Fifty Plus (50+) - WOW! What a difference.

Well I've been riding for about 10 weeks now and I wasn't sure if it was something I was going to like. I had to give up jogging because of a knee that thinks it's older than the rest of me and decided to try riding. I went over to Wally World and picked up a NEXT MTB, all aluminum, full susp, front disc brake, 21 speeds, you know...a decent bike for dept. stores. I'm pretty well certain that I'm now officially hooked on riding so I went out and bought a Trek 4300. WOW!! The first ride on this bike I almost doubled my distance and increased my saddle time by 20 minutes, picked up on the avg. speed by 2 mph, and I could have gone farther but I didn't have all day to devote to riding.:D

I'm sure that most all of you already know what a difference a decent set of wheels will do for you, but I'm now officially a biker...well, I already am that since I ride motorcycles as well...but I'm liking this.:D

wally world bike=junk. Trek bike=quality bike.

Therein lay the difference. :rolleyes:

Congrats, Metric Man. I'm not sure how many times I have attempted to tell people that they should buy a real bicycle, from a real bike shop, and not a department store. I have told people to ride for a half hour on the department store bike, then ride for a half hour on a real bike. Then you'll understand the difference.

You've done this, and now you know what the difference is.

Welcome aboard.

Congrats, Metric Man. I'm not sure how many times I have attempted to tell people that they should buy a real bicycle, from a real bike shop, and not a department store. I have told people to ride for a half hour on the department store bike, then ride for a half hour on a real bike. Then you'll understand the difference.

You've done this, and now you know what the difference is.

Welcome aboard.

Now I'm trying to figure out how much better a $5,000 bike could be...you could buy a good motorcycle for that kind of bling $$ :)

Mark

and I could have gone farther but I didn't have all day to devote to riding.:D

I'm sure that most all of you already know what a difference a decent set of wheels will do for you, but I'm now officially a biker...well, I already am that since I ride motorcycles as well...but I'm liking this.:D

Fairly shortly you will not be able to devote any of the rest of the day to anything that is not cycling related. If its not riding it- it will be polishing it- maintaining it- thinking about it or just plain looking at it.

Fairly shortly you will not be able to devote any of the rest of the day to anything that is not cycling related. If its not riding it- it will be polishing it- maintaining it- thinking about it or just plain looking at it.

You're not painting a rosy picture there. :eek: Like I said I already have a fetish for things with 2 wheels and motorcycling takes up a lot of time and $$ as well...if things get too far out of hand I might need a divorce attorney. :rolleyes:

Now I'm trying to figure out how much better a $5,000 bike could be...you could buy a good motorcycle for that kind of bling $$ :)

Mark

The price point here , once you buy a decent bike as you have, isn't worth the jump unless
you want to race professionally. Some will want to own a custom built bike , which avg.
about $1000, and that's OK but much beyond that and yer wastin' your money,mate.

Where can I get a custom-built bike for $1000? I paid over $1600 for my of-the-shelf Bianchi. I don't think I wasted my money. I'm not a racer. either.

The price point here , once you buy a decent bike as you have, isn't worth the jump unless
you want to race professionally. Some will want to own a custom built bike , which avg.
about $1000, and that's OK but much beyond that and yer wastin' your money,mate.


Appreciate the sentiments, but my own experience with a Specialized S-Works Roubaix (in the $5,000 range) is that I might have given up having one of my kids to get a bike like this ten years earlier than I did. To me it's the same as the difference between a blended whiskey and a really good single batch bourbon. Do I need this bike? No. Do my skills and abilities warrant a bike of this class? No. Would I give it up. NO.

Metric Man, glad you made the move to a better ride. Hope you enjoy it for many miles!

There used to be a fine Bike shop in Ultra-rich Lincoln, Massashusetts. Its owner, a pretty cool, well-over-fifty fellow named Mike Farney, had a saying: "A $200 dollar bike that fits properly will ride better and feel better than a $2000.00 bike that is not the right size". Or something like that. He was right of course.

Historical note: Farney closed the Lincoln Guide service just in the winter of 2002, after being in business since the early 70's. ( I think.) His shop is missed my cyclists who ride in that area. If you stopped by on the weekends, he and his staff were always willing to talk bikes for awhile, it was just that kind of place. I am told that he owned the building and the land it sat on outright, and the private bank that sits on the land now made him an offer he just could not turn down. Alas.

Like I said I already have a fetish for things with 2 wheels and motorcycling takes up a lot of time and $$ as well...

Real bikers have pedals and wear tight shorts.

