Little up date, had two bikes greased last week!
Because of the heavy rains we have had the last four months I am riding my oil trainer in the car port three days a week. Hate it but its better than nothing.
I put the computer on a table with either the baseball and or the hockey game on then just crank baby crank. I sure have a hard time getting my heart over 100 bpm. My recovery time to 60 is about 5 minutes. Guess I’m healthy!

At least you're riding and a heartrate of 100 means you're not dead. ;)


Big update from this part of the world.
The deed is done!
One of the local bike shops (where a friend works) had a big sale this weekend and I just HAD to check it out.
I've been thinking of getting another bike and so .....
Saturday I went to look at the Felt F5. They didn't have any in my size. The shop manager suggested a Z5 for a smoother ride. Gee, no Z5s in my size either so I test rode a Z4. Wow, what a ride! I really liked it! They were about to close when I finished the ride so told them I'd be back today to do a proper test ride with bike shorts and my pedals and shoes. I did a 20 minute ride around the neighborhood. I gave it two thumbs up.
They put the bike on the trainer and after about 45+ minutes of adjustments it was ready to go. The sale price was $800 off the regular price.
It's now in the place of honor -- next to my Litespeed. As soon as we have a sunny day (tomorrow, Tuesday???) I take a few pics and post them.

Anyone in need of a 2011 Specialized Tarmac Elite, 56cm? It'll be on CL tomorrow or Tuesday.

Welcome to Felt Ron.

Thanks. If the rain holds off tomorrow will be the maiden voyage.

We need to start a Felt club.

Why not. There's a Ti club on the Road forum. I could join both. :)

Got in 70 miles today on my Felt.

Hi everyone, newbie here (warning)
Advice needed I think. I'm 66 in a couple of days, haven't ridden much for close to 20 years (except for exercise bike at the gym). I'm 5'8" and (Ugh) 120kg now and getting heavier daily because I haven't been to the gym for 6 months. As my name implies, I have crook knees too
I used to ride mountain bikes for many years and did quite a lot of miles back then so recently I decided I want to reacquaint myself with a real bike again.
I've been looking around and come up with this as an option to buy http://www.trekbikes.com/au/en/bikes..._series/8_5_ds

My question to all you experts out there is... would this be a good choice considering most of my riding will be on sealed roads or bike paths with just the occasional fire trail from time to time. I really do need the exercise and would like to get back on a real bike that wasn't too radical.

Help anyone?

One can never lose with a mtn bike. They are very flexible, and one can put "slicks" instead of knobbies for tires, making them more suitable for sealed roads and paved bike paths. Looks like a good choice for you. Trek is generally an excellent brand, along with Specialized, Jamis and many others.

Other options one might want to consider would be a "hybrid" - which one could take on a fairly non-rugged fire road. It has smaller diameter tires (but larger diameter wheels), and might go a bit faster on the paved roads.

I started with a mtn bike at age 58, and rode it for a year before deciding to also get a real "road" bike. This bike thing creeps up on one - now I have 2 road bikes, 1 rideable mtn bike, 1 mtn bike as a trainer in the basement, one vintage Peugeot U08 "road" bike, and one recently acquired recumbent. My wife has a hybrid - which she loves, and a mtn bike. Our garage is full of bikes, as my son also has a 3 wheeler in there.

However, one only needs one bike to ride!!

Enjoy and post often.

Crookneez:

I bought a low end Trek (1.2 Alpha, about $600) from Mellow Johnnies last year as a road bike. I'm too cheap to spend much more than that, but I'm really happy with the bike. It has an aluminum frame and 27 gears, with ratios that are adequate for the short but very steep hills we have around here. I like the stiff aluminum frame, and I like being able to go down on the drops when the wind is blowing.

I do not very much like front suspensions for riding on black-top, as they seem to "wobble" on curves (I'm 6' 1" and 105 kg (235 lbs), and I the only times I have used bikes with suspensions is when I have rented them for long fully-loaded tours and there has been no alternative, so that might have something to do with it). If the suspension is too soft they can also do unexpected things when you have to brake suddenly. Riders more experienced with suspensions might disagree with these comments, though.

