Help me shop for a bike

In My Humble Opinion
41

Girl bicyclist here. With the seats, the ones with big fat asses will look tempting-- don’t do it. Somehow big huge fat cushy ones rub against your legs too much and cut off your circulation and all is very bad. You will get used to your seat in a couple of weeks–trust me (I also refuse to get into the recumbent issue. I am personally more used to the upright, and anything but a very long-base recumbent feels too twitchy for me and makes me nervous, comfortable as they may be. Keep them in mind when you start thinking about an upgrade-- there is a reason that these zealots are out there). Padded shorts will help-- maybe just get the ones with the chamois pad, since the ones with liquid gel and such sort of explode in the dryer when you forget that they went into the laundry.

I have a seat by a company called Terry which is glorious-- the middle of the front part is cut away completely so your sensitive bits don’t really get sat on-- weight stays on your ass bones where it belongs. They look sort of creepy, but man, they work well. I think various companies use these now. Also good for guys worried about their weenies.

While I’ve been biking for years I still prefer toeclips and street shoes for normal tooling around-- I’ll put on cleats and clipless for huge epic rides (30 miles+). I also have a pair of bike shoes that I haven’t put cleats in-- they have very solid soles so they don’t bend when you pedal (more power transfer) but I don’t feel like a goon wearing them around campus (normal colors).

Yes, you want a brain-bucket. They suck much much less than they used to-- they are light and fit correctly and comfortably, and you’ve invested too much in your brain to wind up with it all over the road.
Padded gloves are a good idea, too. Oh, one thing no one’s mentioned that I noticed is lights. Get a red blinky one for the back and a white light for the front and leave at least the back one an all the time-- when it gets later in the year and it gets dark earlier. . . You know. The front light might not help you see much, especially on the road where there are street lights anyway, but the important point is that CARS see YOU.

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      • Both men and women suffer problems with tiny conventional upright bicycle seats. The reason they wear padded shorts is because those tiny seats are so gosh-darned comfortble! :smiley:

Recumbent riders (male and female) do not wear padded shorts–they don’t need to.
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43

Ok, again on the tush.
One of the cool seats with a space cut out for the sensitive bits
Padded shorts
Stand on the pedals for a few seconds each minute-- even this much will help, like when you are headed downhill just level the pedals out and support your weight with your legs for a moment.
A big chunk of prok chop in yer pants (works for the pros)

(I like recumbents. I like some recumbent riders. Let’s not make this poor woman’s thread into a PC-Mac war. Recumbent guys, upright guys, no reason to slag on the other. Evangelize a bit, but let’s be civil now. You’re bike riders-- you’re better than this silliness. As someone already said, the real enemy is THE CAR. An upright, or a recumbent, is better than a Hummer)

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Doug,

A memo went out not to turn this thread into a recumbent vs. upright debate. If you didn’t get it, I’ll be happy to forward it to you.

Dag Otto

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      • Well see that’s the funny part–the OP asked about specific bikes and if comfort is your primary concern, there really is no debate. There are at least a couple other people here into recumbent riding, at least one more than I; if I had said anything obviously false I’d bet they’d have pointed it out.

  • Most of the upright bikes purchased by adults in the US sit and collect dust; they probably lose their tires to dry-rot more than road wear. And I feel qualified to say–I used to have only upright bikes, the later ones cost $1500-$2000. And none of them were as comforrtable to ride as the bike I have now. Yes uprights are more common, yes they cost less–but in the end (tee-hee), what’s a better deal? A cheaper uncomfortable bike you won’t ride, or a comfortable, more-expensive one you will?
    ~

46

Instead of looking at how soft the saddle is, you may have better luck looking at how wide it is. They market women-specific saddles, which are wider to reflect women’s generally wider hips. I’ve been told that firm saddles are actually more comfortable over time than soft ones. I’m not sure I buy that. Also, having the bike properly fit, including fore-aft positioning of the saddle, should go toward putting you in the proper position on the saddle, which will make you more comfortable.

11811

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'kinell DougC, are you on a retainer or something? Maybe you get a finders fee for every newbie cyclist you hoodwink into the cult of the 'bent?

Anyhow, I admire your zeal. Don’t stop with road bikes though; I’m thinking of getting a second mountain bike for some local gnarly-ass trails, but this thread has got me thinking what I really need is an off-road 'bent! Y’know, cos of the comfort and aerodynamics. :slight_smile:

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A few opinions:

First, Trunk has a really good point about frame geometry. I wouldn’t be too worried about making assumptions based upon the shape of the traingle, though…ask a person at the bike shop to make some suggestions on what you want. Do you want to be bent-over for a good deal of the time? Then you want a longer geometry. If you’d rather be more upright, a shorter geometry.

Think hard about the saddle. Again, Trunk (why am I even writing this, then?) mentions that softer doesn’t always equal better. I prefer a harder saddle, as I like the bones sitting on the saddle. To add to it, I have a aluminum frame, so the “road buzz” can get intense. That’s why I stay off-road! :slight_smile:

As far as bike shops…I’ve bought about 3 decent bikes in my lifetime, and all have been from shops. It’s a certain type of person who opens/owns a bike store, and I have found them to be invariably (no hyperbole there) helpful. As far as a fitting, most will give you a fitting gratis while you’re there.

My first real bike was a Giant mountain bike (Iguana). GREAT bike. It lasted a long time, rode very well, and needed little maintenance (outside of my own).

I don’t know what riding you’re going to do, but my first thought is to suggest a mountain bike. Unless you’re riding a long way on pavement, those knobbies aren’t going to drag too much. They’re generally upright, and you can get a very nice one (here in Chi-town at least) for around $250.

You should also get some free stuff. A lot of places offer a freebie helmet -or- a free lock/water bottle/hat…or something similar.

Recumbents? Havign seen a LOT of them (lakeside in Chicago), I don’t see the same maneuverability, or the same reaction times from riders (coudl be the sandles, though).

Also, no clip-pedals at first. No stupid shoe cages, either.

My $0.02.

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      • Well they do make them, but they are expen$ive and I got nowhere convenient to ride off-road. -But do note: technical off-road is not the type of riding the OP described.

Tell you what: you start a thread asking “What Cheap Bike Should I Buy To Bury In The Garage And Never Ride” and we will all be able to agree on something here. :wink:
~

50

Hell, Myler, I’m running out and getting a 'bent for observed trials! Ot Pi, watch out!

(I think Bike E used to make an off-road 'bent. Dirt Rag loved it-- reviewer said it was like riding on his couch)

51

Well, I greatly appreciate the general heads-up on what topic not to bring up should I accidentally find myself in the bike set. :wink: