Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.CraigB
08-11-05, 10:15 PM
Well, after all the back-and-forth about hybrids and mountain bikes, and about whether I could expect problems with hi-zoot wheels under my current 280 pounds, I finally got off the pot (or I guess the other end of the metaphor would be the accurate one) and bought a bike last weekend. I opted for a Fisher Marlin, the model most consider the bottom of the food chain among GF's serious mountain bikes. There's nothing like discovering the bike of your choice is no longer available in your size at 3 of the town's 4 dealers to motivate you to move ahead with that purchase! I also picked up a pair of Bontrager Select Invert tires for road riding, and am awaiting delivery on a second wheelset so I'm not changing tires continually.
You all may or may not recall that I was looking for something I could ride in place of my old road bikes (Gitane TdF and Trek 1500) until I'm light enough that I wouldn't damage their wheels or my delicate ego, plus giving me a more upright posture for my occasionally bad back, and was arguing the merits of hybrids vs mountain bikes. FWIW, I decided (with a little help from past cycling friends and my brother) that after I get to the point where I can ride the road bikes comfortably, a hybrid would probably just gather dust, whereas the mountain bike could be used for trail riding, doubling my chances for fun.
So there it is. Now I just have to recover a bit from last week's back episode (1st in a couple of years, and a bad one, unfortunately) and I'll be back out on the road!
Thanks to everyone here with their support and advice, and especially to BigMark for continual inspiration.
You all may or may not recall that I was looking for something I could ride in place of my old road bikes (Gitane TdF and Trek 1500) until I'm light enough that I wouldn't damage their wheels or my delicate ego, plus giving me a more upright posture for my occasionally bad back, and was arguing the merits of hybrids vs mountain bikes. FWIW, I decided (with a little help from past cycling friends and my brother) that after I get to the point where I can ride the road bikes comfortably, a hybrid would probably just gather dust, whereas the mountain bike could be used for trail riding, doubling my chances for fun.
So there it is. Now I just have to recover a bit from last week's back episode (1st in a couple of years, and a bad one, unfortunately) and I'll be back out on the road!
Thanks to everyone here with their support and advice, and especially to BigMark for continual inspiration.