bicycle choice

Jason Lewis <[email hidden]> wrote in news:404e7460$0$27649
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Features she wants are low weight, her current bike weighs around 16kgs.
Suspension (she does not currently have suspension) either on the front
or both, not sure here.

She is thinking of getting a hybrid bike.

Forget about rear suspension, it's only any use on rough off road (and
forest paths don't really count as rough). Good rear suspension costs good
money but adds to the weight of the bike, cheap rear suspension is
ineffective and adds a *lot* to the weight of the bike! Front suspension
can be okay, I've got it on my bike, but I lock it off when I ride on the
road.

What kind of budget does she have? Where will she be cycling, is it flat or
hilly?

Graeme

Quoted message said:

She is thinking of getting a hybrid bike.

We bought a Learsport Cruiser 800 (hybrid) not too long ago which is a good
bike. It was on special for $449 but retailed at $499. Being a hybrid, the
focus isn't on Shimano with only some elements of the bike sporting the
brand though.

Jason Lewis said:

Hi,
I have a friend who uses her bicycle as her main form of transport. She
wants to buy a new bicycle. Any recommendations about what to look for
would be greatly appreciated.
She does about 10,000kms / year on it. she is not technicaly
inclined and does not want to have to manage repairs herself on it.
She uses paniers.
Features she wants are low weight, her current bike weighs around 16kgs.
Suspension (she does not currently have suspension) either on the front
or both, not sure here.
She is thinking of getting a hybrid bike.
If anyone has any pointers on bike selection or where to look, please
point me in the right direction.
Thanks,
Jason

Hi Jason:

Not having specified whether your friend is after a women-specific bik
or not, whether the ride involves road-only or off-road, and not knowin
the budget, it'll be hard to have a good guess

Having seen so many commuters, I'd be inclined to suggest a decent MT
with slick tyres will be the best compromise. It can get a decent fron
suspension, can be light-weight, and usually has provisions for rac
mounting. I have used road bikes, MTB and hybrid bikes for commuting. M
order of preference is as I typed them

Cheers, Amir

-

Hi Graeme, Ty and Amir.

I think her budget is around $1000. She spent about $450 on her last
bike and it just didn't really last. It's suffering all sorts of
problems now and requires constant maintenance.

She only rides on roads and paths. No off road stuff, but she wants to
be able to bump up and down kerbs withought worrying about buckling the
wheels. I should add she is very petite, she weighs around 45kg. She
lives in the eastern suburbs and there are quite a few hills around there.

hope that clarifies a bit.

Jason

Graeme said:

Jason Lewis <[email hidden]> wrote in news:404e7460$0$27649
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Features she wants are low weight, her current bike weighs around 16kgs.
Suspension (she does not currently have suspension) either on the front
or both, not sure here.

She is thinking of getting a hybrid bike.

Forget about rear suspension, it's only any use on rough off road (and
forest paths don't really count as rough). Good rear suspension costs good
money but adds to the weight of the bike, cheap rear suspension is
ineffective and adds a *lot* to the weight of the bike! Front suspension
can be okay, I've got it on my bike, but I lock it off when I ride on the
road.

What kind of budget does she have? Where will she be cycling, is it flat or
hilly?

Graeme

"Jason Lewis" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I think her budget is around $1000. She spent about $450 on her last
bike and it just didn't really last. It's suffering all sorts of
problems now and requires constant maintenance.

She only rides on roads and paths. No off road stuff, but she wants to
be able to bump up and down kerbs withought worrying about buckling

the

Quoted message said:

wheels. I should add she is very petite, she weighs around 45kg. She
lives in the eastern suburbs and there are quite a few hills around

there.

$1k wont buy an indestructible bike (neither will
a lot more $). Buying a new bike will usually get
a years worth of servicing for free, but during
that time she should try to learn how to fix the
common problems and tune basic items.
Otherwise, the bike will just as likely die as the
one prior. 'Constant' maintenance will be reduced
and if the rider can do it themselves, any necessary
tuning/replacement will be much cheaper. Of
course, find a good bike shop and they can tell
you how to do various repairs, replacements, etc.

As for curbs, suspension helps minimise some
shock (I assume only a front suspension fork
will be purchased) but she should be shown
how to "hop" curbs. E.g. approach the curb
with enough speed to clear it - without losing
momentum and stopping - lift the front wheel
over the curb by quickly transferring weight
backwards/pulling on the bars, then, before the
back wheel hits, transfer weight forwards and
"lift" the back wheel over the curb.
(That's a 'brief' example anyway...).

hth
hippy

"hippy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

how to "hop" curbs. E.g. approach the curb
with enough speed to clear it - without losing
momentum and stopping - lift the front wheel
over the curb by quickly transferring weight
backwards/pulling on the bars, then, before the
back wheel hits, transfer weight forwards and
"lift" the back wheel over the curb.
(That's a 'brief' example anyway...).

I'm still trying to learn that one myself.

Hippy said:

(snip)
As for curbs, suspension helps minimise some shock (I assume only a
front suspension fork will be purchased) but she should be shown how to
"hop" curbs. E.g. approach the curb with enough speed to clear it -
without losing momentum and stopping - lift the front wheel over the
curb by quickly transferring weight backwards/pulling on the bars, then,
before the back wheel hits, transfer weight forwards and "lift" the back
wheel over the curb. (That's a 'brief' example anyway...).
hth hippy

When I got my recent MTB before Christmas, I had a decent fall in front of my family when I tried to pull a trick on an angled kerb (my very first ride on that bike). I look at the scar on my left knee, and the scar on my ego every day ever since! 😄

--

"TyBreaker" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:newscache$ucicuh$x98$1
@lead.sge.net:

Quoted message said:

I'm still trying to learn that one myself.

The easiest way is to ride along slowly and pump your arms up and down
repeatedly, almost as if you're trying to do push the handlebars down into
the ground. On the up stroke, keep a good hold on the bars and pull up at
the same time. Do this on the flat a few times to get the idea of what
you're trying to do. Practising on a kerb could be expensive in terms of
wheel repairs/replacements :-)

Graeme

Jason Lewis said:

...
I have a friend who uses her bicycle as her main form of transport. She
wants to buy a new bicycle. Any recommendations about what to look for
would be greatly appreciated.

She does about 10,000kms / year on it. she is not technicaly inclined
and does not want to have to manage repairs herself on it. She uses
paniers.
...

As a main form of transport, with decent kms but no off-road stuff, it
sounds to me like a touring bike would be perfect. These are
basically like road/racing bikes, but sturdier and with full options
and room to mount racks/panniers, fatter tyres, mudguards etc. Does
she like drop handlebars? If she hasn't used them, she should at
least check them out on a test ride or 2, since they give more options
for hand and body position - more comfortable and energy efficient
than flat bars IMO. For better comfort, it is not hard to get drop
bars mounted higher up than the typical racing position.

A touring bike won't have suspension, but I doubt she needs it. Going
down curbs should be no problem, if not heavily loaded and with
well-inflated, not-too-skinny tyres. Going up a curb needs more care,
as hippy said. A few weeks ago I got simultaneous pinch flats on both
tyres by accidentally going up a curb! (watching the traffic, missed
the ramp onto the footpath)

Then the issue would be finding a touring-style bike for $1000, since
most are more expensive than that. My Mongoose Randonneur was that
price though - something like that should do the job. See the thread
above. By the way, the 2003 Randonneur has good brakes, unlike the
ones I replaced on my 2002 model :-)

Jason Lewis <[email hidden]> wrote in message
[email hidden]

[...]

Quoted message said:

She only rides on roads and paths. No off road stuff, but she wants to
be able to bump up and down kerbs withought worrying about buckling
the wheels. I should add she is very petite, she weighs around 45kg.
She lives in the eastern suburbs and there are quite a few hills
around there.

Which eastern suburbs would that be?

--

"I'm proud that I live in a country where witnessing two hours of bloody,
barbarous torture in gloating detail is considered indicia of religious
piety, whereas a mere second gazing upon a woman's breast is cause for
outraged apoplexy."
Betty Bowers, http://www.bettybowers.com/melgibsonpassion.html

Jason Lewis <[email hidden]> writes:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Features she wants are low weight, her current bike weighs around
16kgs. Suspension (she does not currently have suspension) either on
the front or both, not sure here.

If she is going to be using panniers then she can't have rear suspention.

--
Please excuse my spelling as I suffer from agraphia. See
http://dformosa.zeta.org.au/~dformosa/Spelling.html to find out more.
Free the Memes.

? The Platypus said:

If she is going to be using panniers then she can't have rear
suspention.

Not really. Take a look at these:

http://http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/citybike/x900e.js
http://http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/citybike/t550e.js

-

amirm <[email hidden]> wrote in news:RiP3c.3527$8h.1234
@fe30.usenetserver.com:

Quoted message said:

Not really. Take a look at these:

http://http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/citybike/x900e.jsp

I quite like the look of that first one. Whether or not the suspension is
practical or even required for the market it is designed for is another
matter though.

Graeme

Graeme said:

"TyBreaker" <[email hidden]> wrote in

Quoted message said:

I'm still trying to learn that one myself.

The easiest way is to ride along slowly and pump your arms up and down
repeatedly, almost as if you're trying to do push the handlebars down
into the ground. On the up stroke, keep a good hold on the bars and pull
up at the same time. Do this on the flat a few times to get the idea of
what you're trying to do. Practising on a kerb could be expensive in
terms of wheel repairs/replacements :-) Graeme

Once you can lift the front wheel over curb height doing this, it all
comes down to timing. Try with cracks on the road/path first, then try
lifting over sticks, then logs/curbs, then the bonnet of your car and
eventually you will be able to up straight to back wheel then manual to
360 drop from the roof...

Reality: Once you can get the front wheel up, it's a matter of
"unweighting" the rear wheel. You don't have to fully lift it to make it
a smooth curb hop, just take the weight off it at the right time to
prevent the wheel dinging hit. Timing and body position. To lift the
front wheel, lean forward and at the curb, move your body rapidly back
(at the same time doing all the arm stuff), then as the rear wheel comes
to the curb, move your body rapidly forward - the rear wheel should
lift. You can practise the rear wheel lift without a curb too - just do
it as you roll along slowly.

hth hippy

--

amirm said:

When I got my recent MTB before Christmas, I had a decent fall in front
of my family when I tried to pull a trick on an angled kerb (my very
first ride on that bike). I look at the scar on my left knee, and the
scar on my ego every day ever since! 😄

You should look upon your scars with pride and laugh off the
embarassing crashes... I do... I HAVE to! Otherwise I'd have stopped
riding 20 years ago! 😄

hippy

--