I usually watch the morning news as I get my girls and myself ready to go to school/work. There was this commercial by an American manufacturer that supposedly had drivers switch their cars for one of theirs. At the end of the commercial, one young lady says “I like this car, it reflects my personality”. So then I thought about it…. Can bikes reflect our personality???
Let’s start with Jack “Ghost Rider” Sweeney:
Jack rides a French Astra from the 70’s that was converted to a SS/Fixie and owns a classic Italian Bianchi . This tells me that Jack is the type of person that enjoys European old stuff, he’s ‘old school’ and a little set in his ways… Can you say: “Can you pass the Grey Poupon?”
Now let’s look at Jack’s wilder American side:
Getting rave reviews from BikeSnobNYC, Jack’s “Patriot” bike says that Jack can be safety conscious while making a bold patriotic statement or his bike ‘fashion’ sense is just gawd awful.
So overall , Jack has a split personality, one that is classy and refined, and the other one a wild “I don’t give a rat’s ass what you think of my bike”.
Let’s see what RL rides:
This is RL’s latest variation of his Redline 925, he has ditched the fenders and has finally settled on a chopped MTB bar. The Redline 925 has had Bullhorns with 2 brakes, then one brake, then no brakes, and back to one brake. What does all this tell us?
RL’s personality is one that tries to be hip but responsible. By attempting to go brakeless, he wanted to be hip and macho, fortunately he got his common sense back and installed a front brake.
Lance:
Lance also rides a Redline 925. However, his is pretty much stock. He also has ditched the fenders and has drop bars with two brakes and rides with a seatpost rear rack.
I can say that Lance is a Get’r done type of guy, he’s not worried about following a trend (he rides his 925 as a SS, not a fixie) and by using a seatpost rear rack, he doesn’t care about style as long as his bike get the job done.
Lance also has a tender side though… Check out his sticker on the seatpost, “I brought along my sticker for my loyal dog Streaker. Her nickname is Beakers, like the Muppet.” (Posted by Lance on www.mtnbikeriders.com) Ahhhhhhh….
Me?
Let’s see:
Sometimes I ride a single speed cyclocross,
or a folding racing bike…
or a Commuter Specific bike…
or a MUTT
or a Fixie…
I guess it is safe to say that I suffer from multiple personalities!!!
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Bike Commuter Essentials at PricePoint.com
11 responses so far ↓
1 Ghost Rider // Nov 20, 2007 at 10:02 am
Ha ha…you’re even more right than you know! I think you nailed it perfectly — I love the old stuff (never had a bike with disc brakes or suspension…hell, I just got V-brakes a couple months ago!), yet my bicycle “fashion-sense” got dropped on its head as an infant.
What do purple brakes and cable hangers say about a person, though? I’ll hazard a guess: “The 80s RULED” or “I’m comfortable with my metrosexuality”…heh heh.
2 Noah // Nov 20, 2007 at 10:34 am
Are you really suffering from multiple personalities, because it looks like you’re enjoying every moment of it!
Not sure what you’d call me. Regardless, I can often be found sporting two lights front and rear, reflective gear and an assortment of either a seatpost rack on my hybrid, frame rack and panniers on my road bike, or backpack on my mountain bike. Rain or shine, sleet or snow, 3 below zero or 113. I’ll ride every work day. There are no fenders ever and rarely any goggles or sunglasses.
“Commuter Safety Nerd” is fitting, I suppose.
3 Ghost Rider // Nov 20, 2007 at 11:18 am
You can’t be an official nerd without fenders, my friend! Of course, the dirty stripe up your backside screams “nerd”…
4 russ roca // Nov 20, 2007 at 11:31 am
yeah…i have several bikes too and each really have a distinct feel….
Trek 520 (amber shellac cork tape, rear rack, bar end shifters):
my ode to the classic tourer…solid…reliable workhorse…my adventure, “miles from nowhere” personality…
Surly Steamroller( 3spd hub, nitto allrounder handlebars, CETMA front rack, shellac grips and custom twine top tube
:
My “what the heck is that bike?” Lots of people think it’s a fixie until they look closer and realize I have a 3spd. It’s my bar bike, short errand and light grocery bike. It represents hidden/tricky part of my personality that likes to tweak things just below the radar.
