How Do You Know Which Bike Accessories Are Good Ideas?

[Froze]

Sierra, Nice looking bike, congrats on doing it.

Those straight bars that you have hurt my hands after awhile too, so don't feel bad, your not alone! I have two mountain bikes with those bars and can only ride about 35 miles tops before the hands are almost running away to live by themselves. My problem is not wrist problems more then not enough different hand positions to relieve constant pressure on one area, so I prefer road bars due to the multiple hand positions. So either the bar you showed or the one I showed would work on that bike of yours.

I see you opted for a Sigma wireless computer. Let me know how that thing works out for you. I had poor reliability with the 3 that I had, but never tried the Sigma wireless; so with my bad luck I went back to the wired and bought a Sigma wired job that works great...so far!

 

[SierraSlim]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Hi Froze![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks, I think she's cute too. She's even cuter now that I've added fenders, which show in the new post -- though Hubby put them on crooked, sigh.... Gonna have to learn to do some things myself, I'm afraid, lol.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Techie Hubby had researched bike computers -- he will spend DAYS doing that kind of thing -- and then pointed out a few he thought were good. Of those he indicated would probably work well, I chose this one merely because the screen was the easiest to read for these old eyes. So far it's been great, but of course you probably put more miles on yours in a day than I have total so far. Will let you know how it progresses. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Yeah, I'm sure we'll end up changing bars. The problem right now is that I don't trust myself to choose the right one from just a quick test ride in the parking lot; I mean, my wrists didn't hurt from the test rides I did at the time I bought her, but that obviously was because I didn't ride the bikes long enough. They start hurting about 15 minutes into the ride, and I didn't ride any specific bike for that long. But I'm looking at them, just the same.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Have a good one.[/COLOR]

 

[Froze]

Sierra; did the bike shop fit the bike to you before you bought it making sure they had the right size, checking the seat post height, checking to make sure the seat's fore and aft was properly positioned etc? If not either go back to the LBS and have that done, or I'm going to give you some web sites that can help you do it home with the help of the hubby.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/sport/a/bikefit.htm
http://www.caree.org/bike101bikefit.htm
http://www.jacksbikes.com/contents/en-us/d40.html

Study those sites, they all say basically the same thing just different ways of saying it. Also check You Tube under how to fit a bike, or bike fitting, and you will get a bunch of videos as well. Some of the hand pain you may be experiencing may be due to poor bike position. Also make sure you wear some gel padded gloves to protect the nerves in you hand, don't get cheap gloves but you also don't need real expensive ones, a good medium price glove works fine. Besides, most of the expensive cloves don't last as long as the middle priced stuff!

 

[Steve_A]

Glad you like the site, Sierra. I probably shouldn't mention this, but (based on your comment in another post), V.O. also offers brake and shift cable sets with housings in various colors. You would need one of each set, even though you only have one shifter. The housing must be cut with a Dremel tool, which Hubby probably has. You wouldn't need to replace the inner cables, just the housings. However, installing them would involve completely reattaching cables and adjusting brakes and shifting, which he may be reluctant to do. Anyway....keep riding and writing! Steve

 

[SierraSlim]

[COLOR= #0000ff]HI, Steve. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]You're right, you probably shouldn't mention it, lol. I'm already wondering if I can get handlebars in gold or brass, after seeing some gold-toned ones briefly in passing somewhere. Of course, it would probably be cheaper just to get some nice leather bar wraps, which would match her color scheme. Back before I ever decided which bike to get, you said something in one post about how easy it would be to spend more on accessories than I actually paid for the bike. I had no idea how right you were! [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Having fun thinking about it, though, lol.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]

 

[SierraSlim]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Hi, Froze.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I don't know how I missed your post! Senility setting in, maybe.... [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks for the links. I will definitely go over them with Dear Hubby. It can't hurt to have him know what to look for when we're at home, even after we go to the bike shop this week to get the fit checked.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]And I'll buy some better gloves. I hadn't been having hand or wrist pain on the cruiser, so I just bought the cheapest ones I could find at REI. I'll look for a good mid-priced pair. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks for the help![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]

 

[davereo]

I just looked at the pictures of your bike again. You need to consider getting a saddle bag so you can carry a basic tire repair kit. You will need a wrench to remove your wheels, patch kit or spare tube, mini-pump, ID and cell phone to call your hubby. This way here there will be no guessing when you make that call you will have the proper tools on hand to get you off and rolling again.

 

[SierraSlim]

[COLOR= #0000ff]You're right, Dave, I do![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I'll look into that when we go to the bike shop this week. Hubby won't always be with me with his kit, so I absolutely need one -- that and the knowledge to use it, lol. It should also come with a portable DVD player and DVDs of instructions on how to do that, because I'm one of those kind of people who won't remember how she was shown to do it until she has done it herself SEVERAL times.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks for the tip.[/COLOR]

 

[ChrisRg]

OMG i love the sewing bike! some really nice stylish bikes too, thanks for these, x/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif