View Single Post
  #3  
Old September 12th 05, 02:58 PM
41
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Bikes and Things Bikes - I'm kind of Ignorant


FunkyRes wrote:

I think though I want a new bike. I've been l urking this list trying to
educate myself, but I don't seem to know enough to even do that

Most of my riding is on paved roads, but some of it is on gravel roads,
and quite a few of the paved roads are full of giant pot holes. I prefer
strai ght handle bars (like I have). There are a couple hills I take that
are steep enough coming down that I wish I had disk brakes - and that I
wish I also had a taller gear to maybe build up a little more speed.


Currently most of my riding involves going to school, but I live in
northern part of Redding, and I would like to bike up to Lake Shasta more
often, especially in the spring when the wildflowers are blooming.
Needs to of course have the mountings for a solid rear rack that you put a
bag (panier??) on.

It doesn't need to be a mountain bike, but I think it does need to be a
hybrid because I do have to go over both gravel and neglected paved roads
to get to the places I go.

Any suggestions on what I should look at?
I'm 6'0"" if that matters, my ID says 185 but since I started biking, I
can't wear my pants w/o a belt, so I'm sure I'm down (maybe 170) now.


I ride roads that match the same description and do just fine on an
ordinary road bicycle with 700x32 smooth tread tires. 700x28 or 700x35
would work just about as well, and 700x25 would likely be acceptable
too- no smaller though. All with smooth tread.

There isn't anything special about a hybrid per se that makes it better
for such riding; what it has, and what my road bicycle has that other
road bicycles don't, is the following:

-clearance for these larger tires, plus fenders. Most of what passes
for road bicycles these days can clear at most 700x25 without fenders.
Fenders are quite useful even in the dry, they keep your drivetrain and
your bicycle much cleaner, especially if you ride a lot on crushed
gravel.

-handlebars that are at about the same level as the saddle. I vary
mine from about level to about a half inch to an inch below the nose.
Most of what passes for road bicycles these days are set up so that you
can't raise the bars to within four inches of the nose of the saddle.
That's good for poseurs and maybe even real racers who are paid to
suffer, but forget it for ordinary riding.

As for brakes, you already have disk brakes on your bicycle: the rim
itself is like the edge of a giant disk. The only advantage of "disk
brakes" is for riding through deep mud, since the rims get muddy, or in
constant rain, because the rims will wear out ahead of schedule with
the grit that gets picked up. This can also be avoided with ceramic
coated rims, instead of disk brakes. The latter have their own problems
and there is no reason to get them for the type of riding you describe.
You may just need better brake pads: the model of choice is Kool Stop,
in the salmon color.

The keys to a good bicycle that you will enjoy are the contact points:
the bicycle with you, and the bicycle with the road. That means a good
saddle, handlebars in a comfortable position, pedals that you find
comfortable and convenient, and sensible wheels with good tires in the
right size. Saddles are very individual, get what you like, but
consider Brooks leather saddles, model B17 or the same model with
springs, I can't recall if that is B67 or something else. Handlebars
the same, but don't rule out drop bars: remember they are flat on top
too, but just have extra positions. You can get a second set of brake
levers that are actuated from the top position and these have become
very popular for cyclocross. Get them with shift levers at the bar ends
and you will find shifting convenient too (shift levers in the brake
levers are heavy and expensive and unnecessary). Sensible wheels have
32 to 36 spokes. Good tires are Avocet Carbon 12, IRC Road Winner,
Continental Ultra 2000 (max size 28), Panaracer Pasela, and a few
others. The least expensive are the IRC and the Panaracer, although the
Panaracer are not quite smooth and are marked one size larger than they
really are, i.e. get a marked 700x32 if you want a real 700x28.

It's hard to find a sport with more equipment mythology than bicycling,
and everybody has their own point of view, but try perusing these:

-The FAQs for this newsgroup: http://tinyurl.com/a5dvn
-www.harriscyclery.com (besides the treasure trove of information in
the artcles and glossary, check out the Surly cross bike for about
$900- not exactly what I would get but likely quite suitable for your
needs)
-www.rivendellbicycles.com -their "bicycling 101" section
-http://tinyurl.com/3tars -everything you need to know about bicycle
wheels, including how to build and repair them. You'll notice that the
author is a regular poster to this forum. If you read advice of his
take it seriously.

For carrying stuff, a large saddlebag (the kind that hangs from the
saddle) is better than a rear carrier for many things- see the above
sites, and
www.wallbike.com. See them also for saddles.
A rear carrier and panniers are sometimes necessary though and this
last site has a few good ones too. But if that's what you need you
should have no trouble finding just about anywhere.

Random bicycles I like with fenders (mostly), in no particular order:
http://tinyurl.com/dupfv
http://tinyurl.com/7ma9z
http://tinyurl.com/8xl7e
http://tinyurl.com/5xwmk
http://tinyurl.com/cz5wf
http://tinyurl.com/axooo
http://tinyurl.com/8sewx


Good luck and happy riding.

Ads
 

Home - Home - Home - Home - Home