25 new of 70 responses total.
All of our bikes work in the rain, but aluminum wheels and the type of brakes that are mounted directly on the frame grip better. What you need is a good poncho.
re #44 Steep hills..need good gears to climb and good brakes to stop. My late 80's Peugeot roadbike doesn't quite cut it.
Re #47: That's part of the attraction of the Raleigh C200: disc brakes fore and aft. When you weigh as much as I do, stopping power is an issue worthy of consideration.
If you start using only your bike for transportation, you may notice a gradual decline in body mass.
And a gradual decline in getting to work on time. ;)
My brother used to look for jobs within 10 miles so he could bike. If you live farther away, try putting your bike on the bus.
Why would I take my bike to work when the bus comes to the corner and drops me off right at work?
I was talking to Andy, who is shopping for a bike that will hold a large body mass. Tod, you could walk to another bus stop to get some exercise, at least on the way home if you are not expected to be cooking supper.
Re #49: Cycling to work is not an option because I work 24 miles away from where I live and barely have enough time to get there on a good day. My previous job was within walking distance of my house, but the town we live in is so small that the odds of finding another job nearby (let alone during the hours that I'm available for work) are negligable.
re #53 I sometimes use further bus stops if I want to get some Starbucks for the ride home.
Today I found myself looking again at pushbikes on the Web. I read some horror stories about the cheap department store bikes that gull warned about in #4. It looks as though US$ 500 is about the watershed price for a bike that isn't going to simply crumble under me.
Why don't you get a cheap used bike that used to be an expensive new bike and try it out to get a better idea of what you want? Go for aluminum wheels and avoid the older-style brakes used by Huffy and Murray.
As mentioned previously, I tried that before and ended up with a bike that I could not repair. Are aluminium wheels stronger for the same weight?
My dad had a folding bike years ago. I noticed some "stretching bikes" on the Web, which I'm guessing are a similar concept.
Aluminum wheels are lighter, and they brake better in wet weather. Get a bike repair book and some tools, or buy a used bike that costs a bit more but is already working. Often brakes and gears need adjusting. What is wrong with yours?
The bike I was referring to is long gone. It's not inconceivable that I could buy an old bike and fix it up. The tricky part would be knowing before I buy it whether its cost, plus that of various replacement parts would begin to approach that of a new bike, which would come with a warranty. The other challenge would be finding the time, and the parts to repair an old bike.
It is not difficult to find parts for a mountain bike. Bike repair skills are useful and save time in the long run. I learned to true my own wheels and adjust and change brakes and cables. That is most of what is wrong with old bikes. Sometimes the gears do not shift properly and also need adjusting, or you might need to change the rings. y Get a bike where the gears shift, and work on the brakes yourself. Sometimes there are broken spokes. New ones are cheap and easy to install. The store where you buy them might even show you how. People working at bike stores tend to be friendly. You can make minor adjustments to the gears by turning a screw I think. (Jim does my bike repairs now, I type his letters).
I need figure out what kind of tool unscrews these bolts on my Trek 750. They look like lil allen wrench holes but I don't think so... I want to attach my bike pump and bottle holder.. :(
If they're not Allen, but look kinda like Allen, they might be Torx. A Torx head takes a vaguely star-shaped bit with six little points on it, instead of a hexagonal bit like an Allen. There's also "triple-square", which is a 12-pointed pattern.
Looks like torx or maybe 4mm hex?
I've used Torx wrenches on Allen screws and visa-versa in a pinch.
Turns out to be a 5mm hex. I didn't guess it the first run cuz I was using standards instead of metrix. DOH!
Re resp:66: Now I usually just take my Dremel and cut a straight slot across the head. ;)
Now that I live on the ground floor, I'm thinking again of buying a bicycle. There are other things that I would like to buy first, but I need the exercise (especially since I'm no longer walking up and down stairs all day!) I really, really like the look of the Raleigh Special (not much to go wrong). It only comes in an 18" frame though.
It only took me four years, but I bought a Trek 7300 this past weekend. It's quite comfortable and feels very solid, despite my weight.
You have several choices: