The sport of Bicyling....

[Ultima]

Looks like we have us some experienced avid Bicycling enthusiasts around here...Sorry C2 to hear about your accident!

Father time is catching up to me and I haven't taken the best care of myself over the past 10 years so I wanted to find something to get me active that would get my heart beating while being fun at the same time. I partied alot in my first 30 years and now I'm find myself slowing down a bit.  Now more than ever it's dawning on me that we need to start taking care of ourselves as we get older to in order to get optimum longevity out of our bodies. Anyhow I've chosen biking as one of the forms to get some exercise as they have some really nice bike trails down here in Southern California.

I ended up getting a cheap bike at my local target. Big mistake but I didn't know whether I was going to 'like it' or not so I was conservative and didn't want to spent a good chunk of change. But that bike lasted about a week before it started completely falling apart. Now I'm broke and stuck with it until I can afford something better...the good thing is the bike is a workout because the gears don't work. The bad things is it's dangerous cause the breaks down work that great either. I have to slow down way early whereas I think most good bikes can stop on a dime.  

I don't want to come here to SUO with my own tale crashing.  That's one of the things that really scares me about bicycling...

Some of these pedestrians and motorists out there that are oblivious to others around them on the roads. I try and be aware of all times of the people around and always slow down when going around a corner I can't see around. But riding on the surface streets is totally crazy...and not something I think I would be comfortable with. Many Motorists don't seem to have any respect for cyclists so I'll be sticking to the bike paths and side walks.

So when it comes to biking I'm as green as a four leaf clover I'm trying to learn as much as I can but I need to get a real bike.

I want one that is fast...very fast but need to keep it under $1000. I'm tired of being whizzed by other bicyclist twice my age on my $70 Magna Bike that has no functioning gears...LOL!

I'm leaning towards a  road bike with a flat bar. Possibly a Trek 7.5FX or a Specialized Sirrus Comp.

I'm not looking to compete in a triathlon anytime soon. I'm understanding it takes years to build up stamina and cadence. The bike I want is mostly for personal exercise and enjoying the scenery here in Southern California but I really want to be able to go FAST when I push it.

What kind of bikes are you guys riding? Any suggestions on what might fit the bill for me? I'll be doing a good amount of research before I finally decide on a  bike that fits my needs.

[TrailMyx]

I don't do anything special with my bike.  It's a mountain bike I picked up at Costco to replace my aging Huffy.  It's been a trusted friend since then and I think I only paid $150 for it.  I only bike for exercise and sightseeing, so I don't really care about the uber-quality ones.  So you should ask yourself what you'll really be using it for.

Also, if you are going to bike, you are going to crash.  That's that.  Sorry, one day you just will dump it.  In 2000, I was running along at 40MPH down a hill on the asphalt when my wheel caught a groove in the pavement and I went down hard.  I wasn't doing anything but minding my own business, but the bike and asphalt had other ideas.  I wasn't wearing a helmet or pads; I lost a few square corners that day.  But the more you bike, the more you'll be able to control things like that.  Just never think you are in TOTAL control.

Edit:  Oh I forgot I jammed both my wrists.  Nothing like trying to pick rocks out of your palm meat and not disturb the over-riding sprain.  ouch!

[Endless Night]

Good bikes can be found daily  at either Garage Sales, Flea Markets, Craigslist.. and the cheapest of all resale shops.. goodwill, salvation army etc.

My first bike I had here in the states I picked up for $10 in San Jose's, ca flea market.. 18+ years later its still going although the gears are now frozen (florida rust) but being florida with Zero hills thats not an issue.

[Hoby]

My buddy just started biking alot and recently broke his collar bone whilst riding.  Trying to avoid a car that didnt see him. 

[Endless Night]

Yea if you cycle on the road you have to be very wary of cars .. thier not your friend.   You even have to be carefull of people opening thier doors .. they look for cars but dont realize cyclists also use the road .. number of doors ive hit is increadilbe..

Rember in an accident let go of the bike and roll !!!!

[Ultima]

Yeah this is why I'm going to remain a big baby and stay on the sidewalk and bike trails. Motorists don't want to share the road with other motorists let alone bicyclists.

Maybe I should start wearing shin,knee, and elbow pads when riding.

I keep checking craigslist.com to see what they have available in my area but ultimately I'm going to want my own new bike...right now one of the two I listed above are my choices for a decent fast bike that's under a grand.

[Endless Night]

Mountain biking is alot of fun .. and no car worries .. just falling off the cliff face worries

But in all fairness i think you can go years and years without any serious accidents.. the road is probably where the real accidents happen...

  I'll never forget when i was perhaps 19 going like a bullet down a hill on a minor road like i did every day at rush hour getting to the end a T-junction joining a major road (the hill continued)... only to find that my brakes just up and quit...I had a split second to decide to either (A) wipe out massively and maybe roll into oncoming traffic or (B) attempt the turn.. well i choose (B) tried to loop the turn.. as much as possilbe.. Dont really know what happened except many horns and screeching brakes but i made it and luckily the lights at the bottom of the hill (another 200yards or so) were in my favor and i managed to roll until i slowed down enought to stop .. i was really booking it by the bottom of the hill and on a major road so wipe out just not possible.

But i used to cycle on average 20+ miles a day back then, all on roads. So accidents were a matter of time.

[_C2_]

My big issue on bikes is if i don't spend above 2 grand on them I spend the money I saved on upgrading the parts I destroy on them that were on the better models anyways.  I don't know what stresses go into a road bike or if it is more about how light each part is.  I imagine u want a killer shifter set and a set of climbing gears.

I put the hurt on my mountain bike and it gave me some hurt back this time.  Pay up front on the good parts now and not get stung later... but identify the crucial parts and dont sweat the dumb stuff that is 500 dolars a prat to save 6 ounces.

[SunTigress]

I'm having the best mental images of a bunch of SUO dorks riding in a competition all wearing matching SUO shirts, and then TM pulls over to check the website to make sure Cerveza isn't doing anything bad while he's busy!

[_C2_]

Where do we order! 

[Oracle]

Yes!  Where do we order!

Wait!  Are we ordering Bikes or the T-Shirts.  No Matter, but me in for one of each (Size Large)...

[UOMaddog]

I couldn't wait for the ordering of the T-Shirts so I just went to the store and bought a shirt that said SUMO and just crossed out the M!

[SunTigress]

I couldn't wait for the ordering of the T-Shirts so I just went to the store and bought a shirt that said SUMO and just crossed out the M!

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!

Actually, I think we've come across something interesting.

I'm going to buy a white tanktop and an industrial size sharpie and write SUO Army across it

[cgeorgemo]

Well not to be on topic or anything but......
I ride a Schwinn and my younger daughter rides a Schwinn as well. My older girl has a Mongoose and my wife doesn't ride. I bought all of these on clearance sale at Target and they've lasted me for years.
The only thing I changed was the seat and seat post on my bike. I'm 6'5" and I needed a taller post so I bought one with a built in spring system and one of the seats that tries to not sterilize you as you ride along.

[Petkiller]

I love riding my bicycle but the way most people drive I only ride on low traffic streets.  I think at least 5-6 people have been killed this summer while riding.  When I was riding everyday to college I would guess I had a near miss at least 2 times a week.  I can't even guess how many times people have opened car doors in front of me.