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In article ,
Booker C. Bense . stanford.edu wrote: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- In article , frank-in-toronto wrote: On Thu, 3 Feb 2005 17:46:39 -0800, "bfd" wrote: snipper Hey, if your old mt bike works do it! The key is to ride. Just get a good set of slick tires, something like 26 x 1.25. Avocet makes a good one that rolls real nice, but it cost about $20 each. you mean the cross II K? i'll look around. _ That's a good tire if you plan to do much dirt road riding, Avocet also makes a treadless slick in that size as well, which would be better for mostly paved road riding. _ Booker C. Bense My perfectly mundane, rather cheap choice for a slick tire was the Tioga City Slicker. It's not a pure slick tire, having cute little rain grooves, but it's cheap and reliable. I think I paid about C$10 ea at MEC for my set. They're on a mountain bike which, alas, hasn't seen a lot of action lately. -RjC. -- Ryan Cousineau, http://www.wiredcola.com Verus de parvis; verus de magnis. |
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#22
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Your prices are on the high side. A LBS has a leftover new 2003 Giant OCR2
for $600 (no pedals) or $650, with pedals. Pretty thing, but aluminum fork - ugh. You can get a Fuji touring for $700 at a LBS or a same-thing Windsor Tourist for $590, delivered. Both are real God-fearing touring bikes with a long wheelbase, plenty of braze-ons for fenders, and steel frames. You can spend a k-buck with ease, but you can also spend $600 and end up with a nice, sturdy steed. - GRL "frank-in-toronto" wrote in message ... On Thu, 03 Feb 2005 06:21:57 GMT, David wrote: snip some alternative info David. thanks for presenting the other side. I checked out some road bikes at the LBS and I'm not spending that kind of money just to ride around. Looks like 12 or 13 hundred dollars for entry level giant/specialized. not including fenders, lights, racks. yikes! i'm gonna fix up my old mounain bike with some smooth tires, make my own rear rack and get some riding gloves. that'll be fine. ...thehick |
#23
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I've been riding a Mongoose comfort bike fitted with fenders and Ritchey Tom
Slick tires for years now on our local rail trail. Bike has an aluminum frame, chrome-moly forks and cost me $225 at a Dick's sporting goods store. I average about 17 mph with it in a dead calm and do 16 miles a day, riding after work, spring/summer/fall. I pass lots of people on road bikes (and get passed by a few people on road bikes and one skinny/strong guy on a hybrid). Point is, you can get a lot of road riding enjoyment out of a very inexpensive comfort or mountain bike, although I would stay away from mountain bikes with shocks - a nuisance on paved surfaces. - GRL "frank-in-toronto" wrote in message ... On Thu, 03 Feb 2005 06:21:57 GMT, David wrote: snip some alternative info David. thanks for presenting the other side. I checked out some road bikes at the LBS and I'm not spending that kind of money just to ride around. Looks like 12 or 13 hundred dollars for entry level giant/specialized. not including fenders, lights, racks. yikes! i'm gonna fix up my old mounain bike with some smooth tires, make my own rear rack and get some riding gloves. that'll be fine. ...thehick |
#24
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On Sat, 5 Feb 2005 23:38:47 -0500, "GRL"
wrote: Your prices are on the high side. looks to me like you are US. I am canadian. and also, i'm planning to go sorta slick and just use what i have. i can't justify spending that kind of cash just to ride around for fun. ....thehick |
#25
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GRL wrote:
I've been riding a Mongoose comfort bike fitted with fenders and Ritchey Tom Slick tires for years now on our local rail trail. Bike has an aluminum frame, chrome-moly forks and cost me $225 at a Dick's sporting goods store. I average about 17 mph with it in a dead calm and do 16 miles a day, riding after work, spring/summer/fall. I pass lots of people on road bikes (and get passed by a few people on road bikes and one skinny/strong guy on a hybrid). Point is, you can get a lot of road riding enjoyment out of a very inexpensive comfort or mountain bike, although I would stay away from mountain bikes with shocks - a nuisance on paved surfaces. - GRL "frank-in-toronto" wrote in message ... On Thu, 03 Feb 2005 06:21:57 GMT, David wrote: snip some alternative info David. thanks for presenting the other side. I checked out some road bikes at the LBS and I'm not spending that kind of money just to ride around. Looks like 12 or 13 hundred dollars for entry level giant/specialized. not including fenders, lights, racks. yikes! i'm gonna fix up my old mounain bike with some smooth tires, make my own rear rack and get some riding gloves. that'll be fine. ...thehick As long as it is a bicycle (of any kind) and works it is good to be riding. A cheap mountain bike serves the purpose of exercise as well as the kilobuck class bikes, so why argue over it? The MTB gives me the option of going places a road bike really couldn't go, like a side trail off from a paved road ride, or something to explore rather than a serious training ride. Training for what, exactly, at 56???? I am out to have some fun and not exactly concerned with me exact speed, mileage or much of anything else. If I can ride a $5.00 garage sale special for a month before it falls apart I am still ahead of the game. Bill Baka |
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Training for what, exactly, at 56????
