1234

Wheels (Read 1719 times)


Team HTFU NCTR Driver

    What kind of bike do I need? - Biking to and from work ~ 8 miles each way on road and greenway - Occasional recreational biking on roads - I am NOT permitted to start biking competitively or participating in triathelons (but may bike on weekends with friends who do) Thx
    Clearly you need a nice custom Seven. Or maybe a Calfee Bamboo. Shouldn't be more than, oh, say, $12,000. did



      I am also looking at my first bike, for cross-training purposes. The local shop recommended Giant bikes as a good value and in the end it came down to picking from among the OCRs 1-3 and the FCRs 1-3. The I took the Giant catalogue home and saw the Cypress series (comfort), which looked good. I am having a really tough time deciding among the bikes. I really do not want to spend too much for marginal benefits and see myself riding, at this stage, 30-40 miles/ride MAX and am concerned about shock/impact on my body.

      "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus

      fxdgear


        Gears?!! You don't need no stink'n gears...well, maybe one . Check out the Bianchi Pista.


        My sweet new crank!

          I am riding the Schwinn Madison (fixie) it is cheap and has a freewheel option. Great bike for commuting and weekend ride. Great fir yir quads....
          Ryan O'D Gurnee, IL by way of Madison, WI via Wichita, KS via Denver, CO


          Giant Flaming Dork

            I don't know, Trent... it's sort of like asking "What do you want at the supermarket?" What are your goals and how much can you spend? It boils down to these two questions. I like looking at the frame materials first, as this will determine the maximum that you can do with your bike. I can offer you this advice, though - once you figure out your goals and price range, ride as many different bikes as possible. I'll make an assumption that if these three things are truely your goals, you probably want something that is comfortable, durable, and inexpensive. You should probably start by looking at steel framed bikes. Yes, they are "old school", but they have come a long way in the past 20 years. Get a good frame, and you can add paniers on the bike to carry stuff (clothes, laptop, etc) to and from work. Bianchi and Lemond have some good and inexpensive (relatively) steel framed bikes. The Lemond brand is going away, so you can probably get a good deal on these. A significant number of manufacturer's also sell "Cyclocross" bikes that are steel. (Cyclocross is a combination of road and trail biking done on road geometry frames). You could also go completely "retro-grouch" and look at the Rivendell brand. The most common material used in frames are Aluminum. These are (usually) lighter than steel, much stiffer (better power transfer to the wheels), and can be very inexpensive. However, you feel: Every. Pebble. On. The. Road. Yes, I know that there are inserts and seatposts and all sorts of stuff that you can buy that can dampen a lot of this, but I equate an aluminum frame to a bell. Once you hit something, it rings for a while and there's really nothing you can do about it. There is talk that aluminum is inferior to steel because the frames crack, (because they are so much stiffer) but I don't buy it. There were issues in the past, but most (if not all) have been solved. And lest you think I'm regurgitating info garnered from somewhere else on the web, I spent close to 2000 miles in the cockpit of my Trek 1000. If you want to go fast and still remain comfortable, I'd look at some carbon frame bikes. Full carbon frame bikes (not just in the fork) are very light and responsive and not quite as "buzzy" as aluminum. They are (in general) expensive and can be found from many differenct manufacturers. The main advantage of carbon fiber is that you get the weith of aluminum, with the compliance of steel. Unfortunately, it usually comes with a big price tag. My current high-milager is a Specialized Roubaix, because I wanted to get down to one "do everything" road bike. I can commute (with a backpack) or go on weekend jaunts with other bikers. There are other things that you need to consider (grouppos, cranksets, frame geopmetries, and things like that). But I think that's a good start.

            http://xkcd.com/621/

            zoom-zoom


            rectumdamnnearkilledem

              My current high-milager is a Specialized Roubaix
              The Pro is did's mistress.... Roll eyes

              Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

              remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                   ~ Sarah Kay


