Why do we help each other out so much?
 

The generosity of our small clan continues to amaze me. I get stuff sent to me randomly sometimes, and I try to return the karma.

I think we just hate to see somebody not riding a classic bike, heck, even an old common one just because they're missing a bit or need a tool. That and I find it rare that somebody that rides old bikes isn't anything but a pleasure to meet, ride with, and talk to.

Discuss.

It seems to me that for a lot of people here their passion for vintage bikes isn't so much about possessing said bikes as it is about keeping those bikes alive and on the road. So if I've got a part in my garage that I'm not using (and I can find it), it would have more value to me in the hands of someone else who needed it than it has for me on the shelf. A lot of the stuff I've got is still on the shelf because it's not worth the trouble to me to do all the work to sell it, but if I hear about someone who needs it to finish a better case for packing it up to ship out.

simple, i think. though it may not always appear to be the truth, you/we are made of love. intelligent, conscious, self-aware love. you/we have a heart and instinctively know in order to exist and be happy you must express and expand. the easiest way is through generosity and giving. by definition, what you have is what you can give. beyond that, bikes are just cool :)

I did it for the companionship...

and money and drugs, of course.

I help folks with bikes and hifi because its fun, but also because i hate to see something perfectly good go to waste.

my man! PIMP!

We're commies.

What a lovely way to express it :-D

I help because I can, and as a wise man once said to me:

“if it makes another person smile the effort was worthwhile”

I knew it!

"Never shall I fail my comrades".

Top

Even sweet misery loves company.
Why not share the pain and fun?

Because others helped us when we got started.

over the hill gang of socialist enablers who would find a way to hot rod our walkers (with help from our friends...) who's wives don't understand us https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...48172ac303.jpg

Because of the work of Sheldon Brown, at least for me.

He didn't need to put all that knowledge out there for free. I am thankful.

So, despite my still limited knowledge, if and when I know something that can help another cyclist, I offer it to them.

If I don't know, I can guide them toward those who do - the cultists enthusiasts at bikeforums.net.

it's an interesting question. All of the answers in line above form pieces of the puzzle. I think people like to hang out with "their own" like dogs in a pack or orcas in a pod. What I'm aware of from years of following CR and this list is that we are a lot more alike than different. We are experts on nothing with opinions on everything!

Now and then however a real "nugget" of knowledge comes along, that makes the trip worthwhile.

I think one ongoing problem is that a lot of questions get asked (mostly by newbies) that are so ambiguous or devoid of detail that they cannot be answered with precision. Not sure that's solveable - I simply mention it.

Loved the pics of the turntables and the green Nikon and Canon F-1. Didn't know they made those.

we now return to regularly scheduled programming

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA USA

Two reasons, its how I was raised, and its repaying all of the good that I received here from the good folks that congregate in the C&V Forum. My parents, and the other adults around our neighborhood always taught us that if someone is in need, and you have what will get them going, you give it to them and don't worry about payment. If they do pay you eventually, that is your decision as to whether you keep it or pass it on to a worthy charity. Really saw this in the dirt biking community, as a teenager, in the early-mid 70's.

The good I receive here is not only material things, its also the knowledge and support that comes from most folks here. I try to return these, and to treat others the way I want to be treated. What goes around, comes around, I suppose.

Bill

Bill, I don't know my neighbors anymore (a good part of that is probably my fault), but sites like this sort of feel like micro versions of the community I had with my neighborhood when I was growing up and you did know your neighbors and we helped each other out.

I was just telling my wife the other day that this C&V subforum casts a sustaining bright light on humanity. Here lies a group of thousands of people who have generally not met in person (though I know strong friendships have been made here), who genuinely care enough to help others, and who even support the concept of shipping bike parts around in a box to the next stranger, even adding parts to it! Few internet forums operate like this one, especially the C&V subforum.

The social experiment is working.

Well said, I still am in touch with many of the old neighbors, the ones still living that is. We live in a rural area now, but we have some good neighbors around us, we watch out for each other and try to keep things on an even keel.

Bill

For me, as a life long tinkerer bumping 70 I have found bikes meet my tinkering needs, get me out in this beautiful World and the exercise is a pleasure. When I stumbled onto this place with a problem I found I can have a directly related and consistently pleasant experience. Thank you.

Part of it is the natural need for humans to be part of a community and share.
Part is probably the subtle social cue of helpfulness expressed by regulars in this sub forum.
Part (for me) is living in a rural setting where there aren't other enthusiasts to share the passion with IRL.
Part is the give and receive of researching information about obscure bikes. Knowing how hard it is to find out you offer when you know.

We spend so much time detached.

You look at a cell phone dozens to hundreds of times a day, but miss the sky, the sunset, the seasons changing.

You take your family and/or loved one out to dinner and are surrounded by the noise of a dozen or more TV screens.

You watch a football game, but must have the "Red Zone" switching between ALL games so you don't miss the action, but miss the game.

But a bicycle is a simple thing, a vintage bike even more simple. It takes you back into your body, into the world and if you have a friend along into conversation.

It's not just endorphins that come home after a ride, it's you..

Oh, and why we share what we know and give what we can, if you've ever gone to an estate sale, you know your treasures are just ten cents on the dollar if you keep them, but if you give them away to a person who wants or needs them you never know how many doorways your giving has opened, but you do know what you get back: "Grandpa, it was hard, but I did it, I rode around the block all by myself."

Priceless.

And chicks. Don't forget the chicks.

For a more academic leaning explanation, I would suggest that what we have here is a gift culture. I first heard about this concept in Eric Raymond's book on open source software, The Cathedral and the Bazaar, and Raymond's explanation is a lot easier to digest than the Wikipedia article. I highly recommend this page here as an edifying read: The Hacker Milieu as Gift Culture

tl;dr --> "Gift cultures are adaptations not to scarcity but to abundance. They arise in populations that do not have significant material-scarcity problems with survival goods. ... Abundance makes command relationships difficult to sustain and exchange relationships an almost pointless game. In gift cultures, social status is determined not by what you control but by what you give away."

I think this is actually pretty common in Internet subgroups, where sharing of intellectual property is its own reward. The fact that we've extended this to material goods is interesting though.

I have always enjoyed “paying it forward”. Giving without expectation or patting myself on the back for being a “good person”. I have been on the receiving end of other’s acts of kindness and generosity and it gives me hope for mankind.