Amator

Well, I went to the other bike shop (www.gustocycles.com). I called ahead to make sure they had bikes w/ 21" frames in stock, and test rode two of them checking saddle height, etc to make sure I had a good fit. The guy who spent time with me went over some of the important parts of getting a good fit, not in as much detail as the guy at the first place, but I never caught that "I'm trying to upsell you" vibe. I test rode two bikes at the store and 45 min later and $410 poorer I ended up with:

2005 Jamis Explorer 1.0
Bell Infinity Helmet
Waterbottle cage(w/ free bottle)
Palmetto Bag(undersaddle bag w/ SC(Palmetto) logo, reflective tape)
Genuine Innovations Patch Wallet (Tire Repair & Inflation) <in Palmetto Bag>
Toughwire 4' chain lock
Summit Floor Pump

After I paid, Brad(the guy at the shop) showed me how to remove the tire, patch an inner tube, and put the tube back in the wheel. I took the wheel and saddle off, stuffed it in my car and drove home. When I got home, I took it on a short uphill ride around the block. Only for 10 minutes or so, as it was getting dark, and I'm way out of freaking shape.

But I live less than a mile from a park with a bike path and a downtown bike trail, so hopefully I'll get a chance to ride over the next few evenings and this weekend. I think my next big purchase will be a (cheap) laptop, so instead of sitting at home surfing the net, I can bike 3 miles to downtown, grab a latte w/ splenda, and surf the net. But that will be a while. Thanks for your input everyone!


Here's the blurb on the manufacturer's website about the bike:
The Explorer 1.0 is the ultimate in simple, fun transportation. The lightweight aluminum frame and 21-speed Shimano derailleurs make light work of uphills (and plenty of scoot if you want to pedal downhill). The big 1.95-inch wide tires provide plenty of cushion, assisted by the suspension seatpost and Jamis Comfort saddle with high-memory foam that shapes itself to you for optimal support, for in-town cruising fun.

caloso

Good for you. Your enthusiasm is inspiring. And now I can't wait for 5 so I can hop on my bike and spin home.

HaagenDas

What the hell is a "Summit Floor Pump" sounds more like a janitor's gizmo.

" Jamis Comfort saddle with high-memory foam that shapes itself to you" that would wanna be good foam for my arse

Amator

And the specs:
FRAME

7005 PG aluminum main tubes and S-bend stays, eyeletted dropouts.
FORK Hi-Tensile steel unicrown, Semi-forged dropouts with eyelets.
HEADSET ATB sealed, 1 1/8”.
WHEELSET Single wall alloy Silver rims, 36H, with Formula alloy sealed QR front and rear hubs,
14gauge stainless steel spokes.
TIRES Jamis Comfort, 26 x 1.95”, blackwall.
DERAILLEURS Shimano TX50 rear, Shimano C051 front 31.8mm top swing/top pull front.
SHIFTERS SRAM Grip Shift MRX-204, 21-speed.
CHAIN KMC UG-50.
FREEWHEEL Shimano freewheel, 7-speed, 14-34.
CRANKSET

Alloy full-size, 48/38/28,
170mm (13.5” - 21”), with chainguard.
BOTTOM BRACKET Cotterless bolt-type, sealed, boron axle, 68 x 119mm (3P).
PEDALS Comfort platform type with TPE non-slip insert.
BRAKESET Tektro forged alloy direct pull brakes with front power modulator & Tektro Tenera levers.
HANDLEBAR Comfort Rise, satin finish, 80mm rise x 640mm width.
STEM Alloy adjustable type,
90mm (13.5–15.5/14.5-17.5L”)
or 110mm (18–21”).
GRIPS Kraton comfort.
SEATPOST Suspension, alloy pillar, 350mm x 27.2mm,
with alloy clamp and QR seatpin.
SADDLE Jamis Comfort with synthetic suede top, burnished sides, steel rails, and bumper springs.
SIZES Mens: 13.5”, 15.5”, 18”, 21”
Ladies: 14.5”, 17.5”
COLORS Radium Blue (M & L),
Dark Silver (M)
or Baby Doll Pink (L)
WEIGHT

31.00 lbs

Mine is Dark Silver. Not the greatest bike in the world by any stretch. But I think it'll fit my needs really well right now while I get a feel for cycling around town.

Amator

It's a "ye olde school" tire pump with a built in pressure gage. The guy at the shop said I should monitor my pressure at least weekly.

Yep, if your arse is as big as mine you need all the foam you can get. I'm thinking about supergluing a tempur pedic pillow on there as well.

Amator

Thanks. I've had this on the back of my mind and have been allocating $50 a week into my savings account for this purpose. Last week my bike fund went over $400 and I knew it was time to start researching/shopping. I've been out of work yesterday and today for a particularly nasty stomach bug and after noon today I felt much better so I knew I should get out and spin some test wheels. I am in positively no kind of shape right now...seems like my heart pounded for 15 minutes after getting off the bike. I'm going to my new doctor(finally have health insurance w/ my new job so I can afford such "luxuries" in the USA) for a complete physical in two weeks just to make sure everything is okay. I'm excited. Now I just need to get in "workable" shape and make a few bike friends.

supcom

Congratulations and welcome to the club. Be sure to visit the forums here often and let us know how your progress is going. These forums are a great source of advise (good and bad - but mostly good). Reading about other people's experiences are good motivators.

Take it easy at first and stick with it and you'll never be sorry.

Amator

I just started to read up on the helmet I bought (Bell Influx), and it looks like the guy at the store steered me in the right direction. This looks to be the only helmet under $150 that has their GPS fit system, and since he didn't have an el cheapo helmet my size, he gave me 15% off MSRP! Nice.

