I’ve pulled a trailer from Salisbury to just past Fordingbridge, near the New Forest, on a single speed. I think I was on 46/16 at the time so about 76 gear inches. We took a bridleway some of the distances but a farmer clearly didn’t want people riding down the section on his land and had obstructed the path with logs on alternate sides, long since rotted and turned into thickets. Even so it was still pretty do-able.
That was a great holiday.
[edit] Also ought to add that I was running 700/25 which is not generally considered a tyre for anything other than roads. My wife was running 32s. Both were fine.
[googles] Ohhh, made by Flevobike. The Rohloff internal hub alone is probably getting on for £800.
I looked in vain to see if I’d ever taken any photos of my trike; nothing but a couple of blurry photos taken from on board. (And, my Lord, they’re planning a version with magnesium castings. I may have to rob a bank.)
Edit: I have a 5-speed steel-framed Schwinn Collegiate, but frankly I ride horses more than bikes, motorcyles more than horses, and sail boats more than I ride motorcyles… and I almost never sail. Riding a bike on my street is an invitation to the hospital, or more likely the morgue.
No, although the train didn’t leave as quickly as I thought it would and I probably could have talked with him. It looks great, although you don’t want to have to carry it around too much - it took a couple of minutes and a few people to get it off the train, so I guess they were coming to show it off in Hamburg.
This topic is awesome, tons of interesting stuff in here.
I went through a folding bike phase but once we had the three kids (none are old enough to know how to ride a bike) they just gathered dust, so I sold them.
I did keep this one though, the Strida. Belt drive, “pogo stick” fold, disc brakes even. The only downside is adjusting the seat height is basically impossible without special tools.
Youngest daughter has wisely pointed out that having a winter birthday makes gift giving a little one-sided, so she’d like to get a new bike NOW and she promises to not be disappointed with a small token gift on her actual birthday. (This is actually true, believe it or not. Very reasonable child!)
We’re off to do our first look-see today. If she’s debating between a couple of different styles or brands, I’ll check in here with y’all to get some good advice.
Inseam is the INSIDE measurement from crotch to where you’d like the pants/jeans to stop (usually somewhere around the ankles).
edited to add: women’s clothing is notoriously inconsistent, so you can’t automatically assume the length equals inseam. It might, for a given pair of pants/jeans.
#everyone, plz help crowdsource these picks
I’m a lifelong hobbyist but I don’t know everything about every bike.
8 and 1/2 pages of “new” #whittling it down, my personal method:
frame size is where we start. Your inseam seems to be “normal” for your height, so we’ll go by height on this chart:
Cost: In US dollars, investing in a new bike doesn’t become a favorable deal (see BSO below) until you hit about $600-700 (approaching what the IKEA bike costs, actually.) So, since you want used and for novice, I’m thinking $500 max? [EDIT: see note below–I didn’t even come close to that limit] If you’re willing to go higher than that, then paying a bit more for new becomes a factor and that’s a whole other thing.
no BSOs: Huffy, Manga, modern Mongoose etc. I believe this includes modern Schwinn, and historically Schwinn is problematic, I mostly skipped them, too.
no picture=skip: quickly reviewing 850 choices means eyeballing.
no suspended bikes: on gnarly trails they’re an advantage. otherwise, they’re heavy, jiggly, energy-robbers. larger-circumference tires will absorb any on-road, light gravel, or hard-pack trail bumps perfectly cromulently. Someone else may disagree, but that’s my method.
only bikes that have eyelets to mount racks and fenders: your “all-weather commuter” criteria (I approve, as my bike attests.) some picks have racks/fenders already
[I will note here that the Fresno market is a buyers paradise–great prices! I just did this for a guy in Detroit and here in ATL is waaaay different] #which leaves Rigid MTBs. knobby tires rob energy on road so invest in slicks or semi-slicks: http://fresno.craigslist.org/bik/5536620752.html rocksteady, no BS mtb http://fresno.craigslist.org/bik/5514394327.html violates my “no suspension” criterion, but otherwise alu frame and good components=legit and good price. the shock might could be “locked out” for road riding. http://fresno.craigslist.org/bik/5481188898.html he fucked up writing the price. he actually says $95 for the bike in the description. super legit, no BS mtb.
TOUR-STYLE ROADIES: http://fresno.craigslist.org/bik/5514676264.html has a nice commuter bar on it, Bridgestone is very reputable with a “following.” good light steel, reputable components to be expected. me likey. (OK, there was only one of those. thought there would be more.)
OTHER: http://fresno.craigslist.org/bik/5528207902.html this is a big “maybe”. PRO: rack, basket, kickstand, step-thru “mixte” frame and I believe this is a reputable Schwinn model/good alloy steel. CON: “$380 obo”? this person is smoking a rock. your best offer should be $200 unless you really love it (ask me for more info if so)
#before you buy: MECHANICAL:
check whole frame for cracks including underneath. crack=walk. no big, flakey rust patches. check the seatpost for seizure; bring hex wrenches (or adjustable wrench for really old models) to loosen seatpost bolt and make sure post isn’t frozen in frame. feel free to punch the saddle sideways to loosen. frozen=walk, unless you’re 100% positive it’s frozen at your personal height (see below,) but then haggle. spin wheels and inspect from head-on view; if more than a gradual <1cm wobble, the repair is ~$20 and up per wheel, so haggle or walk as appropriate. If the gears don’t shift right or brakes are wonky, similar story. there are bearings in both wheel hubs, in the frame between the cranks, and in the headtube between the stem (i.e. the handlebar holder) and fork. they should all spin freely, smoothly with no noise. If it feels like there’s sand in there, then there is. use your hands to tug the wheels, cranks, and stem sideways and if they’re loose beyond like ~1 mm, consider walking, esp on those old MTBs. SIZING:
double-check the fit. “Stand over the frame of a bike, and if there’s an inch or two between the top of the top tube and your tender parts, that’s the right size.” is the short answer. a bit small is OK. there is no “a bit big,” walk away. See also this and the second part of this: “Adjustment,” to get the right saddle height.
Whew, that’s a lot. but now we can refer people to this post for future bike hunts and avoid redundancies. @chgoliz I’ll do you next but later. Review methods and before you buy stuff I wrote here to get in the swing of how this works. In the meantime, anyone else can do a hunt, too.
Thank you for the help.
