As I've been driving around Provo for the last couple of days, I've noticed something that is starting to really annoy me. You see, it's started to warm up a little after a short cold spell and I've seen dozens of people riding through town on their bikes. This should be a good thing right?
Well, what really annoys me is seeing a bunch of people riding around town on full suspension mountain bikes that they never intend to take off the pavement. You can always tell these people because you can see them bouncing up and down on their suspension as they try to propel themselves forward.
Full suspension mountain bikes were never intended to be ridden on pavement for any extended distance. The rear suspension actually makes pedaling less efficient by absorbing some of the down stroke of your pedaling motion. When you are cruising over a rocky and/or stumpy trail, that rear suspension can be invaluable. When you are riding down the street, that rear suspension just makes you look silly.
I think that we have Wal-Mart to blame for this phenomenon. Wal-Mart doesn't really care about selling you the right bike, they just want to sell you a bike. They figure if the really expensive, high-end mountain bikes have full suspensions, then what everyone wants and needs is a really cheap Walmart bike with a full suspension.
Unfortunately, there is no one in Wal-Mart's bike department to help you pick out the bike you really need. So, you come to Wal-Mart to look at bikes, notice that 90% of their mountain bike selection is full suspension and priced under a $100, and you think to yourself: That looks like the bike that I need to buy. This would never happen in a real bike store with competent sales people.
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Unfortunately, I think the problem isn't limited to the bike department. Used to be, any store you went into (hardware, gardening, etc.) you could ask the salesperson a question and he could give you advice. Now, it's seldom a salesperson who know anything at all, and the worst case scenario is when they just make up something (which if you know more than they do, is obviously a stupid answer - but if you don't, you're misled!) For example, I've called Home Depot to ask if they had vermiculite, and the young guy, right off the bat said 'no'. Then I asked him if he knew what it was, and he didn't! He just didn't want to be bothered to look for something when he didn't even know what it was!
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