Bicycle riding

Go to a bike shop, get sized up and know what you are looking for. Then, find an old steel bike. The weight difference might seem like a lot, but it isn't and the steel absorbs the vibrations of the road more so than aluminum bikes. Full CF bikes - costly, but absorb a bit more.

/my two cents as a 6 month road biker about to venture into a 45mile ride this weekend and a 182 mile ride the following weekend

 

Doing the MS 150??

 

I've put on about 80,000 miles since 1990. I've ridden all types of frames and it comes down to what's comfortable to you. I have two carbon fiber bikes that I love. They're stiff but still remove a lot of vibration. Cost will be a major factor in what to buy. As a rule, the lighter the more expensive the bike will be. If you're going to do some easy recreational riding on weekends don't spend a fortune. If you're looking to compete, do long rides (100+ miles) or do lots of climbing go for the lighter stiffer frame. There are a lot of good bikes out there in the $2k range. It's also not hard to spend from $4k - $7k on a bike. Talk to several bike stores and at the end of the day, buy the one that feels right. Definitely shop around once you've decided on a direction.

 

These bike people annoy me every weekend. They are out riding and blocking the whole lane on a two lane road. Then they blow through stop signs with cars at them. (in louisiana they are required to obey all traffic rules) my car got hit by a bicycle running a stop sign so maybe i'm a little bitter

 

And remember this, even though a few hundred million Chinese and Indians ride bicycles to work every day, and even though millions of American kids rode bicycles every day from the 1930s thru the 1980s, the politically correct world would have you believe that you must wear a bicycle helmet when you ride, (putting a few more dollars into the bank accounts of the helmet manufacturers.) If you're so worried about having a wreck on a vehicle that is inherently UNstable because it balances on 2 wheels along a single axis, maybe you shouldn't be riding one in the first place?

Also, why do 80 or 90% of bicyclists have to wear those gay looking spandex pants and shirts? As indicated above, a hundred million American kids rode a hundred million bicycles to school for 80 years or more and they only wore blue jeans and a T-shirt.

 

Maybe?

 

Thats the funniest part. some guys ass up in the air with skin tight multi-colored shorts.

 

It would be a waste of my time to try to even explain, you seem to know everything. You've been extremely helpful to the person who started this thread. There have been many threads on what a-holes bike riders are and what a menace they are to motor vehicles. Why don't you chime in on one of those?

 

About 8 years ago, I bought a mountain bike from Wal-Mart. A Mongoose MGX-D40 model. It has a dual front suspension like a motorcycle. It cost me $218 plus tax. Of course it is nothing fancy compared to what the "spandex" crowd MUST have in order to be cool, but it has 21 gears and suits me fine. I wore out the rear hub because it developed a crack around the axle. Bought an old, but NOS hub for $10 at a bike shop and was determined to re-spoke the old rim onto the new hub. I COULD have bought a new wheel a lot easier, but the original wheel was slightly wider than the replacements. So I entered unknown territory and actually re-spoked the hub onto the old rim and trued up the tension until it was turning great. Runs fine, except the positioning of the old hub is slightly offset on the axle compared to the new replacement, so the gear shifting has trouble going into first gear, and the brakes have to be adjusted far off to one side in order to line up correctly. All things considered, I should have bought a new wheel and been done with it. But live and learn. I never use anything except 3rd and 4th gear anyway. Since I work late, after work I ride it around at night on empty shoping center parking lots. Well lit and totally empty, it's good exercise and it's always cooler at night.
Unless you're set on long distance road travel, a mountain bike is the way to go these days. Plenty of gears, wide tires, and very rugged so they can go anywhere.

 

I ride both mountain and road bikes, and both have their appeal.

As said earlier, if you are going to get serious (which to me means riding frequently and/or a significant distance) go to a bike shop and get something that fits you properly. This will matter more than almost anything, especially in the beginning. If you choose a road bike, and you live where it is hilly, and especially if you have knee issues, considering getting a triple crank in front (it increase your gear selection, and gives you some lower gears). It is not trick, nor race, nor as light, but very comfortable (I have a very expensive road bike with a triple crank because I am weak, old, and have bad knees--it works great for me).

