[HN Gopher] Woman, 82, still rides same bike she was given at 13
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Woman, 82, still rides same bike she was given at 13
Author : tcfhgj
Score : 90 points
Date : 2024-10-19 12:26 UTC (10 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.telegraph.co.uk)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.telegraph.co.uk)
| pushedx wrote:
| I still use the alarm clock that I was given when I was 11. The
| iPhone alarm will sometimes just go off silently (I've watched it
| happen), which is my most hated "feature".
| wisemang wrote:
| I once missed a flight because of this. I believe it is (or
| was) linked to the volume level on the phone.
|
| And yeah, my decades-old alarm clock remains reliable (though
| it can be a struggle to remember how to set the time after the
| power goes out...)
| pushedx wrote:
| I've been an iPhone user since 2016, Android before that.
| After the first few times I encountered the silent alarm
| problem, I would make sure to unmute the phone before bed,
| and also max out both the alert volume control and media
| volume control, simply tanking the sound of the alerts during
| the night hoping that the alarm would work. Even doing this,
| I would still watch the alarm go off silently.
|
| I'm convinced that this was one of the reasons that the sleep
| schedule app was created, because they wanted to see if a
| different team wouldn't introduce the same bug.
| mooreds wrote:
| I recently had my alarm clock I was given when I was a teenager
| fail on me, 30 years later. Even when plugged in, it
| occasionally turns off. Got a few good decades out of it,
| though.
| jamal-kumar wrote:
| I'm going to guess that would be an easy and cheap fix if
| it's just a power issue? Wild guess but perhaps just a
| capacitor finally got spent
| johnisgood wrote:
| Always these pesky capacitors (I had like 3 LCD monitors
| with a faulty capacitor from prolonged use, it is somewhat
| of an easy fix, no need to throw away the whole monitor).
| figglestar wrote:
| After my wife stole (back) her high school alarm clock I wasn't
| satisfied with the replacements. But I picked up an old one for
| $0.25 at a market festival recently and am pretty happy with
| it.
| jillesvangurp wrote:
| When I moved to Sweden in 1998, I bought an radio alarm clock
| with a wire to plug it in and big red numbers. Big softly
| glowing red numbers. Easy on the eyes. I got a little discount
| because the cover for the battery was missing and I was a poor
| student at the time. But because it was going to be plugged in,
| I did not care about having a battery. I've since moved country
| four times but this thing is still next to my bed. I love being
| able to glance at it at night with a half open eye and know
| what time it is. That's it's only function. I don't use the
| alarm very often and if I do, I use my phone for that. And I
| haven't listened to the radio in well over ten years. It's the
| clock that is important to me.
| childintime wrote:
| > I love being able to glance at it at night with a half open
| eye and know what time it is.
|
| You mean confirming that the time you already knew it was,
| was actually correct.
|
| Just like you also wake up 2 minutes before the alarm goes
| off.
| phil21 wrote:
| > iPhone alarm will sometimes just go off silently
|
| Oh man, as a recent android to iOS convert I thought I was just
| doing it wrong. The alarm feature of this phone is utterly
| useless it's so unreliable. It just decides randomly (from what
| I can tell) to silence itself with no user interaction. Luckily
| it hasn't resulted in major life consequences yet, but I've
| learned to not even bother with it.
|
| Thanks for returning a tiny bit of my sanity!
|
| Whichever programmer or team was responsible for this "feature"
| that decides you know better than me, why?!?
|
| My current conspiracy theory is it's the wearables team since
| then only way to be certain you will at least get some
| physical/audible feedback it's time to wake up is by wearing
| your Apple Watch to bed. Then you get to deal with frantic
| charging it before your flight or whatnot, fun times!
| xattt wrote:
| It's an interesting phenomenon how people go on through life with
| their belongings and not notice their age.
| kleiba wrote:
| My wife certainly notices the age of some of her belongings,
| most notably that of her husband.
| guax wrote:
| I had a few things I though "when did this got this banged up,
| I just got it" but it was actually almost a decade old. Usually
| tools or headphones, rode my QC15 for 7 years before upgrading.
| prepend wrote:
| It's because they have the same time velocity, you don't notice
| it. Like when you're riding in a car and toss a ball up from
| your lap. The ball is moving at the same speed as you so you
| don't even notice its speed since it travels along with you.
| tacoman wrote:
| I have some Prana pants that I really like, but don't wear too
| often. Recently someone asked me where I got them and I said,
| "hmm maybe 5 years ago at MEC." A month later I came across a
| picture of me wearing those same pants on a fishing trip 16
| years ago.
| ape4 wrote:
| Its probably better made than a current bike
| Gualdrapo wrote:
| Than a current _mainstream_ bike, yes.
|
| Otherwise there are plenty of framebuilders doing bikes like in
| the school days.
| Freak_NL wrote:
| Thankfully. Azor (NL) and Achielle (BE) to name just two
| brands available in the Netherlands today. My Achielle is
| over ten years old now and requires only minimal maintenance.
| It's also one of the few brands with 70cm frames in their
| line-up! Great for tall people.
