Re: "Chopper" bicycles

"Tom Keats" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

A couple of times lately I have seen something that looks very much
like a miniature Harley-Davidson motorcycle tooling around the streets.
Get a little closer, and they prove to be bicycles, with raised
handlebars, chopped forks, and massive tires that look like you'd have to
buy replacements from a motorcycle shop.
It looks to me like these things must be horribly slow and
inefficient,
but I think it would be interesting to hear from anyone who has actually
ridden one. Do they have any advantages, other than being "kewl?"

They used to be artistic expressions of uniqueness and other
expressable stuff.

Now there are "stock", commercially manufactured chopperz available.
And I see more people riding those things, than real Works of Art.
The whole deal has been culturally appropriated, for crass
commercial gain.

But, Tom, I rode one in the late 70s, and it was bought at Sears. Cycling
trends are cyclical, I guess.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Gooserider said:

Quoted message said:

They used to be artistic expressions of uniqueness and other
expressable stuff.

Now there are "stock", commercially manufactured chopperz available.
And I see more people riding those things, than real Works of Art.
The whole deal has been culturally appropriated, for crass
commercial gain.

But, Tom, I rode one in the late 70s, and it was bought at Sears.

But I'd bet it wasn't much like nowadays' Nirve Switchblade
production bike, which aspires (or pretends) to be something
like from here:
http://www.dclxvi.org/chunk/what/index.html

Quoted message said:

Cycling
trends are cyclical, I guess.

I figure it's all just down to fashion, and the mainstream
catching up to the avante garde, as per usual.

Personally I'm not really all that much into choppers, but I do
appreciate how they contribute toward expanding cycling beyond
the realm of mere sport & recreation; in this case, as Art.
I figure riding 'em might be as as much Art as building 'em.
Anyhow I like how cycling is so multi-faceted, encompassing art,
science, sport, lifestyle ... all kinds o' stuff. Real choppers
celebrate that. Factory choppers cash in on it.

cheers,
Tom

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"Tom Keats" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Gooserider said:

Quoted message said:

They used to be artistic expressions of uniqueness and other
expressable stuff.

Now there are "stock", commercially manufactured chopperz available.
And I see more people riding those things, than real Works of Art.
The whole deal has been culturally appropriated, for crass
commercial gain.

But, Tom, I rode one in the late 70s, and it was bought at Sears.

But I'd bet it wasn't much like nowadays' Nirve Switchblade
production bike, which aspires (or pretends) to be something
like from here:
http://www.dclxvi.org/chunk/what/index.html

I remember it had a looong fork, sissy bar, slick wide rear tire, and a
plastic faux tank. It was similar to the Jesse James chopper bike. It really
was a useless machine.