Bicycle riding

[WstateU]

Ross and I enjoyed riding back in the day...

[MoValley John]

Similar to the ones I have on mine. I don't like knobbies unless I'm going off road. And mine are 700C.

Same, 700x50. Traded for 32's.

[MoValley John]

If anyone remembers bike boy on the old Valley Talk, I used to tear that dude apart. He was a bike rider, I hated him. Having taken up the activity, I stand by what I said about him even more. The dude was a bike snob. He was on a mission to get everyone on bikes, and only the expensive bikes.

If you are considering the activity, you can get a good bike affordably. If you only want to bike around the campgrounds the three times a summer you go camping, buy a bike from WalMart, it'll do the job just fine. If you think you want to maybe get serious, find a lbs (local bike shop) that is friendly, you feel you can trust and talk to them. Most lbs's have entry level bikes for around $400 or so. Not so much that you break the bank if it doesnt catch on. From there, read, learn and most of all, bike.

[JVShocker]

This is the difference in tires size that came stock and I bought. I had the stock tires on for one hour, found them sluggish. If we were in Great Britain, we'd call them tyres. I think there's something nafarious going on across the pond.

I think mine are maybe 1/2 to 1/4 that size.

[JVShocker]

If anyone remembers bike boy on the old Valley Talk, I used to tear that dude apart. He was a bike rider, I hated him. Having taken up the activity, I stand by what I said about him even more. The dude was a bike snob. He was on a mission to get everyone on bikes, and only the expensive bikes.

If you are considering the activity, you can get a good bike affordably. If you only want to bike around the campgrounds the three times a summer you go camping, buy a bike from WalMart, it'll do the job just fine. If you think you want to maybe get serious, find a lbs (local bike shop) that is friendly, you feel you can trust and talk to them. Most lbs's have entry level bikes for around $400 or so. Not so much that you break the bank if it doesnt catch on. From there, read, learn and most of all, bike.

Sound advice. Assuming you're not getting "fitted" for a bike, they all ride differently. You have to take it our for a test ride before you buy.

Based on looks, the first real bike I was going to buy was a Giant. Looked kinda like this one.





No disc brakes, but the riding position is completely different from my road bike and I felt a lot more bumps when you hit them. Please TRY BEFORE YOU BUY, otherwise it will end up sitting in the basement. And no, if you get a decent bike, DON'T store it outdoors in a garage.

[MoValley John]

Sound advice. Assuming you're not getting "fitted" for a bike, they all ride differently. You have to take it our for a test ride before you buy.

Based on looks, the first real bike I was going to buy was a Giant. Looked kinda like this one.





No disc brakes, but the riding position is completely different from my road bike and I felt a lot more bumps when you hit them. Please TRY BEFORE YOU BUY, otherwise it will end up sitting in the basement. And no, if you get a decent bike, DON'T store it outdoors in a garage.

I own Giants for the exact reason that they fit me. I set the bars as far forward as possible and took out the spacers so I am a bit lower than the way the bike came, but it fits me like a glove. The nice thing is my bike is a road frame with some offroad components. I can buy drop bars and brake levers and switch over to more of a road bike without breaking the bank.

I've also thought about buying bigger front rings, as I never drop from the big ring down. Essentially, if I dont buy a bigger ring, I might as well remove the small ring, shifter and derailleur, I dont use them.

[JVShocker]

Ross and I enjoyed riding back in the day...

My first bicycle was a late model 80's Ross (Ferrari red, not black like this picture). I swapped out the original wheels for custom Arraya wheel set and put almost 4000 miles on it the first summer I had it. Ended up giving to a friend (who needed a bike) after I had purchased my Trek. Found a black version of the Ross on ebay....Wow. Could I have sold it for that ($700?) as well and used the proceeds towards a Tomasso Hybrid? I think I paid less than $300 for it new but the custom wheels were $180 (IIRC).

[JVShocker]

Got an hour and 10 minutes in tonight. Only 14.4 miles. Would have been a different ride, but when I left the house it was about 90 degrees and ultra gusty out of the south - I love hot weather. When I got home it was 71 degrees and I had run into some light sprinkles. Don't think I can recall a stranger bicycle ride feeling that cool gusty south-west wind. I had to stop at one point because crosswinds were so bad. Lots of minor tree damage in the Wichita area from what I saw (and what I was hit with, including a PINE NEEDLE in the upper lip.

[Napoleon Dynamite]

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[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

If anyone remembers bike boy on the old Valley Talk, I used to tear that dude apart. He was a bike rider, I hated him. Having taken up the activity, I stand by what I said about him even more. The dude was a bike snob. He was on a mission to get everyone on bikes, and only the expensive bikes.

If you are considering the activity, you can get a good bike affordably. If you only want to bike around the campgrounds the three times a summer you go camping, buy a bike from WalMart, it'll do the job just fine. If you think you want to maybe get serious, find a lbs (local bike shop) that is friendly, you feel you can trust and talk to them. Most lbs's have entry level bikes for around $400 or so. Not so much that you break the bank if it doesnt catch on. From there, read, learn and most of all, bike.

Yup. When I was captain of our MS-150 team and it started to grow, I would get probably 10 people per year contact me who were new to riding and wanted to know what kind of bike they would need to buy. It took me one or two times, but I learned quickly to steer people to bikes from $1000 - 1500. It's really more about getting out and getting exercise and having fun and less about the kind of bike you ride. And it's always better to get people out on bikes and riding. If they really like the experience and have the money, they can look at the real nice bikes as they progress through the hobby (and depending on their pocketbook).

