The hunt for a bicyle

[politicat]

18. Oh, yeah. Just spent two years doing that for my bike, and am in the process with my spouse.

So actually, I have a sort of flow chart for figuring out good bike/bad bike for a given person. I have a thing against road bikes -- they don't go anywhere but on roads so even with exceptional wheels, they get the bends if they look at much of a hole and that means no trails, and the crouched over posture is both really crappy for anyone with any sort of arm/shoulder/neck repetitive stress injury, and it provokes a hind-brain reaction that makes a significant percentage of drivers more aggressive and thus, more dangerous. (The crouch imitates the posture of a lower ranked primate submitting to a higher ranked one, so the driver's hind-brain interprets a cyclist as both lower-ranked and encroaching on territory, which is a Bad Idea.) OTOH, I live in Colorado, and on top of a coal seam, so everywhere I wanna go is uphill and down a trail. Also, the roadie culture here is full of jackwagons, so that could be coloring my opinion.

It took me three bikes to get to the one I'm likely to ride for the rest of my life. I would strongly suggest looking at a KHS hybrid (Brentwood, Westwood or TC-150. http://khsbicycles.com/category/2013-khs-models/comfort-hybrid-213/)

They're reasonably priced -- $200-600 at my local shop -- and they're well built. Sturdy welds, good factory equipment, and they're bike-shop bikes, so they usually come with a level of service, unlike Big Box bike-shaped objects. Hybrids have wider tires than roadies, so they're less likely to blow a tire going over a concrete seam or taco while rolling over a grate. They usually use straight bar (mountain bike style) handlebars, so they have a more up-right posture, which makes for better visibility and better eye-contact on the road. They're slower than a roadie, but unless you're looking to race, speed doesn't equal fitness. They keep their resale value, so if you decide in two years that you want something faster/lighter/et cetera, you can peddle it and won't lose much money. They ain't Rivendell, but then again, nothing is. They also don't need much service -- I give mine a spring tune, take the wheels into the shop to be trued (which is mostly me being cautious -- they've been consistently fine) and check the brakes and cables when I change the batteries in my lights.

If you're not hauling up and down stairs, then a steel frame is a fine choice because you won't be picking it up and carrying it often. For non-competitive stuff, a few extra ounces is no big deal. If you anticipate having to pick it up a lot, aluminum is lighter, and equally sturdy.

1. Where will the bike live when your butt is not in the saddle? (Garage? Hanging on your wall like a Marcel DuChamp? Keeled over on the lawn? Cluttering up the laundry room? Shed?) if you have space, then it doesn't matter, but if you don't, then you might want to look at a foldie. (Dynamic shaft foldies are amazing, and near zero maintenance, but a bit pricey. Origami Crickets/Cranes and Citizen foldies are cheaper, slightly higher maintenance, and still both light and compact.)

2. What's your climate? Snow, rain, mud, dust storms? You might want to spring for disc brakes if you've got lots of water -- they're more reliable in the wet. A good local shop can always replace the stock brakes (a big box can't.)

3. What's your local driving culture? Do you have bike lanes, or are those just suggestions? How about bike paths? What's your paving like -- do you actually get potholes fixed within 6-8 weeks or do they eat whole intersections? I think that commuter roads are the worst place for a returning cyclist to get their bike legs back, especially after years in a car. Our brains develop a program for driving and cycling is a new program overlaid on the same geography. If you've got the option of trails and suburban streets for your first year, you'll be in better shape if you decide the roads are where you need to be.

4. Wear what you want. Closed toe shoes are smart, as are pants, because road rash sucks, but there is no law saying you have to wear lycra and clip-shoes if you have a roadie. Clips are a bad idea anyway anywhere besides a velodrome -- if you have to put your feet down, that extra fraction of a second disconnecting from the pedal could mean the difference between startled cyclist and cyclist pizza. There are some really good helmets on the market that are more hat-like. Also, if you'll be out at night, light that sucker up. When you're approaching Dekotora, you can stop. Lights are to cycling what decibels are to motorcycles -- a way of letting the drivers know where you are.

5. How do you feel about maintenance? If you like tinkering, then great -- cycling will happily eat your time and money. But if you don't, or don't have time, or just want to be able to ride when the mood takes you, look at hybrids. Roadies are like old Jaguars -- precision instruments that get out of whack easily. (Old ten speeds were far less precise, so had higher tolerance for grit and grime.) Hybrids have a wider tolerance, so tend to be more reliable.

Spouse is getting a Westwood with some upgrades (rear rack and fenders, upgraded to disc brakes and different gears because he's a pedal masher, so his low gear is 4th for most people). Since I'm a regular at the shop, they loaned us a used 2011 model for him to ride for two weeks as a trial. It turned out to be a great bike for him, and handled his 7 mile (mostly up and down-hill trail) commute perfectly. He's been on a 15 year old Big Box POS for about 15 years, avoiding riding whenever he could, which really meant all the time unless I said that's how I wanted to spend a weekend morning, or I required the car (and even then, about half the time, I dropped him off at work instead of him riding.) With the Westwood, he rode daily, and enjoyed it.