BIGBIKER2

What a great inspiration to all. And good luck. Sounds like things went well, except the whole helmet thing. GPS fit system? Hope that thing was no where near 150. Anyway as you can see I am also a BIGBIKER, I am looking forward to following your progress along with mine.

Amator

Sorry, I didn't mention that I only paid $50 for my helmet (it was $60, and I got 15% off). The guy was going to give me 10% of the cheap $30 helmet, but he didn't have one that fit me right so he gave me %15 off the $60.

Sebach

Man, good job on the biking. Kick ass. KICK-ASS!

moxfyre

Don't sweat the details now... I think the most important thing is that it's comfortable and reliable, so you'll WANT to ride it. I happily rode an ill-fitting low-end Raleigh mountain bike for 4 years, before I learned that it was great fun to be a huge bike dork and suddenly started obsessing over every little component

Good luck!

PWRDbyTRD

Sounds like you made a wise investment. Glad to see you're quite happy with it. The laptop thing is quite fun I've done it. Cept I went to my friends house.

MichaelW

Jamis is a sound brand where you pay for the bike, not the label.
When starting out in cycling it is best to ride by time rather than speed or distance. For the first few weeks, the aim should be to get your body used to riding a bike, not to get you athletically fit.
Ride at an easy pace with steady breathing. if you are panting hard, drop down a gear. Start with 15 mins, and gradually work up to 1 hour.
Once you are easy on the bike you can start to use your bike to get fit, riding longer distances at higher intensity.
Don't forget that you are a vehical on the road, so think and act like one.

HaagenDas

Whilst I'm carrying the burden of knee replacements I'm gonna have to cut back. Been riding for around 13 minutes per day and now I'm sitting here in the middle of the night in agony. Won't be walking or riding tomorrow. I am a bit surprised it has caught up with me so painfully.

Amator

Slowly and surely wins the (hypothetical tortoise and hare) race. That's one of the keys in my mind. I took it out for 15 minutes(up a hill no less), and that was enough. I'm going to walk it a half mile up the hill after work to get to a level bike path to ride.

N_C

First of all congrats on your decision to take up cycling. You won't regret it. I'd say follow the great advice that has been given to you by the good folks here. But one piece of advice I have for you is I strongly suggest that you purchase & wear a helmet.

bpohl

I'm really happy for you to get riding. Good luck to you! You'll find a lot of support here from people who have dropped a lot of weight, so keep dropping in.

MMPC

Hey, I just wanted to add my congrats on your decision and encourage you to keep it going! I was nearly 300lbs. when I started riding again in October of '03 - I'm now nearing 200lbs. and feel GREAT! I also own both a mountain (Kona Hoss) and road (Bianchi Imola) bike and have gotten as many of my friends as I could riding again!

You've already received great advice on here so I'll try not to be too repetitive. Two things I recommend, however, are to START SLOWLY (I suffered some overuse injury shortly after I started again and had to take a few weeks off) and REMEMBER TO SHIFT - especially climbing hills! Those two things will help save you knees from any injury that could prevent you from riding. You might also conisder riding every other day instead of daily until your body is really used to it.

Again, congrats to you and good luck!

AndrewP

Now you have ridden it a few times, take it back to the bike shop and get them to retension the spokes in the rear wheel. They always settle in during the frist few miles riding, and with the wheel properly tensioned it will last a lot longer before going out of true.

lrzipris

BTW, it sounds like you are pretty comfortable with the LBS, and that's important, too. If, like me, you can't or don't do your own mechanical stuff, it helps to have a shop you can trust. It can also pay off in small amenities, such as your guy did with the helmet.

Jessica

I lost 70 lbs connected with changing several things in my life, including starting to commute by bike. I was 270 lbs... so biking definately helped. I started by watching minutes, not distance or speed. If you want to lose weight, time is important. If you can commute, you get the benefit of your increased metabolism all morning.. I added 5 minutes every time I could until I could ride long enough to make it to work, then I started commuting. My weight is not stable yet, but my clothes are definately telling me I am getting smaller.

Hooray for you for this change. You will be glad!!!

overthere

That's a good point to keep in mind. They always say muscle is heavier than fat, so the scale may not change much, at least mine didn't! But I am trimmer. I like it.

pj7

Good for you Amator!
I'm in almost the exact same boat as you. Pushing 330lbs here at 6'1" myself and decided to get into biking for he health benefits but after reading the posts on this board I see how much fun and benefitive to the "greater good" it can be.
In November my wife gave me some good news, family++ (we are having a boy in late June - early July) and I decided I didn't want to be one of those guys who can't go out and enjoy his children. I tried walking/running to lose weight but my knees soon began to tell me they did not appreciate it so I went to a few local bike shops and settled on a lower end Trek Hybrid. I have gotten to ride it once since then and now curse mother nature for all the snow we have that keeps me from commuting. As soon as Michigan thaws out I'll be commuting a few days a week and riding all I can on the weekends.
Seeing another on here in my same situation gives me that much more inspiration to keep at it.

Daily Commute

This is a good point. So, I'll repost it.

Congrats on the big step. You'll discover that your diet matters more now that you're exercising more, so don't deny yourself healthy food.

Remember maintenance. Think about buying a bike maintenance book. I use Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, but Zinn sells one for mountain bikes, too. Take a ride to the library and check out a few books before deciding if they're worth buying. Think about getting a set of metric allen and crescent wrenches in case something gets loose. If you don't want to get into that, take your bike back to the LBS once a year for a tune up.

Most importantly, continue to have fun. You have a great attitude.