Reply #23: Okay, here're the opinions of a nearly-68yo F utility cyclist [View All]

[bean fidhleir]

1. Don't buy an offroad bike unless you plan to ride offroad over rocks and logs and similar *a lot*. If you're going to ride for utility on pavement, get a touring bike. They're no heavier, and they have more stable geometry. When you're carrying loaded panniers front and rear, stability is your friend.

2. Don't buy a department-store bike or any brand sold in one. Buy from a bike shop that sells nothing else.

3. Buy at least a mid-range model, because you want decent quality derailers, brakes, etc. so that they'll work smoothly and last a long time without constant readjusting. Frames and forks tend to be the same across models. Shimano Deore or the road equivalent (105?) is the lowest quality parts I'd go for. Consider getting disc brakes. They're heavier, but if you ride in all weathers as I do, they'll stop you even when you're going downhill in a downpour, a consummation devoutly to be wished. If you have the money, consider getting a geared hub instead of a derailer system - it's much less maintenance.

4. Be sure to test ride anything you're thinking of buying for at least 30 minutes without dismounting. The reason being, you want your bum and the seat to be a good match, especially for width. If the seat's not a good match to your bum, your girly bits get mashed and you won't ride.

5. All bikes are built for boys who fantasize that they're riding in the Tour de France or similar. That means they crouch over the top tube to be "aerodynamic" and other fantasies. Which means the damned top tubes are all too long. If you want to save your back, you'll ride as upright as possible, which means you have to figure out some way to virtually shorten the top tube. The way I did that on my winter bike (a 12yo Mongoose offroader from before Mongoose started selling through dept. stores) was riser bars mounted on a Kalloy adjustable stem tilted back toward me, stuck into a stem extender. It brings everything high enough and close enough so that I'm all set. So now I can load up my virtual packmule and pedal serenely along in comfort, enjoying every trip.

6. Don't get suckered into getting a "Woman-Specific Design". It's a lie and you'll regret it. They're not designed for women, they're designed for slightly smaller boys who fantasize that they're riding in the Tour de France or similar.

7. Get a GOOD lighting system. You *need* to be seen, especially in crappy weather, but you'll find you want to do your own seeing, too. I think you have technical skills, don't you? If so, you can make your own lights using some of the new high-power LEDs for much less money. They have a low power consumption and are very bright.

A safety vest like you used to wear at road accidents would be good too. Too many drivers are dimwits.

8. Get a good kickstand, not the standard cheap mid-body one. The kind that fastens to the chain and seat stays near the back axle is very stable. Also get full fenders (Planet Bike, SKS) unless you want a mud stripe up your back and front.

9. Get a good bell (Mirrycle or something like that make several very nice LOUD ones)

10. Get rain gear. Campmor sell a nice yellow and red rain cape designed specifically for cycling.

11. Consider buying a used steel bike (531 or so crome-moly tubing, not 1020 gas pipe) and retrofitting it rather than buying a new aluminum one. The feel is very different.

12. Consider buying a "mixte" frame. A mixte frame has no top tube. Instead it has two thin tubes that go straight back from the top of the head tube to the chainstay/seatstay junction. So a mixte frame appears to have 3 stays. There are also some variants on the mixte where the long stays are curved and so forth, but they're not true mixtes. Mixtes were made for about 50 years and are very graceful looking. They were considered "girl's bikes" in the US, but just very strong, easy-on-and-off bikes elsewhere. They're much stronger than the standard step-through "girl's bike", and some of them seemed to actually have been designed without boys uppermost in mind!

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