal bikes;
2) Some opportunists are going to start selling unwieldy Dutch city bikes;
3) The New York Times publishes an article about how Dutch city bikes are the next big thing, and that you don't need "kamikaze messenger-wear" (whatever the hell that means) to ride one.
Clearly some evil Dutch city bike cabal is using its twin lackeys, the New York City Department Of Transportation and the New York Times, to clear the way for them. The DOT will provide the giant racks, and the New York Times will provide the free publicity. However, I for one refuse to have these glorified boneshakers foisted upon me, and I vow to stand against this twisted scheme to turn New York City back into New Amsterdam--that is, unless this twisted scheme also involves opening legal brothels and marijuana "coffee houses" all over the city. In that case, I'll welcome them met plezier.
The other explanation is that the Dutch city bike invasion is yet another example of fashion disguised as practicality. More accurately, it's fashion backlash disguised as practicality. What happens when people start wearing baggier and baggier pants? Tight pants make a sudden comeback. What happens when ratty trucker caps become all the rage? Clean, flat-brim fitted caps supplant them. What happens when microbrews take over the country? There's a renewed interest in PBR. And so forth. So what happens when impractically minimalist bikes become fashionable? Impractically practical bikes suddenly seem a lot more attractive.
Obviously, the fixie backlash has been going on for a long time now, but the sheer bulk and weight of these Dutch city bikes nicely embodies just how much mass this backlash movement has gained. And the whip has yet to crack--after all, there's still a lot to get annoyed about. Just take this recent Craigslist posting:
Brand New 2008 Continuum Aluminum Track bike Frame and fork - $550 (East Village)
Reply to: [deleted]
Date: 2009-04-15, 1:48PM EDT
NOS 2008 Aluminum Continuum track frame with steel trackend inserts designed in NYC
Dont be another asshole with a chromed bianchi pista this year. Get something designed in NYC for New Yorkers
54cmST 55.5cm TT. No dents or dings or anything!
Stripped to bare aluminum and decaled by Jeff (designer). Two chips in decals pictured. It has never been built up, wheels havent even been put on. Brand new Straight blade drilled fork inc. Perfect for your first Fixie
Email me with any questions and we can arrange to meet up. I have a set of wheels so you can check the stand over height if need be. Serious offers only.
Right, don't be "another asshole with a chromed Bianchi Pista this year." Be another asshole on a slightly different frame instead. People who buy Bianchi Pistas to ride around the city are not assholes. At worst, they're people who are attracted to quick and simple bikes but haven't yet realized there are better city bikes out there. However, someone who buys a Bianchi Pista to ride around the city, then buys a slightly more expensive yet equally limited frame to ride around the city, and then has contempt for other people who ride Bianchi Pistas, is most definitely an asshole. Then again, this frame was "designed in NYC for New Yorkers." Yes, clearly when they ordered a bunch of track frames from Taiwan and put their own decals on them like everyone else does they had the unique needs of New York City cyclists in mind in a way Bianchi never could.
And that's what's so annoying about the fixed-gear fad and the fixed-gear backlash. They both seem to subscribe to a notion that there's no middle ground, and they only define themselves in terms of the other. Hate track bikes? Ride a tank! Don't like sluggish bikes? Ride a track bike! Of course, the truth is there are plenty of bikes that are reasonably quick, reasonably light, reasonably cheap, and reasonably practical all at the same time. Here's just one example:
Again, this is just one example. Plenty of other companies also offer bikes on this theme. The problem is that it's more fun to pretend bikes like this don't exist. It's much more special to either do what all the hip people are doing, or to do the exact opposite of what all the hip people are doing. There's nothing special about simultaneously passing the dandies on the Dutch city bikes and getting where you're going just as quickly as the people on track bikes, only with dry pants.
In the meantime, the backlash continues:
The author sure hates those fixies! So what does he have? You guessed it! A Dutch city bike:
A-ha! The quintessential backlash ride! A wiser man than me once said, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." (That man, of course, was Little Richard.) And a wiser man than him once said, "All You Haters Suck My Balls." (Actually, he stuck it on his rim.)
I guess until that whip cracks it's just going to be one big daisy chain of ball-sucking.
175 comments:
- mikeweb said...
- April 16, 2009 at 12:37 PM
- April 16, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Oh shit, I was Pippy Longstockings
- April 16, 2009 at 12:39 PM
- Ronsonic said...
Missed it again
- April 16, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Hincapie! - April 16, 2009 at 12:41 PM
- April 16, 2009 at 12:43 PM
- hillbilly said...
just plain frickin brilliant. i've been disgusted by that article all day, and by the schluffer for longer than that. and anyone chance to read "boo-ya"
- April 16, 2009 at 12:45 PM
- ringcycles said...
meh, another Hammond
- April 16, 2009 at 12:46 PM
- hillbilly said...
who knew that sweating was the fault of road bikes? finally, a miracle machine that makes one not sweat!
- April 16, 2009 at 12:47 PM
- mander said...
Top ten, and I read the post! AYHSMB IADC
- April 16, 2009 at 12:47 PM
- Ronsonic said...
Elisabeth Hasselbeck? Yeah, I'd hit it.
- April 16, 2009 at 12:48 PM
- Jim said...
Elizabeth Hasselback? Yeah, I'd hit that.
- April 16, 2009 at 12:48 PM
- Jim said...
Ronsonic - great minds think alike. Holy crap. That's funny.
- April 16, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Woot! Woot!
- April 16, 2009 at 12:50 PM
- Jim said...
Ronsonic - FWIW, I was also thinking "Missed it again" at 12:39 today, but I was standing in the men's room when *that* happened.
- April 16, 2009 at 12:51 PM
- Rick @ Bicycle Fixation said...
As a rider of a fendered fixie, maker of non-spandex, non-messenger bike clothes, and friend of an importer of Flying Pigeons (which make Dutch bikes look svelte), I've decided to take exception to the entire backlash trend--yes, it's a backlash backlash!
I guess fixies are so impractical I can't possibly be riding one through LA's traffic and over LA's hills to the tune of five or six hundred miles a month...would be pretty impossible on a Dutch cruiser!
The again I've ridden as a passenger on a Dutch cruiser, in Holland, piloted by a cross-eyed Stalinist, and I couldn't have done that on a fixie, fendered or not. (Not that cross-eyed Stalinists have anything against fixed-gears, as long as they're cheap and red.)
Hell, much as I love my fixed-wheels, I just tell newbies to buy touring bikes to commute on.
