Bicycle observations

It is interesting that in a country that one associates with bicycle riding that the bicycles are of such, generally, low quality. I am converting all of the prices to USD for the readers' convenience; however, remember that all prices paid are in RMB. The current exchange rate is apx. 7.87 RMB to 1 USD and a experienced college teacher makes between 1,700 ($216) and 1,500 ($191) RMB/month.

At this point, I have purchased three bicycles. For Zeneta I purchased a generic Chinese bicycle. Comparatively, it is of better than the common grade; however, it was still rather inexpensive. I did not expect her to ride often, her only real use is when others are going somewhere on bicycles and she does not want to be left out. Note the pinned on crank arm and the poor quality of the welding. The top tube was not centered to the seat tube when it was welded. These types of welding flaws are common, even though I did not notice it when I was purchasing the bicycle. We still have this bicycle and it is used by Zeneta at times; it is also used as a loner for times that I go somewhere with a student, and I have used it as a spare for when my bicycle has been out of service. The drum brake is very common on the single speeds here in China. Her bicycle cost about 20.33 USD.

The Bike

showing the poor welding (at least some of it). This quality of workmanship is pretty much the standard.

At the same time I purchased a single speed for my use, a pigeon. My uses are much harder on the bicycle than Zeneta's. I intended to ride the bicycle, daily, to work. This ride involves several steep hills where nearly everyone dismounts and walks. The general welding was a bit better. It was made out of thin wall steel, which lightened it by quite a bit. There were differences on the bottom bracket and other small parts. In general, it appeared to be a better bicycle and, I liked the way it looked. The problem I discovered was that the chain line was off. This was not noticeable when I purchased it initially because a guard covered the chain; however, this resulted in the chain breaking when it was under heavy load. I ended up selling this bicycle to Colin when his was stolen. It initially cost me 33.03 USD.

The bike is the front one in the row

The chain line, I am not so sure it shows in the picture. However, it is off by about 1-2 cm

The result of a bad chain line

After selling the pigeon I went looking for a bicycle with a derailleur. The first reason was that I wanted to be able to ride all of the way to work instead of dismounting and walking several hundred meters. I felt that the gears would enable me to do this; and I was right, I can now ride all of the way to work. The second reason was that I felt that a derailleur would address the potential chain line issues.

I was unable to find anything with, what I would consider to be, quality components. Most of the bikes are, at best, department store grade. So, I decided that I would be better off with friction levers so that there would be less adjustment worries. I have no idea about the details of the components, other than they are not very good; I included some pictures of them. I am thinking of getting another basket like the one seen on top of the rack and attaching them both to the sides of the rack and using this bike, exclusively, for trips into town and longer rides.

The current bike, it really doesn't fit me well; however, there is not a lot of choice.

the friction shifters

That is right, I am considering another bicycle; actually, I am considering two. The first I am considering is a folding bicycle for taking on trains. The second I am considering is something more suited to riding on campus. The road bike, while very good on longer rides, is not well suited to riding on campus. It is an issue of nimbleness and comfort while riding through dense crowds.

For this purpose I am looking at two different routes and have still not decided. The first route is to look for a single speed that has a good chain line and cantilever brakes (those drum brakes howl something awful). The second route is to get a good mountain style bike. We have found some that do not have suspension, which is a good thing. Most of the riding here is on pavement (poor pavement) so all that suspension will do is to add weight and complexity; In general, suspension, on low cost bicycles, comes at the cost of quality in the bike as a whole. These bikes also have Shimano components, I realize that it is the lowest grade made, however, it is a brand that I can at least recognize. I am concerned with the idea that there are index shifters; however, some of the other teachers have this brand of bike and have had no problems. They paid about 33 USD for these bikes.

This is similar to what I am considering, this one is not for sale as the owner is happy with it; the same bike is also available with a straighter toptube. Yes, that is my old pigeon behind it. Note the lock on the pigeon, it is a very common (the most common) type of lock here. It is attached to the seat stays and immobilizes the real wheel. Of course there is nothing to keep someone from picking up the bike and walking away with it. There is almost never anything to securely lock a bicycle to here so a cable does little more good than this does.

At this point, I have a bike that is quite serviceable. However, it is just not quite what I want on campus. The single speed would have the advantage of simplicity and fewer problems, particularly in the winter. The mountain bike would have the advantage of being able to being able to ride all the way to work and no chain line issues. I am in no hurry and will probably wait a month or so before deciding.

Before you say, "get a bike that is up to western standards," keep in mind that bikes like that are not available in the province where I am, and my income is low by western standards. At about 1700 RMB (216 USD) you start getting into electric moped prices. At about 2500 RMB (318 USD) you start looking at the prices of electric scooters, which are faster than the mopeds but have less range. And, at about 5000 RMB (636 USD) you are well into the price range for motorcycles, the Chinese made motorcycles can be found for less than 2500 RMB; thus, there is no market for bicycles with western prices.

Chinese motorcycle, these are seen everywhere carrying some impressive loads. The area in front of the operator is a cargo rack and the rear seat can be removed for more cargo capacity.

Electric moped, these things are the most common thing seen, other than bicycles, for personal, and family, transportation. They will easily carry a family of three and four will fit with some effort.