| aziaziazi wrote:
| Do they come with steel frame ? Alu has some advantages but
| is impossible to repair, going right to the bin at first
| serious crash.
| Freak_NL wrote:
| They do. I have an Achielle Craighton transport bike
| (with the double horizontal bar). I actually have a photo
| of it on Wikimedia Commons because I needed it to
| illustrate a type of bicycle stand:
|
| https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fixed_bollard_bic
| ycl...
|
| My wife rides an Azor with a classic 'cross' frame; these
| are also known as preacher's bicycles, because it
| (allegedly) allowed them to ride one in a frock without
| resorting to a ladies bicycle.
|
| Both frames have a nice bit of heft, which is really
| great from a traffic safety standpoint because of the
| stability you have.
|
| https://www.achielle.be/ and https://www.azor.nl/
| NoGravitas wrote:
| Yeah, steel is real.
|
| Reading between the lines, the frame is one of the only
| components that has stayed constant over the lifetime of the
| bike. But then, it's also the one we most strongly associate
| with the bike's identity.
| OJFord wrote:
| Definitely, I've had my bicycle for about ten years; after a
| couple of years I replaced almost everything with parts from
| the frame I had for about seven years before that. I don't
| consider that I have that bicycle any more, and I would say
| that I have the same one now that I bought rideable, even
| though I didn't keep any moving parts from it.
| jmclnx wrote:
| Especially with the latest trend. I read somewhere many bicycle
| manufactures are now making models that are close to impossible
| to repair by a "regular" person.
|
| For the "Ship of Theseus" comment by @ytss:
|
| 35 years ago, by first good bike got hit by a car and I had to
| replace the frame. I took parts from it and put it on a new
| frame. After 2 decades that frame cracked, un-repairable.
|
| So on my current ride, all that is left is the original bike
| are the break levers and break fittings and racks. Can that be
| considered still the original :)
| analog31 wrote:
| I've worked on old and newer bikes. I ride a steel frame bike,
| that I built up from old parts.
|
| It's hard to define the quality of a bike. Bikes are like an
| "ecosystem" that depends on dealers and at least modestly
| knowledgeable users, and a continuing supply of spare parts.
| It's not surprising that the longest-serving bikes are in
| countries with a strong cycling ecosystem.
|
| A new bike made by a reputable brand like Trek is likely to be
| of very good quality, and benefits from some improvements in
| materials that have occurred since 1949, such as aluminum
| wheels and puncture resistant tires. If it receives light-duty
| service, such as commuting and shopping, and is proactively
| maintained, it can last forever.
|
| The main threat to a decent bike is neglect. Also, "sportive"
| use of a bike, such as racing or off-road, brings its own list
| of issues, including obsolescence. The Dutch are deservedly
| famous for their bike culture, but their typical use is a few
| miles per day on well maintained roads and paths.
| potato3732842 wrote:
| Probably weighs as much as two current bikes though.
| justmarc wrote:
| The e-bike trend will only accelerate getting out of shape while
| people like this one will stay in good shape much longer.
|
| While having a few advantages, it's not universally great.
| bityard wrote:
| Is exercise the only reason to ride a bike?
| relyks wrote:
| No, for enjoyment, parking convenience, traffic avoidance,
| cost, and to be environment friendly :)
|
| Cycling is actually the fastest way to get around NYC and
| London most of the time if you're able to keep a consistently
| high speed
| bluGill wrote:
| Ebikes enable trips that are a bit too far on a normal bike and
| so enable more fitness.
| bossyTeacher wrote:
| > Ebikes enable trips that are a bit too far on a normal bike
| and so enable more fitness
|
| Just because an ebike can go further does not mean they are
| mostly used in that way. The proper thing to say is that
| bikes enable unfit people to go further than they could with
| a normal bike. Most fit people can cycle distances that ebike
| readers wouldn't do even if the bike can do it. How many
| people travel across cities with an ebike?
| seadan83 wrote:
| > Most fit people can cycle distances that ebike readers
| wouldn't do even if the bike can do it. How many people
| travel across cities with an ebike?
|
| What types of distances are you thinking of? 'Most fit
| people's feel is a bit ambiguous since we are likely
| speaking about less than one third of the population (at
| least in the US).
|
| Cross town trips seem to be a place where e-bikes shine
| IMO. At least gauging by the anecdata that e-bike commuters
| in the last 15 years have gone from rare to occasionally to
| the majority of bicycle commuters (at least on many days,
| and along my commute route, that is not the best connected
| and is at least 6 miles one way)
| thaumasiotes wrote:
| What's "too far" on a bike? Covering distance on a bike is
| almost zero work. It's work if you need to go up.
| bluGill wrote:
| 30 minutes. Time is the correct measure of distance in most
| cases, not something like km or mile. If it takes too long
| to get there I'll go by some other mode.
|
| sure fanatics will bike 100 mile, or some such, but the
| rest of us have lives to live and we don't have time to
| waste getting places. The destination is the point. That an
| ebike get us there in reasonable time is important,
| exercise is a nice side benefit.