Just ride what you like. - April 16, 2009 at 12:53 PM
- grog said...
I'm lactating just thinking about it.
- April 16, 2009 at 12:54 PM
While I prefer nimble and practical bikes as you do, I don't quite understand your annoyance at Dutch city bikes. It is a tank, but it does the intended job, no? For someone that only see bikes as transportation and want to be able to wear his/her work clothes to work/shop in a relatively flat area, it seems to be perfect.
I don't have access to the NYTimes article, but are more upset at the promotion of these bikes as the only alternative to fix gear freestylers?
Best, - April 16, 2009 at 12:54 PM
- RANTWICK said...
Schluffleupagus! I can see it in my mind! Eric K, where are you? My crummy photoshop skills just can't do it justice!
- April 16, 2009 at 12:59 PM
- Ronsonic said...
Jim, tomorrow you'll wake up ten seconds earlier and just kick my ass.
Snob, good point - it isn't always a choice between ridiculous extremes; track bike or Dutch commuter or lycra vs. tweed. I've been rubbing an IRO Rob Roy in singlespeed trim as my SS 'cross, commuter, fun bike. It is fast and comfortable and sleek and light and practical. Steel frame, crabon fork and 32mm tires and it eats cobbles without telling me about it. Oh, and it's got mustache bars so people think it's special. - April 16, 2009 at 1:01 PM
- bikesgonewild said...
...i used to have "a history"...now instead, i have a "back story"...
...meh...at least, being a cyclist there's some dutch in my 'back story'... - April 16, 2009 at 1:02 PM
If your bike feels like a magic carpet, then ride it without guilt.
- April 16, 2009 at 1:02 PM
- BikeSnobNYC said...
Anonymous 12:54pm,
I was just trying to make the point that, in some ways, they're just as impractical and fashion-based as urban track bikes and have just as many drawbacks for commuting.
I'm sure they're great on the streets that they evolved on, but in NYC between lugging the bike up and downs stairs and locking it up on crowded sidewalks and bike racks you might start pining for a Pista!
--BSNYC - April 16, 2009 at 1:04 PM
- Unknown said...
Second on the IRO Rob Roy... awesome, inexpensive, practical... I ride mine fixed with TWO brakes (I believe brakes make you go faster, and I'm lazy at times), fenders, and drop bars. I've also got a nice geared bike, and I still choose to commute on the Rob Roy in crappy weather.
- April 16, 2009 at 1:11 PM
- bikesgonewild said...
...re: WIRED's - 5 Inexplicable Fixie Fashions...
..."If you took a swaying, brainless, gazelle-like catwalk model and turned her into a bike, a fixie is what you'd get."...
...hey...i just wanna ride her/it, not talk to her/it... - April 16, 2009 at 1:11 PM
I'm afraid I'm terribly unhip. I commute and ride about town on 5 yr. old aluminum hybrid that I bought for $199 with drop bars, brakes, derailleurs, fenders and a rear rack. It's reasonably light (25 lbs.), nimble and bulletproof. Best of all it's not sexy, so it doesn't atrract theives.
- April 16, 2009 at 1:17 PM
- ronnie raygun said...
i know exactly who took out elisabeth hasselbeck on the sidewalk, Belgium's Greg Van Avermaet, right after he took mcewen and boonen down. i don't know what got his lycra knickers in a bunch but he was out for vengeance. hopefully his wrath has been sated by his recent harm spree and we can all confidently return to our sprints and walking on sidewalks again. - April 16, 2009 at 1:21 PM
- Luck E. Seven said...
Say, is that be-fendered Redline the Ironic Orange Julius bike?
A - April 16, 2009 at 1:24 PM
Dutch bikes have been in portland for quite a while now, and fixies haven't left the building yet, so I have been forced to backlash against them both: old british three speeds for non- assholes.
- April 16, 2009 at 1:29 PM
- hillbilly said...
udder, you may not be hip, but i think you are very representative of the commuter, and thus, the nytimes doesn't recognize your existence. there are 3 options for them, 3000 suits barely moving on a 2000 dollar bike, bankers and traders spending oodles on "training" at cadence (ie riding bikes inside), or "the wild bunch" (messengers)
that's it. no more room. - April 16, 2009 at 1:38 PM
Why are people afraid of sweating? Is perspiration a faux pas? Personally, wearing a suit to work is enough to make me sweat, forget about bike commuting in one!
- April 16, 2009 at 1:43 PM
I started working on a nice picture of Jabbas skiff going down in flames with the new bike rack float kinda covering most bits, but I got tired of it and thought I would just tell you about it instead.
- April 16, 2009 at 1:45 PM
- hillbilly said...
what is slick rick doing with his bike once he arrives at said destination? i don't see a lock, and he is eschewing a bag (odd, would have been a perfect product placement spot for a 500 dollar murse)
- April 16, 2009 at 1:46 PM
"Even old New York was once New Amsterdam"
- April 16, 2009 at 1:48 PM
- hillbilly said...
oops, nevermind, i just hadn't looked at all the photos. now i did, and after i finished vomiting, i noticed the ortlieb. good bag, not what i thought the little dutch boy would have gone with. i was seeing something leather, but then again with all the clownish outfits he looks like an insane person anyway...
- April 16, 2009 at 1:50 PM
- Jim said...
>>>Oh, and it's got mustache bars so people think it's special.
Good thing you cleared that up, Ronsonic, because when I saw the mustache bars my first thought was, "Village People." - April 16, 2009 at 1:52 PM
- WheelDancer said...
Those Dutch bikes must be made of wool, er wait no, wool just prevents stinking not sweating.
Interesting that Jim and Ronsonic have some shared neurons.
Oh and sorry Jim but my sweetie saw your 12:51 comment and says you can't come to our house anymore... - April 16, 2009 at 2:00 PM
- Unknown said...
best one in a while.
- April 16, 2009 at 2:03 PM
- libertyonbikes! said...
just dress like a delivery guy,
you can just mow people down.
like the yellow cab of bicyclists.
as for the tired fixie thing?
look, if brakes (breaks) are for
sissies, why don't you put on a freewheel and step it up a bit,
like the brakeless bmx kids - since that's what you subconciously aspire to be.
DQM even has the oldschool bmx paint jobs on bianchi pistas - and that was sooooo 2006. - April 16, 2009 at 2:06 PM
I was reading that NYT article and thinking that it was the stupidest article I'd ever read and that Snobby needed to comment on it. I am glad to see that great minds think alike.
