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Choice of bicycles



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 2nd 03, 07:55 PM
EBL
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Default Choice of bicycles

Hi everyone--

I've been a recreational bicyclist for most of my 48 years. When I
was 18, I bought a Peugeot UO-8, which I used for commuting 4-10
miles/day and for vacations (cycling around europe one summer, cycling
down the east coast). After many thousands of miles of riding, I
ended up only being able to ride occasionally for the last 12 years
due to work. However, now I'm able to pick it up again. Since the
frame of the Peugeot was bent, and all the components needed to be
replaced, my SO decided to give me a new bicycle. I thought, based on
discussions with friends etc, that I'd like a hybrid, so after
discussions with our locatl bike store and after reading posts in this
group, we got a Trek Navigator 300, which is comfortable to ride, but
I felt that it was pretty clunky, even compared to the Peugeot.
Anyway, my SO didn't have a bicycle, so he started riding the Trek,
and I borrowed a bicycle from my neighbor (a Bianchi bicycle that has
skinny tires and fancy components). The seat was painful, so I
switched seats, and the current seat is more comfortable. However,
neither the Bianchi nor the Trek feels comfortable like my Peugeot
did. The Trek feels too heavy and I don't like to be that upright,
and the Bianchi feels too fragile and unstable and it feels like too
much lean.

Anyway, I don't know if my problem is that I'm just getting too old or
if I'm being too picky, but it seems like riding should be more
comfortable. I don't have the Peugeot to do a comparison, so I'm not
sure how to proceed. Any suggestions? Should a racing type bike feel
like a touring bike except lighter? Any comments would be
appreciated.
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  #3  
Old November 3rd 03, 03:15 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Choice of bicycles

EBL wrote:
: Anyway, I don't know if my problem is that I'm just getting too old or
: if I'm being too picky, but it seems like riding should be more
: comfortable.

It doesn't sound like you're too old, you just have a refined
taste. Some people complain of aches and stuff and go to
recumbents when they get old, but your thing sounds more like a
quest for the right thing among upright bicycles.

: I don't have the Peugeot to do a comparison, so I'm not
: sure how to proceed. Any suggestions? Should a racing type bike feel
: like a touring bike except lighter? Any comments would be
: appreciated.

Maybe you can walk to the local bike shop, possibly talk your
ideas through with them and definitely take a few bikes to a test
ride?

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/hpv.html
varis at no spam please iki fi
  #4  
Old November 3rd 03, 03:47 PM
Pbwalther
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Default Choice of bicycles

Anyway, I don't know if my problem is that I'm just getting too old or
if I'm being too picky, but it seems like riding should be more
comfortable.


The frame geometry of those old French 'sport touring' bikes is hard
to beat for a good all around lightweight bike. You aren't just being
picky, they still ride well.


I would have to agree with the above. Most "racing bikes" sold for the US
market are made for criteriums. You want fast turning and a really stiff bike
for fast acceleration but you pay for it by paying in comfort.

Now, you can get bikes whose geometry is more towards comfort - slightly longer
wheel base and slightly more relaxed angles, but you have to poke around some.
I believe the "Lemond" bikes tend to be this way, but I am not sure. You would
get this with a touring bike, but that is going just a bit far and those bikes
are made for handling well with fully loaded panniers and that is not really
what you want.

Thing was is your old bike was probably set up with that old european racing
geometry which maximized comfort with very little compromise in performance.
So it is a tough comparison. Most riders now seem to want comfort, comfort,
comfort and hang performance. Or they want performance and could care about
comfort.
  #5  
Old November 3rd 03, 07:16 PM
EBL
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Choice of bicycles

wrote in message ...
EBL wrote:
: Anyway, I don't know if my problem is that I'm just getting too old or
: if I'm being too picky, but it seems like riding should be more
: comfortable.

It doesn't sound like you're too old, you just have a refined
taste. Some people complain of aches and stuff and go to
recumbents when they get old, but your thing sounds more like a
quest for the right thing among upright bicycles.

: I don't have the Peugeot to do a comparison, so I'm not
: sure how to proceed. Any suggestions? Should a racing type bike feel
: like a touring bike except lighter? Any comments would be
: appreciated.

