How old were you when you got your first really nice bike?

[Risto Varanka]

sparker <[email protected]> wrote:

: I do. And I never leave it outside overnight. I have seen so many bikes picked clean after being
: left out. The bad side of this is I have to carry my bike up five flights of stairs each day. I
: look at it as conditioning.

You bet! I used to carry my hybrid up 3 flights for years. Now when I do just one flight with the
trike - even when loaded with some ride necessities - it feels light!

But maybe it's due to the last winter's cross-training (gym) and regular swimming. I've noticed that
somehow, mysteriously, I seem to have a relatively easy time lifting couches etc these days!

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/hpv.html varis at no spam please iki fi

 

[Rick Onanian]

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 18:16:53 +0800, Marian Rosenberg <[email protected]> wrote:
> For 490 rmb (about 50 or 55 bucks) I got a Giant Athena. It has wide http://tinyurl.com/nawg

Wow...while that's not a bike I'd be likely to ride, they really ought to sell 'em in the US.
Inexpensive; must be better quality than Xmart (made by Giant after all!), and very practical and
useful for so many people. You can't get any bike like that here, especially already with fenders...

You can probably get close to it by customizing a bike, but that's a project that wouldn't be taken
on by most people who would want such a bike; and it would cost a lot more.

> -M
--
Rick Onanian

 

[Menotomy]

10 years old, bought a brand new Schwinn Sting-Ray with my paper route money.

Coppertone paint, 3-speed stik shift, white banana seat. Then I added a tall sissy bar and a rear
basket to carry the newspapers.

The Schwinn rear knobby tire did well in the snow.

This was a really nice bike.

Vin - Menotomy Vintage Bicycles, Inc. http://OldRoads.com

 

[Elisa Francesca]

I started cycling at age 46, some 10 months ago. I have a supermarket bike. I didn't want anything
grandiose when I wasn't even sure I'd be able to learn.

Now I begin to have a clearer idea of what my "ideal bike" would be, but will put off buying it
until I'm absolutely sold on something. I'll pay what it takes up to about 1500 Euros (ten times the
cost of my current bike), but I don't think my cycling needs (which strictly do not include the Tour
de France) are particularly expensive.

Did it make such a huge difference in your life to graduate from your first to your "really nice"
bike? How so? What did you notice in terms of comfort enhancement, features etc that make you say
you "saw the light"?

I need to convince myself that there are true reasons and not mere consumerist acquisitiveness for
augmenting my bike budget tenfold!

Elisa Francesca Roselli Ile de France

Brink wrote:

> I got a cheap mountain bike from the local bike shop at age 21.( Mongoose hiltopper)
>
> I got a really nice road bike this year at age 29. (Tommasini techno ultegra components)
>
> Why did i wait so long?
>
> Well at least i saw the light!

 

[David Kerber]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> I started cycling at age 46, some 10 months ago. I have a supermarket bike. I didn't want anything
> grandiose when I wasn't even sure I'd be able to learn.
>
> Now I begin to have a clearer idea of what my "ideal bike" would be, but will put off buying it
> until I'm absolutely sold on something. I'll pay what it takes up to about 1500 Euros (ten times
> the cost of my current bike), but I don't think my cycling needs (which strictly do not include
> the Tour de France) are particularly expensive.
>
> Did it make such a huge difference in your life to graduate from your first to your "really nice"
> bike? How so? What did you notice in terms of comfort enhancement, features etc that make you say
> you "saw the light"?

To me it did, though I didn't go up 10x in price. I went from a Sears Sting-Ray to a Montgomery Ward
10-speed, which was a great step up in speed. Then to a Schwinn LeTour, which wasn't such a step up
in speed as it was in durability and maintainability. Then 20 years later (less than a month ago) I
want to a $800 Fuji Touring, and it was a huge jump in speed and ease of riding because of the extra
gears, STI shifting, and having it sized properly.

You can get some very nice bikes for $800 to $1000; you don't need to go all the way to $1500 unless
you want higher-end components and a little lighter weight.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

[Golightly F.]

