What do you ride?

[LA Ute]

I saw this and thought of my UB5 cyclist buddies:

Montague Paratrooper Pro Folding Bike

paratrooper-pro-01-0613-de.jpg

The Montague Paratrooper Pro bike is built like a tank, folds like a Swiss Army knife, and weighs less than body armor. Backed by a DARPA grant, David Montague designed the original Paratrooper bike in 1997 to be used by the U.S. Marines. The result was a cycle that a paratrooper could unfold as soon as he hit the ground. The Paratrooper line hasn’t been changed much for civilian use, but the expanded line now includes the Paratrooper Pro, a bike that’s great for the daily commute but truly excels at extreme-terrain trail riding....

[chrisrenrut]

The School of Medicine has been pretty dead for a while. Hopefully people are still out there, being healthy in secret.

The triathlon my brother and I have been training for the past 9 months is just a couple of weeks away. I'm feeling pretty good about the swim, something I never thought I'd say. I won't be fast, but I won't drown either.

I have been trying to run, but stupid injuries keep hampering my efforts. I sprained my right ankle stepping on a rock one morning in May, and then the past few weeks I can't run more than 3 miles without getting a calf muscle strain in my left left leg. It's always in a slightly different place, and a compression sleeve doesn't seem to be helping. I am resigned to possibly walking part of the running portion, not because of lack of fitness, but due to calf pain.

The one thing I have been struggling with is getting time on my bike. I don't like going out early in the morning when it is dark, and riding at night hasn't been much of an option lately. So I decided to start commuting to work on my bike once or twice a week. It is 19 miles from my house in Centerville to my office west of the airport. Most of the way I am on the Legacy/Jordan River trail, so I feel pretty safe. Our building has showers, and I'll bring my work clothes to work the day before so I don't have to lug them on my back.

I am riding an old mountain bike (seen in the OP of this thread). I decided not to invest in a road bike until after the triathlon to see if it is something I want to continue doing, and see how my knees hold up. I tend to get tendonitis in my left knee especially, but I have been able to keep it under control pretty well by trying to spin smoothly on the pedals, and at a higher cadence than I used to use in my younger days.

I was having problems finding a street tire that worked well on my mountain bike. I tried some WTB slicks from Performance Cycle, but kept getting pinch flats or torn sidewalls. I finally found some Continental GatorSkins that fit a 26" wheel on Amazon. They have been amazing. There is so much less rolling resistance, and they look like a road bike tire (see pics below). The issue was getting them on. I struggled for hours, and couldn't get the last little bit over the rim. I pinched 4 tubes trying to use levers. I finally took them to a bike shop and paid them to put them on. It took 3 bike techs 45 minutes and 4 tubes as well to finally get them on. I felt a little bad paying them just $4 per tire. Luckily, GatorSkins are pretty flat resistant, many users claim they have gone 2,000 miles without a flat. It's a good thing, if I were to get a flat on a ride, there is no way I would be able to patch or change the tube.

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[Rocker Ute]

I finally found some Continental GatorSkins that fit a 26" wheel on Amazon. They have been amazing. There is so much less rolling resistance, and they look like a road bike tire (see pics below). The issue was getting them on. I struggled for hours, and couldn't get the last little bit over the rim. I pinched 4 tubes trying to use levers. I finally took them to a bike shop and paid them to put them on. It took 3 bike techs 45 minutes and 4 tubes as well to finally get them on. I felt a little bad paying them just $4 per tire. Luckily, GatorSkins are pretty flat resistant, many users claim they have gone 2,000 miles without a flat. It's a good thing, if I were to get a flat on a ride, there is no way I would be able to patch or change the tube.

Conti's are always hard to get on the first time, but will stretch so you should be able to get at least one side of with tire levers. Gator skins SHOULD be pretty good with flats, but I haven't had a tire yet that can with stand a heavy duty staple on the road.

[Brian]

I'm going to get my first bike soon. Ride it to work, and do some pleasure riding along the paved/dirt trails. Nothing rough, so I think a hybrid will suit me just fine.
I know ZERO about bikes, and I don't want to pay a lot of money. Maybe if I really get into it, I'll drop $1K on something down the road.

Would I be dumb to buy something like this online?

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/.../avenue_fb.htm

I'm not sure I really care about a perfectly sized bike. It's a 4-5 mile drive to work, and I just looking to green up my life a little, and get some more exercise.

[Rocker Ute]

I'm going to get my first bike soon. Ride it to work, and do some pleasure riding along the paved/dirt trails. Nothing rough, so I think a hybrid will suit me just fine.
I know ZERO about bikes, and I don't want to pay a lot of money. Maybe if I really get into it, I'll drop $1K on something down the road.

Would I be dumb to buy something like this online?

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/.../avenue_fb.htm

I'm not sure I really care about a perfectly sized bike. It's a 4-5 mile drive to work, and I just looking to green up my life a little, and get some more exercise.

The truth is a bike frame is a bike frame until you start getting up in the $$$ range, the question is about quality of components. The Shimano Sora components are the entry level for Shimano, I've never heard of C-star.

At that price range it is hard to go wrong, you aren't going to get cheaper. I always tell people to not spend a ton of money on their first bike because they won't know the difference and may not like it. If you end up liking it, then you'll figure out quickly what you like or don't like and you can get what you want.

My other advice is when it comes to recreational riding like you described, the places to 'splurge' are you contact points on a bike. So spend money on a seat, pedals and in this case handlebar grips. This is a compact frame, meaning they should be able to get one that reasonably fits you.

I would also recommend spending a little extra money to take it into a bike shop and have them help fit the bike for you once you get it. A bike that fits right will be a big determining factor after fitness in if you keep riding. I've seen people hate a bike and then have the seat put down a quarter inch and they loved it.

Finally, and this is important, since it is being shipped to you, I would have a bike mechanic look it over before you ride it to make sure it is put together right.

[Brian]

Thanks. That was my suspicion all along.
I'm hoping I really enjoy it and in a few years upgrade to something a little more custom.

[Brian]

Weather cooperated, and I made my first ride in to work this morning. 7 miles, a little longer that I thought.
My moon is sore. But I feel refreshed! We'll see how I feel in the morning....
A guy at work suggested a gel pad until i get used to the small seat. And to sit as far back as possible.