So I'm gonna buy a bicycle

In My Humble Opinion
41

I tried a few out the other night, and I rather liked this one, the Giant Cypress LX. Any thoughts?

42

The disc brakes may be a bit much, and I’m not a fan of aluminum frames (I had one snap in half on me after 3 years of road riding), but it looks nice and sensible. I can’t tell from the specs or the photo if it has the brazing for a rear rack, but if it does, go for it.

43

As has been mentioned before, you probably want to skip the front suspension (and now the disc brakes) at this price point. You are better off spending money on better components and less frills. That said, the CYPRESS SX looks like a much better bike than the LX. Rigid fork, better components.

44
      • I just ordered a Sun EZ-Speedster CX.
        :smiley:
        All upright bikes are uncomfortable, it doesn’t matter if you spend $150 or $1500 on them, I know. I have.
        The same things are wrong with them all.
        You guys can have 'em.
        ~
45

Way to go! I’ve heard a lot of good things about this. I hope you’ll give us your impressions when you get it.

Me, I just sold my Trisled Kickback to pay for a Trisled Sorcerer. I expect it in a month or two - can’t wait! :smiley: :smiley:

46
      • Well the Sun came in–and after riding it a day, I can say pretty certainly that it is totally, completely, vastly more comfortable than any upright bike. About a week ago when I rode the bomber mountain bike (for the LAST TIME!!!) in about 20 minutes of riding, my butt hurt, my shoulders hurt, my hands were numb and my neck hurt (to be fair, this bike is a fairly high seat/low stem setup, semi-competitive geometry). And on that ride, I rode for 20 minutes, got off and walked for about ten minutes to alleviate the pain, and then rode back home, and hurt all over again.
  • After riding the Sun today for about an hour, the only thing that hurt at all was my lower back/kidneys area, and that was only a sense of pressure, not even really “pain” as such. I was basically riding non-stop the entire time, because–there was no reason to get off and walk! The Sun is at least as fast as I would have been on any upright bike, and there is simply no comparison in terms of riding comfort.
  • So if you want a totally-comfortable bicycle to ride, and can spend at least ~$500, at least two companies with bikes in that price range are Sun and Cycle Genius, and there’s a couple others that are online/mail order only that are in the same price range as well. The only two major downsides to these bikes is 1) that they are not good for hard off-road riding, and 2) that they are significantly longer than regular bicycles, which can make transporting them difficult. I have a Ford Explorer and my previous “normal” bikes fit in the rear area easily, after their front wheels were removed. With the Speedster laying in the back (with the whole back seat down) the pedals are nearly in the front seat with me (it is sticking forward between the front seats!), and removing the big rear wheel is such a hassle it’s not practical to do every time the bike needs transporting anywhere. Mine is a short-wheel-base bike; for any kind of long-wheel-base bike you would need to have a lponger vehicle than mine, or buy a vehicle bike rack–and you would have to make certain before buying the rack that it would fit your recumbent bike acceptably, as most racks are intended for upright bikes.
  • Tis a blast; We Are Quite Pleased. If you want to do comfortable bike riding, or you thought you didn’t like bicycle riding because it’s uncomfortable–try a recumbent. Cyclists unfamiliar with them point out how “recumbents weigh more than uprights”, which is true, but honestly–trading a few extra pounds of bike weight for near-total riding comfort is a pretty good deal, I have found. The steering/balancing takes some getting used to, but you will be amazed at how painless riding them is.
    ~
47

Kryptonite makes locking skewers for the wheels and seatpost, and they sell a security cable for the seat itself. Should be about $75.00 for the skewer set plus the cable. They’re wise investments if security is a problem where you’re locking up. Of course you’ll still need a U-lock, and Kryptonite makes those as well.

If you’re small like I am, mounting the U-lock holster to the frame can be problematic. TwoFish makes lockblocks, a set of three rubber pad/velcro strap devices that let you mount the U-lock across your handlebars.

An LED flasher is a good idea even if you never ride in utter darkness. A helmet is a must, of course, and good riding gloves are a great idea. A speedometer is a nice thing to have, but not necessary. Finally, some kind of wall hook from Home Depot to keep the bike out of the way when you store it at home is a great idea also.

I bought a KHS CX-100 cyclocross bike for about $700. It’sl like a road bike with knobby tires. I like the energy efficiency of the 700c wheels, which is much better than an MTB’s 26-inchers, but the knobby tires are a bit more sure in loose terrain. THE CX-100 also has rear suspension to take the edge off little bumps.

11811

48
      • Well the main argument I make for wearing a helmet (and using one myself) is that you can attach a mirror to the helmet, and then it is very easy to scan the road behind you without turning your head around–you just look a bit up and to the “mirror” side, and you can basically see directly in back of you, while also still watching directly in front of you. This is way,way,way safer than going without a mirror, and mirrors mounted on the bike handlebars don’t work because they vibrate too much. It makes riding an upright much easier, and I have found (not having a mirror at the moment) that it is basically necessary on a recumbent, because you can’t twist your upper body halfway around on one.
        …
  • Of course, then there are rear-view mirrors that clip to glasses… but I don’t tell people about those. <:D
    ~