For touring I have a 2003 Bianchi Volpe, steel frame, no suspension, and fitted out with racks, etc. It is considerably more work to ride than the Trek, due to the extra weight. It can accept a wide range of tires, and I have ridden it fully-loaded on soft bicycle paths and on coarse gravel roads (Alaska Highway, Top of the World Highway, highway from Red Bay, Labrador towards Battle Harbor). It doesn't much like loose, coarse gravel, but I think that is because of the load on the front wheels.

The Big Seven-oh, and some earley bikes and rides.
 

Hey, everyone -

Tomorrow is the big seven-oh: we'll have a party for about 50 people and sing songs from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, after which popular music went downhill (or, from a different perspective, I reached the age of 30 and lost interest!). We have to pack it in at 9:30 pm (darn!) because my wife and I are entered in a 10-mile road (running) race that starts at 7.00 on Sunday, and 70-year-old bods don't handle alcohol and late nights followed by runs very well.

For the historically-minded, my first bike was a second-hand clunker, painted completely black by the previous owner, with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed and all rods brake linkages (no cables). The brake shoes ran against the inside of the wheel, and the cross-bar sloped down to the front - sloping crossbars didn't exist on new bikes at that time. I would guess this bike dated to the 1930s. It was given to me for my tenth birthday, and the next summer (1952) I attempted a 120-mile ride, but had to be rescued by my father at mile 92.

My next bike was a BSA Light Tourer, very similar to my Bianchi Volpe except for the Sturmey-Archer 3-speed and the straight handlebars. I was an asthmatic and was not allowed to have drops: I was furious because my younger bro had drops, rat-traps, and a 10-speed derailleur. I bought this partially with my own money at age 13: it cost UKPounds 17/10/-, or about $50. I rode that bike 170 miles a day for 3 days on one trip (1958), and 250 miles in 24-hours on another trip, after which I had a crook knee and had to abandon an attempt to ride around North Wales in 2 days and back home in a day (that would have been a 150-mile final leg)(March 1959).

Those were the days! These days I'm pushed to do 100-miles in a day fully loaded.:cry:

Hi Johnberry
Thanks for the reply. The Trek 8.5 DS has a remote lockout on the handlebar for the front suspension. I read a review and the rider said he used the feature often, it wasn't just a gimmick.

Thanks too Dnvrfox,
The Trek 8.5 DS is considered to be a hybrid I think, although it has the more agressive stance of a mtn bike I agree.

I guess my question here had to do with the fact I rode a true hybrid with Shimano 8 speed hub gears, big comfy seat and closer to road bike tyres. It was very comfortable and an easy ride. I just wondered that, when I get past the painful bit of riding (sore arse) and huffing and puffing, a bike like that might be a bit tame? That's why I started looking at something that might be a tad more versatile for trails etc like the Trek DS. The Trek wasn't nearly as comfortable up front but as we all know those early discomforts don't last forever. I guess I am feeling the look of the Trek DS is more suited to a younger, fitter rider than an old fart like me?

Wow, you really have immersed yourself into the bike culture. Nice. Good luck to you.

Get whatever bike really turns you on to bicycling. One that will sit inthe garage, begging you to ride it. Beyond that, it is personal preference. Nothing wring with having a hybrid AND a mtn bike!! :)

Noosa Heads
 

Hi, Crookneez:

No wonder your knees are crook - that's steep hilly country!:) I think the suspension lockout is great idea. My bro used to live in West Cooroy, out in one of the old depression-era Queenslanders. Goannas stealing the eggs and snakes in the plumbing. Then he moved up to Cairns to be closer to the folks. Right now he and his wife are in Fiji, 180-days into a trans-Pacific trip (Baja California to Cairns) on a 30-footer. Aussies rock!

