Almost a new beginner

[email hidden] wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I've been looking to perhaps get a bike and start riding,
but am a bit overwhelmed by the choices. My one and only
bike from the 60's was a single speed Schwinn, and right
now I'm riding a single speed AMF Road master I inherited
from my father.

My first question, after having looked and talked to
bikers and bike shops for the last three weeks:

How many of those mulit-speed gears do you riders actually
regularly use? 21 to 28 speeds seems like a lot for riding
around on the city streets, even with hills.

You probably don't need all those gears. You may appreciate
having a wide range of gears at your disposal though. If you
are a commuter with a hill to climb at the end of your
working day, it is a fine thing to be able to go into a low
gear and just loaf uphill. It doesn't have to be a workout
every time you ride. Sometimes you are just getting home
from work. Lower gears on the uphills are easier on one's
knees too.

Triples are the common thing on most bikes these days. You
will probably find yourself getting used to the gears you
have, and will use the ones that you need.

Consider a hybrid bike in your price range as a starter
bike. Make sure it fits you. If you do this you will likely
never look back to your old single speed. Modern bikes are
light, fairly fast, have brakes that actually work, and
shift gears very well.

Get one from a local bike shop so you can get service from
the vendor. I know this sounds simplistic, but it should
result in a bike you can use and enjoy. Best regards, Bernie

stavro said:

I've been looking to perhaps get a bike and start riding,
but am a bit overwhelmed by the choices. My one and only
bike from the 60's was a single speed Schwinn, and right
now I'm riding a single speed AMF Road master I inherited
from my father.

My first question, after having looked and talked to
bikers and bike shops for the last three weeks:

How many of those mulit-speed gears do you riders actually
regularly use? 21 to 28 speeds seems like a lot for riding
around on the city streets, even with hills.

--

-TTFN

-Steven

I would probably take a 3x9.

Why 3 chainrings ? If you live in a hilly area the answer is
obvious. If not, you can do almost all your riding on the
middle chainring; you'll still benefit from the outer 2 on
your occasional mountain tour. If you use a 2x9, you will
probably be constantly shifting chainrings. Using a 1x9 will
really limit you after some time.

Why 9 sprockets ? Because it is today's standard. In a few
years, parts will become scarce for 8-speed, as they are now
becoming for 7-speed. I agree that the most important thing
is range; and if I am pushing on the pedals for 2 km I don't
care if the ratio is not perfect. But if I spin regularly
for 20 km, it is extremely comfortable to find the right
ratio and to be able to accomodate small changes in slope.

Jacques

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

How many of those mulit-speed gears do you riders actually
regularly use? 21 to 28 speeds seems like a lot for riding
around on the city streets, even with hills.

All but four - the chain angle is getting excessive in the
big/big and small/small combinations, and I don't really use
the outer sprockets on the middle ring.

--
<a href="poohsticks.orgdrewOpen ↗">Home Page</a

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

How many of those mulit-speed gears do you riders
actually regularly use? 21 to 28 speeds seems like a lot
for riding around on the city streets, even with hills.

All but four - the chain angle is getting excessive in the
big/big and small/small combinations, and I don't really
use the outer sprockets on the middle ring.

I use the outer cogs while I'm on the middle ring quite a
bit, but relatively rarely use the other chain rings.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return
address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

(Denver C. Fox) said:

Gears are like condoms. You probably don't need them
too often. but when you do, you REALLY need them, and
right now!

Well, that comparison works in so far as I use a lot of
them; but I only ever need one size of condom...
--
Rick Onanian

Dan Daniel said:

The reason I ask is because I have a bike with an 11-32, XT
rear derailleur. I am thinking of putting a 12-25 on. But
when I did this on a bike with a Deore rear derailleur, the
shifting became pretty bad- couldn't get the pulleys close
enough, so I lost some crispness. Putting a 105 on got the
crispness back.

You needed to adjust your B-tension; it brings the derailer
pulley closer to the sprockets.
--
Rick Onanian

Thanks to everybody for your input!

I'm still shopping bikes, but right now I'm leaning toward
one of the Trek Navigators, or a Gary Fisher Napa.

Both seemed pretty comfortable to ride, but the Gary Fisher
bike seemed to fit better.

Any opinions on these two, or other, similar bikes?

--

-TTFN

-Steven

Quoted message said:

Thanks to everybody for your input!