| seadan83 wrote:
| I fully agree in many situations that is the case. Oddly
| enough, there is a curve where when ranges get far enough,
| pedal bike is what you want again. Eg: 35+ miles one way (ie:
| past the 90% range of an e-bike). That number will keep going
| up though as batteries get better and lighter. For most
| people, that tidbit is irrelevant, but IMO an interesting
| niche datum from bike culture.
| bluGill wrote:
| I disagree. as I said in another comment the correct
| measure of distance is time and old ebikes generally run
| out of time budget before battery.
|
| If you are doing a long trip you are right but most people
| will find some other way to do those trips even if they had
| infinite battery.
| seadan83 wrote:
| What exactly are you disagreeing with? I'm postulating
| essentially infinite time (no upper bound on either time
| or distance) and finite battery. Which is more real world
| compared to infinite battery and is why I said when
| distances get long enough. If you want to flip the
| criteria to make your disagreement, sure.. My point is
| that there is actually no upper bound to distance (which
| implies more time than normal), and at a certain
| threshold the e-bike is no longer what you want because
| the battery runs out. If you want to say there is a hard
| upper bound for either time or distance, sure - but there
| isn't such an upper bound.
|
| In practice, those that would go more than 70 miles round
| trip on a bike is a very limited number of people to
| begin with. Even given infinite battery and/or infinite
| time, it's just not a lot of people. Hence why I think
| the 'more than battery distance' aspect is not well
| appreciated. A car centric culture would just not even
| consider such distances as an option at all. Hence the
| perspective IMHO that going for more than 90 minutes is
| just a non option for everyone, even though it is.
|
| My experience riding with e-bikes is how and why I come
| to say this. They simply can't do a century plus ride.
| For extreme distance rides (inter-state) - even more so.
| At those points, non motor is better. I've met just one
| person doing a tour on an e-bike (that is way less than
| 1% observed). While that is anecdata, it greatly
| contrasts with the ballpark 40% to 80% cyclists I observe
| commuting via e-bike vs non assist pedal bike.
| bluGill wrote:
| You are a fanatic. Nothing wrong with that but it isn't
| 'most people' are going to do something else at those
| distances.
|
| time matters for most people. Thus what matters is how
| far they can get in about half an hour. It doesn't matter
| if we are talking about walking bikes, cars, helecopters:
| how ever far you get in half an hour matters.
| seadan83 wrote:
| Perhaps we agree? I pretty much entirely agree with you -
| just adding some extra color.
|
| I am of course explicitly not talking about most people.
| Which is my point - at greater ranges fewer people would
| be willing to bike, but e-bikes enable larger ranges, but
| at a point it flips back to non-assist.
| hifromwork wrote:
| (As someone who rides a regular, non-electric bike daily, and
| has no desire to switch to an electric one) on the other hand,
| electric bike is strictly better than driving a car, or just
| staying at home. Perfect is still the enemy of good.
| CalRobert wrote:
| Maybe, but they also are practical car replacements where
| acoustic bikes aren't. Nevermind carrying 100kg of kids and
| stuff in an urban arrow
| ahoka wrote:
| Now you tell me there are bikes driven by sound?!
| xandrius wrote:
| You are confusing the people who you think use ebikes vs the
| ones who are actually using it. I'm not sure about the future
| but ebike riders are generally people who would never bike to
| begin with or who couldn't do the trip ahead of them with a
| normal bike.
|
| And if a previous bike user switches to ebikes, generally they
| would have been considering another alternative instead (e.g.
| Motorbike, car, public transport, etc.)
| Scarblac wrote:
| In the Netherlands it's often kids riding to high school now,
| who certainly would have used normal bikes in the past.
|
| And once they start with ebikes, I don't expect them to ever
| switch to mormal bikes anymore.
| relyks wrote:
| Actually, studies (e.g. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a
| rticle/pii/S259019821...) have shown that people who use
| e-bikes (pedal assist not throttle) tend to be more physically
| fit and active than ones who just use regular bikes.
|
| I have an e-bike and it's enabled me to cycle on steep inclined
| and hilly roads that I would be unable to do otherwise. Having
| an e-bike encourages you to cycle a lot more than you typically
| would imo. I use it as my primary form of transportation.
|
| I'm just surprised that people continue to use old bikes when
| the newer technology around them has continued to improve.
| Macha wrote:
| I wonder how much that is biased by the people who buy pedal
| assist ebikes. They're still expensive enough for most people
| that it requires a certain amount of cycling enthusiasm to
| buy one.
| justmarc wrote:
| These things can cost like decent used cars. We're living
| in a crazy world.
| bossyTeacher wrote:
| > I'm just surprised that people continue to use old bikes
| when the newer technology around them has continued to
| improve.
|
| Newer technology is not necessarily always better. A lot of
| the e-bike utility derives from having a working motor and
| battery. Those two are probably the most expensive fragile
| items in a bike. Good luck dealing with the fire when your
| battery explodes. Good luck getting home when your battery
| goes flat and you have to ride a heavier bike home and you
| are in the middle of nowhere because with a working battery
| you can. Oh, yes let's a buy a backup battery and increase
| your bike costs. Good luck getting a new battery when your
| bike supplier dies.
| seadan83 wrote:
| > Good luck dealing with the fire when your battery
| explodes.