- April 16, 2009 at 2:09 PM
Didn't the 925 get it's name because it weighs 92.5 lbs?
- April 16, 2009 at 2:12 PM
- nitch said...
While I understand that photography is strictly prohibited when you and I are riding around NYC after I win Fatty's contest, I'm wondering if contracting with a police sketch artist is permitted? Just want to show up prepared. Thanks...CockPuncher - April 16, 2009 at 2:12 PM
- bikesgonewild said...
...anon 2:09pm sez "I am glad to see that great minds think alike."...
...ya, 2:09...the inverse to that is "or fools seldom differ"...
...i'll let you take outa that what you will... - April 16, 2009 at 2:14 PM
- innerlighter said...
It appears that "giant sucking sound" is no longer coming from Mexico...
meh. - April 16, 2009 at 2:18 PM
- BikeSnobNYC said...
No, but you're welcome to bring a charicaturist.
PS: I am scared of your name. - April 16, 2009 at 2:18 PM
Did anyone see the gloves from the Dutch Bike slideshow in Nytimes today? They say Broo Klyn on the knuckles... hilarious
- April 16, 2009 at 2:21 PM
if yall finds out whar thet hesselback girl is tell me and ill kick that gwat a mullan biker that hit her dont he no the sankitty of life and stuff i dont no if i shud be rideing down to chickfila but we dont have no side walks here no how
you cant hit no blonde pretty lady no more an get away with it
at lees thats what my daddy sed - April 16, 2009 at 2:22 PM
Snob, your charicaturist doesn't happen to work at a churrascaria, does he? Because that would be just too weird.
- April 16, 2009 at 2:30 PM
- dingle said...
So does anyone else feel that the Fixie Fashions article by Mr. Sorrel was written after carefully reading all the back posts by BSNYC? Seriously, this guy cherry-picked the low hanging fruit and essentially copy-pasted it as his own.
- April 16, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Hello bikesnob. long time reader. I see you are very against the Pista. I however pride myself in riding the 928 T-cube by Bianchi. It seems to get the job done. Do you hate Bianchi bikes in general or just the pista?
z - April 16, 2009 at 2:34 PM
The powder blue fixie with bars that look like an 11-year old's BMX in the 80's in named "Predator"? Is that to warn pregnant women walking on the sidewalk or is he bragging that Dateline has his AIM screen name on file?
Speaking of which, isn't it funny that the show that used to pretend to be 14-year old girls to trap predators is called "Dateline"? - April 16, 2009 at 2:36 PM
- BikeSnobNYC said...
Anonymous 2:34pm,
I'm not against the Pista at all. I'm only against:
1) People who sell used Pistas for ridiculous amounts of money;
2) The guy selling the Continuum frame who things Pista riders are "assholes."
Though I did just check the Bianchi website (which may be the world's most confusing bicycle manufacturer website) and I see the Pista now sells for $819. Up from $549.99 in 2006!
So I guess Bianchi just decided to do what everyone else was doing on Craigslist. OK, maybe I am against the Pista...
--BSNYC - April 16, 2009 at 2:43 PM
In all seriousness, why do people get these custom frames for their fixed gears they use ride around the city? Is it really just fashion and status, or is there some kind of noticeable strength/weight/performance benefit? Forgive me if this is a dead horse.
- April 16, 2009 at 2:55 PM
- hillbilly said...
819 for a pista?! they sell via nirone's for only a couple hundred more than that...though i guess the langster goes for close to that too. so basically, price of avg starter fixies have almost doubled in 3 yrs.
- April 16, 2009 at 2:55 PM
I was just looking at the Wired article that Snobby links to and I have come to a conclusion. "Fixie fashion" is a concept created in order to provide roadies, mountain bikers, and tourers with something that they could all hate equally. Because, really, nothing brings disparate groups together quite like the common ground of hate.
And while I regularly ride either a road, mountain, or touring bike, I should stress that I am not opposed to fixies, per se. I am am, however, opposed to the douchebags who think that a fixie is just another fashion accessory. - April 16, 2009 at 2:59 PM
- BikeSnobNYC said...
Yes, though Specialized pretend you're getting something for your extra money by including a crabon fork now.
--RTMS - April 16, 2009 at 3:01 PM
- julian said...
As a member of the Dutch bike cabal, I was wondering when we'd get our BSNYC comeuppance. Leave it to an NYT fashion article with an odd preoccupation with "manliness" to bring the wrath, deservedly so.
That said, I usually pick my big black heavy Dutch bike over other more moderate choices in my garage because I like to carry my kids and my groceries on the bike, and have no patience for bike maintenance. If you want to haul anything besides a sweaty backpack or "messenger cape", there is indeed much practicality to be found in a Dutch bike. - April 16, 2009 at 3:06 PM
now if you really wanted to backlash every backlash there is out there (i gots to stop sweating becos when me and jolene talk about backlash it aint got nothing to do with no new yark times if you knows what im saying) you dumass yankee fellers would just go to walmart and buy a huffy
you can ride it all day, get up and down hills if yor man enuff and you dont haff to carry a lock becos locks cost more than the damm huffy itself
i gots one that had pure shimano guts for $68
takes the leftover money and you can buy a lot of keystone and its smooth - April 16, 2009 at 3:06 PM
when is the times going to do an article on the Surly revolution? they're everywhere!!! !!Viva the Karate Monkey!! and without willfully meaning to stain the BSNYC aesthetic by veering into bikeportland.org territory, I would recommend that elizabeth hasselback point out once her trantrum is over that aside from delivery men/geriatric collisions, bicycles result in zero pedestrian deaths in NYC while cars kill/maim/disembowel with a far higher frequency.
- April 16, 2009 at 3:08 PM
I like my bikes like I like my men -- big, black, heavyset and Dutch.
- April 16, 2009 at 3:16 PM
- hillbilly said...
i see, that's very nice of them....bianchi should step up and include a crabon wrapped polo mallet.
- April 16, 2009 at 3:20 PM
- kale said...
I like my bikes like I like my women - Dirty, Taiwanese, and with beefy bottom brackets.
- April 16, 2009 at 3:30 PM
sir, you obviously think the redline is better than the empire state courier?
could you enlighten me why?
(don`t tell me its the fenders...) - April 16, 2009 at 3:52 PM
I like my bikes like I like my women:Beautiful, Italian, high maintenance,and more costly than I can possibly afford w/o mortgaging my future.
