The consumer alert
Page 2 THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1974
Prospective bicyclists given tips
TUe consumer report is a
periodic distribution. If you are
interested in seeing its continu
ed publication in the Battalion,
please inform us.
By JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General
AUSTIN—Bicycles turn up fre
quently on Christmas gift lists for
children—and for adults, too, these
days.
The Bicycle Institute of America
estimates that there are about twice
as many bikes as families in the
country today. In .1972 alone, more
than 12 million new bikes were
bought.
So bikes are undoubtedly popular
consumer items. Since they are also
relatively expensive items, con
sumers should ship carefully to get
the best machine for the money-
—and that means the machine best
suited to the rider and the type of
riding he or she will do.
Such a machine will probably also
be the safest, too, since many bike
injuries residt from problems occur
ring with a bike unsuited to its rider.
Other causes of injury are loss of
control, mechanical and structural
problems, entanglement, slipping
from pedals, and collisions.
More than 400,000 persons suf
fered bicycle-related injuries seri
ous enough to need hospital
emergency room treatment last
year, according to the U.S. Con
sumer Product Safety Commission.
The Commission is developing
safety standards for bicycles to
eliminate many of the injuries
caused by mechanical or structural
failures. The new regulations will
set strict performance and construc
tion standards for brakes, wheels,
steering system, and frame. They
will require reflectors on front,
back, sides, and pedals to make
bikes visible at night, and also will
require elimination of uncovered
sharp edges and jutting parts.
These new standards aren’t ex
pected to go into effect for several
more months. In the meantime,
however, if you’re bike-shopping
for Christmas, the Attorney
General’s Consumer Protection Di
vision recommends avoiding pos
sible dissatisfaction, repair prob
lems and even danger, by looking
for these points when choosing a
bicycle:
-If you’re buying for a child, get a
bike that fits his current size. Don’t
select a larger one, thinking he will
grow into it. A bike that’s too big will
be hard to handle and coidd contri
bute to accidents.
-A bike should suit the rider and
the purpose. A youngster who has
never owned a bike before may
need a more basic model than an
adult who has hiked frequently for
years. Likewise, a bike that will be
used mostly for jaunts to the park
can be less complex than one used
for cross-country competition.
- Make sure the bike is the correct
size. First check to see that the seat
post extends the recommended two
inches. Have the rider stand over
the bike seat and rotate the crank so
one pedal is all the way down. If the
bike fits, the rider’s leg should be
straight when the heel is resting on
the pedal.
-Check brakes carefully for fast,
easy stopping. If the bike is for a
youngster, and it has caliper hand
brakes, make sure the child has the
strength and hand size it takes to
operate them easily.
-Check the entire frame of the
bike for sharp points and edges and
for any protruding bolts or other
structural problems.
-Inspect pedals. Plastic ones may
be slippery. Rubber-tread pedals or
metal ones with serrated edges or
toe straps are usually safer.
-If the bike doesn’t come with
headlights, taillights, and all the re
flectors recommended by the Con
sumer Product Safety Commission,
consider purchasing them, along
with extra reflective trim for fen
ders, handlebars, chainguards, and
wheels, to be certain the bike will
be recognizeable in the dark.
-If the bike is fora child under 12,
the safest choice may be a single
speed model with pedal operated
brakes. In most cases, a three-speed
bike with pedal brakes is the most
elaborate model a child should
have, according to bike safety ex
perts. Five or 10-speed models are
relatively complicated for a child to
operate and may cause more con
centration on gear shifting than on
traffic. A three or five-speed model
may be all an adidt needs, too, after
considering how the bike will be
used.
-If you know little about bikes,
choose a reputable dealer who has a
variety of models for comparison,
who can help you make a decision,
and who can service the bike after
the sale.
Consult the Attorney General s
Consumer Protection Division,
your county or district attorney, or
your local Better Business Bureau if
you have a consumer problem about
a bike purchase or service under a
warranty.
FOR A BROCHURE .SuL
CALL: 713/823 0961 5#^ Mm
or write:
Beverley Braley Tours, Travel
P.O. Box 3872
Bryan, Texas 77801 713/823-0961
Listen up
‘Student priorities bad’
COUStCTS By Rodney Hammack —
“This is Student Radio where you just heard ‘Going Down on
Love by John Lennon, before that you heard Pictures of Lilly’ by
the Who, and before that was Eight Miles High by the Byrds, and
before that you heard ‘Smoke on the Water’ by Deep Purple, and
before that you heard ten minutes of stereo silence until someone
called in and woke me up ...”