              Giant Flaming Dork

                The Pro is did's mistress.... Roll eyes
                Mine's an Elite. I like it, it's all carbon, but it's "cheap". They skimped around the bike a lot in order to bring it down the price level (the rims, brakes, are house branded), but it's the . The Zertz makes a difference (but not huge). I rode a Felt 3c before buying the Roubaix... what a sweet ride. >$3000 though! Had I bought a Pro, I would have needed a mistress - because DW would not have put up with it! "How many bikes do you NEED, anyway?!?"

                http://xkcd.com/621/

                zoom-zoom


                rectumdamnnearkilledem

                  Had I bought a Pro, I would have needed a mistress - because DW would not have put up with it! "How many bikes do you NEED, anyway?!?"
                  Lessee...did has his roadie ("Ruby"), "Frank"...a road being converted to a cyclocross, his 29er Cannondale mtn. (I don't recall if he named this bike, yet), a POS tandem mtn. bike that he picked up for $200 at a resale shop, his old Viner with a cracked frame...and I think maybe one other bike. Yeah, I could pretty much buy running shoes every month without him being able to complain too loudly. Evil grin

                  Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                  remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                       ~ Sarah Kay

                  jEfFgObLuE


                  I've got a fever...

                    The Pro is did's mistress.... Roll eyes
                    Wow. Did is laying down Elliot Spitzer-level coin for that mistress. No wonder you buy so many shoes. Aren't you due for Mac upgrade? Tongue

                    On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.


                    The Greatest of All Time

                      Get a low end road racing bike. It will be fun to blow past people on their $3,500 carbon fiber bikes with full Dura-Ace component group on your $700 steele or aluminum bike with Tiagra component group.
                      Did that during my first two tris on an old steel frame bike that squeaked. The seat post also had two welds on it. A real piece of work that bike was. Weighed about 25 lbs too. That had to have pissed some people off too as I blew by them..."On your left, on your left....good day, looking good"
                      all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be

                      Obesity is a disease. Yes, a disease where nothing tastes bad...except salads.


                      My sweet new crank!

                        along that line, if i ever get the boss to clear me for an ironman, i want to do it on a fixie, not so much for time, but to watch Mr. Tri-Cervelo-Zipp-Aero-BentoBox crap as a blow by.... Big grin Dead I may even go old school, cotton sox, wool cycling jersey...leather helmet, they would say "that dude is bad-ass"
                        Ryan O'D Gurnee, IL by way of Madison, WI via Wichita, KS via Denver, CO


                        The Greatest of All Time

                          along that line, if i ever get the boss to clear me for an ironman, i want to do it on a fixie, not so much for time, but to watch Mr. Tri-Cervelo-Zipp-Aero-BentoBox crap as a blow by.... Big grin Dead I may even go old school, cotton sox, wool cycling jersey...leather helmet, they would say "that dude is bad-ass"
                          I like your style. Even the bike I did the Ironman on was modest in comparison to most.
                          all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be

                          Obesity is a disease. Yes, a disease where nothing tastes bad...except salads.
                          zoom-zoom


                          rectumdamnnearkilledem

                            Wow. Did is laying down Elliot Spitzer-level coin for that mistress. No wonder you buy so many shoes. Aren't you due for Mac upgrade? Tongue
                            AND he just bought a new HP PC with 24" HD LCD monitor and Doom 3. Yeah...my 'puter is 3 with a POS 19" CRT. I'm definitely due, man. Evil grin

                            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                 ~ Sarah Kay


                            Giant Flaming Dork

                              AND he just bought a new HP PC with 24" HD LCD monitor and Doom 3. Yeah...my 'puter is 3 with a POS 19" CRT. I'm definitely due, man. Evil grin
                              Hmm... Too bad Apple doesn't sell the "tangerine" Mac, anymore. Could I suggest this? http://www.apple.com/macbookair/ I'd love to dust a few people in the local duathalon on my 1991 27lb stock Trek 1000.

                              http://xkcd.com/621/

                              zoom-zoom


                              rectumdamnnearkilledem

                                Ha! That MacBook Air is cool...but I don't really need a super lightweight laptop. I'd rather have more desktop for the same money. I'll probably end up with a new Mini and a new monitor...I'd LOVE an Apple monitor, but they are so $$.

                                Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                                remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                     ~ Sarah Kay

                                1234