bicycle choice

Jason Lewis <[email hidden]> wrote in news:404e7460$0$27649
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Features she wants are low weight, her current bike weighs
around 16kgs. Suspension (she does not currently have
suspension) either on the front or both, not sure here.

She is thinking of getting a hybrid bike.

Forget about rear suspension, it's only any use on rough off
road (and forest paths don't really count as rough). Good
rear suspension costs good money but adds to the weight of
the bike, cheap rear suspension is ineffective and adds a
*lot* to the weight of the bike! Front suspension can be
okay, I've got it on my bike, but I lock it off when I ride
on the road.

What kind of budget does she have? Where will she be
cycling, is it flat or hilly?

Graeme

Quoted message said:

She is thinking of getting a hybrid bike.

We bought a Learsport Cruiser 800 (hybrid) not too long ago
which is a good bike. It was on special for $449 but
retailed at $499. Being a hybrid, the focus isn't on
Shimano with only some elements of the bike sporting the
brand though.

Hi Jason:

Not having specified whether your friend is after a women-specific bike or not, whether the ride involves road-only or off-road, and not knowing the budget, it'll be hard to have a good guess.

Having seen so many commuters, I'd be inclined to suggest a decent MTB with slick tyres will be the best compromise. It can get a decent front suspension, can be light-weight, and usually has provisions for rack mounting. I have used road bikes, MTB and hybrid bikes for commuting. My order of preference is as I typed them.

Cheers,
Amir.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Jason Lewis
Hi,

I have a friend who uses her bicycle as her main form of
transport. She wants to buy a new bicycle. Any
recommendations about what to look for would be greatly
appreciated.

She does about 10,000kms / year on it. she is not technicaly
inclined and does not want to have to manage repairs herself
on it. She uses paniers.

Features she wants are low weight, her current bike weighs
around 16kgs. Suspension (she does not currently have
suspension) either on the front or both, not sure here.

She is thinking of getting a hybrid bike.

If anyone has any pointers on bike selection or where to
look, please point me in the right direction.

Thanks,

Jason

Hi Graeme, Ty and Amir.

I think her budget is around $1000. She spent about $450 on
her last bike and it just didn't really last. It's suffering
all sorts of problems now and requires constant maintenance.

She only rides on roads and paths. No off road stuff, but
she wants to be able to bump up and down kerbs withought
worrying about buckling the wheels. I should add she is very
petite, she weighs around 45kg. She lives in the eastern
suburbs and there are quite a few hills around there.

hope that clarifies a bit.

Jason

Graeme said:

Jason Lewis <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:404e7460$0$27649 [email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Features she wants are low weight, her current bike weighs
around 16kgs. Suspension (she does not currently have
suspension) either on the front or both, not sure here.

She is thinking of getting a hybrid bike.

Forget about rear suspension, it's only any use on rough
off road (and forest paths don't really count as rough).
Good rear suspension costs good money but adds to the
weight of the bike, cheap rear suspension is ineffective
and adds a *lot* to the weight of the bike! Front
suspension can be okay, I've got it on my bike, but I lock
it off when I ride on the road.

What kind of budget does she have? Where will she be
cycling, is it flat or hilly?

Graeme

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

Quoted message said:

I think her budget is around $1000. She spent about $450
on her last bike and it just didn't really last. It's
suffering all sorts of problems now and requires constant
maintenance.

She only rides on roads and paths. No off road stuff, but
she wants to be able to bump up and down kerbs withought
worrying about buckling

the

Quoted message said:

wheels. I should add she is very petite, she weighs around
45kg. She lives in the eastern suburbs and there are quite
a few hills around

there.

$1k wont buy an indestructible bike (neither will a lot
more $). Buying a new bike will usually get a years worth
of servicing for free, but during that time she should try
to learn how to fix the common problems and tune basic
items. Otherwise, the bike will just as likely die as the
one prior. 'Constant' maintenance will be reduced and if
the rider can do it themselves, any necessary
tuning/replacement will be much cheaper. Of course, find a
good bike shop and they can tell you how to do various
repairs, replacements, etc.

As for curbs, suspension helps minimise some shock (I assume
only a front suspension fork will be purchased) but she
should be shown how to "hop" curbs. E.g. approach the curb
with enough speed to clear it - without losing momentum and
stopping - lift the front wheel over the curb by quickly
transferring weight backwards/pulling on the bars, then,
before the back wheel hits, transfer weight forwards and
"lift" the back wheel over the curb. (That's a 'brief'
example anyway...).

hth hippy

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

Quoted message said:

how to "hop" curbs. E.g. approach the curb with enough
speed to clear it - without losing momentum and stopping -
lift the front wheel over the curb by quickly transferring
weight backwards/pulling on the bars, then, before the
back wheel hits, transfer weight forwards and "lift" the
back wheel over the curb. (That's a 'brief' example
anyway...).

I'm still trying to learn that one myself.

When I got my recent MTB before Christmas, I had a decent fall in front of my family when I tried to pull a trick on an angled kerb (my very first ride on that bike). I look at the scar on my left knee, and the scar on my ego every day ever since! 😄

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Hippy

(snip)

As for curbs, suspension helps minimise some shock (I assume
only a front suspension fork will be purchased) but she
should be shown how to "hop" curbs. E.g. approach the curb
with enough speed to clear it - without losing momentum and
stopping - lift the front wheel over the curb by quickly
transferring weight backwards/pulling on the bars, then,
before the back wheel hits, transfer weight forwards and
"lift" the back wheel over the curb. (That's a 'brief'
example anyway...).

hth hippy [/B]

"TyBreaker" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:newscache$ucicuh$x98$1
@lead.sge.net:

Quoted message said:

I'm still trying to learn that one myself.

The easiest way is to ride along slowly and pump your arms
up and down repeatedly, almost as if you're trying to do
push the handlebars down into the ground. On the up stroke,
keep a good hold on the bars and pull up at the same time.
Do this on the flat a few times to get the idea of what
you're trying to do. Practising on a kerb could be expensive
in terms of wheel repairs/replacements :-)

Graeme

Jason Lewis said:

... I have a friend who uses her bicycle as her main form
of transport. She wants to buy a new bicycle. Any
recommendations about what to look for would be greatly
appreciated.

She does about 10,000kms / year on it. she is not
technicaly inclined and does not want to have to manage
repairs herself on it. She uses paniers. ...

As a main form of transport, with decent kms but no off-
road stuff, it sounds to me like a touring bike would be
perfect. These are basically like road/racing bikes, but
sturdier and with full options and room to mount
racks/panniers, fatter tyres, mudguards etc. Does she like
drop handlebars? If she hasn't used them, she should at
least check them out on a test ride or 2, since they give
more options for hand and body position - more comfortable
and energy efficient than flat bars IMO. For better
comfort, it is not hard to get drop bars mounted higher up
than the typical racing position.

A touring bike won't have suspension, but I doubt she needs
it. Going down curbs should be no problem, if not heavily
loaded and with well-inflated, not-too-skinny tyres. Going
up a curb needs more care, as hippy said. A few weeks ago I
got simultaneous pinch flats on both tyres by accidentally
going up a curb! (watching the traffic, missed the ramp onto
the footpath)

Then the issue would be finding a touring-style bike for
$1000, since most are more expensive than that. My Mongoose
Randonneur was that price though - something like that
should do the job. See the thread above. By the way, the
2003 Randonneur has good brakes, unlike the ones I replaced
on my 2002 model :-)

Jason Lewis <[email hidden]> wrote in message
[email hidden]

[...]

Quoted message said:

She only rides on roads and paths. No off road stuff,
but she wants to be able to bump up and down kerbs
withought worrying about buckling the wheels. I should
add she is very petite, she weighs around 45kg. She
lives in the eastern suburbs and there are quite a few
hills around there.

Which eastern suburbs would that be?

--

"I'm proud that I live in a country where witnessing two
hours of bloody, barbarous torture in gloating detail is
considered indicia of religious piety, whereas a mere second
gazing upon a woman's breast is cause for outraged
apoplexy." Betty Bowers,
bettybowers.commelgibsonpassion.htmlOpen ↗

Jason Lewis <[email hidden]> writes:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Features she wants are low weight, her current bike weighs
around 16kgs. Suspension (she does not currently have
suspension) either on the front or both, not sure here.

If she is going to be using panniers then she can't have
rear suspention.

--
Please excuse my spelling as I suffer from agraphia. See
dformosa.zeta.org.auSpelling.htmlOpen ↗ to find
out more. Free the Memes.

Not really. Take a look at these:

trekbikes.comx900e.jspOpen ↗
trekbikes.comt550e.jspOpen ↗

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by ? The Platypus


If she is going to be using panniers then she can't have
rear suspention.

amirm <[email hidden]> wrote in news:RiP3c.3527$8h.1234
@fe30.usenetserver.com:

Quoted message said:

Not really. Take a look at these:

http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/citybike/x-" rel="ugc nofollow noopener">httpxOpen ↗
900e.jsp

I quite like the look of that first one. Whether or not the
suspension is practical or even required for the market it
is designed for is another matter though.

Graeme

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Graeme
"TyBreaker" <[email hidden]> wrote in

Quoted message said:

I'm still trying to learn that one myself.

The easiest way is to ride along slowly and pump your arms
up and down repeatedly, almost as if you're trying to do
push the handlebars down into the ground. On the up stroke,
keep a good hold on the bars and pull up at the same time.
Do this on the flat a few times to get the idea of what
you're trying to do. Practising on a kerb could be expensive
in terms of wheel repairs/replacements :-)
Graeme

Once you can lift the front wheel over curb height
doing this, it all comes down to timing. Try with
cracks on the road/path first, then try lifting over
sticks, then logs/curbs, then the bonnet of your
car and eventually you will be able to up straight
to back wheel then manual to 360 drop from the
roof...

Reality: Once you can get the front wheel up, it's
a matter of "unweighting" the rear wheel. You
don't have to fully lift it to make it a smooth curb
hop, just take the weight off it at the right time to
prevent the wheel dinging hit. Timing and body
position. To lift the front wheel, lean forward
and at the curb, move your body rapidly back
(at the same time doing all the arm stuff), then
as the rear wheel comes to the curb, move your
body rapidly forward - the rear wheel should
lift. You can practise the rear wheel lift without
a curb too - just do it as you roll along slowly.

hth
hippy

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by amirm
When I got my recent MTB before Christmas, I had a decent fall in front of my family when I tried to pull a trick on an angled kerb (my very first ride on that bike). I look at the scar on my left knee, and the scar on my ego every day ever since! 😄

You should look upon your scars with pride and laugh off the embarassing crashes... I do... I HAVE to! Otherwise I'd have stopped riding 20 years ago! 😄

hippy

Hi i brought a learsport 800 cruiser about 8yrs ago just recently dusted the cob webs off it. and im enjoying each peddle mainly along bike tracks and road. cost me nearly $800, money well spent. sounds like you paid a great price for yours. nice comfortable bike to ride in any case.

Wow, there's a blast from the past. I don't think I've logged into CF for the last 5 years..

hippy