Marian Rosenberg said:Tom Keats said:In article <[email hidden]>, Marian Rosenberg
<[email hidden]> writes:
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:At the store where I got my new bike all of the bikes I saw with shocks weren't Giant or Emelle
or any other recognizable international brand. After a year on a Chinese-made bike I wanted
something a little sturdier.
Norco's are really sturdy. Usually the stock forks (usually cheap-o RST's) suck the big one,
though. They'll blow their tops off on the slightest rut. Marzocchi's are nice. Peel off a couple
of yards off the paycheque for the bike and another yard for the fork, and your started, if you
want suspension and snob appeal.
I'm not riding a locally-made bike. This bike cost nearly $60. For some locals this is a month's
salary. I've already -got- snob appeal.
My last bike was $22 and nice enough to steal.
Basically, I don't give a damn about snob appeal. I just want a comfortable ride.
Quoted message said:Then there's wheels.
I'm riding around happily on a foundling Norco Bigfoot w/ no suspension, and nondescript Araya
rims on Weinmann hubs. She serves me well. I don't complain 'bout 'er, and she don't complain
'bout me. Me & my bike have an understanding. If my hands hurt, my bike hurts, too.
Anthropomorphism, 'n all that. But it serves well as a means of developing a gentle touch for
mechanical parts.
Araya, Weinmann, Marzocchi, Norco ... I'll keep these names in mind for my next trip to Beijing.
In Shijiazhuang the non-Chinese bikes or parts available are Giant and Emelle. Also some Shimano
things at the really well stocked bike stores--the kind of places that also carry helmets.
That's it.
I try not to abuse my bicycle. But, the best places to ride in the bicycle lanes are already taken
by other bicycles creeping along at 5 and 6 kilometers an hour. This means going over manhole
covers, and catching the occasional pothole.
-M
More profound answers from otehrs may be forthcoming, but I can somewhat relate to your situation.
I bought a (very) cheap-o bike early this summer primarily for recreation and excercise on the
premise that it would be 'good enough' for what I want. That premise might have held up, except that
I have discovered that I *liked* riding and ride it much, much more than I anticipated.
In my case, the budget bike's first repair cost as much as the bike and revealed that the front
sprocket wheel is not true/bent. I have since bought a nice Trek, and find the idea of someone
"stealing" the old one immensely appealing.
In your case, the budget approach seems to indicate a bike with some sort of front suspension might
have been a better choice. This need not be a high dollar one suitable for cycling up and down K2,
just something to take the 'oomph' out of potholes and the like.
My el-Cheapo bike had hard, textured plastic-like grips, which aggravated even minor road bumps as
you describe. If this is the case on yours, you could explore replacing them with something with a
little more 'give' in the material.
You could also try gloves. In my case, el-Cheapo had twist shifting. Hard Plastic + Twist shifting +
sweaty hands = Danger. Even department store type gloves (like Bell) have some padding in the palm
which should lessen the impact. I found that athletic gloves, such as for weight lifting, had *much*
more padding across the palm, which might appeal to you, but the palm leather was more 'grabby' on
the handlebar grips making slight positional adjustments...different.
If you dont like the idea of gloves (or the fashion statement it makes), you could try them just to
measure the effect before exploring new grips, or a combo.
Hope this helps, but YMMV