Maybe you can walk to the local bike shop, possibly talk your
ideas through with them and definitely take a few bikes to a test
ride?


********************************

Thanks--I like that...it's not old age, it's refined taste! The local
bike shop is 20-30 miles away, so I don't think I'll walk there, but I
will try to look again, or maybe at some more farflung shops. Your
comments and the one I copied below were really helpful. I live in
the country, I want to ride comfortably on country roads, but not
straight upright, and I want a little more performance than the hybrid
that I have. Any suggestions about how to describe the geometry that
I want when I'm talking to bike store owners?



************
Now, you can get bikes whose geometry is more towards comfort -
slightly longer wheel base and slightly more relaxed angles, but you
have to poke around some. I believe the "Lemond" bikes tend to be this
way, but I am not sure. You
would get this with a touring bike, but that is going just a bit far
and those bikes are made for handling well with fully loaded panniers
and that is not really what you want.
  #6  
Old November 12th 03, 02:49 AM
garmonboezia
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Choice of bicycles

(EBL) wrote in
om:

wrote in message
...
EBL wrote:
: Anyway, I don't know if my problem is that I'm just getting too old
: or if I'm being too picky, but it seems like riding should be more
: comfortable.

It doesn't sound like you're too old, you just have a refined
taste. Some people complain of aches and stuff and go to
recumbents when they get old, but your thing sounds more like a
quest for the right thing among upright bicycles.

: I don't have the Peugeot to do a comparison, so I'm not
: sure how to proceed. Any suggestions? Should a racing type bike
: feel like a touring bike except lighter? Any comments would be
: appreciated.

Maybe you can walk to the local bike shop, possibly talk your
ideas through with them and definitely take a few bikes to a test
ride?


********************************

Thanks--I like that...it's not old age, it's refined taste! The local
bike shop is 20-30 miles away, so I don't think I'll walk there, but I
will try to look again, or maybe at some more farflung shops. Your
comments and the one I copied below were really helpful. I live in
the country, I want to ride comfortably on country roads, but not
straight upright, and I want a little more performance than the hybrid
that I have. Any suggestions about how to describe the geometry that
I want when I'm talking to bike store owners?



************
Now, you can get bikes whose geometry is more towards comfort -
slightly longer wheel base and slightly more relaxed angles, but you
have to poke around some. I believe the "Lemond" bikes tend to be this
way, but I am not sure. You
would get this with a touring bike, but that is going just a bit far
and those bikes are made for handling well with fully loaded panniers
and that is not really what you want.

Just my $00.010. There are plenty of other bikes that would fit the
bill, but these two are what I would look at first if I were buying
today.

Both bikes have similar geometries: head angle @ 72 degrees, seat angle @
73.5 degrees or even 74. Wheelbase around 950mm to 1000mm. Slacker
angles and longer wheelbase are more in the comfort bike direction.

http://www.lemondbikes.com/tech-cent..._geometry.html
http://www.surlybikes.com/SpecsCroCheFra.html
  #7  
Old November 13th 03, 04:00 PM
Steven M. Scharf
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Choice of bicycles

"EBL" wrote in message
om...
Hi everyone--

I've been a recreational bicyclist for most of my 48 years. When I
was 18, I bought a Peugeot UO-8, which I used for commuting 4-10
miles/day and for vacations (cycling around europe one summer, cycling


snip

You want to look at a bicycle with a more relaxed geometry. Unfortunately
most bicycle manufacturers are tending toward "compact" geometry, since
it is less costly to manufacture. This has put the more traditional bikes
into
the exotic category and upped the entry level price point considerably. The
trend toward threadless headsets also makes bikes less comfortable, though
the Trek Navigator 300 still uses a threaded headset.

Something like the Rivendell Romulus would be good.
http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/htm...lusframes.html

The Kettler Traveller is also a good bike if you want a hybrid
style:
http://www.kettler.net/index.cfm?uui...BEDC98&po stm
an=a&o_lang_id=2

You can also find used bikes that will fit the bill.


 




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