Got a Mountain Bike

[Johnny Mullet]

My wife and I were going to yard sales and I found a Huffy Mountain Bike for $10.00

I stuffed it into the back of the Metro (and closed the hatch) and took it home. I have discovered that I am totally out of shape and need to ride this thing more often. Just riding to the nearest covered bridge and back is a 1 mile round trip and I was totally winded, so I think after riding a few days a week and increasing my distance each time will help me get into shape again and maybe even prepare me for riding to work next spring. Great exercise!

[Frank Lee]

I try to bike for many of my errands. Sometimes laziness wins tho'. And sometimes the weather discourages me- been gittin' the ol "stripe" lately with our rainy weather. I really need to fit one of my bikes with fenders. I've been playing with mountain bikes lately too. Just got a couple of dual suspension bikes to fix up. About a 9 lb weight penalty but oh man that smooth ride is nice! On a bike trip of any distance, though, the ol' road bike wins handily.

[bikin' Ed]

Johnny, welcome to the wonderful world of infinite mpg! Keep up the riding and before too long 10 or 20 miles will be too short of a ride.

Frank Lee, for your non-suspension bikes check out Pantour Suspension Hubs. They replace your front wheel hub, so you'll have to get your wheel rebuilt (or buy one prebuilt from Pantour). I don't work for or have anything to gain monetarily from this reccommendation. I didn't think they'd work so well, but had to try one. After hundreds of miles of racing, I can say I love it.

[MetroMPG]

Nice find. Thumbs up for yard sale & garbage day "beater bikes"!

I've put about 2000 km on mine (much older, rougher mountain bike) since rescuing it from the garbage man a couple of summers ago.

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Nice find. Thumbs up for yard sale & garbage day "beater bikes"!

I've put about 2000 km on mine (much older, rougher mountain bike) since rescuing it from the garbage man a couple of summers ago.

Johnny,
Congrats on getting a bike, you might want to get a better seat but other than that for simple commuting a Huffy is just fine.

I suspect Johnny Mullet has ridden a dirt bike or two in his past, if you want to start going off road again, you might want to upgrade to something a bit better. The $1000 range is the sweet spot for hard tails, so a used one might be found for $300-400.
A helmet is a good idea too and find some tips online about how to ride in traffic, a few simple things can make it far less stressful.
Have fun with it,
Ian

[dcb]

Or spend $10 via craigslist/ebay/garage sales, or wait for one to show up on the curb/freecycle. I'd expect most ecomodders can get an old bike working again and get a lot more miles out of them.

I like the old 10 speeds myself, much easier to pedal/coast on with the skinny tires. Just gotta take it easy on the bumps/curbs. Also, salvage a spring seat and bmx bars for a nice comfy upright ride, works for me

[jamesqf]

For getting in shape, invest a few bucks in a basic cycle computer - speedometer, odometer, elapsed time, etc. Then you get into trying to go just a bit further/faster every time you ride...

[Christopher Jordan]

I found the City-EL and that home-built mountain TRike on Craigslist. I really should avoid that trike addiction!! Good luck with your REAL Mountain bike.

[Johnny Mullet]

I actually rode it again today and only did 2 miles round trip, but not as tired, so I know my body is starting to adjust. I hyperinflated the tires since my 240LB ass seems to squat them some. I really need a more comfy seat. I think raising the handlebars some may also get me into a more comfortable riding position. The bike works well and during winter, I am going to disassemble it and re-grease all the bearings. My goal is to ride it to work 20 miles next spring and back home again. I am going to get as much riding time as I can to keep me in shape.

[Frank Lee]

Hi Ed- thanks for the lead!