Mondonico (ORANGE, with 80s campagnolo parts):
This bike kinda shows my obsessive compulsive need for perfection side of my personality…I had it repainted..with the same decals…tracked down campy components of the same vintage…built the wheels myself and assembled the whole thing from scratch….its the most beautiful bike i own…
The Uglycycle (90s gary fisher married to xtracycle, front wheel is 26 inch, rear wheel is 700c, front fork is surly karate monkey fork, 10 dollar falcon thumb shifters, soma sparrow handlebar…this is pretty much the definition of bike shop vomit):
This bike is the antithesis of my Mondonico. It is its evil twin banished to the attic. However, despite its rough looks, it runs perfect and is my day to day cargo bike, carrying my gear form photoshoot to photoshoot. This bike probably best represents my general personality….a little rough on the outside sometimes, but I get the job done and I do it well.
5 Ghost Rider // Nov 20, 2007 at 12:06 pm
I want to see your Mondonico, Russ! It sounds beautiful!!
In the process of undoing some of the poorly-conceived “upgrades” I’ve done over the years on my Bianchi, I started out looking for period-correct parts…but when I got to the cockpit, I realized that the old stuff just wasn’t as comfortable as some of the newer components out there — so it has become a freakishly-mismatched amalgam of the best names in vintage Italian racing heritage, coupled with a touch of “who cares where it’s from, as long as it feels good”. Besides, I can’t afford a lot of the truly period-correct parts!
6 Ghost Rider // Nov 20, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Never mind, Russ…I found pictures of your Mondonico on your blog.
And, happily enough, I see that I am doing almost just like you — Cane Creek aero levers and Aeroheads laced to Athena hubs (I’ve got a six-speed-sized hub, though, with a Regina Oro corncob) !!! So now I don’t feel so disoriented.
7 Car Buying Tips, New & Used Car Sales, Autos Online » “My car reflects my personalityâ€? // Nov 20, 2007 at 7:54 pm
[...] unknown posted a great article about car buying.Here’s a quick snippet.Getting rave reviews from BikeSnobNYC, Jack’s “Patriotâ€? bike says that Jack can be safety conscious while making a bold patriotic statement or his bike ‘fashion’ sense it’s just gawd awful. So overall , Jack has a split personality, … [...]
8 RL Policar // Nov 20, 2007 at 9:47 pm
You forgot to mention my Big Red Bike. That thing is like my do it all bike. Just last night I put 8 gallons of water, a loaf of bread, bunch of bananas, 3 bottles of Gatorade and my 12 year old daughter on it. So yes its hip but in a uber practical way.
9 Dinheiro Internet - Blog de Dinheiro » “My car reflects my personalityâ€? // Nov 21, 2007 at 9:21 am
[...] クãƒã‚³æŸ„ wrote an interesting post today!.Here’s a quick excerpt I usually watch the morning news as I get my girls and myself ready to go to school/work. There was this commercial by an American manufacturer that supposedly had drivers switch their cars for one of theirs. At the end of the commercial, one young lady says “I like this car, it reflects my personalityâ€?. So then I thought about it…. Can bikes reflect our personality??? Let’s start with Jack “Ghost Riderâ€? Sweeney: [IMG ] Jack rides a French Astra from the 70’s that was converted to a SS/Fixi [...]
10 Mike Myers // Nov 21, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Hmm, bikes reflect my personality, eh?
1) 2005 Gunnar Sport. Sherwood Forest Candy Metallic green, British Racing Green Brooks B17, Carradice Kendal panniers(black canvas with white leather straps), Tubus Vega rack, 105 derailers, Sugino XD crank, natural Cinelli cork tape.
2) 2007 Surly Pacer. Silver Bullet color, honey B17, milk chocolate color Soma bar tape, 105 brifters and a green Carradice Barley saddlebag with honey leather straps.
I think those bikes say “This guy gets the Rivendell catalog.”
My geeky Ibex Corrida errand bike says “This guy might have a DUI.”.
11 music // Jan 30, 2008 at 6:46 am
What do you mean ?
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