- April 16, 2009 at 3:55 PM
- bikesgonewild said...
...pistas cost more because of the euro/dollar thingy & bianchi is italian...
...langsters cost more because specialized surmised that "if bianchi hasta get more for their fixed gear bike, well, we'll get more too 'cuz they're trendy & sellin' like hotcakes"...
...just sayin'... - April 16, 2009 at 3:58 PM
bikesgonewild, i'm not sure pistas are italian and the euro/dollar helps. here in germany they were already >800 euros last year (that was about $2000 at the time) and advertised as the "cult bike from the US"
- April 16, 2009 at 4:03 PM
anon 2:59,
well put. and why must fixters always "backlash" with skateboard helmets, if they even wear a helmet at all. "oh, i don't want to look like a cyclist." another reason why so many are simply fashionistas with no cycling background other than what their stupid-stick smoking friends got them into.
ok, now i feel better.
snob - see you in Durango? - April 16, 2009 at 4:06 PM
- BikeSnobNYC said...
Clearances on the 925 appear to be a bit wider, plus it has rack mounts, which never hurt. But mostly I was just looking for a photo of a bike that was commuterized right out of the box.
--RTMS - April 16, 2009 at 4:07 PM
The best thing about the Redline 925 is that the frame is real. Says so right on their site:
Perhaps this is the type of bike that Keo Curry rocks (or rubs). - April 16, 2009 at 4:10 PM
- kale said...
No offense, but test riding the 925 was like test driving a Windstar, (except not as bad)
my valve clamped shut,
whatever - you know what I mean.
They're the requisite commuter bike in some utopian zine somewhere I'm sure. Whereas a Pista would be the commuter bike if nobody had jobs and the world was filled with baristas and fluffy clouds. Wait that's "gentrified" NYC... - April 16, 2009 at 4:13 PM
- BikeSnobNYC said...
It is!--BSNYC - April 16, 2009 at 4:15 PM
- bikesgonewild said...
...southpole...pistas are prob'ly taiwanese but bianchi is still italian...
...& i'm out a here...little "gathering of the tribes" coming up...gonna rock some sunshine, dirt, wind & amigos...
...ciao... - April 16, 2009 at 4:17 PM
925, what happened to your mustache bars and full chain guard? You used to be cool.
- April 16, 2009 at 4:21 PM
- AnnaZed said...
The thing is that NYT article is actually a big commercial for the Electra Amsterdam line (fake Dutch bikes made in China). A real Dutch bike bought in the US would cost around $3,000 or more.
The Electra versions appeared as a fashion trend in 2006 with 3 "Classic" versions; then grew legs (and a lot of different paint-jobs and itterations) in the Summer of 2007. Those bikes are way cute and cool as sort of "around-a-very-flat-small-town" bikes rather like the cruisers that are Electra's bread and butter. They are very heavy (even the aluminum ones) and extremely finicky. The cute skirt guards are almost impossible to align for example, and as such are, like all Electra products, all about style and not so much about substance.
Today's NYT fashion gush had to be put on hold I guess after the 2008 recall on the Amsterdam:
..just sayin'... - April 16, 2009 at 4:31 PM
I never know quite how to feel when reality steals my irony.
- April 16, 2009 at 4:33 PM
- libertyonbikes! said...
kale - you forgot 'cheap'.
but with a minivan you could pick up a dozen,
or so. - April 16, 2009 at 4:36 PM
- Megan Ramey said...
I'll admit, I smirked when I first saw that Elizabeth (I watch the View religiously, too) was hit by a cyclist because I thought for sure she was one of those pedestrians who cross on a Don't Walk signal. But it does make me sad and frustrated to hear that she was hit on the sidewalk. I'm 5 months pregnant and ride my bike through downtown Boston/Cambridge every day. I make every concerted effort to respect both cars and pedestrians because of the respect I demand in return.
I can kind of see your point on the NYtimes article, but I thought the article was brilliant. The more bicyclists that we can get out there on the streets, the better. If fashionable clothing and bikes entices non-bikers (especially girls and women), then so be it. I don't give a shit what you ride or wear, just ride.
I can't imagine what you'd say about our car-free household buying a Bakfiet for a 6th bike. Got to have a way to transport that new baby and groceries around. - April 16, 2009 at 4:38 PM
I like my women like I like red's posts -- short, crude, and without periods.
- April 16, 2009 at 4:46 PM
megan, you seem cool and all and i appreciate your point...but BRILLIANT?!
- April 16, 2009 at 4:56 PM
personally i could give a shit whether anyone wears a helmet, but i'm still reeling from "brilliant" used in conjunction with a Thomas Pink catalog, er, times article....megan, is it also brilliant to encourage those who don't usually bike to do so in Manhattan, presumably rush hour, without helmets?
- April 16, 2009 at 5:00 PM
i likes my wimen likes i likes my huffys
cheap heavy and you can pick them up at walmart - April 16, 2009 at 5:05 PM
- The guy doin' the thing said...
ya know..i haven't visited the site in a bit...it still fucking cracks me up.
- April 16, 2009 at 5:05 PM
- Amsterdamize said...
"Anonymous 12:54pm,
I was just trying to make the point that, in some ways, they're just as impractical and fashion-based as urban track bikes and have just as many drawbacks for commuting.
I'm sure they're great on the streets that they evolved on, but in NYC between lugging the bike up and downs stairs and locking it up on crowded sidewalks and bike racks you might start pining for a Pista!
It's very obvious you don't know jack about these bikes. Stick to what you know or own up to it.
Vrede en Gezondheid. - April 16, 2009 at 5:11 PM
- leroy said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- April 16, 2009 at 5:12 PM
- leroy said...
Ix-nay on the ccusations-ay of the Schluffmeister.
Word is Rosie O'Donnell is a prime suspect.
[Insert inappropriate lycra joke here]
The last thing you need is a cease and desist letter from the Schluffmeister's attorney. And you know Daniela Levy, whose ads are still on NY1, is just looking for an excuse to go after you. - April 16, 2009 at 5:14 PM
- BikeSnobNYC said...
Do you mean Dutch city bikes or track bikes?
Either way, what do you expect from someone who palps a Scattante?
--RTMS - April 16, 2009 at 5:16 PM
- AnnaZed said...
It's very obvious you don't know jack about these bikes. Stick to what you know or own up to it.It's very obvious that you don't know jack about New York city. Stick to what you know or own up to it.