Mountain bikes are great for exercise on the road; what they aren't is effecient nor particularly fun (a parallel to driving a twisty mountain road--sure a Hummer will do it, but it will be more fun in a Ferrari). Having said that, I love trail riding on a mountain bike. To me, it beats road riding (on any kind of a bike) hands down.

For the anti-spandex crowd--ride 3 hours nonstop in jeans on a road bike (maybe in a little light rain) then do the same in Spandex, then come and talk trash about cycling garmets. They are like any sport specific items--they make the activity safer/more comfortable/more fun (like R-comps at the track). Do you look like a fool in them?--I do--but it isn't a fashion contest for me, it is exercise.

Good luck in your search.

 

I hate it when people ***** about cyclists with the assumption that everyone riding a bike is a danger to society. Just because there's a handful of idiots out there doesn't mean that every guy in a bicycle jersey is going to run you down or cut you off.*

And to many peoples dismay, cyclists still have as much of a right to use trails and roads as anyone else. If you are driving on a city street then you should be prepared to have cyclists around you and make room for them.* If you don't like the idea of sharing the road with cyclists, then you should find another route that they don't ride, like a highway.

I understand that there are a few idiots out there, but your broad based assumptions about the attitude of cyclists are disturbing.

 

In that case you shouldn't wear a helmet when racing cars or riding motorcycles either huh? a helmet probably saved me from having a concussion or worse when I was very young, now I always wear one when biking. my dad has a racing bike from Schwinn... really nice bike and great for the road, although it does get really uncomfortable after a while. then again I don't wear the spandex shorts and those would probably help.

 

It's not ALL bike riders, but easily 80% of them on weekends do act precisely like the previous poster indicated. Willful ignorance of physics does not equal invincibility, even with the superhero spandex.

 

Two things on this subject make my blood boil--the first is the assumption that "all bike riders" ignore traffic laws. As with most sweeping statements, it is false. The second thing is the shear number of bikers that do ignore laws. I have no way (nor does Tillman) of putting a percentage on the number of riders ignoring the traffic code, but I can say this--I have stopped ridding with most previous riding buddies because I am a relatively consistent rule follower on my road bike, and they aren't. I do agree that it seems like the majority of riders will blow stop signs, pass at the wrong times, etc., etc. In this regard biikers are their own worst enemies, as they are losing the battle of public perception.

 

I wasn't even the one that started on about the gay pants. lol


Yes they have the right to use the roads. However, in my state they have to follow the same rules as cars. The ones I have to encounter do not follow the rules/law. Blocking roads, blasting through yield signs, stop signs, red lights, all as a group. Its even worse when they ride in town.

Our parish has spent a lot of money tearing up all the RR tracks and making a 20-something mile bike path out of it. Why can't they ride there where there are no cars?

 

I can't help but think about the millions of farmers who rode on steel tractor seats for millions of miles cultivating their fields, or the millions of truckers who double clutched and shifted beastly trucks back in the 20s and 30s for millions of miles, or the thousands of cowboys who rode a million horses back in the 1800s every day while wearing blue jeans or regular clothes,........yet Joe Bicycle has to dance toward his closet on twinkle toes with giddy anticipation of having to dawn his spandex funny boy shorts because he might have to ride for more than 1 or 2 miles in perfect comfort. Hey Joe, while you're at it, might as well wear the pink pair with the Hello Kitty logo!

 

Yes indeed! Donate a buck if you would like!

http://ms150.org/ms150/donate/donate.cfm?id=190389

Are you in it too?

 

i have ridden many different frame materials...it comes down to what you wanna do and to what level you wanna take it.

most important initially is to get a proper fit...this is equal art and science.

get a proper fit!
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I have Canadian-made headsets that cost more than that.

Your Wal-Mart special came from either Taiwan or China. You know what that means don't you? You've supported de facto slave labour, human rights abuses, etc. How do you feel about that?

 

By the sound of it he's a bike repair/ sales person and doesn't much care.

 

I MTB myself. Just got my e-13 bashguard put on my Azonic saber =D I will post pics in a few minutes.

 

I deprived the Chinese slave trade of the cost of a new wheel by repairing the old wheel and doing the labor myself thereby slapping the face of Chinese tyranny with a HORSEhide glove!

 

Indeed. I hear that's a high-paying profession. For China.

 

rofl.