NEW ORLEANS UNOFFICIAL BICYCLE RULES & REGULATIONS
A bicycle is a bicycle right?
Not really. A certain well known retail department store chain tells its suppliers how much they will sell their bicycles for. Then those suppliers cut corners in materials and quality to meet those dictated prices. So tolerances are widened, affecting the final fitting of parts. They use cheaper grades of steel and aluminium, which is prone to bending, and breakage due to metal fatigue. So, you get what you pay for.
When new, these bikes look great, but within a few days or weeks, you are looking for someone like me to fix these problems, and I have to give you the bad news.
Then, there's the other problem areas, proper adjustments of brake levers, shifter controls, seat height, brakes pull and shifter cables. A bicycle is like a pair of pants. If its not fitted to you, then its sloppy and often uncomfortable. Because people are not aware of this, they often buy a bicycle with a frame either too small, or too big, for them. Many stores contract outside help to assemble bicycles for them. They pay piece work wages, meaning the worker get paid for each piece they complete. One such company pays $3.50 per bicycle. A worker would have to do twenty bikes per day to equal the federal minium daily wage. It takes me 30 minutes to prep a new bike, making sure all the cables, the wheels, the handle bars and the seat are secured are properly adjusted. That means it would take me ten hours to do the needed twenty bikes, without taking short cuts. These companies are about quanity, NOT Quality. Putting the customer's safety at risk.
Wheel size has little to do with how well a bicycle is going to fit you. For Road and Mountain Bikes, you want the following. With the tires properly inflated, you should be able to stand, with the bicycle between your legs, having an inch and a half of clearence between the top tube and your sensitive bits. Admittedly, one can adjust seat heights to your liking. But, if you can't properly extend your legs when pedaling, you will have a miserable ride.
Well, I'll climb down from the soap box now, and give it a rest.
Why I Don't Sell Bikes.
Quite often I receive emails and phone calls asking if I sell bicycles. That I say a resounding NO! I have found the experience to be a parade of tire kickers, many of whom wanted me to give them the bike I was selling at the time.
Before I would sell a bike, it was gone through completely. New cables, new tubes, new tires and a lot of labor. When you buy them at a local department store, a set of four cables runs about $5.50, new chain is $10.00, a pair of tubes around $10.00, and a pair tires tires about $30.00. That's $55 to start off. Then the labor of repacking the grease in all the bearings, wheels, bottom bracket and steering head. Installing the cables, chain, tubes and tires. Sorry, it just not worth the hassle.
Old Bikes versus New Bikes.
A gentlemen called me once, he lamented that his son rather he buy him an old bike, rather than a shiny new department bike. I responded, that his son was probably saving him money in the long run. In my opinion, department store bikes are JUNK.
A certain department store, that shall remain nameless, dictates what they will sell their bikes for. In return, the bike makers must cut corners to meet that dictated price. So the bike maker takes shortcuts in contruction, materials and quality control. Then when the bikes are put together at the stores, shortcuts in assembly happen there. Brakes are not properly adjust, neither are the shifters. Seat height is not fitted to the rider. Making for a miserable and unsafe experience for the rider. Leaving the bicycle to be forgotten in the weather or collect dust in the garage.
I, highly, recommend that you look at older name brand bikes. I am of the opinion that it is best to avoid Huffys made in China as well as most Chinese made department store brands. If one takes care of their bike, an older name brand will give years of service, when treated properly.
And should you need tires, I highly recommend Nashbar.com. Often they are cheaper than Walmart.
What Bicycle Thieves don't want you to know!
There is no sure way to prevent your bicycle from being stolen, unfortunately. If you keep your bicycle outdoors, I don't care how heavy a chain or padlock you put on it, an expert thief can open it in 5 seconds and not draw any attention doing it.
If you want to hang on to your bike, keep it indoors. While it is no guarntee that it won't be stolen, it does greatly reduce the chance of it happening. Less opportunity for thieves to obscone with it. Plus, the upside of this is that your bicycle will not rust as much as it would left out in the elements.
Personally, I favor bicycle registration. Its one way to have a chance of recovering one's bike. But, since the cities of New Orleans, Covington, Mandeville and Slidell, to name but a few, do not have such a requirement, I offer this suggestion. Take two slips of paper, print your name, the bicycle's serial number (this is on the bottom bracket housing) and phone number on it, seal them both in clear tape or clear shelf paper. Roll one up and put it inside your seat tube or post. The other in a safe place, such as your wallet or purse. That way, if your bike is stolen, and you spot it afterwards, you will have a way to verify that it is your bicycle.
Also, remember to photograph you and your bicycle together. Date stamping the photo helps to prove the bike is really yours.
Never ceases to amaze me, the lengths people will go to, to dump on their fellow human beings. I post ads on the New Orleans Craig's List aka neworleans.craigslist.org. And these cyber creatures called Flaggers by Craig's List, and Ad-Nazi's by me and others, seem to have made their mission in life to run me off Craig's List. LMAO!!!
What is interesting is that they call it the will of the community. The way they operate is this, one of them spots an ad they feel violates Craig's List Terms of Use, or that they simple don't approve of. Then, they email, instant message, text and/or telephone their cyber buddies to come and flag said ad.
You want to see how fast this works, make a post in any discussion forum on Craig's List about being flagged. And before you can reload that forum, there will be four or more insulting replies. Then, they will obsess themselves in berating you and flagging your ads.
One of them, went as far as to call me. The area code was from outside of Detroit, Michigan, to lecture me on the Craig's List Terms of Use. When I realize that this fanatic was not about to l et me get a word in edgewise, I hung up on him. He wasn't even a Craig's List employee!
Shortly, thereafter, two ads were posted in the For Bicycles Sale/wanted section [ http://neworleans.craigslist.org/bik/ ] referring to my ads and the posts I made in the "cl - Flag Help" forum. They said I was a "jerk and a racist." I challenged the poster of that libelous trash to show one post where I have made a racist remark. Admittedly, I did refer to the person or persons that were flagging my ads as "ad-nazis. But, The term Nazi refers to a misguided political view based on racism. Nazis are not a race, but, they are, themselves, racists.
The very next day, he calls me three times. Since I recognized the number, I didn't waste my time. So, he leaves this voice mail, which I have saved and recorded.
Transcript of Harassing Voice Mail:
Date: 08/12/2010
Time: 2:05pm
Phone Number of Origin: (248) 784-6687
"Boy, you are really quite the little piece of s__t aren't you. Come on the Flag Help Forum, crying how you are disabled, how you are getting... Who the, Who the hell knows what the f__k you were claiming... Oh, the nazi thing, that's right. And then, and then, you just keep posting your ad.. you just post your ad continously. As soon as its flagged, you post again What a f__king worm. How's that going to get you more business? hunh, Worm Boy. Ahhh, I'm going flag your a_s See ya."
Notes:
Individual called once on 08/11/2010, three times on 08/12/2010. Voice Mail left on 08/12/2010.
248 area code is for Oakland County, Michigan, which borders the city of Detroit to the north.
So, in parting, I say this to the Ad Nazi's of Craig's Lists everywhere, in the words of Bill the cat,
PPPPPPBBBBBBBFFFFFFFSSSSSSSSSTTTTT!!!
Where To Next?
¦¦ New Orleans Area, and More, Bicycling Links ¦ New Orleans Bicycling Laws ¦¦
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http://www.datbikeguy.com
P.O.Box 7521, Slidell, Louisiana 70469-7521
TEL. [985] 290-3896 ,
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