In my wife's case, the Pinole team time trial and perhaps the district TT championship (we'll see....) Even if we weren't racing this year, my wife loves speed and would rather be able to do more rather than less. YMMV, of course, Chris Neary Chris & Tracey 1999 Co-Motion Speedster |
#27
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Bill Baka writes:
As long as it is a bicycle (of any kind) and works it is good to be riding. A cheap mountain bike serves the purpose of exercise as well as the kilobuck class bikes, so why argue over it? The MTB gives me the option of going places a road bike really couldn't go, like a side trail off from a paved road ride, or something to explore rather than a serious training ride. Training for what, exactly, at 56???? I am out to have some fun and not exactly concerned with me exact speed, mileage or much of anything else. If I can ride a $5.00 garage sale special for a month before it falls apart I am still ahead of the game. That has some other side effects. Besides probably not being up to the task mechanically, the riding position of an MTB is more rearward to avoid endo's on trail riding, that is the distance from handlebar to seat is greater, which makes long distance pedaling a less comfortable and effective. The other is that most MTB's are equipped almost exclusively with knobby tires. These roll miserably on pavement, a surface on which most bicycle tours take place if not on hard-pack dirt roads. I encounter European tourists traveling along the Pacific coast HWY1 with MTB's on ultra knobby tires making slow progress even with the tailwind that blows from the north in summer. I coast down some of the grades sitting upright and pass them with a significant speed margin, one that tells me their rolling resistance is significantly higher than my road slicks. Of course we know that from RR tests. If you insist on using an MTB, at least get some slicks and try to fix the position by using a short bar stem or even a short one turned backward. Of course, I see the same thing in the Alps because young (non-bikie) athletic people who can do these things without a lot of training believe MTB's are made for riding in mountains. They are not. Jobst Brandt |
#28
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Bill Baka writes:
As long as it is a bicycle (of any kind) and works it is good to be riding. A cheap mountain bike serves the purpose of exercise as well as the kilobuck class bikes, so why argue over it? The MTB gives me the option of going places a road bike really couldn't go, like a side trail off from a paved road ride, or something to explore rather than a serious training ride. Training for what, exactly, at 56???? I am out to have some fun and not exactly concerned with me exact speed, mileage or much of anything else. If I can ride a $5.00 garage sale special for a month before it falls apart I am still ahead of the game. That has some other effects. Besides a $5.00 bicycle probably not being up to the task mechanically, the riding position of a MTB is more stretched to avoid endo's on trail riding, that is the distance from handlebar to seat is greater, which makes long distance pedaling less comfortable and effective. Another is that most MTB's are equipped almost exclusively with knobby tires that roll miserably, especially on hard surfaces, those on which most bicycle touring take place. I encounter European tourists traveling along the California Pacific coast on HWY1 with MTB's on ultra knobby tires. They make slow progress even with the tailwind that regularly blows from the north in summer. I coast down some of the grades sitting upright and pass them with a significant speed margin, one that tells me their rolling resistance is significantly greater than my road slicks. Of course we know that from RR tests. If you insist on using an MTB, at least get some slicks and try to fix the position by using a short bar stem or even a short one turned backward. Of course, I see the same thing in the Alps because young (non-bikie) athletic people who can do these things without a lot of training believe MTB's are made for riding in mountains. They are not. Jobst Brandt |
#29
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