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Happy New Year! Note: This year I am going to post a few longer form brainwaves from time to time that will relate, maybe just tangentially, to things going on in our little corner of the bike industry…things rattling around in my head as I squirrel away in the shop... I hope that’s ok. One other thing: My heartfelt thanks to those of you that have communicated over the years that you appreciate receiving The Dispatch in your inbox. It’s hard to know how best to stay in touch with our customers in this age if atomization and the effort I put into these musings isn’t nothing. So again, thank you. *** I stumbled upon this piece on Substack a few weeks ago and it seemed to zap my brain a bit and really got me thinking. I will confess I didn’t read or study Nietzsche in high school (never went to university), I can’t imagine anyone did, but if I had I would not have remembered any of it, teenage hormones and all that. The piece was referring to Nietzsche’s “Last Man” as a person who has optimized the struggle out of his life (sounds familiar, hey?). He wants comfort without challenge, safety without growth, and happiness without risk. When the Last Man finally says, “We have invented happiness,” it isn’t a celebration, it’s a warning. Something important has been lost. That article made me think that the act of cycling for transport is an almost perfect antidote to the frictionless economy engulfing all of us. *** Part 1 The modern frictionless economy is shorthand for systems designed to remove pauses, obstacles, and human interaction from easily consuming things. Dopamine dumps immediate. Purchasing should be instant. Shipping should be free. Returns should have zero consequences. Support should be on 24/7. Anything that slows that process, conversations, expertise, repairs, responsibility, is treated as a flaw that shouldn’t exist. And look, I get the appeal. Convenience is nice. But excessive convenience also quietly changes what we expect from the things we buy, from our local communities, and from ourselves. Nowhere is this more obvious to me than in bicycle retail, obviously, and more specifically, low quality *e-BSOs. Cycling has always included a certain amount of friction. Isn’t that one of the reasons we choose to ride? You learn how gears work. You encounter hills and headwinds that don’t care how your day is going. Flat tires happen at the absolute worst time. The fun kind of friction is running into friends when you’re out riding. Over time, your efforts transform into competence, and competence becomes confidence. Your bike stops being just a product and morphs into a tool you understand and rely on. The frictionless bike economy tries to skip much of that relationship building…at it’s peril. (And it is perilous, just ask Rad Power Bikes). Two clicks replace a test ride. A chat box replaces an experienced mechanic’s recommendations. Bikes show up at your doorstep, pre-decided by algorithms and reviews written by robots promise pies in skies. The result often isn’t more people riding: It’s more bikes sold, often more e-waste generated, many of those bikes poorly matched to real lives, real commutes, and real conditions. Cheap e-bikes are the most tempting version of this promise. They offer speed and ease at a price that feels accessible, and sometimes they genuinely do help someone start riding. But too often, the support systems that make bikes last are missing. Proper (aka safe) assembly and setup. Battery safety, or lack thereof. Firmware support? Any parts availability? When a replacement battery costs more than the bike, the math stops making sense very quickly. It really stops making sense when the e-BSO burns down your house. When that bike fails, it hasn’t failed because it asked too much of the rider. It failed because we asked too little of the system behind it. *** ~ Sean *BSO - Bicycle Shaped Object Next month: Part 2 on why bike shops like ours choose to be a little slower, a little messier, and much more human.
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