I know both these bikes and the city very well, and the bottom line is that unless you have a suburban sized garage at home to keep your bike in, an industrial sized elevator at your work to take it up in and a separate room the size of a middle manager's office to keep it in once you get there a fake Chinese Dutch bike will not be a practical commuter bike in New York City. - April 16, 2009 at 5:18 PM
is that amsterdammfool feller a german rucksack
or just a deutschbag
i read somewhere actually i think joe bob tolt me that germans have even small dicks than canadians - April 16, 2009 at 5:27 PM
- Amsterdamize said...
@AnnaZed: actually, I will own up to it. I used to live in NYC in the 90's, hardly the 'good ol' days' for cycling, let alone now. I'm sorry if I offended your tribe.
- April 16, 2009 at 5:28 PM
yes, amstupidize, please enlighten us, i mean, saying "it's very obvious" doesn't really make it, well, you know, obvious.
- April 16, 2009 at 5:30 PM
- Amsterdamize said...
Hey Red, it's time to get a passport and start using it.
- April 16, 2009 at 5:30 PM
- ben said...
Little Richard? Like the musician?
- April 16, 2009 at 5:34 PM
"like all Electra products, all about style and not so much about substance"
I have ridden an Electra cruiser for 8 years now everyday to work in Montana year round and haven't had to replace or repair anything but the chain, tires, and grips. I don't know about the newer ones, but my Electra is short on style, but more than adequate on 'substance'. It's not fast and I would not ride it in NYC, but it's great in the snow and is the perfect year round, low maintenance workhorse commuter for my small flat town. - April 16, 2009 at 5:35 PM
I am approaching Vladivlostok on my ride across Siberia to arouse the conscientiousness of safe and should be legal dietary supplements to enhance performance and harden erections.
I have read with great amusement about your American practice of teabagging. Infant in mentality but amusing in absense of product.
On Pravda there are many articles about thousands of Americans teabagging yesterday. I am glad to seeing popularity of cycling increasing in America but thought of many fat Americans draping their balls over a top tube of their cycles standing in the middle of large urban areas to be not so easy to be comprehending.
One would not see such a thing in downtown Astana. - April 16, 2009 at 5:35 PM
- Amsterdamize said...
HillbillyHick (I always return the favor),
you're right, it should have read 'It's obvious to me'.
"Some opportunists are going to start selling unwieldy Dutch city bikes" Unwieldy my ass. A dead giveaway of someone unfamiliar with these bikes. Yeah, pretty please, challenge me on that any way you want.
"The other explanation is that the Dutch city bike invasion is yet another example of fashion disguised as practicality. More accurately, it's fashion backlash disguised as practicality."
Just because a fashion editor jumps the shark on these bikes doesn't make them impractical. Hardly disguised when over 100 million peeps in Europe use these types of bikes (and don't say NYC is such an exception to the urban rule).
Listen, I get it. BSNYC does his thing, mixes it up, for editorial fun. I just wish he'd live up to his own standards (as far as I've followed this blog), at least get his facts straight. - April 16, 2009 at 5:45 PM
- AnnaZed said...
...low maintenance workhorse commuter for my small flat town.
Sorry, I exaggerated a bit; basic Electras (even "Classic" Amsterdams) are great bikes for small-flat-towns like college towns near beaches or, I guess, where you live as well. Frankly, I like them and think that they are kind of cool, but for NYC, no way. - April 16, 2009 at 5:46 PM
I rode a $3000 bike, with a powertap no less, everyday to work for months in a dress shirt, slacks, and dress shoes... on tiny clipless pedals. I never got grease anywhere, never a problem. If you can't keep your clothes clean on ANY bike or haul your stuff around sans bikeracks, you're an unresourceful idiot of a cyclist. You need a $1000, 50-pound tank of a bike to get around easily and cleanly in a pancake-flat city? Really?
- April 16, 2009 at 5:51 PM
- Scott said...
You don't have to dress up like a fancy pants to ride the dutch bike. Maybe you just want to show up at work/the bar/a party without looking like the bike guy. They are also much easier to dress warmly on. Maybe you should try one, bikesnob.
- April 16, 2009 at 5:56 PM
So, wait a moment. The NYT article says that the Dutch city bikes are unsuitable for New York because they are large and ill-suited for tight spaces, etc. Um...has the writer even ever BEEN to Amsterdam (or any other Dutch city--other than Rotterdam)? Dutch towns pretty much are made of tight spaces. Hello? Also, anyone who has ever been to the NL knows that bike theft there is 10,000 times worse than NYC. No, really. These are people who throw bicycles into canals for sport. You know how Dutch people lock their bikes? With gigantic chains, people. Yep. You carry them in your paniers--or wrap them around your handlebars. Even then, you have to always be aware that someone may decide they want some parts off your bike and will help themselves to whatever isn't locked or welded on.
Lord, that was a dumb article. - April 16, 2009 at 5:56 PM
@ Amsterdamize:
excuse me but...
100 million Europeans can be wrong...third reich anyone?
also, sorry but basic physics says that even if the bike is built with the latest, efficient parts, which it isnt, that it will still take much more energy to ride as it weighs more. But you will look like your riding a bike in a French New Wave film!
and good luck selling them in frisco, louche bag... - April 16, 2009 at 5:56 PM
at Amsterdamize:
please tell all of your friends to move back to Europe they have jacked up the rents too much here in the five boroughs - April 16, 2009 at 6:00 PM
- Amsterdamize said...
@BSNYC: missed that at first.
Dutch bikes. The whole world knows you know your track/road/fixie-gashizzle.
I offer online refresh courses for those who've been in the dark about practical cycling for most of their adult lives. It's really simple, even Red & Hillbilly can join. Oh, and it's free of charge, don't want to become part of some ill-conceived conspiracy theory about commercial ambushes :-p
*not smoking one now* - April 16, 2009 at 6:01 PM
Dutch bikes are like Chinese peasant women -- all are exactly the same.
- April 16, 2009 at 6:03 PM
- Amsterdamize said...
@Frank: I will wield my wand. Fucking tulip-eating, cheese sniffing bastards.
- April 16, 2009 at 6:05 PM
hey BSNYC,
what is your take on the workman cycles? they weigh a fucking ton!
Also, what bmx did you ride as a kid? dont tell me that it was Redline...
mine was the Mongoose with the waffle mags, that fucker could kick the dutch bikes ass! - April 16, 2009 at 6:06 PM
hey BSNYC,
what is your take on the workman cycles? they weigh a fucking ton!