|
| Any data available for how often that happens? I have never
| heard of a single instance, nor it even being a risk even.
|
| > Good luck getting home when your battery goes flat and
| you have to ride a heavier bike home and you are in the
| middle of nowhere because with a working battery you can.
|
| Indeed the 'stranded with a heavy bike' was a problem. Less
| so now that e-bike ranges are 60+ miles.
|
| > Oh, yes let's a buy a backup battery and increase your
| bike costs
|
| I don't think this makes sense. Have you heard of this as
| common? Do you know any manufacturers who recommend this?
| The shelf life of batteries is years and years. A
| replacement would be idle..
|
| > Good luck getting a new battery when your bike supplier
| dies.
|
| Bikes are relatively simple. Happily the wiring can be
| redone if need-be to retrofit to something new
| dylan604 wrote:
| > having a working motor and battery. Those two are
| probably the most expensive fragile items in a bike.
|
| As an example, a replacement battery pack for the e-bike
| model I bought is 25% of the price of the bike. I'd assume
| the motor and other electronics would ring up to another
| 25%. Since I bought a cargo e-bike, there's really no meat
| motor bike to compare the remaining price to see how it
| aligns.
| newaccount74 wrote:
| > studies have shown that people who use e-bikes (pedal
| assist not throttle) tend to be more physically fit and
| active than ones who just use regular bikes.
|
| I read the abstract of the study you linked, and it does not
| say that people who use e-bikes are more fit than people who
| use regular bikes.
|
| It says that e-biker have slightly less "metabolic equivalent
| task" minutes per week compared to cyclists.
| seadan83 wrote:
| The quoted study does not mention fitness. It does find (1)
| physical activity level increases of e-bike vs bike riders is
| similar. (2) e-bike riders ride farther than conventional
| bike riders.
|
| From the linked study: > E-bikers take longer trips by e-bike
| and bicycle, compared to cyclists.
|
| > Physical activity gains from active travel are similar in
| e-bikers and cyclists.
|
| The second point is non-obvious IMO and interesting.
|
| The first point makes sense though IMO. AFAIK the majority of
| pedal bike trips are short ranges. A subset of bike riders
| travel larger distances. This averages out to be relatively
| short distances. An e-bike I believe is not attractive for a
| short distance (why pay the cost when a cheaper pedal bike
| that you will ride for 10 minutes would do just as well and
| for a fraction of cost?). I think it makes sense that e-bikes
| then push that distance-travel average up over conventional
| bikes.
| analog31 wrote:
| Sure, there's "studies" but there's also physics.
|
| My main use of a bike is X miles per day to work and back.
| Shopping trips and some weekend activities add miles, but the
| baseline is commuting. I'm not particularly athletic. I have
| some friends who commute on e-bikes, and I'm fully
| supportive. It's all good.
|
| Switching to an e-bike won't add hours or miles to my
| baseline. I mention this anecdote only to illustrate that the
| effect of an e-bike depends heavily on circumstances.
|
| I think a better generalization might be that an e-bike
| _combined with a lifestyle change_ can result in better
| fitness. This is where I see the great benefit of e-bikes,
| and why I encourage my friends to get them.
|
| Just spitballing a number, if the bike supplies 50% of the
| effort, then a lifestyle change could consist of increasing
| your use of a bike by 2x or more. This is not implausible
| because a lot of people get virtually no exercise at all.
|
| Oddly enough the most frequent question I get about cycling
| is: "When are you going to get an e-bike?"
|
| I think there will always be a few remaining uses for a bike
| that is cheap, maintainable by the owner, light enough to
| carry up a stairs or throw into a car, can be stored
| anywhere, indefinitely, and used on demand, doesn't catch
| fire, and is powered by the lipids stored in your body. ;-)
| gitaarik wrote:
| Hehe I guess it greatly depends on the kind of group of
| people you test it on. There are a lot of people that buy
| these comfortable e-bikes with fat wheels and big seats, not
| because they're sporty, but because they're lazy and want
| comfort. And often you can also see it from their weight.
| tim333 wrote:
| I did a study, informal, involving sitting at a cafe watching
| the bikes go by for 30 mins and the ebike riders were
| definitely in worse shape than the regular bike riders. That
| said I ride an ebike - nothing's perfect.
| 1over137 wrote:
| _If_ the "e-bike trend" accelerating involves people switching
| from cars to e-bikes, then I imagine they'll be in better
| shape, not worse.
| h1fra wrote:
| I don't think I have ever met a single person riding a bike
| that was "out of shape", maybe it's purely anecdotical but I
| feel like if you ride a bike regularly you are already in a
| "good shape" and e-bike will not change that. From what I see
| in Paris, people are just using them more or for longer trips
| which is probably net-positive in the end, both for them and
| the planet
| Scarblac wrote:
| I'm utterly out of shape but use the bicycle for trips within
| my city (that I can't walk). It's just that that's only a few
| times per week and it's hardly strenuous, so it's not nearly
| enough exercise on its own.
| dahart wrote:
| What makes you think e-bikes would cause anyone to get out of
| shape?
