Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Jocassee on April 18, 2017, 04:35:46 PM
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I have been advised to get a bicycle to help with strengthening my legs. Although my mind is still 19 and thinks it can push through pain needed for reconditioning, my body disagrees. My doctor/brother in law says ramping up to where I used to be will be a more gradual process than the last time I punished my body in this fashion.
SO nerds...I need a bicycle that I can ride and won't kill the ever-thinning wallet. Probably a dual purpose style.
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What do you mean by dual purpose?
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle#/media/File:Michauxjun.jpg
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Dual purpose? Meaning hybrid trail and/or street bike?
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SO nerds...I need a bicycle that I can ride and won't kill the ever-thinning wallet. Probably a dual purpose style.
Find a good shop and see what they've got lightly used. Like cars, there's a big premium on "new." Bikes are also a lot harder to hide issues with since there aren't that many moving parts and they're pretty much out in the open. You'll also benefit from a professional fitting, and being properly fitted for the shoes.
If you're working on your legs, you want to be firmly attached to the pedals. It does wonders for the knee stabilizers to not have to deal with a bad pedal stroke.
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Dual purpose? Meaning hybrid trail and/or street bike?
yes?
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yes?
Realistic budget?
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I mainly ride a newer Jamis touring bike. It's a heavy steel framed bike but I love it for long rides/overnights, etc. Looks like an old school ten speed with the drop handle bars, except I got front and rear racks for panniers. It has full fenders so I don't get a skunk strip if I ride in the rain. Very upright seating position, once I get stretched out after 5 or so miles, I can ride this bike all day. I also have a trailer I pull with it, sometimes I go shopping with it. This bike was $950 before I started adding stuff and I upgraded the rear wheel set ($200) last spring.
I also have a mid 90's Gary Fischer hard tail mountain bike that I use as my beat around bike. I saved this one a few years ago from under a deck, gave the guy $100, threw on $100 worth of tires and new brake pads, paid the LBS $100 for complete tune-up (March special deal). I have rock tires (for crushed rock trails) on it for the warm months and carbide studded tires (piecked those up new on craigslist for $50) for the winter. It's a quick bike, but no top end, it is aggressive on the seating so it does get uncomfortable after a dozen or so miles. I love in for dicking around town. I have a rear rack on it for panniers.
I'd go to some bike stores, get fitted/measured, start checking out bikes that feel comfortable to you. Stay away from the big box discount stores. Check out the used bikes as KD mentioned.
I used toe clips, but I'm thinking about going clip less. So much more efficient that bare pedals.
My next bike is going to be a fat bike, they look like a lot of fun in the snow.
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Thanks guys, sounds like the LBS is the place to start.
As far as price, I would rather not spend more than 300 bucks to start. Bicycles haven't really been my thing since I was 15. These days running and rucking are my jam.
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$300 won't get you much these days. At least brand new. Used will depend on how lucky/persistent you are at finding a good deal. At that price if it's new it'll be very heavy and have a very low end set of shifters and gears and chain. If used it's probably getting close to needing all new wear parts. At a minimum plan to replace the chain, and brake/shifter cables. You could get lucky and find a $1000 bike that's nearly unridden and stored properly for $300, but don't hold your breath. You'd be better off at least doubling that budget.
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I mainly ride Jamis . He's a heavy steel framed man but I love it for long rides/overnights, etc.
Thank you for the set up. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
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$300 won't get you much these days. At least brand new. Used will depend on how lucky/persistent you are at finding a good deal. At that price if it's new it'll be very heavy and have a very low end set of shifters and gears and chain. If used it's probably getting close to needing all new wear parts. At a minimum plan to replace the chain, and brake/shifter cables. You could get lucky and find a $1000 bike that's nearly unridden and stored properly for $300, but don't hold your breath. You'd be better off at least doubling that budget.
Very much. $300 might net you a decent bike if you scour craigslist. But if you don't know what you're looking for, you're not going to find it and will end up with a junker.
Find a good shop and see what they've got lightly used. Like cars, there's a big premium on "new." Bikes are also a lot harder to hide issues with since there aren't that many moving parts and they're pretty much out in the open. You'll also benefit from a professional fitting, and being properly fitted for the shoes.
