Now Here is a Reason to Buy a New/Lighter Bike
 

Background: I will hit age 68 this year and have been riding 5-10K miles per year for 2-3 years now. Not much before that except for a couple years in the 90's. I own a Bianchi EL/OS Nivacrom Steel road bike (that I bought in the 90's) and have upgraded to a Campy Chorus (2014) groupset, new wheels, pedals (Garmin Vector), saddle, and that is about it. Stripped down to 'how a bike is sold' (no meters, pedals, etc) it weighs in about 18 pounds. Hardly heavy but not light. And I am not kidding here - I have NEVER ridden another road bike of any size, shape, or form. No joke.

My garage is crowded so I keep the bike hanging from the ceiling where it is out of the way. I am developing rotator cuff issues in my shoulder and getting this thing on/off its hooks is becoming somewhat painful. So how about this for an excuse to buy a new/lighter bike!!

But the truth is that I like this bike, it has a measure of 'coolness' to it that $2-3K worth of new bike won't match, and I just like this bike. And I don't want another one (or if I did it would be an additional bike like a TT bike, but that hardly addresses the problem as I don't see myself turning a TT bike into my daily rider). I really don't even want to know that I would like some other bike better. And I can do the math and 2-3 fewer pounds is not zero, but it isn't some big deal either.

FWIW.

dave

Take it down and leave it down. Ride it. Sorry, but that's a lame reason to buy another bike, especially when you love the bike you already have.

Hopefully, this is clear from my post. But in my case I am not replacing this bike. But there is a space vs. pain trade-off here :-)

dave

If removing the bike from the ceiling is the problem, don't keep it on the ceiling. If there's no room, keep it inside, not in the garage. If there's no room inside, let it use your bedroom and you can sleep outside.

What kind of bike are you looking for?

Why don't you just take off the wheels before hanging? That's at least 4-5 pounds.

I feel you DaveLeeNC, even with all the innovation with bikes and such your old 90's bike is still cool and you are not seeing a good enough reason to buy a new one for $2-10K. Retro is cool though too! Enjoy your bike! Its not what you ride its enjoying the ride! Not sure what to tell you about the bike hanging part though. Build a bigger garage or build a shed?

Truthfully - other than lighter I am not looking at all. And I will almost certainly solve my problem some other way.

dave

ps. OTOH, a good TT bike (n+1 purchase) might make sense for the kind of stuff that I like to do. But for those bucks I would probably choose instead to upgrade my Eastman 905CE archtop guitar to a (even) wider fretboard custom something-or-other archtop guitar.

Of course it hangs from the wheels, but doesn't have to be that way, I guess.

First of all rotator cuff problems are kind of weird. I can let my right arm hang down and point my arm forward - no problem. Same thing except try to point to the right - painful. But I can pull my hand up right right side until my right hand is under my armpit and then point straight right - no pain. I have considered a pulley system that would rachet up the rear tire. From there I can (painfree) push the front up/over the other ceiling hanger (by doing that from the front of the bike).

I think this would work.

dave

I was going to suggest a hoist of some sort.

However, I also have been riding vintage Carbon Fiber with fairly modern components. Depending on your current bike, it does make a difference. And, I think it retains some of the coolness factor.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...2&d=1461792583

Assembled from parts, I don't have an exact estimate, but < $1500, I think.

Problem solved.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YgjGZ0mvBDg/hqdefault.jpg

This is the correct answer.

Garage Gator is certainly interesting.

In the meantime this is the bike, although I have since put different handlebars on it.

dave

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/x...psgodpwlnm.jpg
hang your bike on the wall, not on the ceiling.
It's so much more accessible and easy to deal with.
,
edit: Oh, and buy a lighter bike.

HUGE drop. :eek: Hurts just looking at it.

I'm just coming off rotator cuff surgery. Trust me: Get that bike down now and leave it down, or your surgery is closer than you think.

Tell me about a crowded garage.

7 bikes
3 pairs of spare wheels
1 car
1 spare engine and transmission
lawn equipment
workbench

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...701325_HDR.jpg

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r..._123824474.jpg

Living in Tucson, our garage gets hot... Really hot. My wife never had a problem with my metal framed bikes living in the garage, but when I went carbon fiber on my new bike, she suggested that bike live inside the house due to the garage heat.

You may end up in a similar situation if you go light, and a solution to your shoulder.

Btw, my CF bike stays in the garage, by my choice. It seems CF isn't bothered by that level of heat.

She was afraid it might ASSplode in the hot garage.

That is exactly right. She didn't me to ASSplode over it happening.

Considering the price of bikes these days, it might be better to buy a new shoulder instead.

@DaveLeeNC First congrats on all your yearly mileage, that's great. Second, and just as importantly, at this point in your life you shouldn't need an excuse to buy a new bike. Just go and do it.

I too have a torn right rotator cuff. Hoisting my bikes above my shoulders can be painful. Instead of doing a single-motion lift, I use my left arm to get one half of the bike up in the hook, then I use the same arm to lift the other half up in the hook. It is a bit cumbersome, but it works.

Good luck with your new bike!

upgrade your garage

Buy one of those $500 plastic sheds. Set it up outside and mover garage crap into it, making room in your garage to store the bike on the floor.