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thatguitarguy · 11-30-2009, 01:03 AM

I'll say it again. Get a bike that fits. It's not about wheel size, or fat tires, or skinny tires, or high bars, or low bars, or whether your balls sit on the top tube. It's about the angles formed by the top tube and seat tube, the lengths of those tubes, and the relative lengths of your legs, your torso and arms...

An easy check on a road bike is when you have the seat adjusted so your foot, when flat on the pedal, will allow your knees to slightly bend. Then when you ride it and your hands are comfortably on the drops, you look down and the handlebars should be right in line with the front axle. But it's not quite that easy, it's about the way the bike feels. It sounds esoteric, but the bike should feel like it's a part of you. When you go for a 5 mile walk you shouldn't be thinking about your shoes. If you are, they aren't the right shoes. Some women think it's about high heels and pointy toes, and how they look on your feet, but when it gets down to walking, they're going to chuck them and be barefoot long before 5 miles is over. Same with a bike. It's not about making a fashion statement, it's about practical, efficient, economical transportation.

When I started riding more than a hundred miles a week, I was riding a 10 year old Cannondale road bike that I bought used for $450 and cost $3000 new. I still had to try a few different seats to find the right one, and still I would get numbness in my hands, but that bike is 19 lbs and it flies. That's not where you want to start.

Around here, people are nearly giving away bikes that are perfectly functional but they weigh 25 lbs and up, and they want to buy the latest carbon fiber bike that they saw someone riding in the Tour De France and costs $5000 and weighs 14 lbs.That's not where you want to start either, unless you're rich.

Google around on how to fit a bike, and look around till you find the right one and then ride it every day.

11-30-2009, 01:03 AM	#57 (permalink)
thatguitarguy Master EcoModder Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Leadville, CO Posts: 509 Maroon Ballon - '98 Chrysler Town & Country LXI 90 day: 26.42 mpg (US) MaEsTRO - '95 Geo Metro 5spd hatch, 3 cyl Thanks: 47 Thanked 54 Times in 38 Posts	I'll say it again. Get a bike that fits. It's not about wheel size, or fat tires, or skinny tires, or high bars, or low bars, or whether your balls sit on the top tube. It's about the angles formed by the top tube and seat tube, the lengths of those tubes, and the relative lengths of your legs, your torso and arms... An easy check on a road bike is when you have the seat adjusted so your foot, when flat on the pedal, will allow your knees to slightly bend. Then when you ride it and your hands are comfortably on the drops, you look down and the handlebars should be right in line with the front axle. But it's not quite that easy, it's about the way the bike feels. It sounds esoteric, but the bike should feel like it's a part of you. When you go for a 5 mile walk you shouldn't be thinking about your shoes. If you are, they aren't the right shoes. Some women think it's about high heels and pointy toes, and how they look on your feet, but when it gets down to walking, they're going to chuck them and be barefoot long before 5 miles is over. Same with a bike. It's not about making a fashion statement, it's about practical, efficient, economical transportation. When I started riding more than a hundred miles a week, I was riding a 10 year old Cannondale road bike that I bought used for $450 and cost $3000 new. I still had to try a few different seats to find the right one, and still I would get numbness in my hands, but that bike is 19 lbs and it flies. That's not where you want to start. Around here, people are nearly giving away bikes that are perfectly functional but they weigh 25 lbs and up, and they want to buy the latest carbon fiber bike that they saw someone riding in the Tour De France and costs $5000 and weighs 14 lbs.That's not where you want to start either, unless you're rich. Google around on how to fit a bike, and look around till you find the right one and then ride it every day.