|
| I don't have one yet, but I've seen a dramatic increase of
| older people cycling up canyon roads on pedal assist e-bikes.
| They can do rides with e-bikes that they otherwise couldn't,
| and they can go further and/or longer. I'm certain I'll replace
| my all-mechanical cycle with an e-bike at some point, and I
| think it will help me stay in shape and continue to enjoy long-
| distance cycling as I age.
|
| In town, people are replacing car trips to the store and the
| pub with e-bike rides. That's both more active, and better for
| the environment, than car or motorcycle trips, no?
|
| Not only that, as a cyclist, it's been helpful to have more and
| more riders representing the need for bike lanes, bike safety,
| and bike awareness.
|
| I don't see any major downsides to the e-bike trend, and there
| are a lot of upsides. It seems universally great to me.
| baxuz wrote:
| Hard disagree. I own an ebike, which I drive in "eco" mode most
| of the time. After 25kph there's a hard cutoff, meaning I only
| drive a very heavy bike.
|
| I also live on top of a hill, and an ebike has greatly
| increased my will to commute, especially when cycling home
| after gym.
|
| The problem is regulation. Any bike that has a throttle, or
| isn't capped to 25kph should be illegal to drive without
| registering it as a motor vehicle. Yet I've never seen anyone
| actually enforce this.
| bcrl wrote:
| https://archive.ph/DQ2mp
| ytss wrote:
| Made me think of the Ship of Theseus
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus but according to
| the article only a few parts were replaced.
| Freak_NL wrote:
| It's not a broom1 you know. She won't be replacing the frame,
| pedals, and handlebar any time soon. In terms of both mass and
| volume that accounts for most of the bike already. for bicycles
| the identity seems to be tied to the frame mostly.
|
| 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUl6PooveJE
| delichon wrote:
| I'm in my early sixties. My longest owned possession died last
| week. It was a dinner plate from the set that my mom served us
| with growing up. I still used it every day. I put a butter dish
| down on it a bit too hard and it shattered. Bringing it to the
| trash can felt like a funeral procession.
|
| Somewhere along the line I read advice not to let objects become
| totems. I heeded that over the years and have let things go when
| they seemed to acquire power over me. But sometimes I wish I held
| on to a few more things from sentiment if not practicality.
| xandrius wrote:
| Not sure how many pieces it broke into but it could have been a
| quite interesting project of kintsugi.
| RangerScience wrote:
| I'm a lot younger but
|
| I think maybe it's not about not letting objects become totems,
| but about being deliberate and intentional about which, and
| why.
|
| I have a lot of friends that keep "altars"; collection of
| objects sacred to them (and objects that are prayers). I think
| they're probably right to do so.
| WillAdams wrote:
| For every quality, well-made object there is a point in its
| existence where it should be evaluated for a transition from
| usable item to heirloom --- if one chooses to structure their
| life to include the responsibility and obligation of caring for
| heirlooms.
|
| I have a ceramic milk jug of my great-great-grandfather who was
| a Civil war veteran (alongside his son) which my daughter will
| take responsibility for when she gets her first home --- it may
| be that she will donate it to a library or museum --- her
| choice.
|
| Similarly, I have thousands of books --- my will directs that
| any which my children do not wish to keep are to be taken to my
| memorial/funeral service and each person attending will be
| asked to take at least one, and to relate how they knew me and
| why they picked the book which they did. (A project for future
| me is to get acid-free bookplates w/ archival adhesive and
| apply them to all my books, or maybe I'll just print bookmarks
| on acid-free paper and put one in each book)
|
| Unfortunately, none of the bikes which I had when I was younger
| survived/were kept (in particular, the Huffy Wind 15-speed had
| its frame bent on a rainy day because I was never taught to put
| your foot on the front wheel to slow down) --- currently have
| two, a folding Montague Swissbike and a Twicycle --- we'll see
| how they hold up and if I get a third (lusting for a Helix
| folding bike).
|
| Lastly, while I don't have the exact bow (Bear Archery Little
| Bear) which I got for Christmas when I was 10, I bought one
| like to it for my son when he expressed an interest in archery,
| so at least he has that.
| toomuchtodo wrote:
| I love your comment, because you are intentional about where
| your possessions should go after you are gone, and for
| sentimental reasons. Others should take note, these
| discussions and thoughts should take place before death.
| Otherwise, it'll all end up at Goodwill or similar, without
| any of the meaning passed down. "This mattered to me, and I
| hope it matters to you because X."
|
| Also, strongly consider not waiting until death to pass along
| heirlooms. Give them when you can still enjoy someone else
| enjoying them, it keeps the memories alive through time.
| Possessions are fleeting, but we remember how something (or
| someone) made us feel.
| graemep wrote:
| I love the book idea. I might copy it.
| WillAdams wrote:
| Thanks! I'm flattered.
|
| Might make a nice tradition for bibliophiles. Somewhat
| evocative of the "I was a friend of <the deceased>." from
| Frank Herbert's _Dune_ which is where I got the idea from
| --- that and a friend's funeral where his nieces seemed
| somewhat taken aback by folks such as myself who were in
| attendance whom they had could not recall having seen
| before (the only one I had seen previously was a babe in
| arms at the time, and that didn't seem meet to bring up).