You're not painting a rosy picture there. :eek: Like I said I already have a fetish for things with 2 wheels and motorcycling takes up a lot of time and $$ as well...if things get too far out of hand I might need a divorce attorney. :rolleyes:
Or a tandem!;)

90% of biking is the engine. Really good bikes can be found in the $1,000 - $3,000 price range depending on the level of components you want. Anything over $3,000 is really just to make you feel and look good which is not a bad thing. I have a $1,000 bike it works just fine, I want a $4,000 bike because my ego demands it. I won't be any faster on the $4,000 bike than the $1,000 bike but I will feel faster :>)

Looks like another addict is born!
But your in luck, there is a 12 step program to help, it goes like this:
1. buy a crappy bike at wal-mart, you enjoy riding it, so you;
2. buy an entry level bike at your LBS, you enjoy riding it more, so you;
3 buy upgraded parts for your entry level bike, it now works better, you enjoy riding it more, so you;
4. buy more upgraded parts, it wors even better, you enjoy it even more, so you;
5. try to upgrade some more, but you realize you are throwing good money after bad with this frame, so you;
6. Buy a new intermediate level bike from your LBS, you really like this one, so you;
7. UPGRADE! you gor for a whole group upgrade, you have one sweet bike, so you;
8. Decide you need a MTB to ride in the winter! so you;
9 Buy an entry level hardtail MTB from your LBR, you have a new type of fun, so you;
10. buy an entry level full suspension MTB from your LBS, you discover downhill riding, so you;
11. upgrade the suspension, and brakes, and wheels, and fork, sweet MTB ride, so you;
12. wake up one spring morning, ready to hit the road, so you go to the garage, and wonder why it is full of bikes and bike parts.
13. Realise your a hopeless bike addict, accept it, and go for a ride.

Looks like another addict is born!
But your in luck, there is a 12 step program to help, it goes like this:
1. buy a crappy bike at wal-mart, you enjoy riding it, so you;
2. buy an entry level bike at your LBS, you enjoy riding it more, so you;
3 buy upgraded parts for your entry level bike, it now works better, you enjoy riding it more, so you;
4. buy more upgraded parts, it wors even better, you enjoy it even more, so you;
5. try to upgrade some more, but you realize you are throwing good money after bad with this frame, so you;
6. Buy a new intermediate level bike from your LBS, you really like this one, so you;
7. UPGRADE! you gor for a whole group upgrade, you have one sweet bike, so you;
8. Decide you need a MTB to ride in the winter! so you;
9 Buy an entry level hardtail MTB from your LBR, you have a new type of fun, so you;
10. buy an entry level full suspension MTB from your LBS, you discover downhill riding, so you;
11. upgrade the suspension, and brakes, and wheels, and fork, sweet MTB ride, so you;
12. wake up one spring morning, ready to hit the road, so you go to the garage, and wonder why it is full of bikes and bike parts.
13. Realise your a hopeless bike addict, accept it, and go for a ride.

Great...another 12 step program. (or was it 13) It's been almost 15 years since I had to go through one of those...:D

I went through this process. Rode a Huffy for years. I gave it to a friend when I moved. Bought a used bike, then a Wal-mart special. Neither lasted more than 3 months. I couldn't take the Wal-mart bike back after it broke cause I lost the receipt.
I went to a small bike shop and after some reluctance I bought a Trek 820. Got to be the best $275 I ever spent. After a year I'm still tickled with it.
Now I want one of the Trek hybrids but I can't get my cheap ass up off of $750 for a bicycle.
I am in the market for a second bike. I saw a Schwinn for $300 that I liked.

Metric Man, I'm glad you discovered that real bikes do have something to offer over and above Dept. store bikes. Keep spreading the word, 'cause there are lots of guys out there that refuse to see the light. bk

Hooked another one.:D

I've challenged my LBS to build a Surly Long Haul Trucker for $ 1,000 and keep the weight at 25 lbs. With the help of some BF 50+'ers providing "well-maintained midrange components", we may make the 1K budget yet.

Don't know yet about the 25 lbs cuz I've got to decide on wheels...

p.s. read on Commuting Forum that Surly is going to offer a 'built LHT' through OBP in 2007...

Metric Man, I'm new to this thing too! After not riding a road bike for about 20 years, I decided my old knees couldn't take what they used to and biking would be fun. I dusted off my Giant Hybrid and rode about 4 miles on August 3. That went pretty well. Over several weeks, I increased my long ride to about 12 miles while I lusted after real road bikes at several of the LBSs. In late August, I picked up a 2007 Specialized Roubaix.

In September, I worked my long ride up to a bit over 36 miles.

So far, no major issues. I get some numbness in my fingers sometimes, and I'm working on that. If I don't stand up every 10 or 15 minutes, I get some crotch numbness. But my old achy knees are doing great and I'm really enjoying it.

My wife thinks I'm mildly crazy, but she would really think I was if she knew how much time I spend reading various bike forums on the internet during the work day!

Keep riding!

John

[QUOTE=67walkon]My wife thinks I'm mildly crazy, but she would really think I was if she knew how much time I spend reading various bike forums on the internet during the work day!
QUOTE]

Another one who works to ride!! The next step is ride to work and then there is NO turning back.

Or a tandem!;)


Believe me- A tandem can be the quickest way to a divorce with the wrong pairing- Must get the wife on it someday.