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I got a Western Flyer single-speed for my 6th birthday...

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I got a Western Flyer single-speed for my 6th birthday...

Old 05-16-19, 10:16 PM
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JonBailey
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I got a Western Flyer single-speed for my 6th birthday...

when I was a little boy way back in 1970. It was a simple bike with coaster brake. Pedal forward to go, get the pedals even and pedal backward to stop. Training wheels and streamers. Later on, a high-rise bar with a banana seat, generator light set and a front basket with a squeeze toot horn. My father could virtually fix anything on it with ordinary home car tools. I miss those innocent simple days.
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Old 05-17-19, 06:01 AM
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Buy older, used, vintage bikes - Then you can STILL fix everything .
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Old 05-17-19, 06:25 AM
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I remember my first bikes with a lot less affection than you do. My first, in the late '40's, was a full size 26" balloon tire "girls" frame that was a hand-me-down from several older cousins. It was crude, heavy and a real fight to get up any significant hill and my parents house was on a significant hill. When I was 13 I got a new J.C. Higgins (Sear's house brand, made by Roadmaster) that was also a single speed balloon tire 26" but at least it was a men's frame. Also heavy and a fight to climb with. I wanted a 3-speed "English Racer" but my parents thought it would be too fragile. Perhaps they were right.

Simple? Yes. Rewarding to ride? Not so much.
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Old 05-17-19, 08:10 AM
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Originally Posted by JonBailey
My father could virtually fix anything on it with ordinary home car tools. I miss those innocent simple days.
Everything was like that. Cars and household appliances, too.

I bought a code reader for my cars years ago. Then the code reader interface changed across the industry many years later and I had to by another code reader.

Why does there have to be a touchscreen on an appliance that does the same thing as its predecessor from 20 years before? Fancy software and GUIs just mean more cost up front and higher repair costs later.
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Old 05-17-19, 08:17 AM
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yeah, I loved the magic of those old generator lights. spooky fun
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Old 05-17-19, 08:23 AM
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
yeah, I loved the magic of those old generator lights. spooky fun
I don't miss those at all.

Battery powered LED headlights are a simple tech improvement that I love.

I haven't experienced modern hub generators, yet. Could be awesome. Could be a literal drag when producing power. Don't know.
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Old 05-17-19, 08:55 AM
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Originally Posted by FiftySix
Why does there have to be a touchscreen on an appliance that does the same thing as its predecessor from 20 years before? Fancy software and GUIs just mean more cost up front and higher repair costs later.
These days touch screens and software are much cheaper to produce than their mechanical equivalents.
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Old 05-17-19, 09:59 AM
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Originally Posted by HillRider
These days touch screens and software are much cheaper to produce than their mechanical equivalents.
As a service tech in the print industry, touch screens and the software are for automation of the machine. Which means a multitude of additional PCBs, CPUs, motor controllers, and servo motors are added to all the redesigned mechanical components.

Price of the machine goes up and repair costs go up.

I have a 6 month old clothes washer and dryer set with membrane type touch panel to add programming and energy saving features. I had to go with these CPU controlled machines to get the internal volume capacity I needed. With the previous machines bought in 2005, I could order parts off of eBay for cheap and get running again in a few days when the parts arrived. From what I've researched, the parts on the new machines are sold as assemblies and are expensive enough to be 50% the cost of a new machine.

For something as simple as home appliances, I'd rather have whatever is sold to 3rd world countries, but with a 1st world country paint job to make the wife happy.
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Old 05-17-19, 10:06 AM
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By the way, I think most bicycles are dead nuts simple compared to what's happened with other technologies. It's one of the reasons I like bicycles, besides actually riding them of course.
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Old 05-18-19, 10:49 PM
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Even the most complicated bicycle is a fairly simple machine.

I mostly remember cheap, worn out hand me downs that weighed a ton and would make a Walmart BSO look like a high end machine. When I got, in due course, a Raleigh "English racer" three speed, I thought it a rocket ship. I still have it, and I am sorry Sheldon, it was and still is an English Racer to me. I new what it was then and know what it is now and compared to what I had been riding, it was and is a Racer.
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Old 05-19-19, 08:01 PM
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Originally Posted by FiftySix
I don't miss those at all.

Battery powered LED headlights are a simple tech improvement that I love.

I haven't experienced modern hub generators, yet. Could be awesome. Could be a literal drag when producing power. Don't know.
Those old generator lights sounded neat whirring at night. But yes, newfangled quiet battery LED lights are a lot less messy to fool with.
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