honestly? I'm probably the only person on this planet who doesn't know how to text...

 

filthy hipster

 

Nope. We recently took advantage of our cell phone company allowing us to shut off "texting" so we would not have to get it. It was a no-charge option. WOOT!

 

WOWWWWWW..... I can text almost as fast as I can type. Poor guy. At least you admit to it! (Note to self: don't text MISFITOY - wouldn't get message....) I'm sure you're a great American anyway.

 

+3

I commute everyday by bike or motorcycle or bus if its raining. I rarely drive my MINI anymore.

But, Bikesnob is exactly that. Go back and read his posts, he's freaking hilarious! And he purposely an a-hole. So when I read his post about MINIs I not only LMFAO bigtime, but I also agreed with his general message--going green is actually ditching your car, not changing it to a MINI (though a MINI is better than many alternatives). And lets face it, our gas mileage isn't as good as it could be. You new 2nd gen MINI owners may get good gas mileage, but when I get behind the wheel of my '05 MCS, I get ~20 average across a tank. But also consider I live in the city and I drive fun. Disclaimer: on my own MPG tests, I've achieved 32.2 MPG across a full tank, but the car was not so fun...

So don't get your feather all ruffled, he's just being Bikesnob.

Oh and fixed gear bikes don't have coaster brakes, they often have no brakes. The rear cog is locked in place and the pedals don't stop (think kid's bigwheel). Wiki it for more info.

BTW, he linked back to us today:
Again, funny stuff...


So everyone lighten up, he's just poking fun at us, like so many other have done/will-do. After all he's BIKESNOB.

 

There is a movie with Russel Crowe where he inherits a vineyard from an Uncle...He drives past a flock of competition bike riders every now and again and offers up a "Single Finger Salute" and shouts out "Lance Armstrong". This guy could probably use the same salute and salutation -- For my money he could also come up with a heaping case of testicular cancer as well, but then again, keeping some out of MINI's keeps the price from escalating too badly...

 

this guy obviously doesn't know the first thing about cars and/or racing. His opinion is just that, his. I know little about biking, but don't make the same assumptions that he does about drivers. What a schmuck.

 

I think you got him spot-on, matty! Thanks for the laughs!

I recommend a nice Pinot Grigio for the Seafood Alfredo . . .

 

Hey, thanks for trying to bring some perspective to this thread. As a cyclist I've been following along and biting my tongue somewhat. I don't really read bikesnob, though I've heard of him on the cycling forums. A bit of a shock-jock, no? The guy is a bit fringe, even in the cycling community. His writing is satirical and intentionally inflamatory. Knowing this, I personally tend to temper my response in light of his intent to get a rise out of me.

Too bad there seemed to be more ad hominem responses than actual counter-points to his blog, which did have some good points.

 

.

 

what a fn idiotic moron!

 

Shall we?

I agree that the MINI is like a Felt. Some love them some hate them. And it does evoke racing for people, but some of them actually do race. I think Bikesnob's comments are more based off of the "I bought my MINI because it looked cool on The Italian Job" owners than the "this is an autocross killer" or "Yeah, I track my car" owners. What he doesn't know is that these cars are not only cute (in a derivative and studied way) but also perform like few others. Especially for the cost and for the MPG/emissions.

OK, so he includes WHY he doesn't like MINIs, an acceptable argument. I certainly don't text my friends to ask what kind of wine and I NEVER run a stopsign in my MINI. Conversely, I NEVER OBEY stopsigns on my bicycle, lol . And he actually hit the nail on the head: I bought my MINI as a graduation present to myself!

OK, this along with the last quote is a bit over-the top, but isn't that what a shock-jock does?

There is the real point of his post. He's calling out MINIUSA for marketing a car as green when its not quite as green as people think. And this just enforces the car's perception as green. Now I commend MINI for making v2 greener than v1, but its no Smart car. But he's missing the point. There's no car that can perform as well as MINI while still being green.

If you really want to see your ecological footprint, go here http://www.myfootprint.org/en/

 

Nice.

Really, though, this is what satire is, over-generalization to the point of absurdity. But I think he's also calling out MINI owners, not just MINIUSA in regard to sanctimonius environmentalist attitudes. While not prevalent on NAM that I've noticed, I do not think NAM represents even the majority of MINI owners. Just because NAMers don't wave "Go Green" flags, doesn't mean there aren't MINI owners out there that do. bikesnob's point may well read: "Just because your MINI uses less gas than an SUV doesn't mean you're doing enough to justify your condescending attitude. Go ride a bike."

Oh, and I believe Trek draws more love-hate than Felt, don't you?

 

I agree 100% (with your summary of his point, not with his point).
Probably. I almost bought a Trek and discovered that when I was researching that particular bike. I'm relatively new to the bike scene and am not well versed in the history and culture. I just started commuting when I moved to into the City (Richmond, VA) last spring. I sold my first road-bike this past weekend and started riding my new-to-me '01 Bianchi Pista. In '01 the painted them flat black. I love the look.

 

It's satire, you're not supposed to agree with his point. So long as it makes you think a little, then his job is done.

