The bikes in Santiago are really great. I would not say this is really a “biking city,” and I would never ride a bike in the congested city center, but there are a good number of people who ride bikes around town. And the bikes are the sort that are made for people to actually ride. It’s ridiculously hard to find such bikes in the US because the bike market there is obsessed with racing road bikes for rich Lance-wannabes and mountain bikes for people who want to be cool and outdoorsy. These are not bikes for people—meaning regular people—to ride—meaning not race or take into the mountains. Bikes for people to ride have the following characteristics:
- Comfortable riding position
- Comfortable seat
- Fenders to keep your pants dry
- Few gears to mess with
- Storage options for hauling groceries
- Sturdy metal
- Cheap enough that you don’t have to guard it like a Tiffany diamond
I can’t tell you how many people in the US have told me they want to buy a bike with these characteristics. But if you do find one with the physical characteristics, typically it will be made by a big-name brand and have a big price tag. This negates the whole equation because if your bike is so valuable that you worry about it being stolen, you won’t go out and ride it to the store.
In Santiago, you see bikes old and new with these traits, and they are cool. They look inexpensive and utilitarian. The most popular brands are Oxford (made in Chile) and Bianchi. Oh, on the weekends, the Lance (or more likely Eddy) wannabes do come out on expensive machines.