|
| The kids are also supposed to take all the unopened bottles
| from my liquor cabinet and offer them to the Honor
| Guard/Chaplain as a thank you, with a request that they use
| them to drink a toast in my honor at some later occasion.
| techjamie wrote:
| My longest held possession is my wallet. My mom got it for me
| at the dollar store when I was 5, I still use it at 32.
|
| My mom died when I was 20, so I've had this wallet for a few
| years longer than I ever had with her.
| CobaltFire wrote:
| Mine is probably my wallet as well.
|
| My wife gave it to me about 18 years ago (when we were
| dating). We laugh about me looking for a replacement, but
| never do.
| Freak_NL wrote:
| A deep and wide orange cast iron casserole pan my
| grandmother bought after the war back when you needed to
| get on a waiting list for an item like that because metal
| just wasn't available in large quantities for homeware yet.
|
| She gave it to me a few years before her death because she
| couldn't lift it safely any more, and knew I would actually
| use it and appreciate it. Suffice to say that I still use
| it frequently, and hope to have it see its centennial
| jubilee in use.
| bitwize wrote:
| My dad had a leather stuffed dog he got from his mother when he
| was a kid. He held onto it for his entire life. When he went to
| his mother's funeral when she died in her 90s, he brought the
| leather dog with him and placed it in her coffin --
| symbolically to act as a sort of guardian/psychopomp in the
| hereafter.
|
| It was one of the most beautiful partings with a cherished
| object I'd ever heard of.
| OJFord wrote:
| > "[...] A few years ago a new dynamo was put on. The previous
| one was slipping."
|
| That's incredible.
| nox101 wrote:
| I recently bought an ebike and realized as I bought it that I was
| buying a bike that had a limited lifespan because I won't be able
| to replace the batteries once they stop making that model
|
| it cost more than 4x my regular bike and that was at 45% of its
| list price because it was used
| gattilorenz wrote:
| Batteries can be refurbished with new cells; a family member
| had a technician recently did this with an e-bike that was
| bought more than 10 years ago. In the process the cells
| chemistry was also changed, which means we have a new charger.
| mooreds wrote:
| I still have a t-shirt given to me by my father in 1990. It's a
| bit threadbare so I don't wear it except around the house, but I
| enjoy having something that old that I regularly use.
| jwildeboer wrote:
| The legendary Gazelle Toer Populair. Produced since like forever,
| the classic Dutch bicycle. Guess who is also happy with his
| Gazelle since many years? Yep, this Dutchie living in Munich,
| Germany.
| akie wrote:
| I bought a second-hand Gazelle in 2003 (for EUR125 lol), it was
| briefly stolen in 2010, it moved with me to three different
| countries, and I'm still using it to this day.
|
| I got at least 21 years of use out of a EUR125 purchase, I'm
| sure it must be the single best thing I've ever bought.
| gbraad wrote:
| I expected this to be you. read this before seeing the
| username. great bikes.
| dzhiurgis wrote:
| Got a gazelle too after living in netherlands. People do not
| realise how amazing that bike is. It's like apple or tesla.
| funkyfourier wrote:
| This summer I went through a lengthy process of replacing one of
| the cogwheels in my Bosch e-bike motor from 2012. The cogwheel is
| known to break in this revision of Bosch motors, and an improved
| replica is available on ebay. This cost me totally around EUR250.
| Right after that the brakes had to be replaced probably because
| of hydraulic liquid leakage which was another EUR400.
|
| The miracle is that the battery is still chugging along, my guess
| is that it must be around 70% capacity compared to new. I do
| realize this was quite a big gamble since who knows how much
| longer the battery will last.
|
| I wish e-bikes was designed to be more modular and less
| proprietary so you could easily swap out for example (parts of)
| the motor and battery for a reasonable sum. As examplified in TFA
| the frame can last more or less forever and the rest of the parts
| are changeable and can also last a pretty long time.
|
| Next time I get an e-bike I will probably convert an mechanical
| bike using a Bafang kit or something like that, since they seem
| to have more of those traits.
| woleium wrote:
| Bosch is awful. three different mounting arrangements for the
| same model motor, seemingly just to confuse.
|
| Ebikes can be repairable, but a lot of the prefab ones are
| truly awful, intentionally confusing wiring and controllers
| that are locked down, etc.
|
| Better to build your own, check the endless sphere forums for
| some good guides.
|
| this thread covers why prebuilt ones are unfixable
| https://endless-sphere.com/sphere/threads/tons-of-dead-1-2-y...
| Gud wrote:
| Are we in need of a Framework-like company for e-bikes? Or
| any other industry?
|
| Devices built from the ground up to be modular, not because
| of regulations, but because of market forces?
| Moto7451 wrote:
| The original way you built an e-bike was with a motor hub,
| wires, some sort of speed controller, and a battery pack.
| You had to figure out what that all meant in practice for
| your frame of choice but there were several forums for
| bikes that could help. I'm sure all that is on Reddit now
| as well.
|
| Framework is solving the "I'd like something modular but
| slicker than a Clevo and with a support line that is
| willing to go a bit further than selling an ODM unit to a
| middle man like Sager."
