Friday, May 25, 2007
Bike Stores
Today, we went to a couple of Bike stores here to try to buy a new bike for the wife. Technically, the kid needed a new bike, but the wife's existing bike is perfect for the kid, so we decided to see if the wife could find something better, and give the other one to the kid. In the meantime, I tried out a bunch of bikes, including a fixed gear bike. That is a messenger-type bike in which you can't coast. The pedals and chain are always attached to the back wheel, and there are no brakes. You slow down by pushing back on the pedals. The advantage of this bike is that it weighs very little. It was kinda shocking how light it was, actually. Very cool, but I don't think it would work in a race too well. Gotta keep the cadence rather consistent, and that ain't gonna happen on one of these. I also tried a real road bike (Lemond), which put me into a very aero-esque position, and I discovered that this position can be quite uncomfortable for the two little guys who reside near "the area." Not sure how to handle that, but yikes. I didn't find anything that made me jealous. I think I'm gonna stick with my Trek for a while; probably just get a tune-up soon. Both of my hubs are a little loose, gotta tighten the spokes, true the wheels, etc. I think I'm willing to pay a few bucks to have someone else do that for me, so I don't lose my bearings as Craig recently did. I have had that very frustrating problem in the past. I'll put some smaller tires on there and get a better seat, and I think I'll have a pretty nice ride. What the heck? It's not like I'm gonna be winning this thing. I can't imagine a new bike would gain me much more than a minute or two in the whole bike portion anyway. I can live with that.
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Actually that is funny you concluded you could use the same bike. I poised the same question to bike sales guy at my local bike shop. I was on the phone with him, and asked "How much time can I gain by buying some bike that weighs 6 lbs (when I need to lose 10) lighter than my bike, has a bunch of gears that I don't believe I need, plus the bike is probably not as comfortable as mine." He could only respond by saying come in and ride you will see the difference. I still worry about those light weight materials and super skinny tires. I would much prefer to lose two minutes on my old bike than to lose 10 mins with a flat, or lose 30 mins with a broken crank, plus push for a couple miles. I am going to go for a test ride this summer on some good bikes to see if I change my mind.
I did go to the shop on Saturday and got bearings, grease, and some chain lube. I repacked the bearings Monday, and cleaned chain and relubed it. I still need to true front wheel, nothing major. I did the rear wheel a couple months back. I also have new handle bar wrap and need to remove one reflector from when the bike was designed to be a touring bike. Additionally I am going to reline the rim with some tape (bought on Saturday), which protects the tube from the spoke ends. Last time I had the wheel apart the liner on the rim was dry rotted and pretty much ready to tear.
We bought Tamara a new bike two summers a go. A Giant comfort bike. Kinda a hybrid between a road bike and a mountain bike. She uses is exclusively on Rails to Trails. Has a shock absorber on the seat post. I have been happy with it, so has she.
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