Road Bikes Rule

I have never understood Davis students' (or people's in general) love affair with crappy Kmart mountain bikes. Granted, I got my bicycle for free, but there is no getting around the logic of buying a bike worth riding. I see the reasons people don't to be thus:

1. People are cheap and will choose the cheapest option set before them whether or not it is the best buy.
2. The exception is that people refuse to buy used. New, road bikes start around five hundred. Used, they start around one.
3. People don't want to be aware of the road. First of all, feeling connected to the world during travel scares them and seems a nuisance because they are used to cars. This is the same reason manual transmissions are so unpopular and one of many reasons for motorcycles' rarity. Strange as it sounds, most people don't like feeling connected to the road. In my opinion this is indicative of poor upbringing.
4. People don't consider where they live when buying a bike. Different bikes are better suited to different terrains.
5. People don't ride fast enough. Bikes are meant to go 15-20mph, not 5.

Max's reasons why you should buy a road bike:
1. Pedaling is easy and the bike is lightweight.
2. This allows you to go really fast.
3. The ride is smooth and graceful yet sensitive to the pavement.
4. In Davis, where the land is flat and everything is paved, mountain bikes don't make any sense.
5. Road bikes go really, really fast.

Kids in Davis who have the crappy Kmart bikes are much less likely to ride places because riding is hard, slow and ugly. Therefore the advantage that was gained in price is compensated by the fact that they don't use their bike. Did I mention these bikes weigh twice as much as road bikes?

PS. I'm not a huge fan of standard racing "hook" handlebars. As cool as they look, they're not very comfortable.

PPS. I respect people who ride cruisers not because they're "my type" but because they obviously made the conscious decision to purchase a bike that suited their needs. They may be sorority girls with one arm on the handlebar and the other on a cellphone, but they're not brain dead.