That's hard-core. With my knees, you couldn't pay me to ride a fixie. Give me a free-hub any day. I ride a celeste Bianchi Virata, myself. The jaded types will say: "Bianchi? Isn't that the Trek of Italy? And what's with that funny mint/baby-puke green color?"

 

I'll have a brake on it (though currently don't). I am not interested in trashing my knees! Yeah, mine is decorated with a "Made in Taiwan" sticker :(

 

I find him quite a funny man. I don't agree with him at all, but his @$$hole behaviour and comments are amusing to read.

I'm sure this is his point. Besides, you can't make everyone happy. Politicians would be out of a job if you could.

 

Danielg, you have some good points. He's funny - but he's doing it on purpose, which is what "ruffles my feathers." Do we not have enough of this from people who actually MEAN it? ANyway - he's a common "enemy" and it's always fun to grouse cohesively against a common enemy, no matter if he means to be an enemy or not.

What I'm slightly mystified about is the whole "promoting MINIS as green" thing...I don't think I"ve ever seen paraphernalia or media that promotes the MINI as "going green." I was in Europe for most of the past 4+ years, so maybe I didn't see the US campaign, but...??? Even the link on NAM that takes you to do that "green footprint" thingy isn't promoting us as more green than anybody else. Good lord, we use premium fuel! ? Did I miss something?

The chickensuit-feel-free-to-rescue me thing was pretty funny. And just for the record, I was completely kidding when i mentioned "running into" said type cyclists...

 

Yea, but I think that I will avoid cycling around Ft. Lee for a while....

 

Much love to the NAM forum. As a relatively new Mini owner I love reading this forum. Before I bought my Mini, I exclusively rode a bicycle. When a change in employment required a long commute I bought the most efficient "fun" car I could find. The Mini has been just that, fun and efficient. In my experience as a cyclist, Mini owners have always seemed more conscious of their driving than some other car owners (Lexus guy that means you). Many cyclists choose to ride for the same reasons that they choose to drive a Mini. It's fun and a little impractical. Let's be understanding of the cyclists out there. If you ever sat in your Mini and felt like the little guy being overshadowed by big rigs and inattentive SUV drivers you might get a little feeling of what it is like to be a cyclist. As far as BSNYC goes, he is a gifted satirist who keeps the cycling community from taking themselves too seriously. If you don't like the way cyclists behave, just take a few deep breaths and let him do his work. It will have a much better effect than getting angry at that hipster with the too tight jeans rolled up to the calf.

 

Now this thread is heading where it should be. Thanks for those that stepped in and changed the tone.

On being green. Its not so much a marketing campaign pushing the green as it is just the general population's perception. I always get the "what kind of mileage do you get in that little thing" question because people seem to think it gets awesome millage. I dreadfully answer 20, although now that I'm only using my car for longer trips, I've been answering with 28!

I think this ad campaign is really saying "Hey, there's no car that's more fun for this amount of "green" (and I mean MPG/emissions, not $$). And I completely agree. In fact, I drove my car to work today (since I have to take it to the body shop, thanks Mr. hit-and-run-and-dont-leave-a-note-because-ur-drunk) and fell in love with the car's handling all over again.

 

No, you are correct, the US market has not seen a big emphasis on MINIs as green. This is probably because Europe has many model vehicles that regularly achieve 40-50mpg without batting an eye. Compared to those cars, MINI's 30-40mpg isn't anything extraordinary.

I'm thinking there is also some guilt by association taking place. The overall push towards fuel economy and Green has many media outlets in the US compiling lists of Green, efficient vehicles. MINI does make it onto a lot of these lists and is a pretty visible target (it is the most fuel efficient fun one can have without going hybrid/electric/dual fuel) for bloggers and rabble-rousers.

There is another point that bikesnob implied, but did not explicitly state: It is not just how much hydrocarbon a vehicle consumes, but also how much CO2 a vehicle creates. Autos may run cleaner than they did before emissions testing, but they're still cesspools compared to the [lack of] waste generated by a bicycle.

 

+6

I enjoy driving my MINI, bike commuting, racing my road bike, racing my mountain bike, & reading BSNYC.

'Nuff said.

 

Hey! what's with all the bicyclists using up all the oil on two tires? Unicycle is the only true choice for the green warrior!

Really, if you were truly committed, your butt would be walking. I'm running everyone else off the road on the way to work tomorrow.


Thanks to everyone who posted his other comments. They made his comedy apparent, which wasn't coming through with just the original excerpt.

 

Reads like more the one Mini almost took him out.

As a cyclist, it's very easy to get riled up when someone almost takes you out on a bike. I don't blame him, he's probably just venting. Some jackass kid in a honda civic almost took me out with his side view mirror. If he had been one or two inches closer, my elbow would have been shattered I'm sure. If I had caught him at the light, he would have had a nice shoe print on his door, that's how mad I was.

As for us Mini owners, if you're driving, DRIVE. If you NEED to talk on the phone, install a hands free Parrot. If you're texting, or emailing, you're an ***. Stop it before you kill someone.It's easy for this brand to get stereotyped, its so easy to recognize.