Also, what bmx did you ride as a kid? dont tell me that it was Redline...
mine was the Mongoose with the waffle mags, that fucker could kick the dutch bikes ass! - April 16, 2009 at 6:06 PM
- Amsterdamize said...
@USA is A OK: are you for real?
- April 16, 2009 at 6:07 PM
ya had me at 'hick,' hell, sign me up.
- April 16, 2009 at 6:07 PM
- Amsterdamize said...
Scratch that, I'm splitting. @BSNYC kudos for putting up with these hyenas, you could easily work in a circus.
I think my mom will be proud I didn't post anonymously.
Good night & good luck, y'all. - April 16, 2009 at 6:09 PM
alls i ever really wanted to know anyway is how these bikes magically make the sweat disappear!!!
amster - i wasn't taking exception with the bike, people should rock/rub/palp/schluff whatever their lil ol hearts desire, though i do think it seems hernia inducing to carry up to a fifth floor walkup, and there are certainly more affordable options, though i guess that's true of the clothes, too, so it's not about affordability. - April 16, 2009 at 6:12 PM
- Amsterdamize said...
@hillbilly: I challenge you to watch one hour of Bicycle TV on my site. That's all.
Basta e pasta.
(PS: 'Love Today - Redux' video is a good one to start with) - April 16, 2009 at 6:12 PM
@ Amsterdamize:
Nah i am not for real...
just fucking around...
those Dutch bikes do cost a lot though... - April 16, 2009 at 6:14 PM
um, i know we've done already established i'm a hick, but i don't get it, where's the challenge? isn't there a "or"? or some dare that you have to pull off? i mean, basically you're just saying to spend some time on your site - which looks perfectly cool and i probably will, but
- April 16, 2009 at 6:17 PM
- ronnie raygun said...
i promise to look at and possibly enjoy your site if you promise to never say "peeps" or "gashizzle" again. - April 16, 2009 at 6:20 PM
Amsterdamize is quite the smug prick.
- April 16, 2009 at 6:28 PM
- ronnie raygun said...
i know you said you were going to bed but one last comment. nice "love today" video. i now have motion sickness. does anyone over there rock/dutchrub/palp/schluff/gashizzle other types of commuter bikes?
that video was incredible. very organic. are there any laws at all where you live?
cheese sniffing tulip eater - April 16, 2009 at 6:29 PM
- AnnaZed said...
I think Godwin's Law is in effect here and the whole argument is now null and void, but I'll continue anyway.
The only problem with big boats of Euro style bikes in NYC (which is relatively flat so the riding itself is just fine) is where do you park and store the damn things, but it's a major problem. - April 16, 2009 at 6:33 PM
bike snob,
you notice that the
OC still posts stuff on youtube where he talks directly to you?
just wondering. i watched a recent one where he rambles for a bit about axles and then WIGS OUT playing air drums to some glam metal song. quite disturbing stuff actually:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrBktkGsnpc&feature=channel_page - April 16, 2009 at 6:38 PM
- Jon M. said...
Amen to the middle ground. I feel like today is mine of vindication. I have been rubbing a 925 for a year and a half now. Thanks for the shout out RTMS.
- April 16, 2009 at 6:39 PM
- hillier99 said...
- April 16, 2009 at 6:57 PM
- Lantern Rouge said...
Lantern Rouge!
- April 16, 2009 at 7:01 PM
hasselbach's problem is he's strictly a drop back passer. no mobility out of the pocket, never gonna make it in the NFL, let alone a NYC sidewalk (not to mention that growing beer belly).
- April 16, 2009 at 7:11 PM
- broomie said...
Anon 12:54
Holland is flat, flat, flat.
In some areas a heavy bike with extra dodads are impratical for commuting.
Where I live in Southern California it is all rollers and high speed traffic. As much cool factor a Dutch bike has, it's not the best choice for transportation in my area. - April 16, 2009 at 7:43 PM
- Unknown said...
oooo thanks for repping the 925! That's my ride and I have to say it is the most comfortable, fast, and beautiful bike I have owned. Something to be said for simplicity!
- April 16, 2009 at 7:46 PM
- Chris "Stu" Stuart said...
Oh man, I'm so happy to see that my 925 has the BikesnobNYC seal of (actual) approval.
Unless it was ironic approval. Then I'm screwed. - April 16, 2009 at 8:12 PM
- Bluenoser said...
Holland is beyond flat. A lot of it is underwater. That's flat.
The bikes are big and heavy in case the dikes burst and they have to use them as boat anchors.
Have fun bgw.
-b - April 16, 2009 at 8:22 PM
- Fred said...
I also like my bikes like I like my women. Laterally stiff and vertically compliant, and with beautiful lug-work.
- April 16, 2009 at 9:02 PM
you know whats i hates? it dem immigants. dems immigants comin here an tellin us what bikes we should ride!
- April 16, 2009 at 9:56 PM
there better be a quiz friday or i will be rubbing a frame pump into your front rim.
- April 16, 2009 at 9:58 PM
I would like to know Thadeuz's take on all of this mumbo jumbo, given his European sensibilities and heritage.
And BGW watch out as AnnaZed is pinching your………'s earlier on … just sayin - April 16, 2009 at 11:09 PM
bikes is bikes is bikes is bikes is bikes . . . and so forth.
Dudes wearin' girl jeans, though, is a whole different thing. - April 16, 2009 at 11:41 PM
- cyclotourist said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- April 17, 2009 at 12:04 AM
- cyclotourist said...
- April 17, 2009 at 12:05 AM
If I wanted to spend 900 bucks on a 50 lb. bike with steel rims, I'll look for a 1971 Schwinn Apple Krate. It has suspension and it's a 5-speed, too.
- April 17, 2009 at 12:11 AM
- cyclotourist said...
...and you can do wheelies.
- April 17, 2009 at 12:12 AM
I have available 400 different shades of black paint with which you can make your Dutch bike exclusively individual. Please to contact me at your soonest conveinence. Laaars Uffenblaacken.
- April 17, 2009 at 12:21 AM
Hey, Snob.. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wb8bAl1P-N0/SFffzI-ODHI/AAAAAAAACf8/KiBrq2Au7mk/s400/sense+graph.JPG
Looks like that's a dutch city bike on top of your sense-o-meter!! - April 17, 2009 at 12:52 AM
- AnnaZed said...
