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I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 8:36 pm
by GORDON
Because I need my kid to be more active and now we can go on long bike rides.

Bought it today so we could ride this weekend.

And now rain just popped up in the forecast for every day.

Eat a bag of dicks, weather.

I paid like $400 for it. I know a couple people who spend $6k+ for bicycles. What the.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:04 pm
by TheCatt
GORDON wrote: I know a couple people who spend $6k+ for bicycles. What the.
Totally worth it and watch your words :)

I've never paid more than $2k actually.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:05 pm
by GORDON
Break down in increments what each extra K gets you.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 10:15 pm
by TheCatt
GORDON wrote: Break down in increments what each extra K gets you.
Depends on the type of bike. But overall, it's just better components (more reliable, more features), and lighter weight. The cost -benefit gets geometric pretty quick. $2k was where I saw the most value. Road bike is carbon with fancy components; Mountain bike is full suspension with dropper post, hydraulic disc brakes, etc (but was used to get down to $2k range)

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 10:23 pm
by GORDON
Wild.

Mine has gears and shit.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 8:20 am
by TheCatt
GORDON wrote: Wild.

Mine has gears and shit.
Gears are good.

I raced yesterday for the first time in forever. I was predictably terrible, but I managed 8th out of 14th without dying.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 12:39 pm
by GORDON
Rode mine up and down the street last night, getting a feel for ol' girl.

I learned how to pop the chain off the sprocket by shifting gears wrong.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 12:52 pm
by TheCatt
GORDON wrote: I learned how to pop the chain off the sprocket by shifting gears wrong.
That... can happen, but should be pretty rare. Is this a new bike, or used? If new, you'll also need it adjusted around 100 miles as cables stretch out a bit.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 12:27 pm
by Leisher
GORDON wrote: Break down in increments what each extra K gets you.
Streamers.

That bell.

A basket with flowers on it.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 5:45 pm
by Cakedaddy
A clothes pin and card for the spokes.

A rope to pull your friends on their skate boards.

A tiny license plate with your name on it.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 5:54 pm
by TheCatt
I really want that last one on my race bike, now

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 6:21 pm
by GORDON
Maybe a chunk of that extra money gets you an Apple logo.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 6:42 pm
by Cakedaddy
On short trips around the block, etc, $400 = $2000. On longer trips, every ounce that $2000 saved you, every bit of effort the better shifter saves you becomes well worth it. If you never intend to do a challenging ride, then you won't miss the extra stuff. Or, if you are simply riding for exercise and want the 20 miles to be as hard as possible, you won't miss the extra stuff. I will often ride my mountain bike on smaller tours just so it's more of a workout.

When you are on mile 60 of a 65 mile tour with the temp reading 115+ on the blacktop, you are suffering advanced stages of heat stroke and dehydration because you kept a ridiculously stupid pace the first half of the ride, your lower end bike weighs about 10 pounds heavier for every $1 you saved on it and you envy everyone around you on their 6k bikes.

For the record, the following year I finished the tour 30 minutes faster, with no issues because I learned pacing. But really, the year before I was just trying to keep up with riders who were better than me, and that was stupid cause I knew it was going to fuck shit up. But I did it anyway, and it did.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 8:35 pm
by GORDON
Rode 40 miles today, there and back. On the way there, strong wind in my face, took us four hours to go 20 miles. I was definitely the weak rider, with my partner being my triathlon running girlfriend. The way back, wind at our back, two hours.

My longest ride previous to today was about ten miles.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 8:47 pm
by TheCatt
GORDON wrote: On the way there, strong wind in my face, took us four hours to go 20 miles. I was definitely the weak rider, with my partner being my triathlon running girlfriend. The way back, wind at our back, two hours.
Been there.

You're ass is going to be sore tomorrow, and not just from the strap-on

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 9:20 am
by GORDON
I.kept telling her about my achin' asshole. She offered to give me perspective.

Butt was hurting bad by mile ten. Butt not conditioned to a bike seat.

Mile 34ish, I put my folded up puncho in my pants. Helped a lot. Gordo had booty.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 9:39 am
by TheCatt
Bike shorts exist for a reason. They have "mountain biking" ones that look much more normal.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 9:44 am
by GORDON
Are those the ones with the padding built in?

Update: I'm surprisingly mobile, this morning. I have some soreness, but not as bad as I thought.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 9:58 am
by TheCatt
GORDON wrote: Are those the ones with the padding built in?
Yes. It's called a chamois. For my road bike, I wear lycra, and use a cream as well for long rides.

I just bought a bicycle!

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 3:18 pm
by Vince
I have a bike I haven't ridden in a while because the seat made my hemorrhoids bleed (talk about making me feel old). Any suggestions on a good seat for that for a mountain bike?