I'm still shopping bikes, but right now I'm leaning toward
one of the Trek Navigators, or a Gary Fisher Napa.

Both seemed pretty comfortable to ride, but the Gary
Fisher bike seemed to fit better.

Any opinions on these two, or other, similar bikes?

I've got a 2002 Trek Navigator 300, and I love it. Great on
road and on gravel trails. Good gear selection for my style
of riding, which is recreational on 90% road and paved
paths, 10% gravel RR trails.

Good luck and happy riding, whatever bike you get.

--
Craig Holl
Mechanical Engineer; New Berlin, WI
midwestroads.combikeOpen ↗
*remove all numbers and caps to reply*

Craig Holl said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks to everybody for your input!

I'm still shopping bikes, but right now I'm
leaning toward one of the Trek Navigators, or a
Gary Fisher Napa.

Both seemed pretty comfortable to ride, but the Gary
Fisher bike seemed to fit better.

Any opinions on these two, or other, similar bikes?

I've got a 2002 Trek Navigator 300, and I love it. Great
on road and on gravel trails. Good gear selection for my
style of riding, which is recreational on 90% road and
paved paths, 10% gravel RR trails.

Well, today found out that Trek is the parent company of
Gary Fisher, and looking at a Napa and a Navigator side by
side, I'd have to say it's the same frame. No wonder they
both felt good to ride...

Seems one of the differences between the Nav 200 and the
Napa, is the Napa has adjustable tension on the suspension
forks, like the Nav 300, and the Napa and 200 are priced
about the same, and both are less than the Nav 300.

So many things to learn....

--

-TTFN

-Steven

David Kerber said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

William Holiday said:

On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 04:04:55 GMT,
[email hidden] wrote:

<How many of those mulit-speed gears do you riders
<actually regularly use? 21 to 28 speeds seems like <a
lot for riding around on the city streets, even with
<hills.

You sound like you're looking at triple front
chainrings. I ride a double, 18 gears of which I use
about 11. When I ride triples I shift more. You ride a
single speed and if it's suitable to the terrain
you're doing now, you might not need a triple but
that's where the best pricepoints are so just don't
shift there should you get one.

It seems like there is an over abundance of triples out
there, and all the new bike sales shops push them. I'm
trying to look at as many as I can, and haven't
completely ruled out a single, although the hills around
here make me think that's not going to be a viable
option. <g> For just getting ready to ride with
relatively short hops of 2-6 miles r/t, I can avoid most
of the hills, but for longer rides, no.

I do like the KISS principle though, so if a triple, or
even a double isn't really necessary, I'd look for
less. <g>

Quoted message said:

The 21 you're talking may be a freewheel and not a
cassette. Freewheels are more difficult to swap out
than cassettes. Freewheels also place more stress on
the rear axle, so if you're heavy[er], the casette
system makes a better choice for you. All in all, lots
of variables but the key is to get a bike that fit.

Ah, ok, I don't yet know the difference between a
freewheel and a cassette. Hasn't come up in conversation
with the bike experts at the 6 bike shops I've been to
so far... Something else to learn... <g>

They wouldn't mention it: *ALL* new bikes use cassettes
rather than freewheels. The only time you'd get a
freewheel would be if you bought used. I guess there may
be a really cheap *Mart bike out there with a freewheel,
but you won't find one at a bike shop

Well, the bike shop tells me that the Trek Navigator 100 is
a freewheel...

--

-TTFN

-Steven

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

They wouldn't mention it: *ALL* new bikes use cassettes
rather than freewheels. The only time you'd get a
freewheel would be if you bought used. I guess there may
be a really cheap *Mart bike out there with a freewheel,
but you won't find one at a bike shop

Well, the bike shop tells me that the Trek Navigator 100
is a freewheel...

That surprises me, but maybe I'm not as well-informed as I
thought I was. I'm sure Mike J could tell us for sure (he's
a Trek dealer).

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return
address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

Quoted message said:

You can also avoid all this mess and buy a quality single
speed! They are back in style, for their simplicity and
pleasure without all that [censored] to break and go out of
adjustment.

sheldonbrown.comsinglespeed.htmlOpen ↗

Also, here is my wiki page on the subject, maybe it can
help someone:

klibb.comSingleSpeedOpen ↗

/Mathias