Originally Posted by
pgjackson
Why? That bike is crap and would probably be dangerous on a group ride. Check out the cassette...I can only imagine what the cables are like. To get that bike in proper riding condition you would probably have to invest at least a couple hundred dollars in a new cassette, cables, brakes, tires, grease everything and who knows what else. That's assuming the frame is actually not rusted out or cracked. It's not like the owner has been taking care of it. It's fine for riding to the store maybe, but on a group ride of even a moderate pace I think that bike is an accident waiting to happen. Would you trust it on a bumpy downhill?
Cassette? A new freewheel would be less than $20, even one with ramps to get near indexed shifting performance. New cables? Wal-Mart sells a basic set for $5. There are several levels of group rides around here (near where Miles lives) that range from high speed racer wanna-be fitness rides to very casual social rides. I've seen worse than that bike on some of the rides.
Originally Posted by
pgjackson
That was just an example of how expensive this sport can be. The OP stated that he wants to start joining group rides. I think he's going to find it difficult to find a group that's going to let him ride that POS in the middle of the pack. How long do you think that 30 year old chain is going to last on a hard climb? How about those ancient, rusty steel wheels on a fast decent? Cycling is expensive. Doing it on the super cheap could be dangerous.
I could name three or four groups that he can ride with that would be totally cool with that bike. Cycling is pretty wide open around here. It's in a growth mode and right now there is plenty of room for all, and surprisingly little sniping between the roadies, the MTBers, the fixed gear riders, etc. In fact, a lot of people ride several styles of bikes and do all kinds of rides.