You reckon a 70+ year-old can do the Cairns-to-Karumba ride? I'd love to try it, but the last time I tried to drive it it was all under construction, with traffic diverted into the bush, from Croydon to Karumba, and I ended up hitting a 'roo just short of Karumba. I wouldn't want to have been trying to ride it on a bike then, and I wouldn't want to do it unsupported ever, although I've seen a few blokes out there. I can't find the website for whoever runs that ride - just a bunch of photos on Facebook. I'd love to give it a go - give me a chance to see Innot Hot Springs again, where my folks lived for 25 years. John

Yeah JohnBerry, it's hilly alright and just the most beautiful place too. My knees are buggered because I used to jog for many years, and didn't stop when I injured them.

Wow, the ride from Cairns to (Kuranda or Karumba?) If it was to Kuranda, it is a hell of a hill (mountain). A bit like the alps in Switzerland. It'd be okay if you were Cadel Evans or Andy Schleck or maybe Contadore but it would be a hell of a challenge for an over 70 rider me would think.

Lucky brother you have there mate. Are you an ex Aussie or just a visitor to these shores from time to time?


UPDATE
I googled the ride and discovered it IS Cairns to Kurumba. http://www.ridefnq.com/pages/route1.html
Whew, helluva ride my friend. I reckon I'd be pooped after the first day after the ride up the mountain. I don't even have my bike yet so contemplating something like that is beyond comprehension. Good luck to you if you have a crack at it John. I can only dream. (My new bike should be between my legs around 12th November)

Crookneez:

I tried to answer you with a private message, but apparently I haven't posted enough messages yet so I haven't earned the right to send private messages. I therefore hope the rest of the group will have a little patience. Sorry, everybody!

I was born and raised in the UK, but have spent most of my adult life in the USA. My middle brother was a "ten-pound pom"(1960), then my parents emigrated to Oz (1971) and finally my youngest bro (1973). I have visited Oz about 20 times, and worked there as a consultant for 3 months on 3 separate occasions. I was widowed in 1985 and beginning to apply to emigrate to Oz in 1986 when I met my present wife.

So I suppose I'd consider myself a "Halfstralian" (but that doesn't buy me anything with Oz Immigration and Customs!)

John

Sounds an interesting life John, but I guess we shouldn't hijack this thread so if you'd like to chat shoot me an email at susie.tony(at)gmail.com
Cheers mate
Tony

I told my dealer my riding situation--mostly streets and some off road. He said get a Trek 7000 which I did and I have enjoyed it. I like riding in more of an upright posistion. I put a big Brooks saddle on it. At your age do you really go fast enough to warrant hydrulic disc brakes?

******************************?

What the heck does age have to do with speed?

"What the heck does age have to do with speed? "

If you go slower, when you fall down go boom it doesn't hurt so much!
Gave my bike to my kid, I just could not get comfortable on it.
Oh, and I am completely out of shape. Well, I do do have a shape. Round is a shape...<G>

Maybe now that's it's cooled off a bit here in Texas, I can find a different style bike.
Take care and ride safe.
mary

I hope you find a bike you like and that fits you. My wife is 74 next month and rides a hybrid. Lots of us 70+'rs like to ride FAST, especially downhill - by fast - for me, that is up to 40 mph, for others, 50 and 60 mph. Generally we don't fall down and go boom at these speeds. It is more liekly that we will fall down and go boom while standing still and failing to clip out of our shoe clipins on the bike.

I have ridden about 40,000 miles in the past 13 years, and never have fallen down and gone boom shile going fast.

Good luck and thanks for posting.

We're fast (and careful) on the tandem, but the darn thing is so stable that 45+ doesn't feel fast at all. Brakes are fine, but I wouldn't mind having a front disk. On my single I've seldom gone much over 40 mph, but my new road bike has disk brakes so I can see myself going faster in the future:D

I'm in, 68 :-)

Welcome curly. What took you so long? ;)

What bikes do you ride?