who rides hard tail?

it doesn't matter what TL's website says. seats at the front of the bus are for the elderly, people with strollers, and people with mobility issues. standing at the front of the bus impedes the flow of people getting on and off especially if, as in your scenario, the bus is crowded.

Your "explanation" suggests that you have no or little experience with bus/bike travel. Where did I or Translink say that you have to take away reserved seating from those who need it? Your assertion that a maximum of 2 cyclists within sight of a bus front door would cause pandemonium on a crowded bus is plain silly. Yet you insist that Translink's own advice to cyclists (and my own experience) are wrong.

Telling people to watch their bikes "out there", is a "alarmist/fear-mongering"? Look at the map on the link I posted. Those are just the ones reported stolen on one website. I wonder for how many bike thefts in Vancouver go unreported.

I am, however, truly sorry if I have offended clean-cut people who wear designer clothes, the vast majority of whom are good citizens and don't steal bikes.

bike theft sucks. but we're not the bike theft capitol of canada, let alone the world (for the record, for canada, it's toronto - which wouldn't even rate in the top 10 in the US)

Toronto Police Service serves a population of 6 million. Reported bicycle thefts by the TPS are 3000-4000 depending on years and reported estimates. VPD serves a population about 1/10 TPS - 603,502 people - and I can't find any hard stats but going from 2011 stats and all thefts reported you could say very conservatively 1,500 reported thefts a year in Vancouver. Translated per capita that would look like an astonishing 15,000 bike thefts per year n the GTA (I know - skewed by different municipal structures, but its hard to argue that the overall rate of bike theft in Toronto is comparable to Vancouver). Portland, similar in size to Vancouver seems to have theft statistics similar to Vancouver. Can't find stats for Seattle.

Edit: Public service announcement. Vancouver Police auction tomorrow:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-police-set-to-auction-bikes-tvs-gold-and-toothpaste-1.3055391

400 recovered bikes up for auction. What % of bikes do you think are recovered? 50%? 20%? 10%? 1%? If that many ended up in police hands, I wonder what the proportion is of bikes that are never recovered by their owners?

"10 per cent of stolen bikes recovered by police …" according to this article

http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/1356394/vancouver-police-to-sell-stolen-bikes-tvs-at-2015-auction/

Do the math. That's 4000 bikes a year and potentially more, given that probably not all bike thefts are reported to the Vancouver Police Department (I know mine - 2 beaters - haven't).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UArCzWdbxG8

I'd say go ride a bunch of bikes. If you haven't ridden suspension much it's worth a try. 29ers are interesting. The new crop of short travel 29ers also super interesting. Hardtails are awesome too, and there's no shortage of options for one suitable for riding around here. This is a place where it's good to have options.

bike theft sucks. but we're not the bike theft capitol of canada, let alone the world (for the record, for canada, it's toronto - which wouldn't even rate in the top 10 in the US)

Granville Island is Vancouver/BC's bike theft capital btw. And the second largest tourist attraction in Canada with over 3 million visitors. Pretty easy to gues what number 1 is. Rando fact for the day.

Maybe I'll just put a derailer and front brake on my current.bike and call it a day I do love riding it.

Your "explanation" suggests that you have no or little experience with bus/bike travel.

oh dear. is it that obvious - what gave me away? was it the article i wrote for nsmb about using public transit to facilitate mountain biking in the lower mainland? or my job in the field of sustainable transportation, for which i travel throughout metro vancouver by bike and bus? or the fact that i ride downtown with my son every week for a regular program he attends, and take the bus home?

Telling people to watch their bikes "out there", is a "alarmist/fear-mongering"?

not at all. i used to teach workshops for the UBC bike co-op on proper bike-locking technique, and have developed a number of cycling education programs for kids and adults based in an urban setting - i take bike safety pretty seriously. the parts of your post i took exception to, which reeked of fear-mongering, were your paranoid admonition to BE AWARE AT ALL TIMES (emphasis yours), your overstatement of the problem Vancouver has with bike theft, the way you downplayed the effectiveness of locks, and your efforts to profile bike thieves:

I am, however, truly sorry if I have offended clean-cut people who wear designer clothes, the vast majority of whom are good citizens and don't steal bikes.

no, not those people,

a guy with a shopping cart and a garbage bag for a raincoat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PKRHgmHzK0
how many bike thieves have you met/caught? my personal count is at seven. none of them were pulling a shopping cart or wearing a garbage bag

I just spent a week riding a load of hardtails on loamy trails in the UK.