Having said that, I do like the higher-end bikes, because the components are very reliable, those bikes also have very nice features relating to ride and comfort. But I will also say that the components have gotten much better through the years. A Shimano 105 road group of the 90's is not as good as, say, today's Tiagra. And the biggest boosts you get out of the high-end stuff is that you lose weight and you don't miss shifts. Most riders don't see a difference in a pound or two less that they get with SRAM Red, Campagnolo Chorus or Shimano Dura-Ace and don't care if they miss a shift (because they don't spend all their time racing someone). So for someone who just wants to go out and have fun, it doesn't make a difference.

Here's an example of (in my opinion) a ridiculous bike, I could not afford it, it is state of the art titanium. And it's a used bike. My LBS in Houston caters to racers and sells these custom-built new.

https://shop.moots.com/collections/all-bikes-frames/products/copy-of-2020-moots-vamoots-disc-rsl-complete-bike-60cm

And in case you're interested, here's a list of the most expensive bikes:

https://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/13-worlds-most-expensive-road-bikes-214506

For the average rider, none of these bikes will make you any faster. If you're a world-class cyclist, it may give you the extra edge to put you over the top. If you are an average rider and want to be a snob, I guess you could buy one of these, but most of the people you will see on the trails and streets don't pay attention and don't care.

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

Got an hour and 10 minutes in tonight. Only 14.4 miles. Would have been a different ride, but when I left the house it was about 90 degrees and ultra gusty out of the south - I love hot weather. When I got home it was 71 degrees and I had run into some light sprinkles. Don't think I can recall a stranger bicycle ride feeling that cool gusty south-west wind. I had to stop at one point because crosswinds were so bad. Lots of minor tree damage in the Wichita area from what I saw (and what I was hit with, including a PINE NEEDLE in the upper lip.

Hope it didn't hurt too bad. I had one of those puss caterpillars fall out of a live oak tree last year during a ride, it hit me in about the only exposed area of my lower foot that it could. It just glanced my foot, but I can tell you, those things really hurt bad!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalopyge_opercularis

When I started yesterday where I am, it was 97 with a heat index of 110. That's a little too hot for me. I was able to do 18, would have liked to get 20, but it is too hot here right now.

I rode almost 90 last week.

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

My first bicycle was a late model 80's Ross (Ferrari red, not black like this picture). I swapped out the original wheels for custom Arraya wheel set and put almost 4000 miles on it the first summer I had it. Ended up giving to a friend (who needed a bike) after I had purchased my Trek. Found a black version of the Ross on ebay....Wow. Could I have sold it for that ($700?) as well and used the proceeds towards a Tomasso Hybrid? I think I paid less than $300 for it new but the custom wheels were $180 (IIRC).

Nice bike! That's one of those cult brand bikes.

Believe it or not, collectors pay good money for vintage bikes. My LBS here where I live now told me he would consider selling any excess bikes I have right now. Just like anything else, you can get good money for some of them. I had a Klein (another cult brand bike), that's another one that people go crazy for if they can find them used. That was the best riding aluminum bike I have ever owned.

[RoyalShock]

When I was looking around last year I found this Schwinn at WalMart (I don't want to invest much until I know it's something I want to do for more than just recreational riding). I didn't get it and it looks like it isn't available anymore.

bike-375x357.jpg

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

When I was looking around last year I found this Schwinn at WalMart (I don't want to invest much until I know it's something I want to do for more than just recreational riding). I didn't get it and it looks like it isn't available anymore.

bike-375x357.jpg

Go to your Local Bike Store (LBS). You may need to spend a little more money, but you will be happy. Most Schwinn's have a CroMolly frame (although a higher-end one might be aluminum), they provide a good ride, but are heavy and that metal tends to absorb your kinetic energy (I have an old schwinn folder that I got for free from my healthy points when I worked at HP - it weighs 35 pounds! It does the job, but if you get serious and want to do 20-30 mile rides at some future point, you will probably have to buy another bike). Would suggest an aluminum frame - good rigid aluminum frame, like the ones that MoValleyJohn and JV Shocker are pointing you to. You can get a bike for less if your budget doesn't support it, but if you go to your LBS, you will get someone who is interested in selling you the right bike and will ask all the right questions, which would include price and intended usage. JVShocker, being that he is local, might have the best suggestions.

Just remember, if you go to WM, you will have someone helping you who may be running several departments and is clueless about bike fit and/or what you will use the bike for. Going to a LBS will get you better service, as they will be interested in selling the right bike and getting the follow-on accessories you will need and will maintain your bicycle so that it lasts much longer.

IIRC, my LBS has commuter (or cross or whatever you want to call it) starting at about $350.

[MadDog]

One of my biking buddies (and Shockernet lurker) is new to riding this year. He has a Huffy hybrid bike (which probably came from Walmart). When we first started riding, I’d ride a mile, then stop and wait for him to catch up. Pretty much every mile. He didn’t know how to shift gears, had his seat setting 6 inches too low, etc. But once he got that stuff figured out, I can barely keep up with him on my Diverge. Of course he’s a stud hiker, And this is just on small part of his daily training routine, so that probably has a lot to do with it. We got 32 miles in yesterday morning before the wind kicked up. So I guess you can make a low end bike work. However, after having ridden a low end combo bike myself for 10 years, I would never go back. Biking is so much more fun when you have decent equipment.