daywalkerJoined: 09 Nov 2007Posts: 6108Location: Hatertown
First, I like the article and what they're doing.
Second - Fred Day, CEO of SRAM, the largest bicycle company in America put his top dudes on it and came up with a 55 pound one speed? 55 POUNDS. Holy shit.
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dennyt
Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:38 am
rocket mechanicJoined: 02 Aug 2005Posts: 2708
tehschkott wrote:
First, I like the article and what they're doing.
Second - Fred Day, CEO of SRAM, the largest bicycle company in America put his top dudes on it and came up with a 55 pound one speed? 55 POUNDS. Holy shit.
Transportation in Africa is different than boutique hobby bikes in America? Who'd a thought?
jimmythefly
Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:21 am
Joined: 10 Jan 2007Posts: 1491
the new york times wrote:
After consulting with local people and looking at the spare parts available in remote areas, Mr. Day’s engineering staff looked at the worksman catalog and picked a 55-pound one-speed bicycle that needed little pampering.
FixedThatForThem
jsmg
Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:24 pm
baby bearJoined: 23 Aug 2009Posts: 843Location: your mom
jimmythefly wrote:
the new york times wrote:
After consulting with local people and looking at the spare parts available in remote areas, Mr. Day’s engineering staff looked at the worksman catalog and picked a 55-pound one-speed bicycle that needed little pampering.
FixedThatForThem
Just let me make a quick update to the scoreboard:
Frederick Day: Started a program to donate bicycles for free to children in impoverished nations to improve their access to education
Jimmy: Was snarky about his Frederick's choice of donated bicycle on the Internet.
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tehschkott
Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:37 pm
daywalkerJoined: 09 Nov 2007Posts: 6108Location: Hatertown
@denny oh yeah I get it. The challenges of that kind of project are considerable, both mechanically and socially. A 55lb bike is heavy by any standard me thinks.
Wonder if they used Dutch Bikes as their model.
Zing!
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tehschkott
Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:39 pm
daywalkerJoined: 09 Nov 2007Posts: 6108Location: Hatertown
Im waiting for the person who starts making bikes out of melted down/recycled AK-47s.
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Chip McShoulder
Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:46 pm
dog licking ice cream coneJoined: 11 Aug 2008Posts: 3022Location: Rainbow Road
Better yet: melted-down recycled ICBMs.
As a teenager, this is how my friends and I thought Huffys were probably made.
After consulting with local people and looking at the spare parts available in remote areas, Mr. Day’s engineering staff looked at an old Raleigh catalog and picked a 55-pound one-speed bicycle that needed little pampering.
FixedThatForThem
FixedThatForMe
Interestingly, I also read that there really isn't one "standard" bike for the program, that a bike for a part of Africa may be different from a bike in S. America. They also try to have the bike produced locally, shipping parts to the country for production there.
Razi
Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:03 pm
Joined: 16 Dec 2005Posts: 866Location: Seattle
Lots to say about this.
First off " One notorious problem with aid groups is that they introduce new technologies that can’t always be sustained; the developing world is full of expensive wells that don’t work because the pumps have broken and there is no one to repair them."
This is often not true. Borehole pumps are not hard to fix, but most communities that get boreholes donated without community buy-in don't charge for use and so when the pumps do break there are no funds to repair them. The lack of pay for use schemes is a much bigger cause of this problem than a lack of skilled workers or parts or anything like that.
The most common bikes in Africa are the made in china Phoenix models. These are so shitty that a smooth riding 55lb bike is actually pretty big step up. Beside, people haul so much shit on their bikes in Africa that a really stout frame is worth the weight. Seriously.
But, communities and individuals should have buy-in. There is no way that a kid in Zimbabwe can afford a significant part of the cost of a bicycle (even a very cheap one) but after seeing what happens with donated goods in the developing world, I have moved away from supporting this model. Goods can be heavily subsidized, but financial literacy and accountability should be as much a part of foreign aid as anything else. Don't do things for people. Do things with people.
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daywalker
Joined: 09 Nov 2007
Posts: 6108
Location: Hatertown
rocket mechanic
Joined: 02 Aug 2005
Posts: 2708
Joined: 10 Jan 2007
Posts: 1491
baby bear
Joined: 23 Aug 2009
Posts: 843
Location: your mom
dog licking ice cream cone
Joined: 11 Aug 2008
Posts: 3022
Location: Rainbow Road
Joined: 16 Dec 2005
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Location: Seattle
