I put about 3500 miles a year on my bicycles.. good fun.. i put 1500 on my truck and about 3000 on my harley.. not sure why im still fat.. must be the beer and pizza..
First off, I did not expect this much response from my fellow cultists. I thought all I'd get is a "bicycles are for hipsters blah blah blah" and that would be the extent of it. Thank you all for the great advice, I do appreciate it.
I am currently stationed in Germany and I don't think I can ride anything with a motor, no matter how small, without a license. I won't get that back for at least a year. The Army is really cracking down on DUIs so I will probably be getting discharged as well. My wife just signed up yesterday for college so now we are another $30k in the hole, so a cheap form of transportation is all I needed.
I'm not looking for a new bike yet since I just bought this one new from the PX. Unfortunately it was a floor model because that's all they sell at my little PX and it's been ridden around in the store by clowns goofing around. I took it to my local Outdoor Recreation office to get tuned up and checked out, and their mech said whoever put it together is an idiot and I will hafta be extra vigilant on cleanliness and maintenance because it's a cheaply made bike. I kinda knew that I was getting what I paid for when I bought the $99 bike instead of the $600 Cannondale road bike. That's way too far outside my budget lol. I will ride as much as possible and put as many miles on this damned thing as I can though. Thanks for all the input!
As to the original question.. the guy above me who rode the shit out of a huffy nailed it... a bike is a bike as long as your not looking for a race bike wether it be: road, mountain, Xcountry, bmx etc...
Bikes are fun.
Aww shucks thanks Brent. i'm a 2 wheeled fanatic, and I love my Easton carbon tubed Trek, but my baby is the K2 Razorback that never made it into production. Fox pull shock with lock out, Noleen Vector linkage up front. My point being with an inexpensive bike is that it only took 1500 miles (the Seattle to Portland ride was what killed the Huffy in the end) to have a cheap bike cost as much as a lower end quality bike without all the bells and whistles.
Everyone is going to have an opinion about what brand, type of frame material or style of bike is best just like motorcycles. When and if it comes time to upgrade from what you're riding see if you can try a few different styles out. Road bikes can be wicked fast and efficient but fragile when the turf gets dicy, Mountain bikes are tough as nails and can be set up to do well on streets but will never match a road bikes speed. Then there is commuter/hybrid/comfort types they are the bastard children of procreating road and mountain bikes. Some have 700cm wheels that are fast and skinny but allow you to sit more comfortably or ones that can be used more aggressively with out regard for comfort a city street road warrior built with bike messengers in mind using strong mountain bike components, might even have disk brakes and some suspension on a stronger 700cm wheel set (my next bike will be one of these) or they could be running the standard 26" mountain bike size wheel with smoother tires and relaxed geometry to comfortably cruise bike paths with the kids.
I may be screwing this up but Keith Bontrager (forges bicycles with his bare hands in the fires of Mordore for cycling gods) once said "You can have strong, light and inexpensive now pick two."
Frame materials 101:
STEEL Inexpensive, strong, high quality chromoly steel has compliant ride characteristics similar to magic titanium, but without the cost, but its a little heavier than aluminum and it can rust.
ALUMINUM Inexpensive, light but it can be brittle, absolutely uncompliant ride, you will feel EVERY bump, pebble, paint strip on the road.
EXOTICS Unobtanium, expensive exotic not cheap! This would be things like Carbon fiber, titanium, scandium, magnesium etc. All of these things ride like a magic carpet and will pedal themselves when you are tired, will never rust, scratch, dent or corrode. They are pure fucking magic. Really all the hype isn't all that, its paying for some marginal improvement over traditional materials. A little bit lighter, or a little more durable maybe even a little bit more flexible in the case of some titanium alloys. But for these improvements the cost may be huge. A high quality steel or aluminum frame may be $400 where as to build the exact same frame out of unobtanium may run up to $1200-2000 depending on which exotic material you choose.
If I had a limited budget and could only have 1 bike I would want the absolute best bike for my money and I would chose steel for the frame, a strong 700cm hybrid touring wheel set to run slightly wider than road bike tires on, a triple chain ring on the front, mountain bike components (LX) a Scott ATB4 handle bar (I have one waiting for such a bike) V style brakes and a nice comfortable seat. Suspension seat post or suspension fork would be kind of hit and miss depending on whats out there, I've been out of the business for about 12 years.