They have vastly lower cornering, breaking, climbing grip than any half decent FS, they beat your hands, ankles, lower back to crap, and they are nowhere near as much fun to ride.

Why the hell people ride them when you can buy great, cheap, new FS bikes or one of the million used 26" FS bargains boggles my mind.

I just spent a week riding a load of hardtails on loamy trails in the UK.

They have vastly lower cornering, breaking, climbing grip than any half decent FS, they beat your hands, ankles, lower back to crap, and they are nowhere near as much fun to ride.

Why the hell people ride them when you can buy great, cheap, new FS bikes or one of the million used 26" FS bargains boggles my mind.

Simplicity? If I could afford a second bike I would build up a Chromag HT in a heartbeat, just because.

I just spent a week riding a load of hardtails on loamy trails in the UK.

They have vastly lower cornering, breaking, climbing grip than any half decent FS, they beat your hands, ankles, lower back to crap, and they are nowhere near as much fun to ride.

Why the hell people ride them when you can buy great, cheap, new FS bikes or one of the million used 26" FS bargains boggles my mind.

Because some of us aren't about bashing down loamy trails and prefer longer, less intense rides - or fathom this if you will or have the capability - want a bike that climbs better and is half the weight…show me a great, cheap full suspension too, I'm interested to know what you think great/cheap are…the cheapest bike I seen that I would buy full suspension was 2200$ it was a trek something… Inner routed cables and all that - but like I said, for 2200$ I could also get a carbon frame hard tail and ride the hell out of that… Not all of us have to be going 60kmh and be catching "sick air" to have a good time. Why the hell anybody's gotta hate like you is what boggles my mind, I came here to ask about hard tails, you saw the post and thought "ima go shit on this thread"?

In fairness, everything he said about cornering, braking and climbing traction was true. And that's what makes riding hardtails at a high level so challenging and satisfying for many. It's not hateful to bring that up in the context of this thread.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-ca/bikes/model/stance.27.5.1/20506/80080/

Get over yourself, it's a bike forum. I wasn't talking about raping your mom.

:ohthedrama:

Never take anything personally on NSMB.com lol

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-ca/bikes/model/stance.27.5.1/20506/80080/

Get over yourself, it's a bike forum. I wasn't talking about raping your mom.

It was just a dick way to say what you had to say, obviously traction and all that shit is sacrificed…

Why do I ride a hardtail?

Well, at the moment it's because I'm waiting for parts on my FS bike, but usually when I do it's because I want to.

It's for none of the reasons suggested above. My hardtail weighs more than my Nomad. I hate riding it on long rides, and I don't like riding smooth trails ever, unless they have big jumps on them, are called Aline and I'm on my way down from Garbo. And I don't really see it as being simplistic (certainly not when you're trying to pick a line).

The number one reason I ride a hardtail in places like Garbo zone is because it takes exactly 3 roots before I'm switched on and fired up. None of this 2 lap warm up wake up shit on a DH bike. Nothing like getting the sense knocked into you 3 seconds into your first run and then you're ready to rip.

Number 2. It makes familiar trails new again and it makes easier trails harder. I like to ride it sometimes when I ride with my wife. It's supposed to slow me down, but it usually just makes me act sillier.

Number 3. It does wonders for your 'beatdown fitness'. Want to get good at taking abuse from bulk DH laps? A couple of days on the hardtail here and there will make riding top to bottom non stop laps on a DH bike feel much easier.

Number 4. I don't give a shit what anyone else thinks, but I feel like a rockstar in my own head when I destroy a high speed rough section, especially when I'm tailing someone on a DH bike and they can't drop me. Sometimes you can hold them, and sometimes you can't. It's the challenge in trying that makes it fun.

Number 5. RDS (and others like it) is just awesome to do once in a while on a bike that makes everything harder.

Not all the time; not even most of the time, but once in a while it is just plain fun to make myself hurt and struggle, with both my body and my mind, as I try and ride my Stylus down some gnarly rough shit as fast as I possibly can. Good clean fun.

But after 3 months of waiting for parts to build my Nomad, I'm admittedly over it. I see a HT as a 2nd or 3rd bike and never an only bike for me.