|
| If you don't know who Clevo is but you know who Framework
| is, that means Framework's plan is winning.
|
| For E Bikes there are a couple big brands with good support
| and some boutiques that will take care of you. The big box
| store stuff using Bosch parts are more of a Wild West.
| Gud wrote:
| What I really want are open standards.
|
| Standard battery inter connectors, software APIs, etc.
| petre wrote:
| Actually there is a small bike company named Framework that
| was featured on Gravel Cyclist YT channel two weeks ago.
|
| https://youtu.be/UlXSB5Inr-A
| lb1lf wrote:
| Bosch is a huge company, and attitudes vary across divisions.
| I've been spending more time than I care about talking with
| their hydraulics division - Bosch/Rexroth, earlier known as
| Mannesmann/Rexroth.
|
| Their manic attention to detail is only surpassed by an
| almost fanatical devotion to documentation and
| standardization.
|
| They still make replacement parts for 30+ year old designs,
| and sounded almost apologetic when explaining to me (very
| patiently) that a critical component for an embedded device
| manufactured in Western Germany was no longer available, so I
| had to upgrade the control to the next generation (introduced
| way back in 2012 or so...).
|
| No sweat - the replacement device could be configured as a
| drop-in replacement.
|
| I wish more companies were like that.
| 93po wrote:
| I had a mid-drive ebike and while it definitely shined on the
| extreme hills found in Seattle, i think my next ebike is gonna
| be a wheel hub motor type and just be really over-powered.
| Trying to change gears while under power or applying power too
| early after a shift was super annoying and constantly caused
| the chain to slip off and made terrible clunky noises.
|
| I think front hub motor + internal geared hub on back + belt
| drive is the ideal bike for me. Only downside is not getting to
| do power wheelies :)
| tcfhgj wrote:
| what about something like pinion e-drive system?
| amarcheschi wrote:
| My grandfather is still riding his father's bike. I'm not
| kidding, I don't even know how that bike still manages to remain
| in one piece. FYI, grandfather is 87, the bike is definitely
| about the same age
| bossyTeacher wrote:
| Is it the same bike or the same bike frame? Have the wheels,
| seat not being changed? People often pin a bike's identity on
| the bike frame
| dylan604 wrote:
| Even if it were just the same frame, we'd all consider it the
| same bike.
| MYEUHD wrote:
| This reminds me of the Ship of Theseus
| patall wrote:
| Funny that they make an article about this. My grandpa bought his
| steel frame Diamant race bike at age 14, and is now 82. He
| doesn't use it for longer trips or when using his trailer (he has
| an ebike for that) but short trips like to the trains are still
| riden on it.
| jprete wrote:
| We've been in the mid manufacturing era for quite a while, when
| every part is engineered to fail the day after the warranty
| expires. Maybe the idea of a bicycle that can last seven
| decades is interesting to people.
| jamal-kumar wrote:
| I got injured a couple of times in the past few years enough to
| need crutches to walk on broken limbs and a neighbor gave me her
| old 100+ year old wood ones. Found them to be way better than the
| new aluminium ones that they make now. They may not have any
| padding at all, and are somewhat heavier, but I just found they
| were more comfortable to use somehow. The foam padding on the new
| ones causes chafing and absorbs stuff like your hand sweat which
| gets really gross in tropical countries.
|
| I definitely don't need them anymore but keep them around as a
| cool antique which I might need again someday and as a reminder
| that contemporary designs aren't necessarily better... Crazy that
| they've been in service for longer than anyone alive in my
| family.
| UniverseHacker wrote:
| I think in general "padding" doesn't work as well for human
| bodies as its popularity implies. It feels more comfortable for
| the first few seconds but less so afterwards. Usually it puts
| pressure on soft tissues in a way that cuts off blood flow and
| nerve function, whereas our body is already shaped and evolved
| to interact properly with firm surfaces with our own padding
| and bones in just the right places.
|
| For example, serious long distance cyclists mostly still use
| old fashioned hard leather saddles, which case a lot less pain
| and numbness on a long ride than the modern padded ones.
| quitit wrote:
| I see this quite often with gym equipment. If it's designed
| poorly no amount of padding helps, while better designed
| equipment may not even have much more than a rubberised pad
| for grip.
| nightowl_games wrote:
| E bikes are such a legal grey area. Personally I think some of
| them should be categorized as a motorcycle. Some of em really
| rip!
| jamal-kumar wrote:
| Oh yeah I have a friend who modded his to go faster and he says
| he's going faster than the cops driving the speed limit while
| going down a certain hill on a highway and he's in the bike
| lane and they can't do shit about it but watch him zip by
| gitaarik wrote:
| They should be limited to give assistance up to 25 kph, but
| many are illegally modified. It is a problem though, so they
| are working on new regulations for that.
| tim333 wrote:
| In the UK up to 15.5 mph counts as a bicycle, faster is
| supposed to categorise as a motorcycle. Though people of course
| ignore that, the the police sometimes try to stop them:
| https://news.sky.com/story/e-bike-seizures-surge-as-police-t...