Tony Raven <[email protected]> wrote:
> Turkey Tickler wrote: .
>>
>> I reckon its either the pedals, cleats or bb and the crank looks fine and is bolten in tightly.
>>
>> Any suggestions as to possible causes? its driving me nuts!.
>>
>
> Four suggestions all of which have produced that effect for me:
>
> Is the BB tight? Grease the pedal threads where they screw onto the cranks and do them up tight
> Are the pedal bearings OK Grease the seatpost in the seat tube and check the saddle is on tight.
>
> The last seems strange but the movement of pedalling can make the seat post click if not greased -
> try pedalling standing to eliminate it as a cause.

And even odder, I cured a click by greasing the bolts that held on my water bottle carrier onto the
top of the tube that runs from the BB to the front. It's an ali frame with a metal carrier. I guess
the slight flex was causing something to move. I know it was that, because all the usual culprits
had been investigated and "rectified" with no change, this was the last "Naaa, can't possibly be,
but..." straw, it was the only change performed some time after the last set of attempts to rectify
the click, and it cured the problem never to be heard again.

Trev

 

[Risto Varanka]

Elisa Francesca Roselli <[email protected]> wrote:
: I started cycling at age 46, some 10 months ago. I have a supermarket bike. I didn't want anything
: grandiose when I wasn't even sure I'd be able to learn.

My old old bike was also kind of a supermarket bike (not sure where we bought it though), 3 speeds
but it was domestic made and well-built, supposed to be ridden for years (I rode for a decaded, then
kept it as an auxiliary bike until I sold it...). It was never sporty and had ceased to be
fashionable years ago, the jump to a nice 24 speed hybrid was huge.

: Now I begin to have a clearer idea of what my "ideal bike" would be, but will put off buying it
: until I'm absolutely sold on something. I'll pay what it takes up to about 1500 Euros (ten times
: the cost of my current bike), but I don't think my cycling needs (which strictly do not include
: the Tour de France) are particularly expensive.

You could spend 500-1000 on the bike and the rest 500 on accessories like riding suits, lights,
etc... You could ride the year round.

: Did it make such a huge difference in your life to graduate from your first to your "really nice"
: bike? How so? What did you notice in terms of comfort enhancement, features etc that make you say
: you "saw the light"?

The seat was much more comfortable! Forward leaning position and cycling clothes improved
aerodynamics. More gears meant I could always pedal at about the optimum cadence - which also ended
up being quite a bit higher. Soon I also upgraded to smoothly rolling tires. And I got proper
cycling shoes and clipless pedals
- made pedalling much smoother and more powerful!

All in all, an increase in speed and comfort allowed me to grasp cycling as a sport, and I was doing
rides much beyond riding to school, to the library or the grocery store.

: I need to convince myself that there are true reasons and not mere consumerist acquisitiveness for
: augmenting my bike budget tenfold!

It all depends on your goals as a cyclist

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/hpv.html varis at no spam please iki fi

 

[Q.]

> : How old were you when you got your first really nice bike and what was it?

I've never had a REALLY nice bike, at least compared to most people. I've always had decent bikes
though ... amazing how cheep good older stuff can be.

I got my first bike at 3. The first bike I remember going nuts over was a sweet metallic blue 15
speed road bike I got for my birthday when I was 12
(1982). Almost too big for me but I grew into it quickly enough. I rode that bike into the ground
for the next 4 years until I got my drivers license.

Just a couple of months ago I got my first new bike since that one. A mish mash of NOS parts.
Basically put it together myself. MTB, Giant aluminum frame, dual suspension with Rock Shox Judy TT
up front, Fox Vanilla RX in back, Deore and Alivio stuff. Nothing special but I like it, and the
whole thing cost about $400, which makes it the most expensive bike I've ever owned. Indeed, more
expensive than all my other bikes combined (c:

C.Q.C.