If you're working on your legs, you want to be firmly attached to the pedals. It does wonders for the knee stabilizers to not have to deal with a bad pedal stroke.
Good thing I was sitting down for the day you give someone good advice.... :-*
There's a few things you're going to have to answer before the hive can probably push you the rest of the way.
What kind of areas do you plan on riding? Interested in actual off-road trail riding, or are we just talking multi surface riding?
Don't count out new, though, depending on the shops in your area. But you will need to double your budget for sure.
Do you have any Performance Bike shops nearby?
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Get a good helmet, and wear it religiously.
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For a newbie, I think you are best served by going to a LBS; but if you are experienced, know what you want and are comfortable buying over the Net and doing some simple assembly yourself, http://www.bikesdirect.com/ is a good alternative. Very good prices on bicycles. Until you get up to the custom level, bicycles are largely a commodity good these days: all the frames are built in the same Taiwan/PRC factories, and all the components come from one of a few companies. The label on the frame may be different, but the bicycles are largely the same.
Look at http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/hybrid_bikes.htm to get a sense of the selection and pricing of hybrid bicycles.
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i see good deals at pawn shops, if you can find on with toe straps, get those.
after you're back in good riding form upgrade to clipless ( i guess )
Personally, i always used those toe strap thingys but kept them loose
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Get a good helmet, and wear it religiously.
Fun fact. Bike helmets all meat the same minimum standards. You're paying for comfort and weight mostly. A more expensive helmet will be engineered to the same standards with less materials.
i see good deals at pawn shops, if you can find on with toe straps, get those.
after you're back in good riding form upgrade to clipless ( i guess )
Personally, i always used those toe strap thingys but kept them loose
Noooooo don't use toe straps. They're a nightmare to get in and out of if you need to in a hurry.
Clipless have a quick learning curve. Dual sided clipless pedals adjusted so they're loose enough to get out of in a hurry are a good bet for a beginner.
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Fun fact. Bike helmets all meat the same minimum standards. You're paying for comfort and weight mostly. A more expensive helmet will be engineered to the same standards with less materials.
Noooooo don't use toe straps. They're a nightmare to get in and out of if you need to in a hurry.
Clipless have a quick learning curve. Dual sided clipless pedals adjusted so they're loose enough to get out of in a hurry are a good bet for a beginner.
I've used toe clips for years, never had a problem getting out of them.
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After I crashed in 1996 due to sticky cleats and broke my left hip, I took off the cleats on all six bicycles and now use platform pedals with toe clips with no straps. For the type of riding I do these days, the decrease in pedaling efficiency does not matter. I use the Delta Cycle toe clips.
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https://www.amazon.com/Wellgo-WPD-823-MTB-Clipless-Pedals/dp/B002ATLROC/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1492609288&sr=1-5&keywords=wellgo+wpd
But do go to a bike shop and have your shoe size professionally translated into retardedese before you try to guess at sizes online.
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Fun fact. Bike helmets all meat the same minimum standards. You're paying for comfort and weight mostly. A more expensive helmet will be engineered to the same standards with less materials.
ANSI something, Snell something, I forget which. Helmets are relatively inexpensive.
The reason I stress it is, me and someone's van had a run-in one evening, when I was 22 or 23. Woke up a couple hours later in the ER. I lost some teeth, some time, and (I think) some verbal ability.
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ANSI something, Snell something, I forget which. Helmets are relatively inexpensive.
The reason I stress it is, me and someone's van had a run-in one evening, when I was 22 or 23. Woke up a couple hours later in the ER. I lost some teeth, some time, and (I think) some verbal ability.
At that age that could be considered an improvement.
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Fun fact. Bike helmets all meat the same minimum standards.
I just checked my helmet and I can't find any meat in it. Seems like that would start to stink even worse than the pads and straps after a couple hot weather rides.
Clipless have a quick learning curve. Dual sided clipless pedals adjusted so they're loose enough to get out of in a hurry are a good bet for a beginner.
And put some LocTite on the cleat screws. 99% of clipless injuries after the first week learning curve seem to be due to a screw backing out and letting the cleat slip around rather than pop out of the pedal. Between that and rack mount screws, I've been tempted to just disassemble the entire bike and make sure every fastener has blue, red or anti-seize on it.