So now that I've learned a little more about compnents I gotta ask, do I hafta get those bright yellow shirts and spandex shorts? I'm not opposed to it but I wanna know if they are worth it. Going to and from work I ride in gym shorts and a tshirt to the gym where I shower and put on my uniform. SInce I'm in Germany I can't ride off post in uniform so I hafta change back into the gym clothes when I ride home.
hahah..... if your commute is not like 20 plus miles then I say you will be ok with some chonies and shorts, pants... whatever.... anything over that... might deal with some chaffing... ha. I usually only wear Lycra gear if im doing over like 30 miles.. but my ass and taint is tough as nails!! Its not all bright yellow by the way... I got sponsored by a local Lexus dealership and I designed our uniforms .. there pretty sleek!!
SORRY about the total ass in your face shot.. ha !!
I ride every day... no spandex for me. However, I do own a pair of "baggies" which have a spandex inner and a baggy type of shorts on the outer so they look like normal shorts. The spandex inner is sewn to the inside so they are one unit. They also have a little padding in the ass as well.
Depends on if you chaff easily or not. Long hot rides you may wish you had the spandex stuff on.
Aww shucks thanks Brent. i'm a 2 wheeled fanatic, and I love my Easton carbon tubed Trek, but my baby is the K2 Razorback that never made it into production. Fox pull shock with lock out, Noleen Vector linkage up front. My point being with an inexpensive bike is that it only took 1500 miles (the Seattle to Portland ride was what killed the Huffy in the end) to have a cheap bike cost as much as a lower end quality bike without all the bells and whistles.
Everyone is going to have an opinion about what brand, type of frame material or style of bike is best just like motorcycles. When and if it comes time to upgrade from what you're riding see if you can try a few different styles out. Road bikes can be wicked fast and efficient but fragile when the turf gets dicy, Mountain bikes are tough as nails and can be set up to do well on streets but will never match a road bikes speed. Then there is commuter/hybrid/comfort types they are the bastard children of procreating road and mountain bikes. Some have 700cm wheels that are fast and skinny but allow you to sit more comfortably or ones that can be used more aggressively with out regard for comfort a city street road warrior built with bike messengers in mind using strong mountain bike components, might even have disk brakes and some suspension on a stronger 700cm wheel set (my next bike will be one of these) or they could be running the standard 26" mountain bike size wheel with smoother tires and relaxed geometry to comfortably cruise bike paths with the kids.
I may be screwing this up but Keith Bontrager (forges bicycles with his bare hands in the fires of Mordore for cycling gods) once said "You can have strong, light and inexpensive now pick two."
Frame materials 101:
STEEL Inexpensive, strong, high quality chromoly steel has compliant ride characteristics similar to magic titanium, but without the cost, but its a little heavier than aluminum and it can rust.
ALUMINUM Inexpensive, light but it can be brittle, absolutely uncompliant ride, you will feel EVERY bump, pebble, paint strip on the road.
EXOTICS Unobtanium, expensive exotic not cheap! This would be things like Carbon fiber, titanium, scandium, magnesium etc. All of these things ride like a magic carpet and will pedal themselves when you are tired, will never rust, scratch, dent or corrode. They are pure fucking magic. Really all the hype isn't all that, its paying for some marginal improvement over traditional materials. A little bit lighter, or a little more durable maybe even a little bit more flexible in the case of some titanium alloys. But for these improvements the cost may be huge. A high quality steel or aluminum frame may be $400 where as to build the exact same frame out of unobtanium may run up to $1200-2000 depending on which exotic material you choose.
If I had a limited budget and could only have 1 bike I would want the absolute best bike for my money and I would chose steel for the frame, a strong 700cm hybrid touring wheel set to run slightly wider than road bike tires on, a triple chain ring on the front, mountain bike components (LX) a Scott ATB4 handle bar (I have one waiting for such a bike) V style brakes and a nice comfortable seat. Suspension seat post or suspension fork would be kind of hit and miss depending on whats out there, I've been out of the business for about 12 years.
dud I've been looking for a skinny tire road bike to convert to single speed or maybe even fixed gear. don't hate fixes because hipsters ruined them for everyone else i used to fuck around on the ones at my old shop when i bmxed and they were fun as fuck and actually easier to ride long distances since your constantly pedaling and keeping your momentum up. in short, don't hate an inatimant object, hate the douches that ruin them for everyone else
Now this is going to sound totally hipster but back in the day before fixies were a big trend a friend of mine had a couple velodrome race bikes (single speed fixed gear) that we would go bar hopping on (circa 1996ish) it was a riot when wanabe cycling afictionados would hoist a leg over one and take it for a spin around the block, they were totally oblivious as to how to stop the thing and a good majority would get launched off the bike trying to stop before going through the intersection. Funny shit.