 

[Mike Beauchamp]

1993 or 1994 I'm pretty sure. I was 13-14 saved up $500 for the down payment on $1500 CDN or so
Mongoose Iboc Pro mountain bike. All XT components, rapidfire shifters, 7005 aluminum frame, etc.
With my paper route money, I'd make about $200 a month or so to make the payments on the bike...

I was helping out at the bike shop for free as much as I could, learning as much as I could, and the
loan was of course no-interest and the bike was practically at cost.

I later added a bunch of stuff (the usual, flite seat, bar ends, brake lever extenders, fancy-this,
anodized-that, ti-whatever, etc). Then the shop bought me a Rock Shox mag 21 just in time for a race
in Hamilton, sort of as "payment".

Amazing bike, I really have to say! It's been through EVERYTHING. There's some nice chunks of
aluminum gone from the frame from random falls into rocks, etc. 10 years later, only 2 weeks ago
have I bought a new bike! The past few years, the bike has only been used for commuting (since I
don't do offroad anymore, due to knee surgury). Shifting is amazing, brakes are great (upgraded to
newer XTR cantis years ago). The only thing that wore out on the bike was the middle chain ring
(well, and several chains). The cassette is quite worn and could be replaced now. It was converted
into a more road-worthy ride last year by getting rid of a lot of stuff, and adding1.2" slicks at
90PSI, etc. I also stripped the pink/black paint off last year and it is now polished aluminum with
orange "mikebeauchamp.com" decals. I'm considering taking it to an auto place and doing a nice flaky
copper finish with white chunky decals.

The new bike is an entry level road bike (Iron Horse Triumph), aluminum frame, sora components,
mavic rims, etc. Just enough I could afford to get a "taste" of road bikes. So the old Mongoose is
going to be converted back to a more offroad bike, so I can get back into that lightly...

Mike http://mikebeauchamp.com

"Q." <LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > : How old were you when you got your first really nice bike and what was it?
>
> I've never had a REALLY nice bike, at least compared to most people. I've always had decent bikes
> though ... amazing how cheep good older stuff can be.
>
> I got my first bike at 3. The first bike I remember going nuts over was a sweet metallic blue 15
> speed road bike I got for my birthday when I was 12
> (1982). Almost too big for me but I grew into it quickly enough. I rode that bike into the ground
> for the next 4 years until I got my drivers license.
>
> Just a couple of months ago I got my first new bike since that one. A
mish
> mash of NOS parts. Basically put it together myself. MTB, Giant aluminum frame, dual suspension
> with Rock Shox Judy TT up front, Fox Vanilla RX in back, Deore and Alivio stuff. Nothing special
> but I like it, and the
whole
> thing cost about $400, which makes it the most expensive bike I've ever owned. Indeed, more
> expensive than all my other bikes combined (c:
>
> C.Q.C.

 

[Arpit]

On Wed, 12 Nov 2003 23:25:48 +0100, Martin Törnsten <[email protected]> wrote:

>Captain's log. On StarDate 12 Sep 2003 19:14:12 -0700 received comm from "[email protected]
>(Brink) on channel rec.bicycles.misc ":
>
>: How old were you when you got your first really nice bike and what was it?

17, giant boulder SE 2004
>
>28 (in 1996).
>
>Eddy Merckx Arcobaleno, Dura Ace 9SP gear mech with STI (first year 9 speed was introduced),
>Ultegra brakes and BB, Selle Italia Flite, 3T Forma SL (ergonomic handle), 3T Record 87 stem, Mavic
>Open SUP CD with DT Comp.
>
>: I got a cheap mountain bike from the local bike shop at age 21.( Mongoose hiltopper)
>:
>: I got a really nice road bike this year at age 29. (Tommasini techno ultegra components)
>:
>: Why did i wait so long?
>
>Same here!
>
>But I'm still very happy with my bicycle and don't regret it even if it took that many years to get
>my own first bike. Quality is better than quantity, and now it's a perfect and very enjoyable way
>for me to get some exercise.
>
>: Well at least i saw the light!
>
>Yeah!
>
>Best regards,
>
>martin törnsten