A 1971 Schwinn Apple Krate would run you more like $1,600.00 (if you can find one)
The Grape Krate: $3,400.00
If you mind and style runs to the retro you're pretty much stuck with the Chinese copies.
...just sayin'... - April 17, 2009 at 12:54 AM
- AnnaZed said...
You can get a cute Krate bike copy for cheap though ($275.00):
Junk no doubt, but cute. - April 17, 2009 at 12:56 AM
With luck, the next backlash will send everyone scrambling for Breezers and co-Mooters.
Then the fashion slaves will render them inoperable with 5" wide fenders and racks stolen from Oldsmobile trunks. - April 17, 2009 at 1:13 AM
- Philip Williamson said...
Y'know what I like? I like to buy things from people who walk into a room and pick a fight with every single person there. While saying "@" and "LOLZ" and "GASHIZZLE." That's what I like.
I also like Zack Colman, who is still a douche. - April 17, 2009 at 1:49 AM
Heh, most of the quotes about the fixie backlash that bsnyc ridicules could have been written by himself. the mirror is foggy.
- April 17, 2009 at 2:30 AM
- henryinamsterdam said...
Damn. Never realized I was fashionable nor extreme riding my old, black Dutch black here in Amsterdam... like everybody else. I guess we're suddenly the hippest nation on earth. Rad, cool, bitchin', wicked or whatever hip people are saying these days.
I think I'll spend the rest of the day gloating about my fashion cred. Thanks. - April 17, 2009 at 3:33 AM
- Wade Wallace said...
- April 17, 2009 at 4:15 AM
Docktor Phiill Sez;
Hey BS. You haven't mentioned the word 'Hipster' in at least a week. Are you OK?
Hand Solo - April 17, 2009 at 4:38 AM
I laughed when I saw an electra cruiser at a bike store here in Maastricht (NL).
I guess ppl always want what's different and nobody has one of those here.
It's mostly city bikes that weigh enough to not get bounced around on the kinderkopjes and sturdy to haul groceries, beer, girlfriends, children, etc. without falling apart.
And we have hills here. And lots of old ladies riding up them fully loaded.
Amstel gold Sunday! - April 17, 2009 at 4:55 AM
- Klaus Mohn said...
I'm pained that Marc (the co-hero of European looking-good-while-riding, together with Mikael C-V from copenhagencyclechic) came here to pick a fight. I read both BSNYC and CPH-CC on a daily basis and have zero cognitive dissonance, since my entire life navigates between dorky snark and popular-crowd aspirational consumption in the name of chic.
Baseline is, bike users in European cities are snobbier than y'all, because we feel like we're the real deal; we don't even acknowledge that we have bike culture, we just ride bikes: mama- and papafiets, crappy old ten-speeds, vandalized vélibs, we got them all. - April 17, 2009 at 6:14 AM
i aint trusted the dutch since they bombered pearl harbor
- April 17, 2009 at 7:07 AM
i don't think Amsterdamize is really dutch. because while he became very angry after dutch city bikes were critisized, he stays totally cool ath the fact that many commenters here call him nazi or german, or both. this is even worse for the dutch, because the nazis confiscated all the dutch city bikes during the third reich and never gave them back (at least thats what the dutch claim at every football game).
oh yeah and amsterdam streets are about 20 times narrower than NYC streets, on average. - April 17, 2009 at 7:48 AM
- ant1 said...
There is a huge difference in requirements between a bike used to commute (NYC style) and one used as a sole means of transportation (Amsterdam). One reason people in amsterdam have "crappy" bikes is that most of them spend their entire lives outside, where there is tons of bike parking available, and are used to carry not just a rider, but passengers, groceries, etc... An NYC commuter doesn't do any of that (on average), hence the two vastly different types of bikes. Yes, dutch style bikes are heavy and unwieldy, because they need to be, and commuter bikes aren't unbreakable, because they don't need to be.
Either way, my bike is better than all of those, yours included. Suck it haters.
...just wildly sayin'... - April 17, 2009 at 10:08 AM
I own and ride a Dutch bike daily to work and they are highly practical bikes. While I doubt that any of the spindly legged models in the photos could ride a bike more than six blocks without becoming winded, I'll personally kick your fixie-riding ass in a bike joust any day.
You think you know more than the Dutch or Danes about how to create a thriving bike culture? Fuck you and your asinine road warrior approach to cycling. - April 17, 2009 at 10:11 AM
- ant1 said...
I would argue that the dutch and danes did not create a bike culture, it evolved within their cultures, which are different than our culture. One is not necessarily better than the other, just different.
If I were you, I wouldn't assume you can kick every fixie rider's ass in a bike joust, unless you're the reigning world bike jousting champ, of course. - April 17, 2009 at 10:22 AM
- Jakerock said...
Thank god for the snob!
Respect. - April 17, 2009 at 11:40 AM
ant1: actually the dutch did create their bike friendly culture systematically and intentionally. It didn't just grow randomly. In 1976 the traffic circulation plan gave explicit priority to bicycle traffic. From that point forward a network of cycle pathways was created. Further initiatives involved making sure there was ample bike parking at trains stations an the like. The point is that a cycle-able nation was legislated for and created by government. It didn't just happen. See http://www.hembrow.eu/cycling/articles.html and look for a pdf entitled "The Dutch Bicycle Master Plan 1999"
- April 17, 2009 at 11:58 AM
I don't agree that a Dutch bike is heavy and unwieldy... It is a work-horse and it has to be though for daily use and carrying friends and groceries around. Lots of these bikes are fitted with gears by the way, so hills are no problem. They are very comfortable to ride, you shouldn't judge a Dutch bike unless you have ridden one...
Now for pricing, in the Netherlands such a bike costs 75 to 200 EU (100 to 260 USD) depending on quality and acessories. High prices in the US are simply the result of import costs, low demand and the "latest trend" effect.
To truly see the Dutch and their bikes in action check Amsterdam Bicycles:
and Cycle Friendly Cities:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rwwxrWHBB8 - April 17, 2009 at 12:10 PM
Yaay! The innernet, let's argue!
- April 17, 2009 at 12:11 PM
- April 17, 2009 at 12:18 PM
- ant1 said...
anon 11:58 - they may have legislated more bike friendliness into their culture (which I didn't know, thanks for the info), but what I was saying was that it's not independent of other factors such as small, flatish cities, small shops throughout neighborhoods (as opposed to malls and giant grocery stores), lack of urban sprawl (comparitively), post WW2 dependence on bikes due to lack of cars, etc... I'm sure bikes were present pre 1976. They didn't just decide that they wanted to implement this "bike thing" they'd heard about on national geographic.
