Texas - New Guy Here In Dallas Saying Hello

Hello, hello. I put some air in the two flat tires on my 12 yo Trek a couple of weeks ago and pretty much haven't put it down. I got my 5yo daughter a bike the other day and my 3yo son will soon be riding the smallest Specialized I have ever seen. Daughter insists she ride without the training wheels so I bought some knee and elbow pads for her today so we can give it a shot this weekend.

I'm buying something a little more modern for myself this weekend. Looking seriously at a Trek 7.2 FX, I'm mainly riding on paved surface and that won't change anytime soon and this seems to fit my budget and will meet my current limited needs.

I live near the Preston Ridge Trail so I have been seeing alot of it at night lately. Hardly a soul there after 9pm or so. I was riding north of McCallum the other night where the unfinished bridge over that creek is. Got a flat riding throught the unpaved portion but I was able to find some light at the condo complex right there and fix it.

Anyhow, I'll be asking a ton of questions about local trails and paths soon enough. I did manage to pick up a map the other day and I'm making good use of the internet in finding details about nearby places to ride so hopefully all my questions won't be ones that have been discussed over and over.

Chris!

Howdy and welcome to the forums.

There is a stickied link up there called "Texas Rides". Someone put a link to a good map in one thread, and I copied it into that sticky. So check it out. What map did you get, by the way?

Welcome

I'm close to your area and ride that trail occasoinally. There is more trail around UTD and out Renner road to 75, too when you are ready for more distance.
If you would like to ride sometime just lemme know.
:welcome

Chris, Welcome to the forum.

You should test drive a cyclocross bike. Mine is a Specialized Tricross - it's basically a road bike with small hybrid tires. Has the drop down handlebars, shimano components. Mine has 700x32's, but I may reduce down to 25's to try to get a little more speed. Anyway, you can go anywhere on it, and those little sticker burrs wont give you a flat like the couple of hundred flats I saw at the HH100. I got a cyclocross because my wife is still on the mountain bike. You can ride your cross anywhere with your kids and don't have stick to pavement,then you can go on rides with the roadies. It's very versatile. RR tracks and cracks in the road don't make me nervous! I don't advocate Bikes Direct, but if you want to see a couple of cyclocross bikes, check out their website. I bought mine from my LBS.

Thanks guys. I drove by UTD the other day and saw that trail, looks nice, I'll have to check it out soon.

I ended up buying an '09 Trek [edit - it's a 7.2FX and not the model I mistakenly first suggested] which i'm really enjoying. I rode it last night for a few hours and holy cow what a difference from my bike with 26" tires. Better work out, much faster, coasts longer, just nice.

I saw the Texas Rides link/thread, man oh man so much to learn.

This is the bike I got, assuming the link works...

http://www.njbike.com/images/360_tk_2009_7.2fx_matte_gold.jpg

Sounds like you're really close to me and jsharr here in the Dallas/Richardson area. I'm just to the north west of Coit & Campbell. Just got back from my first ride since the beginning of the month due to some surgery, but I'll be on the road around here a lot in the coming week (and months of course) getting back into the swing of things.

Howdy Mr. Christopher and welcome to the forums. I am the Custer 190 area. When you are ready to hit some hills, I can show you quite a few in my neighborhood and the path from UTD over to Renner leads to a few of them.

Welcome to BF! :)

Welcome to the area.

Lake Lavon has some trails and I had the opportunity to speak with the regional Corps of Engineers Director the other day while recovering from some hill climbing out by the main headquarters.

He told me there are even more trail systems in the works, so all the MTB and cross guys are going to gain some major acreage to ride in the future.

I'll second the question on what map you picked up, and where?

I thought a 12 year old Trek was a modern bike!:50:

I've googled the Trek 2.0 FX and can't find it anywhere. Why is that? Well, I wanted to see the specs... tire size, etc. Looks like a nice ride.

I've googled the Trek 2.0 FX and can't find it anywhere. Why is that? Well, I wanted to see the specs... tire size, etc. Looks like a nice ride.


TK, the reason you could not find a TREK 2.0 FX Is because they don't exist! DOH!, Sorry to have lead to the confusion. It's a 7.2 FX (not to be confused with the 7200).

I *think* this links to the '08 model (not all of the '09 models are on their site yet). I think it's an entry level bike in its class:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/bike_path/fx/72fx/

Tell me your thoughts on the technical details. When it comes to bikes I am *not* technical but I'm getting there.

I thought a 12 year old Trek was a modern bike!:50:

It would be the newest bike in my stable, lol.

If I were ever going to be a serious commuter, the 7.2 seems like a great choice. It would be cool to give one nice spin and see how it feels.

Welcome, I'm in the Irving area, but campion trail is also a nice ride, and it will be much longer sooner. If your going to start commuting check out the local commuting forum (http://www.dorba.org/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=20) Bunch of local routes, ideas, and events.

Welcome, I'm in the Irving area, but campion trail is also a nice ride, and it will be much longer sooner. If your going to start commuting check out the local commuting forum (http://www.dorba.org/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=20) Bunch of local routes, ideas, and events.

Do you mean Champion Trail?

TK, the reason you could not find a TREK 2.0 FX Is because they don't exist! DOH!, Sorry to have lead to the confusion. It's a 7.2 FX (not to be confused with the 7200).

I *think* this links to the '08 model (not all of the '09 models are on their site yet). I think it's an entry level bike in its class:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/bike_path/fx/72fx/

Tell me your thoughts on the technical details. When it comes to bikes I am *not* technical but I'm getting there.


I was trying to figure out what it was - I was going on and on about my cyclocross bike. I think I was thinking you were looking for a road bike but still wanted to ride with your kids off the pavement. I think what you got is perfect though. But I really like my cross bike - the other day I had to take a short cut to avoide some bad traffic on 121 in Coppell.... rode down a dirt/grass trail and carried it over a creek. I felt like I was competing in a cyclocross race.

No, it's Campion- http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/trails/campion.html

How bout that - I've been on that trail but didn't know the name. DOH!

Hey there is a great ride next weekend in flowermound, good cause and you can get even teh kids involved.

http://patriotpedal.com/

I need to see a map of the route before I commit. I've been checking that website to see if they have one up. Why don't they put one out there? Well, they better do it soon or I'll have made other plans. I think the whole thing is pretty much on the other side of the lake from Flo Mo, and maybe out west around Roanoke.

Read through the webpage and they discuss the route some. Then look up at the top, there is a link for "Map". This pulls up a blurry map that appears to show all the routes. You'd have to compare with a better map to see for sure what streets are being used.

You're right, can't even read the map. They should put up a link or scan a map. It ain't that difficult. There may be riders that don't care, but there are plenty that do. It's important, and it would make them look more organized, and would get more participation.