Bicycles!

Connie and I bought some el cheapo Walmart bicycles a while back and we have been taking them to St. Joe State Park here in north Florida when we would rent a cabin there. Also cleared up our trail a bit and been riding that as well. We both seemed to be really enjoying riding bikes, so when I discovered that the crank on my bike was wobbling like hell, and the shifter cable on the rear gear set was broken at the connector, I figured maybe we just needed to get some better bikes.

So Thursday we went to a local bike shop to take a look around.

Yikes! Seriously? Someone would pay over $7,000 for a bicycle? Even the cheapest bikes there were 6 to 8 times what we paid for the Walmart bikes! And all of them, regardless of price, are still made in China anyway.

Well, we talked it over before we went out there and figured that if we got GOOD bikes, hopefully they would just last longer than the el cheapo brands. I guess we can only hope that there is some sort of quality being put into something to make them much more expensive.

Anyway, we were first looking at what is known as a "hybrid" bike, in that it (I think) is best suited for a combo of flat paved roads and some minor trail riding. But when I looked at them, those skinny tires just didn't give me any confidence at all. Not too long ago we went to St. George Island and rode from the last pavilion all the way to the pass. That was a trip of five miles one way, which I will admit I was quite astonished that we could do. Of course, we nearly died of heat prostration and dehydration, but that's another story. Anyway, that trip was on a road that was pretty much just compacted sand, with some areas being soft sand. And those larger tires we had on the Walmart bikes had trouble with the sand. So I certainly didn't think those skinny hybrid tires would be worth considering.

Sooo, they had some mountain bikes there that had some 29 inch knobby tires that were around 2 inches wide and they looked much better for what we wanted. The way I figured it, a mountain bike can certainly handle paved roads well enough, but a road bike sure as heck won't handle off roading like we were planning on. I think the models we got are the Specialized 29s. "Specialized" seems to be a pretty good brand name from what I have learned on the net, so hopefully they will hold up. These were 2012 models and made in Taiwan instead of China. Not real cheap, but not a severe blow to the chin, neither. As usual, I figured out the tops I wanted to spend and wound up spending twice that.

We took them out for a test ride. They only had two, one black and one red. Connie HATES red, so I got the red one. Color doesn't matter to me as long as it's not hot pink or purple. Anyway, the bikes rode so much better than the Walmart bikes that it was ridiculous. The gear shifting was completely effortless and the bikes were obviously much faster even on that short stint on flat roadway. From the smiles on Connie's face I could see that she was enjoying the bike too, so what was I supposed to do?

So we put them into the bike carrier I bought for Connie's truck and brought them on home, with a much lighter credit card. We also bought some pretty funky helmets and a few other odds and ends. People on the bike forums talked a LOT about "crashes", so I presume this is a common thing. Heck, I "crashed" the Walmart bike once myself at St. Joe and scraped up my knee in the process. Didn't notice that broken off asphalt (meaning "hole") where my foot was supposed to rest when I stopped to look at something along the road, and over I went. So maybe having something to help from clunking your noggin against concrete or asphalt is a good thing.

Been riding around our path and we can go the entire route (surprising for this neck of the woods, our path is actually a little bit hilly) without keeling over once or twice. With the Walmart bikes it was much more of a struggle to ride the path. Still really gets our hearts a pumping, so I'm hoping this will be good exercise rather than a death wish. I'm thinking that there just might be an age reached where it isn't really exercise any more, just stress testing the heart till you fail it.

But bike riding IS a lot of fun. Having a good bike is likely going to be a whole lot MORE fun. If I live through it, of course.

My neighbor - who refuses to join the internet age - asked me to put his bike on Craigslist for him, so I researched it a bit. It's a "Trek Liquid 20" which, apparently, was a fairly high-end bike when it was made back in 2003. Even used, Blue Book value (yes, there actually is a bicycle Blue Book) is still about $500 in it's current condition. While I could never bring myself to pay that much for a bicycle; it rides like a dream. The thing is pretty badass. It's got hydraulic disc brakes, full adjustable suspension, etc. Just as soon as I manage to quit smoking so I can breathe well enough to exercise, I may take up off-road bicycling to lose a bit of weight and just get out and lose myself in nature like I did when I was young.

