Introduction & a question

[pantlesspenguin]

Hey y'all! I just joined today. When I was younger & living in a mid-sized midwestern town, I used to bike around ALL the time. I had a decent bike that my parents bought me when I was in 7th grade. If I remember correctly it was an offshoot of the Trek brand. I rode that thing until grad school! I then moved to a bigger city (where I currently live) and thought I wouldn't have a chance to ride much, so I sold it. BIG MISTAKE. Where I live, there are plenty of residential streets I can ride on, in addition to several bike trails in the area (as soon as I can find a bike rack that fits my small bike, I'm THERE). As soon as I moved up here I bought a Schwinn Sidewinder from Wal-Mart for $150. Another mistake. I rarely used that thing because it was so tedious to use.

This past weekend, I went back to my hometown for the first time in about 5 years to attend my baby brother's wedding (he & his fiance live in the same city I do, but they wanted to have their wedding there because that's where their families are still located). Driving around, I was reminded of how I had darted along those streets on my bike, & I longed for that feeling again. Yesterday I bought the best bike I could realistically afford, a Trek 7.2 FX. I rode 20 miles yesterday evening (don't worry, I've been taking spin classes for the past year so my legs & tush are used to the feeling) & absolutely LOVE it! It's exactly what I've been missing & I can't wait to do more. Seriously, I just got to work & I'm counting down the hours til I can be on my bike again .

I know the bike I chose is on the lower end of decent quality bikes. Being somewhat a noob in the differences between bikes, I was wondering if someone could explain to me the main differences between lower quality bikes (like my crappy Schwinn), midrange bikes (like my new Trek), and bikes in the higher end of the spectrum.

 

[64Paramount]

Welcome aboard!

The main differences between entry level and high end bikes are the weight and build quality of the frame, and the weight and build quality of the equipment group installed on the bike.

For example, an entry level bike might come with Shimano Sora components which perform well, but are made of materials that wear more quickly and weigh more. A more expensive bike might be equiped with Shimano Ultegra components which perform very well, weigh less, and will last you the rest of your life if maintained properly.

There are other things involved which I'm sure others can comment on better than I can, like frame material (carbon fiber or titanium or steel, etc), but I think mostly what you pay for is weight and build quality.

 

[pantlesspenguin]

Thanks!! I'm assuming a lighter bike equals greater speed. That makes sense w/ the difference in size between mountain, hybrid, & road bikes. I can sure tell a difference between my Schwinn mountain bike & my Trek hybrid bike. Tonight it was lightly raining, but I still went out on my bike. I felt like a little kid on Christmas who just received a bike, and went out in the freezing cold & snow .

 

[64Paramount]

Originally Posted by pantlesspenguin .

Thanks!! I'm assuming a lighter bike equals greater speed......

Yeah, I think that's how it's supposed to work.

However, how fast a bike will go is really most dependant on the human engine mashing the pedals. I've got 2 road bikes; one is 47 years old and the other is 26 years old. Both still have the original equipment on them.

Both of those bikes were faster than I am when they were new and they are still faster than me today, if you take my meaning... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif