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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 103 responses total. |
jep
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response 25 of 103:
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May 29 12:17 UTC 2002 |
re #23: I'm going to keep doing it. I expect it will get easier, as
you said. I'm all right this morning. I'm just amazed that a 7 or 8
mile bike ride could do that to me!
re #24: I have a Huffy bike I got from K-Mart. My other equipment
consists of a pair of blue-jean shorts, old tennis shoes, and whatever
shirt I happen to be wearing. My helmet is made by Bell.
Does everyone wear a helmet when riding? I started it mainly to be a
good example for the kids. I was talking to my bike-freak brother in
law one time, and remarked to him that it seemed strange to wear a
helmet. I didn't have one when I was a kid. He said I probably didn't
wear a seat belt when I was a kid, either. I thought that was a good
point and have viewed the helmet differently ever since.
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gull
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response 26 of 103:
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May 29 13:19 UTC 2002 |
I wear a helmet. I've noticed a pretty high percentage of bicyclists I see
around Ann Arbor are wearing them, compared to other places I've lived.
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keesan
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response 27 of 103:
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May 29 15:49 UTC 2002 |
I thought it was silly to wear a helmet, since I bike safely, until the day
when my fender somehow got stuck in my brake while doing a turn at 2 mph and
the bike went sideways and I went forwards and I have little idea what
happened next except I sat there for half an hour. Scrapes all over my arms
and legs and a couple small ones on my cheek, which would imply that I landed
partly on my head but no brain damage (I hope). You can hurt yourself at any
speed and most of the fatal or serious bike accidents involve the head, which
is the high point when you fall off the bike.
Our bike clothing is similar to John's. Jim has tried padded biking gloves.
Our bikes are similar quality. It helps to keep them adjusted, air in the
tires, chain oiled. John, if you make it to Ann Arbor on (or even with) the
bike(s) stop for a tune-up. Jim says the tires will last longer without
cracking if you keep the sun from hitting them when not in use. They should
be okay for more than 3 years. It would be hard to find a better way to
exercise than having a kid who wants to go biking every day. Any chance that
you could make it up to 6 miles each way this summer, to get him to and from
his 'child care provider'? (In the morning and/or the evening).
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aruba
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response 28 of 103:
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May 29 16:08 UTC 2002 |
I wear my helmet all the time too. The only drawback is I tend to leave it
in restaurants and then have to go back for it.
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jep
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response 29 of 103:
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May 29 16:22 UTC 2002 |
I'm not going to pick up and drop off John every day when I'm taking
him to his mother's house. I'd be picking him up at 6:30 or 7:00 and
riding for a half-hour to an hour to take him home; that wouldn't even
leave time for dinner. It's better to pick him up, eat and then ride
for a while.
We did agree to try to ride at least as far as we did yesterday, and do
it every day. If we get further (10 miles instead of 8), we'll try to
ride at least 10 miles every day from then on, and in that way, build
ourselves up.
John was kind of hoping we'd get lost last night and have to ride to
Ann Arbor, and stay at a motel. (-: We didn't get lost.
I agree that biking, the way we do it, is about the best exercise I'm
likely to find that I can do with John. (Along with swimming, which we
do when we can, and walking/hiking, which we do occasionally.)
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scg
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response 30 of 103:
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May 29 22:30 UTC 2002 |
I've smashed enough helmets to know they're a good idea.
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jep
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response 31 of 103:
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May 29 23:43 UTC 2002 |
My bike is a K-Mart Huffy, as I said. It cost about $130 new. At what
point do people start considering other types of bikes, such as
mountain bikes, racing bikes, etc? How do you know what to get? Does
anyone here have several bikes for different occasions?
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russ
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response 32 of 103:
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May 29 23:46 UTC 2002 |
I second what scg says about doing it again. You have no idea
how out of shape you are until you put yourself to the test,
but a little work starts to change that in a hurry.
I don't go anywhere on my bike without a helmet. I've worn a
helmet ever since I declined to participate in someone's suicide
on the diag one evening (I was headed over to the Hill, and this
bozo decides that he wants to end it all [must've known he was
going to fail some essential final] and I went over the bars of
my bike stopping to avoid him). I still have a scar from that.
I went out and rode 11 miles at speed yesterday. I felt it for
some hours. I was worried about time and weather today, but I
still got a ride in at about 50% more distance and even better
speed. I have a Diamondback mountain bike with generic tires
(the Velociraptors which were on it when I bought it have worn
out). I wear random black bike shorts and a loud T-shirt, to
make it easy for people to see me.
Clees, you have missed a really good time to ride the USA. I
crossed paths with an English couple who'd started at San
Francisco and came across Death Valley on their bikes. Now
it's probably getting too hot to take that route.
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jep
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response 33 of 103:
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May 29 23:47 UTC 2002 |
Handlebars are something about which I have questions. When I was
growing up, the cool handlebars were the curved ram-shaped things. My
first bike didn't have them, though; it had the relatively straight
handlebars that stick up above the level of the seat. My current bike
has those, too.
Many of the "cool" bikes I've seen have handlebars more or less like
mine, but with a stem on each side sticking up. What are those all
about?
What type of handlebars are Those Who Know recommending, and why?
I would like to get handlebars which don't require me to bend over, as
I am not flexible and sometimes get a stiff back if I ride for a while.
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jep
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response 34 of 103:
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May 29 23:48 UTC 2002 |
One more thing, I see teenagers riding around on bikes too small for my
son, at least to my eye. Why did that trend happen? Aren't those
little bikes pretty uncomfortable?
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scg
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response 35 of 103:
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May 30 00:36 UTC 2002 |
Mountain bikes are the bicycle equivalent of an SUV. They give you a high
up riding position where you can see a lot, and they're great for off-road
riding, but due to weight, aerodynamics, and rolling resistance from the big
knobby tires, they're pretty inefficient on road. Road bikes tend to be a
lot lighter, have wheels better suited for road riding, and put you in a much
more aerodynamic position. Some people think they're uncomfortable. I tend
to disagree pretty strongly with that idea, but at times when I haven't been
riding much the road bike has taken some getting used to. The drawbacks to
road bikes, other than maybe the riding position, are that they don't handle
off-road stuff as well, probably won't stand up to really rough city riding
(running into curbs and so forth) as well as something with tougher wheels,
and tend to come stock with gears that aren't as low (although that's easy
to change). There are also hybrid bikes that are a compromise between the
two -- generally with a light road-like frame, mountain bike handlebars, and
wheels that are somewhere inbetween.
I've got a mountain bike and a road bike. I used to do a lot of off-road
riding on the mountain bike, but I haven't used it much recently. I do my
road riding on the road bike. If I were biking for transportation (I mostly
wak or take trains at this point), I'd probably buy a third bike, either a
hybrid of some sort or a much cheaper road bike. I don't feel comfortable
leaving the road bike I have locked up outside anywhere.
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mdw
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response 36 of 103:
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May 30 02:52 UTC 2002 |
I believe the theory with the weird handlebars is to give you several
alternate choices for where to hold them & rest your arms/body/riding
position.
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jep
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response 37 of 103:
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May 30 12:32 UTC 2002 |
Does it work? Are they more comfortable than the handlebars I'm used
to?
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janc
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response 38 of 103:
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May 30 12:36 UTC 2002 |
Well, if you are trying to push the limits of how fast or far you can
ride, a road bike with a light frame and downturned handlebars sure
makes sense.
Personally, nearly all my riding was commuter biking, not going more
than three or four miles, and only needing to go fast if I was late.
Primary goal was to get there, secondary goal was to get exercise. A
tough bike that could handle curbs and bumps and rain and snow was more
important than an efficient bike. So I have to work a bit harder - it's
good for me. Went through a lot of bikes over the years as one after
another got stolen. The last and current one is a sort of mountain bike
thing, but with slightly more road-worthy tires. But since I started
working at home, and especially since I started having kids,
opportunities for riding it have become scarce.
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gull
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response 39 of 103:
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May 30 13:11 UTC 2002 |
I originally got a road bike because I didn't have much money at the time,
and road bikes were cheap on the used market. (I paid $50 for mine.) I've
kept it because I do most of my riding on pavement and a road bike is
quieter and more efficient than a mountain bike would be. Plus it's less
desirable, which means it's less likely to be stolen.
I think the thing I like best about the dropped handlebars is that you can
get a few different wrist positions by gripping the bars in different
places. That can be nice on longer rides.
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keesan
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response 40 of 103:
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May 30 13:42 UTC 2002 |
Instead of calling something a mountain bike, or a road bike, I would consider
each part separately.
1. Tires - the big knobby ones are supposed to be good for riding around on
dirt. If you ride on pavement, you can get the skinny type used on racing
bikes but you will feel all the bumps. The medium-sized types used on
3-speeds or hybrids, or the medium-wide ones used on some of the 'mountain'
bikes I see around campus, are a pretty good compromise for riding on roads
that are not perfect and on sidewalks. They are NOT available for the 27"
wheels used on racing bikes but they are available for 700 mm wheels. We have
adapted one 27" frame to take these wheels (a mixte frame that offers a wider
space between forks than most 27" bikes). So I would recommend, for city
riding, either a hybrid bike with 700 wheels, a 3-speed style (they can come
in 10 speeds) with 26" medium-thin wheels, or a mountain bike with skinnier
than usual tires. We have all of these that you can look at and test out.
2. Handlebars. There are at least three styles. The downswept type are
found on racing bikes (the skinny tire 27" wheel types) and are not
particularly practical for ordinary biking - most people who use them around
town keep their hands on the top bar, or even rotate them 180 degrees. Also
the brakes don't respond quickly and are harder to grab. But you can change
any set of these to other styles - we put a straight bar on my mixte frame
instead of the racing style bar. I ride with my straight bar at the same
height as the seat (not below it as with a racing bike) which puts some of
my weight on my hands and takes it off my rear, and makes it easier for me
to pedal. Many people going short distances think it is easier to bike
sitting upright with the handlebars higher than the seat, and they like the
3-speed style bars that are upswept. Various versions of these, generally
very wide, are used on mountain bikes, and they tend to not only make you put
your arms too far apart for comfort, but also to catch on objects. We cut
about 2" off the ends of our straight bars.
The little bars on the end are mostly a fad, I think, but maybe they let real
mountain bikers hold on to the handlebars better?
3. Brakes - the cheaper bikes have them attached near the seatpost (caliper
brakes) and the more expensive ones are attached to the lower part of the
frame and work a bit faster and better. Huffy probably is the cheaper style.
4. Frame - you do not need a heavier frame with shock absorbers for normal
city riding.
5. Saddle - the very skinny ones are designed for racing and are not as
comfortable. The very wide ones are designed for upright riding and are
terrible if you ride with the handlebars at seat height. (I know, I used a
nice new leather upright seat for the first day of a bike trip and stopped
and bought a narrower one to use instead).
So we recommend - any frame that is not too heavy and does not have shock
absorbers, that will take either 700 mm wheels (less common, used in 'hybrid'
bikes) or 26" wheels (3-speed upright style, medium thin, or mountain bike
style but at the skinny end of the range). With a medium-wide saddle and
straight not-very-long handlebars at about saddle height. Jim says he gets
a backache from riding upright. It takes time to get used to different riding
styles. We have several bikes of different styles to try out. It is more
tiring to ride upright. You can probably get a sore back riding in any
position until you get used to it. We have extra 3-speed and mountain bike
styles, with an assortment of tires and brake types. We also have one bike
designed as a road bike that already has 26" medium-wide tires and is about
the right size for a medium-tall man and could modify it for you (change the
handlebars and/or saddle) if you like it. By road bike we do not mean racing
bike but longer wheel base, which is more comfortable as it absorbs road
shocks. We are not using it as we prefer open frames (no top bar) so that
we can get on and off easily with luggage piled behind on a rack.
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scott
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response 41 of 103:
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May 30 14:23 UTC 2002 |
The little extensions on mountain bike handlebars are usually call "climbing
bars" or something like that. They do actually have a use; when you're
climbing a really steep hill you can shift to a better gripping position.
The downside is that you lose immediate access to the brake levers! :O That's
why they're used for climbing sections of trail. Back when I was mountain
biking I added a pair to my bike, and I did find them useful.
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gull
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response 42 of 103:
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May 30 14:52 UTC 2002 |
Re #40: The brake levers on the lower part of racing-style handlebars
will respond every bit as quickly as the levers on any other type of
handlebar if they're adjusted right. They tend to be fairly long, too,
which gives you a lot of leverage. The extension levers some bikes have
on the upper part of the bars are just about useless, though. I only
ride with my hands on the upper part of the bar when I'm not going to
need quick access to the brakes. (Even then, it doesn't take long to
drop by hands down and pull the levers.)
I guess I'm just strange. I find the racing-style bars perfectly
practical for day to day riding. I particularly like being able to
switch to a different wrist position occasionally.