Ok next subject cycling gear. These 2 are a no brainer HELMET and GLOVES I cannont stress this enough, I used to hate wearing a helmet and the only reason I did is if I was doing a ride that made it manditory. I was training to do the Seattle Wa to Portland Or (STP in bike geek speak) in a single day and no helmet = no ride, I figured that I should get used to wearing one and started to train with one on. I'd be eating out of a tube and have the IQ of a high grade moron if I was lucky after I got hit in a bike lane by a lumber truck about 3 or 4 days after I started training. Went down doing 25+ mph head hit the curb cracked the helmet, lights went out and I lost recollection of the last semester in college. I had finished the semester but still had to pick up a couple projects from professors after they had been graded. One day I was handed a portfolio of work I didn't recognize and was told it was mine. I was numb for about a week when I went home read it all still not believing I had written it till I found the saved copies on my computer.
Ok enough about that. Helmets - light, and well vented, visor/no visor is up to you, just wear one. Gloves - full finger coverage or nothing, those 1/2 gloves are useless, make sure the palm is made of good leather or synthetic and that the glove as a whole breathes well. I actually use Mechanics anti vibration gloves and love them. Padding preference in the gloves is up to you, I hate padding, thin is better then thick in my opinion.
Clothing - layers are king, you can always take off and put back on anything you layer, the trick is to allow your body to perspire and not trap the moisture against you, its just nasty and if it gets warm you'll over heat. There are some really good synthetics that don't all come in gay-glow colors and funky designs. I don't like lycra/spandex multi colored team stuff, I ride to ride, and I don't give a shit who wears what or anything like that. Wool wool wool! Wool is some good stuff, it breathes it's warm and it is good, not all wool is itchy.
Shorts; this is another personal preference, I don't like lycra skin tight bike shorts and I also hate padding, if you have a good seat you do not need any of this. My personal favorite set up is a good compression short or boxer brief under some stretchy baggy under armor shorts. You'll get the hang of it as you go, but bad underwear sucks if it bunches, chafes or rubs you wrong.
Socks; I used to have a sock fetish, most cyclists kind of do, there are a bout a zillion cool looking designs floating around that are breathable thin and are teh sexy. Favorite brands are De Feet, and Smartwool.
Shoes: Toe clips or clipless pedals are the way to go period, no exceptions, they are more efficient. Toe clips if they are set up right are easy enough to get your feet out but a hassle sometimes to get them back in if you stop frequently, I like the Crank Bro's pedals best so I use the small SPD type pedals, those big ass clip in roady things are aweful and will fuck your knees up like no tomorrow if you set them up wrong.
Crap gotta run van pool is here.... to be continued.....
If single speeds are a spartan mans ride a real velodrome bike is masochists dream machine. I can't think of a more self loathing rendition of dogma than continuously grinding on a fixed gear for anything other than a test of shear leg powered manliness on a banked track. FTS given a choice I'd take a single speed over a fixed gear, and a multi speed over a single and a mountain bike over a road bike. I used to be a cycling dirt bag. $3800 mountain bike $2100 road bike and a $500 POS Mazda I bought at an auction. It was the first car I owned in 5 years, and I had it for less than a year before getting stationed in Japan and scoring a $1200 Cannonfail for $350, and it took another year after I got back in the states for me to buy another vehicle 1955 Willys, and that was to make it easier to get to cool places to ride. (ok maybe not 100% true that little CJ was a beastie)
My brother is currently Circumnavigating the United States by bicycle. He started his trip in Seattle WA. on Dec. 31 and has ridden over 4500 miles, currently in Savannah GA. He has a blog that he updates daily thats a pretty good read. Backtotheblessed.blogspot.com
i'm a 2 wheeled fanatic, and I love my Easton carbon tubed Trek, but my baby is the K2 Razorback that never made it into production. Fox pull shock with lock out, Noleen Vector linkage up front. My point being with an inexpensive bike is that it only took 1500 miles (the Seattle to Portland ride was what killed the Huffy in the end) to have a cheap bike cost as much as a lower end quality bike without all the bells and whistles. 
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