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Dazed and Confused



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 26th 05, 02:56 PM
Graham Dean
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Default Dazed and Confused

"Paul D" wrote in message
...
I posted a thread yesterday, entited; "stressed and depressed", because

that's
just about how I felt trying to come to some sort of a decision about

upgrading
my bike.

Today, despite quite a few people posting advice, and a definite flow of
knowledge in my direction, I am just as stressed, and even more confused.

Nothing I've ever tried to buy before; hi-fi's, computers, cars, flats,

houses,
has left me feeling so helpless in the face of such an array of

conflicting and
disjointed information.

I'm seriously thinking about giving up cycling, and using either the car

or a
pogo stick to get around.

Years ago, when I were t'lad, there were three sorts of bikes: men's

bikes,
women's bikes and racing bikes. It was, for the most part part, clear what

you
wanted.

Now, if we ignore folding, electric, recumbent, trikes, choppers and

crutch
rockets, we are still left with:

Mountain bikes (with and without suspension)
Road bikes
City bikes
Shoppers
Tourers
Hybrids
Comfort bikes

12 years or so back, when I decided to start cycling again, I just bought

a
cheap BIKE. No qualifier. It was almost exactly the same as a BIKE would

have
been when I was a child, except it had derailiers, with which you could

usually
get 5 out of 6 ratios to work at any one time, which was a BIG improvement

on
the 2 out of 3 you could get with a Sturmey Archer.

Nonetheless, I LIKED the bike. It was plain, and it did what it would have

said
on the tin, had it come in a tin. It was very plain, it gave me no

trouble,
never needed repairing and hardly ever even got a puncture. It was used on

roads
and tow paths.

After 10 years, moy £109 bike started to show its age a little. The

handlbars
moved in directions they shouldn't, the pedals showed evident bearing wear

as
did the rear wheel. A spoke went in the rear wheel, and before I got

around to
getting it repaired, a half a dozen others decided that they were going to

give
up their unequal struggle as well.

So I went along to my LBS (not knowing that abbr. at the time), and said I
wanted to buy a bike. "There they are", said a pleasant chap, and I had a

look.
Given that I'd just broken a bunch of spokes, I thought I ought to go for
something with bigger tyres and stronger wheels, and suspension (and a

third set
of cogs for going up really steep hills seemed a good idea), so I picked a

bike
that was within my budget (I thought that as I'd been perfectly happey

with my
(£109) bike for ten years, and the "budget" models were stil £99, spending
double what I had before should get me a pretty reasonable bike. I'd heard

of
people spending £3,000 on a bike, but you get nutters in every sphere of

human
activity. You can spent £60,000 on a hi-fi amplifier if you like (although

I
somehw doubt that you'll enjoy your misc more that about 5% more than you

would
with a £600 one - if that).

Anyway, the chap asked me if I wanted to sit on it, so I did, and my feet
reached the ground, and my hands reached the handlebars, so that was OK.

The tyres weren't inflated, so I couldn't ride the thing, but what would

that
have told me anyway. Well, it would have told me the gearing was wrong for

one
thing. I had assumed that if you went from two rings to three, you would

get a
slightly higher top, and a slightly lower low. WRONG! The lowest gear

allows for
climbing vertically, but the top was lower than on my previous bike, and

that
was too low going downhill, or with more than about 5 kn of following

wind.

Still, apart from that the bike was OK. With the seat and saddle at the

top of
their available range, it fitted OK. I could certainly go faster on it

than I
could on the previous one (unless I was going downhill, or had a

significant
following wind). Brakes were good!


However, now I started to really enjoy cycling. I didn't want to become a

racer,
but I did enjoy going out for an hour or two, and cycling fast enough to

be
breathing hard, just for the hell of it. I started reading rec.cycling,

and
learned a few things (or, at least I thought I'd learned a few things). I
realised that I was going to have to upgrade the bike again , to correct

the
gearing problem, and get a frame more suited to my height. No great hurry,
though.

Then, a week or so back, I had a few problems with the bike, and decided

that
now might be the time to get a new one.

And that's when my problems started.

Firstly, I find that even spending £350 will only get a "budget" bike, an
attitude I quite frankly find absurd and pretentious - especially

considering
how many years of pleasure I had from my £109 BIKE bike. Any amount is a

budget,
and I think, quite honestly, I'll stick with rest of the population and

consider
anything over £250 an 'expensive' bike, and anything over £500 as

'specialised'
(or "nut-job" as someone I mentioned the existence of £1000+ bike to,

refered to
them).

Secondly, although I want to spend, probably 98% of my time on the road, I

don't
want a "road bike", because they refer to drop handlebar bikes that I

would call
'racers' (the sort that are ridden by people who have special dispensation

(not
mentioned in the highway code) to ride fast on pavements and go through

traffic
lights at red).

