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.General Geoff
04-26-07, 08:09 PM
Hi, the name is Geoff. I'm a new member here, as I just recently decided to get back into bicycling. A little history:
When I was growing up, my dad got into mountain biking. He decided to get me and my sister mountain bikes too. He took us to a proper bike shop and got us fitted and everything (I was ~8, my sister was 9). I had a 15-speed that, for the life of me, I cannot remember the brand of. Same with my sister. My dad had an 18-speed Trek. All the bikes were full rigid. Dad would take us up into the Pocono mountains and we'd ride trails of ~20-30 miles or so, great fun it was. My sister didn't last long, she became disinterested after a couple of months. I kept going with my dad for two years. Some of the best times of my life up on those gravel trails with Dad. Unfortunately, he sustained some serious knee damage from constant pressure during his routine work. Tore some ligaments and tendons, and had to stop riding. Me being the youngster I was, kept riding occasionally (around the neighborhood and short distances) for a few years still, but pretty much stopped when I started driving.
Fast-forward to today. I'm 22, my parents live in North Carolina now, and I'm a homeowner. Since I'm a computer technician by trade, I don't really get much exercise on a daily basis. So when a good friend of mine mentioned he was pulling out his mountain bike to go on a trail ride the other day, I thought, "Holy crap, I'd completely forgotten about that!" So I decided to get back into biking.
On monday, I went to the same bike shop my dad went to back in the day, in search of a new mountain bike. My old mountain bike was a very small frame, as I had been fitted to it at the age of 8. So even if I still had it, I'd still need a new one. I'm now a rather large fellow, 6'1" and ~250lbs. I distinctly remembered Dad making lots of comments back in the day about how he wanted a Cannondale, and I figured that was as good a place as any to start. I asked the saleswoman at the shop, and she said she had several Cannondale models. She sized me up, and brought out an XL frame F5. I straddled it, sat on it, and took it for a brief spin. Seeing as I hadn't ridden a bicycle in years, I'm just glad I didn't fall off!
After taking it for a few laps around the parking lot, getting used to the gear shifters and disc brakes (those were unheard of back when I was a kid!), she brought out an F3 "Caffeine" bike, and I took that for a ride. I liked it better than the F5, but was a bit "meh" on it. Then she said she found an XL frame F4, and I took that for a spin. I was in love. That bike just "felt" right. After riding it around the block once, and for a bit of a shuffle on a grassy knoll (almost wiped out!), I concluded that with some extra air in the front suspension, it'd be perfect. So I took a couple of days to sit on the idea of spending a rather large sum of money on a bike. I finally came to the conclusion that my health and well being are worth more than I'll be paying for this bike, so I put a deposit on the F4 today. I'll pick it up some time in the next two weeks.
At ~$850, she's not a cheap bike. But I figured if I'm gonna get back into biking in earnest, I'm not going to waste my time and money on a walmart special; especially since I'm a pretty big guy (a Clydesdale by your definition!) and don't want to risk overstressing/breaking a cheap bike. So here I am, with a bike on the way, ready to reembark on a great hobby. Do you think I did alright on my choice of bike? I've been browsing the forums for a little while and haven't seen one mention of any Cannondales. Other than that, I just have to relearn all my biking skills I've forgotten over the past decade.
Sorry for the novel, I'll shut up now :o
When I was growing up, my dad got into mountain biking. He decided to get me and my sister mountain bikes too. He took us to a proper bike shop and got us fitted and everything (I was ~8, my sister was 9). I had a 15-speed that, for the life of me, I cannot remember the brand of. Same with my sister. My dad had an 18-speed Trek. All the bikes were full rigid. Dad would take us up into the Pocono mountains and we'd ride trails of ~20-30 miles or so, great fun it was. My sister didn't last long, she became disinterested after a couple of months. I kept going with my dad for two years. Some of the best times of my life up on those gravel trails with Dad. Unfortunately, he sustained some serious knee damage from constant pressure during his routine work. Tore some ligaments and tendons, and had to stop riding. Me being the youngster I was, kept riding occasionally (around the neighborhood and short distances) for a few years still, but pretty much stopped when I started driving.
Fast-forward to today. I'm 22, my parents live in North Carolina now, and I'm a homeowner. Since I'm a computer technician by trade, I don't really get much exercise on a daily basis. So when a good friend of mine mentioned he was pulling out his mountain bike to go on a trail ride the other day, I thought, "Holy crap, I'd completely forgotten about that!" So I decided to get back into biking.
On monday, I went to the same bike shop my dad went to back in the day, in search of a new mountain bike. My old mountain bike was a very small frame, as I had been fitted to it at the age of 8. So even if I still had it, I'd still need a new one. I'm now a rather large fellow, 6'1" and ~250lbs. I distinctly remembered Dad making lots of comments back in the day about how he wanted a Cannondale, and I figured that was as good a place as any to start. I asked the saleswoman at the shop, and she said she had several Cannondale models. She sized me up, and brought out an XL frame F5. I straddled it, sat on it, and took it for a brief spin. Seeing as I hadn't ridden a bicycle in years, I'm just glad I didn't fall off!
After taking it for a few laps around the parking lot, getting used to the gear shifters and disc brakes (those were unheard of back when I was a kid!), she brought out an F3 "Caffeine" bike, and I took that for a ride. I liked it better than the F5, but was a bit "meh" on it. Then she said she found an XL frame F4, and I took that for a spin. I was in love. That bike just "felt" right. After riding it around the block once, and for a bit of a shuffle on a grassy knoll (almost wiped out!), I concluded that with some extra air in the front suspension, it'd be perfect. So I took a couple of days to sit on the idea of spending a rather large sum of money on a bike. I finally came to the conclusion that my health and well being are worth more than I'll be paying for this bike, so I put a deposit on the F4 today. I'll pick it up some time in the next two weeks.
At ~$850, she's not a cheap bike. But I figured if I'm gonna get back into biking in earnest, I'm not going to waste my time and money on a walmart special; especially since I'm a pretty big guy (a Clydesdale by your definition!) and don't want to risk overstressing/breaking a cheap bike. So here I am, with a bike on the way, ready to reembark on a great hobby. Do you think I did alright on my choice of bike? I've been browsing the forums for a little while and haven't seen one mention of any Cannondales. Other than that, I just have to relearn all my biking skills I've forgotten over the past decade.
Sorry for the novel, I'll shut up now :o