- April 17, 2009 at 1:17 PM
$2000 for one of those $150 dutch bikes? I guess I can stop saying that more money gets you a lighter bike. It's so heavy I'm about to sucked into its gravity field -- not of the bike itself, but it's picture on my computer screen.
- April 17, 2009 at 5:33 PM
Annazed: auction prices do not reflect swap meet, yard sale, estate sale, or classified ad prices. Also there are many bikes that collectors pass up because they are not nice enough or because they have been rechromed and repainted, and the "in" thing now is original unrestored condition.
I'd like to take this opportity to thank all you lazy bastards who collect by googling and ebaying, instead of getting out and networking with other humans IRL. I hate when I'm buying but I love you when I selling.
The last Stingray I bought was a 1969 that I found at the Goodwill Outlet Store for $12, less than a year ago. - April 17, 2009 at 6:04 PM
- BiZZiD said...
I once scored a 3 speed Ross Apollo for $10 off of a crack gentleman about 12 years ago in Bushwick (this was before it was a trendy neighborhood) The bike was complete too and once cleaned up it looked great.. aside from being brown.
- April 17, 2009 at 9:23 PM
- Unknown said...
ant1: You are right, geography and population density play a huge role. The size of the country makes a difference too as nation-wide initiatives can be initiated on a smaller scale in smaller countries (obviously).
The dutch approach proves though that governments can make a difference when they are committed to a project. - April 18, 2009 at 4:57 AM
- Bluenoser said...
The best thing that redneckerson has ever said...
i aint trusted the dutch since they bombered pearl harbor
I work for a Dutchman. You just made my day.
-B - April 18, 2009 at 9:47 AM
i think that is one of my favorite entries. i love the "all or nothing take on the fixie v. anti-fixie thing. i always thought that fixing up a "fixie" was all about finding a new and different thing to do with yr bike. but now it seems like you just absolutely have to be like everybody else. for me, i'll city bike it up dutch style if they have "hitter boxes" built in to them instead of PBR beer cages.
s. - April 18, 2009 at 5:35 PM
- mistercharlie said...
Hey! I wrote the Wired article over at the Gadget Lab. I'm not a hater, so I shouldn't be sucking any balls. In fact, I picked up a cheap-o fixed gear on Friday and it's amazing fun. Way lighter and faster than my Dutch bike, which I will be keeping.
It's not as comfortable as the DB but I guess I can have 2 bikes, right? - April 20, 2009 at 5:23 AM
- socre said...
I like biking too.
- April 24, 2009 at 1:18 PM
Anonymous said...
Now for pricing, in the Netherlands such a bike costs 75 to 200 EU (100 to 260 USD) depending on quality and acessories. High prices in the US are simply the result of import costs, low demand and the "latest trend" effect.Give me a break. Where can you buy a new dutch bike in Holland for 75 Euro? A second hand beat up one, sure.
A good quality Dutch Bike by Workcycles, Gazelle, etc is on average 500 -1000 Euros ($650-$1250 USD). That is what the Dutch pay.
They are actually excellent value for money bikes in my opinion. - April 28, 2009 at 12:36 PM
You can get a Gazelle for 350 Euros,
or a cheap-ass Chinese model for 150 Euros.
Anyway, bikes are for transport. Period. The Dutch bike is what New Balance sneakers are for New Yorkers.
Just get a busted one for riding, and sure as hell don't pay $1000+ for it. Don't haul it up the stairs, just leave it outside with a shit-heavy chain-lock fixed to a pole or a bench. If everybody does that, in no-time, you'll have facilities for parking bikes.
I don't get the hipster remarks. Just because one NYT article makes it a fashion-item, doesn't mean you have to.
Maybe you shouldn't want to look like a douchebag sporting your messenger bag and your fixie, making transportation a lifestyle. - April 29, 2009 at 5:26 AM
- Unknown said...
I don't think you will find my comments Bs.
I said AVERAGE price is 500-1000 for these bikes. There is a difference between cheapest and average.
Anyway please show me which bike is 350 Euro on the Gazelle website (not including kids bikes).
Even the single speed Basic is 449.
The other problem is that there aren't too many second hand Dutch bikes around so I guess many people will be buying new for now.... - April 29, 2009 at 9:30 AM
Am I alone in not giving a hoot what other people ride?
- June 1, 2009 at 11:45 PM
- Paul said...
Can I just clarify something please that bugs me about all the talk about Dutch bikes on blogs the world over? Dutch made city bikes are everything from heavy steel single speeds to ultra lightweight full carbon 27 speed models. Labeling Dutch bikes as all single speed tanks is like saying all japanese cars are toyota Landcruisers. Do some research people....look what is happening in the Dutch bicycle market.... it is THE trend setting market in the bicycle industry right now for city bikes. No other country has the knowledge or choice of city bike product the Dutch have. Saying that Dutch bikes are unsuitable for hills is pure nonsense. Guess which city bikes are some of the most sold in hilly Germany? Do you think New York has bigger hills than Germany? If you live in a hilly area you can buy city bikes with lots of gears that go up hills as easy as any other bike with 24 gears!
Paul. - June 6, 2009 at 10:12 AM
- mduffy said...
I have been riding a track bike for over 10 years now in Philadelphia. To me it is like a manual car I have control,speed, and a more fun driving it. Just like I will never go back to owning a automatic car I will never ride anything but a fixie. Things always go in and out of trends back in 2000 in my bike messenger days I was one out of three people who rode a fixie in Philadelphia...and I am a female...so naturally people thought I was crazy. I fell in love with riding them and LOVE the fact that I can fly past people on almost any kind of bike. You probably are really young and that is why you are overly concerned about what people choose to ride but in the long run of things, the world is pretty fucking shitty right now. So if people enjoy what they ride let it be what it is.
- July 1, 2009 at 11:26 AM
- September 14, 2009 at 11:27 PM
- cyclotourist said...
Hey Anon, congratulations: you just invented cyclocross!
And yeah, bikers suck; ever since the Wild Bunch came out, it's just recycled corporate rebellion - September 14, 2009 at 11:38 PM
- Amanda Caldwell Dodds said...
I know you hate all things Canadian but there was a good cartoon about Lance Armstrong in the Montreal Gazette
http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/editorial-cartoons/index.html - October 24, 2012 at 6:07 PM