And it seems that because I might want to go on a tow path occasionally, I

might
need a mountain bike. This I find odd, because a) the tow paths I've been

on are
actually in better condition than some of the road surfaces I have to use,

and
b) it's quite unusual to find a tow path on a mountain, given the

difficulty of
finding sloping water in a usable canal.

Seriously, though, I can't seem to get a handle on what actually makes a

bike a
mountain bike.

I thought it meant an extra strong frame, probably suspension, the

availability
of extra low gears, stronger wheels, and perhaps disk brakes for

clearance.

Quite, honestly, an extremely light frame is probably wasted on me. I

don't mind
putting in effort if I'm going up a hill. I find that far less

objectionable
than fighting against the strong headwinds that we get so much being on

the
coast.

I just want something that is strong, reliable, and has a sufficient range

of
gears to handle going up or down hills. Oh, and I'd like to actually have

a
chainring set where the gears change EVERY time I move the lever, rather

just
when they feel in the mood for it (or, as happend a few weeks ago, refuse

point
blank to change up, despite cycling the lever five or six times, then, in

a fine
show of petulance, the chain suddenly deciding they it *would* like to

move
accross, and making up for it's previous slothfulness by bypassing the big

ring,
shattering the chain guard and jamming solid {little bugger hadn't noticed

that
we were only 100m from home, though}).

The funny thing is, I'm now so confused I don't know whether to up my

budget to
£450 (the Ridgeback Supernova looks to be a really nice bike), keep it

where it
is (where the RB Velocity looks good), or reduce it to £100, and just get

my
current one upgraded (the LBS says it's possible).

And, whilst I'm talking about LBS's - well, perhaps that's another thread.



Gosh - I didn't find it quite so hard.... I just bought a bike and went
cycling..... :-)

Graham


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  #2  
Old April 26th 05, 03:03 PM
Simonb
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Default

Paul D wrote:

snip

If you don't want to spend much money, get the old one mended. And a bigger
chainring fitted if you think the gears are too low.

ps, I think your stereotype road bike rider is rather wide of the mark


  #3  
Old April 26th 05, 03:11 PM
Brian G
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Default

Paul D wrote:
I posted a thread yesterday, entited; "stressed and depressed", because that's
just about how I felt trying to come to some sort of a decision about upgrading
my bike.

Today, despite quite a few people posting advice, and a definite flow of
knowledge in my direction, I am just as stressed, and even more confused.


great long grumble snipped

I don't know if this is a windup or not. Buying a suitable bike is not
difficult. As with many purchases, make a note of your specific
requirements and preferences, together with your budget and take it to a
bike shop run by knowledgable cyclists. They should tell you what
they have to fit your bill, set it up to fit your shape, posture, etc.
and let you take it away (against a deposit of some sort) for an hour or
two to try it out for size and suitability. It's fun, but it ain't
rocket science (unless you want it to be :-) )


--
Brian G
  #4  
Old April 26th 05, 03:14 PM
Clive George
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Default

Firstly, I find that even spending £350 will only get a "budget" bike, an
attitude I quite frankly find absurd and pretentious - especially

considering
how many years of pleasure I had from my £109 BIKE bike. Any amount is a

budget,
and I think, quite honestly, I'll stick with rest of the population and

consider
anything over £250 an 'expensive' bike, and anything over £500 as

'specialised'
(or "nut-job" as someone I mentioned the existence of £1000+ bike to,

refered to
them).


I've had friends with that opinion. When they've tried the nicer stuff
though (bearing in mind my most expensive solo bike is still only 800 quid),
they've said "Oh yes, it is nicer, isn't it!".

Possibly my bikes are 'specialised', in that they're actually ridden almost
every day - something which doesn't happen to the majority of bikes sold.
Obviously this description doesn't apply to the readers of this fine
newsgroup, but we are in a minority.

Now you can get bikes from 200 quid up which suit this purpose (you could
probably force a 40 quid bike into doing this - but it'll be very tedious) -
however you do still get something for your money well into your
'specialised' territory.

cheers,
clive



  #5  
Old April 26th 05, 03:15 PM
iakobski
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Default

You have a fair point.

I'll add my 2p worth - and hopefully not confuse you more. I agree
things have changed a bit - in the old days all bikes were roadsters,
then all bikes were "racing" bikes (but not really), nowadays all bikes
are mountain bikes. A mountain bike is entry level for everyone now,
and cheapest by virtue of being common.

You've decided you want something above entry-level, and specifically
something that WORKS and is RELIABLE. I'd have said that =A3350 is quite
adequate, but if you go for very cheap it won't be reliable, and things
won't work without constant adjustment.

You've listed:
Mountain bikes (with and without suspension)
Road bikes
City bikes
Shoppers
Tourers
Hybrids
Comfort bikes

Well, rule out comfort bikes and shoppers, you said you like to go fast
now and again. But only now and again, so rule out road bikes. You
don't ride in town by the sound of it, so probably rule out city
bikes.

