My friend Thatch, who I played in a band with back when people played in bands, used to say, “Thou shall not play mid-tempo. You may play fast, or you may play slow, but never in between.” It’s a rule we followed assiduously, though I’m not sure it improved the racket we were making.
Still, it’s an idea I subscribe to across the spectrum of experience. For example, when I go out, I want to eat great good, OR I want to eat bad food (you know what I mean), and what’s in the middle, well, I can make that for myself.
I like great art, but I also like stupid, garish pop art. I love the soda cans of the ’70s and old motel signs. Are they so bad they’re good? No. They’re perfect.
Similarly, I like great bikes, and I like crappy bikes, but almost everything in between bores me. I have been fortunate to work in the industry and so have been able to acquire some really incredible bikes at <ahem> less than retail price. In fact, there’s a joke in the bike business that people like me take a 50% pay cut to work in the industry just to get the 30% discount.
One of my favorite bikes of all time, though, is the Barbie Bike (pictured above), which is one of the shop bikes at Seven Cycles, one of the nice places I’ve been employed. The Barbie Bike is an old mountain bike frame of some sort, with cruiser bars and a pair of barely functioning canti brakes. It’s heavy. The fenders just sorta fit, and you usually have to yank them around a little to keep the scraping against the tires. It has friction shifters that are, um, imprecise. BUT…you could fit a dead body in the basket. The handling is a swoopy dream, and when you’re out on a summer day looking for some lunch, it’s one of the best bikes I’ve ridden.
This week’s TCI Friday wonders what’s the best worst bike you’ve ever ridden?
I have some relatives in New Orleans. They always have a few bikes they pick up for less than $ 100 that they use and we use when visiting. I don’t even know what brand they are, but they are the best way to get around a very fun city, hence they are some fun bikes.
There are a couple of department store mountain bikes at our family vacation home in Maine. With beach cruiser style handlebars they are incredibly awkward to ride and the ocean air keeps them in a decrepit state. Every year I bring them back from near death and wobble around the island thinking about how much I love riding bikes…. any bike!