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I'm following this thread with some interest.I need desperately to start doing something to get a bit of exercise, and I keep thinking of getting a bicycle and giving it a shot. I rode quite a bit when I was a kid and a teen, but stopped after that. I bought a cheapo Mountain bike from Costco many years ago, but didn't like it very much - I lived out in the sticks and there was no place to ride. Now I live in a nice little community with great weather and planty of places to bike. I thought about a road bike, but yikes - $$$$$$.I finally figured out you could get a Mountain bike and put some more street friendly tires on (I would be doing 95% of my riding on pavement), but even a used decent Mountain bike seems to cost a fortune. (I've checked the local CL, and a decent used bike goes for north of $1k)I'll keep checking out this thread and see what comes out.
Low pressure tires warp the rims, for confort must use wider tires or suspension.
Here you go - get one of these Diamondbikes. Comfy ride. Since I got disc brakes last year, I would never go back to any other types of brakes.
20" that's kid sized, no? Besides, I think Folsom wants me to buy one of these and a pair of knee replacements.http://www.konaworld.com/unit.cfm
It sounds like MT bike fits you needs. but just word of advice. I dunno why people get MT bikes to ride on road. I personally think they suck for that purpose. I lot of people say they don't like the hunched over position of road bikes or the narrow saddles. Yes, both take getting used too, but WAY better on road. More aero, and believe me once you get above 15mph, aero matters a lot. Drag goes up as the square of speed.plus you are in a better position to pedal efficiently. Plus that narrow saddle Is actually better for your posterior than those wide cushy ones, once you adapt.A lot of people position their saddle too low. You want your leg nearly fully extended at bottom of stroke!Trail riding can be tough. I used to ride with a bunch of kids who came from BMX. They had great bike handling skills and would kick my butt. I never could figure out how to 'bunny hop' even with clip less pedals.Oh, best tip I got when riding narrow (single track) trails. Is look where you want to go....not at what you don't want to hit!! and when it gets rough.....go faster so you float over.Cycling is a blast. I used to ride 200+ miles a week. But then I got old and lazy.
BTW the proper way to judge saddles is to measure your sit bones. It's an awkward process where you lay on your back, kick your legs up over your shoulders as best as possible and look for the two bumps. That way you know which width of saddle you require. The most important factor is that, and then what you're talking about. My favorite saddle is the Selle Italia Flight Max, because it's the only one wide enough for my sit bones that also doesn't have excess soft tissue numbing cushion. Cushion is bad except for a very small bit. Shape and position is all. Unless you ride a recumbent...
Cool, I didn't know Specialized was doing that now. I sat on saddles that felt good for awhile but were not after a bit due to my wide sit bones. In all honesty I think the industry has been a bunch of toothpick sized assholes trying to make everyone live out their standards... I see this because soaking wet 130lb guys at bike shops try to tell me stuff like UN53 BB's pass friction tests as good as Campy's etc, but I bind them on a hill first ride... and have to explain what it's like and how they've never exerted big watts followed by big weight. Rarely do you see someone that choose a bike for around down drop the money for something that has lockout quality shocks on it! I knew a guy who bought a Bike's direct 29er. It sucked, but it was cheap... I would've shredded it.