tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924920310995639849.post6344441776074603226..comments2023-05-25T08:32:33.242-04:00Comments on Chic Cyclists: Aqua Schwinn in East CambridgeCharlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08036691849337099909noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924920310995639849.post-9315525379865367282008-05-16T19:25:00.000-04:002008-05-16T19:25:00.000-04:00I was pointed to a comment a reader here made on a...I was pointed to a comment a reader here made on another blog. For those interested, I think he makes a number of good points:<BR/><BR/>OK, Dutch bikes're maybe nice and certainly it's maybe neat to buy something new (here) and trendy.<BR/>I submit though that old Schwinns are a much better fit for the American commuting and city-bike scene.<BR/>1) They're ubiquitous and cheap. Every thrift store in every metro gets maybe 50 of them per year. Here in the Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities' 7 thrift stores they are priced between $5.38 (don't ask me - that 38-cents thing is unique to Goodwill nationwide apparently) and on up to, but never higher than, around $25.<BR/>2) With a disassembly, cleanup, lubing, and new rubber/cabling/chain, they'll likely be good for another 28-44 years. Those are the ages of the youngest and the oldest of the twenty-some Schwinns that I refurbed this past year.<BR/>3) They are city-riding-comfortable. Fenders, upright handlebars, and really comfy old mattress seats are on every Schwinn I put out, even the ones that originally came set up as roadies. I mostly prefer the 3-spd internal Sturmey Archer hub bikes altho I have put out a few 5-spd derailler bikes, two 10-spds, and converted four 10-spds to different gearing/drive set ups.<BR/>4) They can be _very_ chic. Please look at <A HREF="http://chiccyclist.blogspot.com/2008/04/bike-makeover-3-flamingo-floozie-goes.html" REL="nofollow">here</A> to see some photos and a narrative about one such Schwinn I recently finished.<BR/>So anyway, it's my opinion that the ideal bikes for putting Americans back onto bikes for urban riding are here, right under our noses and we're perhaps too snobbish to see them.Charlottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08036691849337099909noreply@blogger.com