varuscelli

Hello! Oustanding forum you all have here!

I came here originally looking for some tips and pointers on how to choose a bike for myself that would allow me to do some easy riding around the neighborhood with my young daughter (she's 5, I'm 49).

Sooner than I expected after starting my research, I bought (from a nice, helpful local guy in our area) a 2003 Raleigh F500 (one of the police model mountain bikes). Personally, I'm really excited about getting this bike. For me personally, this is the nicest bike I've ever owned, and I'm hoping it will open some new doors for me in a recreational sense. Now my daughter has her little Raleigh Retro and I have the F500, so in the very least we're going to be able to add a little bit of neighborhood biking to the other things we do as a family.

Being an avid photographer (both on professional and personal levels), I immediately took a bunch of photos of the F500 and posted those on my website. I did this in part because of the difficulty I had in actually finding much info about (or photos of) the F500 in my brief research on the bike. Even here on the Bike Forums, I didn't find much about this bike. So, to add to at least a little in terms of visual resources about the Raleigh F500, I've posted the images for anyone who is interested.

https://www.ruscelli.com/biking_raleigh_f500.htm

I'm really looking forward to having this site as a permanent resource in our small bike-related arsenal. It's nice to know we'll be able to take advantage of the expertise here when we have questions or comments -- or when we just want to join in...

East Hill

Hello varuscelli, very nice photos on the website (which I think we would expect ). Yes, you could do the 'cops and robbers' thing quite well with that...

Don't forget to check out the regional forum for Texas, and

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

varuscelli

Thank you, East Hill. I appreciate the comments and the welcome.

And yeah, I'd love to have a little siren and lights mounted to this one with the word POLICE emblazoned on the side...but I wonder how many days I'd have to spend in jail for impersonating an officer? (Jail aside, what the heck? I might as well go for it... ).

bluebottle1

Welcome, varuscelli! Hope you learn as much here and have as much fun as I have. There are a lot of good people here and some very knowledgeable ones, too, but I guess you've already figured that out.

East Hill

We do have a number of LEOs on the board--check in with the A & S people, or the commuting forum. Something tells me that they would tell you that this is a bad idea .

East Hill

varuscelli

Yes, but what a nice theft deterrent the word "POLICE" on the side of the bike might be.

East Hill

I have to admit, it's a very tempting thought...

East Hill

varuscelli

Hey, bluebottle1, thank you for the welcome.

Funny, I have about a half-dozen VERY MUCH frequented and favored vBulletin sites that I visit regularly(as a tennis player, photographer, etc.) and this one was quickly added to the list as soon as I found it. (And I found it only because of my renewed/newly found interest in biking that has recently happened with me.) In most cases, you can get a pretty good quick feel for the quality of a forum based on the participation level, and that was pretty self evident from the start with the Bike Forums.

Really cool site and I'm glad that my personal needs motivated me to find it (and I'm glad I NEEDED to find it, if you know what I mean).