Editor:
Having just spent two days on the
A&M campus while on leave from
the Army, it has been a real educa
tion to discover how messed up the
priorities of this university and its
students really are.
The members of the Corps of
Cadets are griping about women en
tering ROTC; yet, at the same time,
the number of men actually par
ticipating in the ROTC program has
dropped significantly in the last few
years. Instead of downgrading the
women for becoming part of the
great tradition of the Corps of
Cadets, the time and effort coidd be
spent more effectively in upgrading
the numbers and quality of the
Corps.
While the Corps is complaining
about women, other members of
the student body are complaining
about saying prayers in Duncan Di
ning Hall and before football games.
Apparently, prayers before football
games are more important than the
fact that the Administration is tr\ ing
to dictate what students can say and
see on this campus. And while
everyone is worrying over some tri
vial item, the construction on the
University Center continues with
no consideration as to the needs and
wants of the student body.
To the Corps of Cadets 1 say, “Let
tradition be the base upon which
you build but don’t let it blind you to
the fact that if you don’t change and
progress you cannot grow and if you
cannot grow you will surely die out.
To the civilian students I say that
the traditions are yours also and so
yours to build on as well. If you
don’t, this university will become a
place where students come to do
their four years and get out, not hav-
Aggieland Pictures
SENIORS & GRADUATES
Nov. 18 - Dec 20 Makeups
Students who have paid to have their pictures placed
in the 1975 Aggieland should have their photograph
taken according to schedule at—
UNIVERSITY STUDIO
115 North Main
College Station
ing learned anything except what
came out of a book. If you worry
about ants while the elephants are
tearing down the house around you,
you ’ll be rid of a few minor pests but
you’ll have no place to live.
Donald F. Killingsworth ’72
Night nuts
Editor:
I ply you with this epistle on the
behalf of a forgotten minority of
faithful Aggie students. After a long
and demanding day of classes and
related activities followed by sev
eral hours of tedious research in the
library as we drive slowly home we
find ourselves beseiged by those
sadistic invisible two wheeled har
pies of the night—the campus bicyc
lists.
These enemies to our mental
health leap the curb into our paths
with not so much as a piece of
floureseent tape to make them
selves more visible. If these indi
viduals are so desperate to commit
suicide I would beg them not to
draft us for instruments of this free
wheeling purge. If some compul
sion is pedaling them to meet their
Maker astride their ten speed cof
fins let then! run head Jong into
Rudder Tower or Sul Ross statue so
that none of the loyal minority of
motoring aggies has to feel respon
sible for their self-ordained destiny.
There is another alternative to
this plight facing my small desper
ate group. The university could
make an all out effort to foil these
thoughtless suieidals by making stiff
fines for riding unlighted and un-
Cbe Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building. College
or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of station, n \as //Bet
the university administration or the Board of Directors. The The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction ot all
Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local
by students as a university and community newspaper. new $ of spontaneous origin published herein. Right of reproduction of all
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LETTERS POLICY
Editor Creg Moses
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are Assistant Editor Will Anderson
subject to beingcut to that length or less if longer. The editorial Managing Editor LaTonya Perrin
staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guaran- Sports Editor Mark Weaver
tee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the Photo Editor Alan Killingsworth
address of the writer and list a telephone number for verified- Copy Editors Cynthia Maciel,
tion. Carson Campbell
News Editor Roxie Hearn,
Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion. Room -p q Gallucci
217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843.
Campus editor Steve Bales
, , , , City Editor Rod Speer
Members of the Student Publications Board are: Jim Lindsey, chairman; Dr. . . . _ . , D , ... ,, , ..
Ton, Adair, Dr. R. A. Albanese, D, H. E. Hierth, W. C. Harrison, Steve Special Assignment Reporters Teresa Coslett,
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The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is published in College .
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September through Mav, and once a week during summer school . .
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PEANUTS
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marked Jiikes after dark. In fact they
could stop these individuals from
molesting our sanity at all just by
refusing to tag bicycle's whic h do not
have the proper safety equipment
for night cycling.
Pat Mabry
I n I • r • I a I
CINEMA I
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DECEMBER 4, 1974 - 8 00 PM
RUDDER AUDITORIUM
CALL 5-2916 TO
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TICKET PRICES:
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2 2.75 3.25
3 1.75 2.50
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