You're left with tourer, hybrid and mountain bike. You may not want a
mountain bike because there aren't any mountains. So basically you've
got the choice between drop handlebars or straight. And that depends on
how much you dislike the wind. A hybrid will be much more stable than a
tourer (until you get used to it. A tourer will be faster, is more
likely to have the gearing you're asking for, and should cope with
tracks and paths as long as you don't use very narrow tyres. Don't rule
out the mountain bike, but they very often have the low gearing you're
complaining about, and will not be as good as a hybrid on the road.

  #6  
Old April 26th 05, 03:21 PM
Andy Leighton
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Posts: n/a
Default

On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 13:40:47 GMT, Paul D wrote:
I posted a thread yesterday, entited; "stressed and depressed",


[snip]

Firstly, I find that even spending £350 will only get a "budget" bike, an
attitude I quite frankly find absurd and pretentious


I think that 350 is probably the very top of the budget for an inexpensive
good bike. There may well be some cheaper than that. I have a hybird
which I bought for 260 - which gives good service. I would avoid
the "budget" bikes which are 100 or less.

Secondly, although I want to spend, probably 98% of my time on the road,
I don't want a "road bike", because they refer to drop handlebar bikes
that I would call 'racers' (the sort that are ridden by people who have
special dispensation (not mentioned in the highway code) to ride fast on
pavements and go through traffic lights at red).


That description seems more to fit people on crappy mountain bikes and bmxes
to me. If you don't want drops because you don't get on with 'em then fine.

And it seems that because I might want to go on a tow path occasionally,
I might need a mountain bike.


I use tow-paths and fairly uneven ground on my hybrid. When you were young
you just had a bike with a 3-speed SA hub and you used to ride it everywhere.
I still treat my hybrid like that - some people treat their tourers like
that.

I just want something that is strong, reliable, and has a sufficient range of
gears to handle going up or down hills. Oh, and I'd like to actually have a
chainring set where the gears change EVERY time I move the lever,


OK, I have been having a few problems with gear changes on the chain-ring.
However, they are fairly easy to adjust.


--
Andy Leighton =
"The Lord is my shepherd, but we still lost the sheep dog trials"
- Robert Rankin, _They Came And Ate Us_
  #7  
Old April 26th 05, 03:22 PM
wafflycat
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"Paul D" wrote in message
...



Secondly, although I want to spend, probably 98% of my time on the road, I
don't
want a "road bike", because they refer to drop handlebar bikes that I
would call
'racers' (the sort that are ridden by people who have special dispensation
(not
mentioned in the highway code) to ride fast on pavements and go through
traffic
lights at red).


Both my main bikes have drop bars. I *never* but *never* ride on the
pavement and I *never* but *never* go through traffic lights at red, unless
said lights are not working or am instructed to do so by a police officer
etc., etc., etc. I know many other such people riding bikes with drop bars
who adhere to riding safely.

Cheers, helen s



  #8  
Old April 26th 05, 03:26 PM
wafflycat
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"Clive George" wrote in message
...

I've had friends with that opinion. When they've tried the nicer stuff
though (bearing in mind my most expensive solo bike is still only 800
quid),
they've said "Oh yes, it is nicer, isn't it!".


Indeed. I had a *cheap* bike - paerly pink - loved it, but it was made of
lead girders ;-) It sufficed. Then I acquired a decent hybrid which cost a
lot more money. Literally overnight my mileages doubled. Now I ride mostly
my tourer (Bianchi San Remo) which is a good workhorse where I can cycle
mile after mile after mile in comfort and my Bianchi racer which is lighter
again and I love it. My 'bent has been mostly purloined by my teenage son
;-)

You don't have to spend the budget of a third world country to get a decent
bike but there is a world of difference between a *cheap* bike and a good
value one.

Cheers, helen s

  #9  
Old April 26th 05, 03:33 PM
Paul D
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Default

On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 15:03:35 +0100, "Simonb"
wrote:

If you don't want to spend much money, get the old one mended. And a bigger
chainring fitted if you think the gears are too low.


I don't mind spending the money, if it will enhance the cycling experience, but
it's utterly confusing.

The advice I got at the LBS is quite contrary to what I got here.

And I'll bet if I went to another LBS, I'd get different advice again

ps, I think your stereotype road bike rider is rather wide of the mark


It's an observation thing, isn't it.

You see someone bent forward on drop bars, hooning accross red lights after
squeezing between you and the bus waiting there, but don't notice the other road
bikers patiently waiting behind you.

  #10  
Old April 26th 05, 03:34 PM
external usenet poster
 
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Paul D wrote:
I posted a thread yesterday, entited; "stressed and depressed",

because that's
just about how I felt trying to come to some sort of a decision about

upgrading
my bike.



If you want something cheapish, simple and with enough gears try the
Edinburgh Courier.
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/news...n_courier.html

It's light (for its price range), straight bars, and with eight usable
gears it has more gears than a 1970s 10 speed which actually 10 - about
3 gears which were duplicates or not usable due to chain crossover.
Iain C

 




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