Christoffer

Hello everybody!!
At last I've registered to BikeForums.. Over the years I often happened to drop by and read some stuff here and there, but this time I felt I had to join.

First of all I'm not french but danish/dane.. and I live in Paris, France. I have lived some years in Denmark too.. and comparing those 2 countries bikewise ehh... well in Denmark there's bicycle tracks everywhere, and you feel quite secure when riding a bike. Even a 3 in the morning. But in Paris/France wohow almost no bicycle tracks.. and the few tracks here are actually dangerous (not enough space in width). Worst thing is that the french car-owners are not used to share the road with the bicyclists.. They don't see you in the mirror when they turn, because they don't use the mirror!!

What else- I'm 35 years old, 3 kids, and we are in walking distance from schools and metro/subway station. We have a car but only use it for long-distance trips.
I learned to ride 2-wheeler when I was 3 or 4 but the bike has always been a hobby thing, you know weekends, holidays.. Never sporty/MTB/BMX/cyclocross, never home>job.
More recently I have discovered the upside of biking in the everyday city mess.. I don't know if it's "well i'm in the mid-thirties with kids" or just because I'm fed up with packed subway trains when getting to/from work - but now I'm pretty much decided not to take the subway any more... Not mentioning the car: in Paris at rush hour-just like many other big cities- you're getting there faster by walking than by car!!

Bike(s): now only one, Batavus Intermezzo from 2009, 28" wheels. Nexus 8, hub brakes, and suspension fork. It's too heavy for me.. I plan to sell it and get back to a light 26" MTB w/o suspension but with some city/road tires on (schwalbe maraton supreme...) ... maybe a folder as well.. Not because of the "fold" but because I really dig riding on 20" wheels
I might even find a MTB for 26-24" and put 20" tyres on it, plus some other customization.. I'm 186cm tall so I must fit the bike to my size, can't remember how many inches that is, somewhere between 5 and 7??

As I am in the middle of deep reflexions and doubts and dreaming about this bike change/upgrade, well this forum is the coolest place for me.. Thank you for all for being here!! Ciao

Christoffer

just to make one thing clear:: I means feet not inches, ok? And thanks to gôôgle I learned that 186 centimeters = 6.1023622 feet .
So this 5-7" refer to sg else which we wont discuss any further

CbadRider

Welcome to the forum!

I visited Paris last year and wished I could have rented one of the Velib bikes they have all over the city. Paris is a very nice city to ride in.

You might want to check out the Folding Bikes and Mountain Bike forums.

1nterceptor

Welcome aboard. I've been to Paris a few years ago
but I was with my girlfriend and she's not into bikes
so I wasn't able to ride around. Someday I would like
to ride a bike in Copenhagen

Christoffer

Thank you! ok I'll go check those forums too. Yes Paris is a nice city if you got the time. When you're busy (working,commuting,late...) it's more scary than nice. You know the light turns red but you're the only one noticing it and the others do as if it were still green... What a mess.
Anyway, yes the Velib system is really cool. I find those bikes too heavy and the automat-computer where you book the bike is just a machine you want to destroy, it's so bad.. But at least this city has a bike rental system that really works, and there's thousands of bikes and hundreds of rental stations.. It's just a shame there hasn't been the same bicycle track building- logic as in some other European cities...

Christoffer

Thanks!! But hey if she's not into bikes, as Copenhagen is a city you really would want to bike around in, either youll send her shopiping, either you go there with some bike friends.. Or alone. It's a bicycle city and therefore the tracks are really good.. But some of the people also bike really fast, careful!

yifeng vivi

hello,i am new to the bike forum,too. it is really a good forum for all of the riders.
many questions i can find from here.hope you could enjoy at here.

Couch

Welcome to the forum! I have a good friend that lives in Lille. I visited Paris when I lived in Germany and rode a Peugeot as my daily commuter in Darmstadt.

I do not know how to speak French.

Couch

FRED CASTRO

Hello Christoffer! You are 73 inches tall or 6 feet 1 inch. You might like a flat bar road bike like mine. It is a Raleigh Cadent FT2, 57CM frame, 24 speeds and weighs 9 KG. It is efficient, highly maneuverable, and has a slight forward leaning position, maintaining 25 KM/hour speed is easy. Good luck and ride safely. I ride the sidewalk wherever it is threatening, car drivers don't see you, you can't let them contact you, it hurts. Fred Castro