Bicycling on a good bike makes a world of difference. After a while, you can switch the stock bicycle seat to a better one and that makes a difference to your comfort as well.
If you start reading about bikes you can find a formula for the best seat height, and also find that the proper bicycle frame size for your height can make a real difference if you ride a lot. (You can check out frame measurements and determine the frame size of the bikes you bought, and see whether they are the optimum size for each of you).
Learning how to change a tire tube and carrying a spare can help you have confidence on longer rides.



http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb...ke-like-a-pro/

Yeah, the salesgirl spent a lot of time with us and I think the bikes we got are about optimum for us. But we haven't actually been "fitted" on the bikes. I actually lowered my seat a bit because I like to be able to stop and have my feet easily on the ground at a standstill will still seated. The "proper" fitted way won't really allow that without really leaning the bike. I've already watched several videos on YouTube about how to go through the fitting process, and honestly, I've obviously been riding bikes completely wrong. There may be some parts of the "right" way that I will not be willing to accept, though.

Our style of riding is pretty relaxed with being more interested in looking at the scenery than getting from point A to point B as quickly as we can. Heck, we are talking about taking the bikes down to the St. Marks wildlife refuge and riding there, where our biggest challenge might be to just not run the bikes off of the trails and wind up in the water along with the HUGE alligators there. So that isn't going to be the place to be experimenting with new techniques of riding that might get us in trouble.

And she showed us how to change a tube in a tire. Seems simple enough. I actually bought a kit there that goes behind my seat and holds the stuff needed in order to do that.

I'm pretty sure bike riding will just melt the pounds off of you in a hurry. Especially if you are riding off road with varied terrain. And especially down here lately where the temps have been rubbing up close to the 100 degree mark each day.

BTW, while registering the bikes on Specialized's website I found out that the model name of the bikes is actually "Specialized Rockhopper 29er".

I remember my Dad bought one that cost like 3 grand about 12 yrs ago. I said, How Much? I don't think he put more than 50 miles on it.

Originally Posted by JColt

I remember my Dad bought one that cost like 3 grand about 12 yrs ago. I said, How Much? I don't think he put more than 50 miles on it.

I guess as long as you didn't have your heart set on a particular make and model, a person could pick up a pretty good deal in the used bike market.

But I guess I am curious to know what you get for $3K+ in a bicycle. Not enough to spend that kind of money for one, though. Unless I suddenly and unexpectedly came into money to burn, I would have a lot of trouble justifying such an expenditure to myself. Heck, I think the first CAR I bought was only $1,200. And not all that long ago i sold my '98 Jeep Wrangler to one of the guys working for me for only $5,000.

Originally Posted by WebSlave

But I guess I am curious to know what you get for $3K+ in a bicycle.

I have read accounts in bike forums of people who are curious about the benefits of very expensive bicycles and go 'test drive' one and report back. The bikes are lighter, of course, but some have said that the shifting is unusually smooth and that the components are very well made. Is this worth the extra $$$$? It would not be worth it to me, but there are those whose bicycles are an important part of their life, and apparently worth it to them. There is a definite difference between my old beater bike and my good road bike, so I imagine that aficionados might be able to appreciate even better bikes.
Sort of like how some people will spend a bit more for a Corvette, even though lesser cars may still be very good, they do not have the magic (and performance) that a 'Vette does.

Couldn't tell you Rich. He had it hanging up in storage and I just went, Oh. My dad always went high end on everything. 6 months before he passed he bought a Chrysler 300 fully loaded with dual sun roofs, shade that came up over back window, heated and cooled seats and steering wheel, tricked out audio and navigation system. It replaced his 5 yr old 300 that had 8000 miles on it. He went to church, local grocery store, doctors and brother's house, lol.

There are people out there that are just nuts for bicycles. My ex runs the national bicycle history archive of America. It's hard for me to type those words with a straight face, but the man is passionate about those things.

I've been kicking around the idea of getting one. Heck, I've got some of my land easmented to hell and back for a bicycle trail that fronts my property so I feel like at this point I kinda should at least use it once in a while. Those surrey bikes look like a ton of fun, too. Might be nice for a little afternoon cruise and a picnic.