|
| The other bad issue is battery fires - quite a few deaths
| there.
| dzhiurgis wrote:
| What is your goal of categorising it differently tho?
| District5524 wrote:
| I am surprised that Gazelle is still such a strong brand and is
| made in the Netherlands. And also that, in general, bicycle
| manufacturing is resilient within the whole EU, despite the
| rising costs people rightfully complain about.
| mpol wrote:
| It is still a strong brand among the middle-aged and older
| population. It is now owned by Pon Holdings, and Gazelle has
| been in trouble in the last 20 years, with multiple
| reorganizsations. Road bikes and mountain bikes have completely
| gone as a result. Other companies under the Pon umbrella still
| offer road bikes and mountain bikes, even sponsor pro teams.
| dn3500 wrote:
| I am 70 and still have the bike my father bought me when I was
| 14. I ride it every day. The only original parts are the frame,
| the rear brake post, and the head bearing nut.
| zikduruqe wrote:
| I still have my BMX bike that I purchased in 1985 with my hard
| earned money from working on the tobacco farms as my youth.
| drzaiusx11 wrote:
| I'm in my 40s and still ride the bike given to me by a friend
| in childhood as my primary bike. Everything besides the
| (slightly modified) steel frame has been swapped out numerous
| times.
|
| I enjoy working on my bikes as they're fairly standard as far
| as parts go. Swapped the original 26" tires for 640Bs, removed
| front derailleur for more rear gears, changed hand bars, etc.
| The bike has grown and changed along with me through the years.
| paganel wrote:
| She got lucky with her knees.
| alamortsubite wrote:
| Riding a bike your whole life will do that.
| amelius wrote:
| Yes, bicycles are not iPhones.
| MiddleEndian wrote:
| "We should make her swap bikes every year"
|
| - People who like forced automatic software updates
| sexyman48 wrote:
| The story makes more sense if "How am I supposed to get home
| now?" was asked by the suspect to Goosens, not the other way
| round.
| tasuki wrote:
| How has it not been stolen yet? (Edit: Just finished reading the
| article! How has it only been stolen once? ;)
|
| When I moved to Amsterdam, my first bike (which I loved!) was
| stolen in a month. My Dutch acquaintances were not surprised.
| Getting your bike stolen, way of life...
| Freak_NL wrote:
| Depends on both location and how you secure it. Amsterdam,
| Utrecht, Rotterdam, The Hague; yeah, it will get stolen at some
| point. The rest of the country? Should be fine as long as you
| always (always) use a cable lock (like those which slot into
| the regular rear wheel lock) to affix to something unmoveable
| like a light post, the bicycle stand, or a railing of some
| kind. Also, don't have an e-bike or something fancy like a
| VanMoof.
| macinjosh wrote:
| I just bought a Lectric brand cargo e-bike. The family loves it
| for riding to school and nearby trips. The e-bike concept is
| sound.
|
| The bike itself though has been constant issues, like the front
| bearing wore out in 50 miles because they didn't add enough
| grease and the tires aren't rated for the weight the bike says it
| is. So avoid that brand!
| gbraad wrote:
| Gazelle have always been known as very reliable bikes in the
| Netherlands. this is proof. amazing
| ozim wrote:
| Well she is Dutch I don't expect she threw away good bike.
|
| I am not Dutch but I lived there for 10 years.
|
| In my country of origin I live in area others would call Dutch or
| Scottish so we are also rather cheap.
| add-sub-mul-div wrote:
| In America "cheap" has been given a negative connotation
| because we're expected to consume excessively and replace
| things that still work. But keeping something this long if it's
| still working is more reasonable.
| ozim wrote:
| Fun part is I used cheap just as I expect any person in US
| would. I consume HN and loads of US centric media as
| basically we could play "We all live in America, America is
| wunderbar" by Rammstein.
|
| Because Dutch, Scottish or area of people I live nowadays
| frugal nature has negative connotation.
|
| I'd say having bicycle for so long is impressive but at the
| same time it is not really worth it if you can get a new one
| supposedly better spending less than quarter of your monthly
| income.
| petre wrote:
| What do you expect. It's a Gazelle. Last year I bought a second
| hand Gazelle Champion road frame that is my age and built it up
| with parts that at least look period correct, even though they're
| not necessarily. It's a joy to ride.
| tim333 wrote:
| My racing bike lasted about 30 years from my teens till the
| police destroyed it as a terrorism hazzard. I was cycling past
| Westminster tube when it started raining heavily so locked it to
| a post and got the tube not knowing that wasn't allowed around
| Westminster.
| pan69 wrote:
| The oldest possession I have is a book titled Programming
| QUICKBASIC 4. It was published in 1989 and must have gotten it
| around 1990. I had an older book titled Programming GW-BASIC,
| which must have been from around 1987/1988, but it started to
| fall apart about a decade ago and since I can't find anymore, I
| must have thrown it out...
| theglenn88_ wrote:
| Except, it's had 5 new chains, 2 cranksets, 10 seats, 2 rear
| wheels, 4 front wheels and one frame.
| tanseydavid wrote:
| That bicycle is just itching for a subscription model. </sarc>
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