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drew
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response 43 of 103:
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May 30 17:20 UTC 2002 |
My first bike had the ram-horn type handlebars JEP mentioned, along with an
elongated seat capable of accommodating a passenger, smaller but thicker
cross-section tires, and but a single gear ratio. That gear ratio turned out
to be optimal, however. My performance on that bike was the same as it is on
standard road 10-speeds today: 15 MPH cruising plus or minus a couple
depending on the wind, and 20 MPH max.
The up-high handlebar configuration was exceptionally stable. It was fairly
easy to ride the bike no-handed. I can't do that with a standard 10-speed.
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gull
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response 44 of 103:
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May 30 17:38 UTC 2002 |
I think being able to ride a bike no-handed has more to do with rim weight
and the geometry of the front wheel forks than with riding position.
Inexpensive bikes have heavy steel rims that create a sort of gyroscope
effect that helps keep the bike upright. More expensive bikes tend to have
lighter rims to make it easier to accellerate them and pedal them up hills.
The geometry of the front forks also makes a big difference. Children's
bikes often have straight forks, which increases stability. Adult bikes
tend to have the fork tips angled forwards, so the axle isn't on the same
axis as the headset bearings. That actually decreases stability a bit, but
makes the bike more maneuverable.
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keesan
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response 45 of 103:
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May 30 18:31 UTC 2002 |
I find that higher handlebars put my weight higher off the ground which makes
the bike less stable (as do the lighter wheels). A front basket has a simlar
effect - rear panniers are more stable.
We had to bend the front forks of one mountain bike to make it more suitable
for non-dirt use.
I ride around town with my hands on the brakes and the extension brake levers
would not let me do this (or did not work well, I forget which). THe first
thing I did on that bike was get a straight handlebar with different brake
levers.
Today we got an open frame Raleigh with top-pull cantilever brakes, which we
had not seen on a mountain bike before (they are usually side pull). The top
pull design made it possible to use a higher seat tube, which left room for
lugs to which to attach a back rack. My other Raleigh with the expensive
side-pull cantilever brakes has a very low seat tube so that the brake cable
will work properly and the only way to attach a rack is to the seat post. The
bike only needs the seat raised and the brakes taken apart and oiled to make
them work, same for the pedals. I promised to trade two top-tube models for
it, in good working order. This one is a 6-speed with ratchet action indexed
shifting (push one lever to go up a gear, the other to go down). And a nice
NON-bumpy non-grooved set of grips that would also work with twist shifters,
but a too-wide handlebar. Narrow tires, good for around town once we change
the handlebar.
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scg
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response 46 of 103:
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May 30 23:12 UTC 2002 |
Everything Sindi has said about brakes has made no sense at all. Her point
3 in response 40 would brand every $4,000 racing bike I've seen as a cheap
bike. The brake stuff in #45 didn't make sense either.
Road bike brake levers are designed to have an extra hand position on the
brake lever hoods, which is where most road bike riders I know keep their
hands most of the time. Braking is perfectly easy from that position too,
as the fingers are resting on the edge of the brake levers.
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keesan
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response 47 of 103:
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May 30 23:22 UTC 2002 |
Jim says there are cheap and expensive models of the different types of
brakes, but some styles of brakes are more likely to be found on cheap bikes,
such as the caliper type. Possibly they continue to work even if they go out
of adjustment. Today Jim took apart all four of the cantilever brakes and
also a pulley and scraped off lots of rust and lubricated everything. Only
one of the four brakes was working at all. The cheaper ones (caliper) on my
other bike continue to work all the time, though never as well as the
cantilever ones when they are working right.
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gull
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response 48 of 103:
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May 31 03:34 UTC 2002 |
Generally the cheapest bikes have side pull brakes. They're not very
good because they never pull evenly, especially once the center pivot
gets a bit sticky -- one side always pulls in first, which pulls the
whole brake assembly towards the other side. The end result is one
shoe wants to drag on the wheel, making you adjust the brakes to open
further, which makes the brake levers less responsive.
Better bikes have center-pull brakes, which work much more evenly and
give a little better leverage.
Some mountain bikes have cantilever brakes, which have pivots on the
forks below the brake pads and give even better leverage because of
their design. That lets you apply the brakes more firmly with less
effort on the levers. I don't really see them as necessary on a road
bike, since the center-pull brakes on mine seem capable of locking the
wheels on dry pavement. (And I don't have terribly strong hands,
either.)
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scg
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response 49 of 103:
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May 31 03:46 UTC 2002 |
Nope. Expensive road bikes have side pull brakes too. They work a lot better
than cheap side pull brakes do.
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