Doughy Guy and Doughy Guy Action Cycle each sold separately.

[Deep13]

My wife (Gizmonic) and I bought new bicycles last week in an effort to depudgify ourselves. The last time I went riding was in 1990 on my father's bike. I have since inherited it, but it is so rusted out that it could not be fixed. The bicycle I used as transportation before I could drive was a lemon even before I got it. It was a hand-me down from my aunt when I was 11 or something. The brand name was "Jason" and it was Japanese. At that time Japan had the same reputation for mechanical quality that China had in the 1990s. It was way too big then. By the time I had my license, it was a bit too small. Anyway it was made in the 1970s and weighed a ton. It had bizarre brakes made mostly of cable with non-standard brake shoes. I ended up retrofitting it with C-shaped metal calipers in common use in the '80s. It was a 10-speed but the front gear was stuck on the smaller size effectively making it a five-speed. It had this shitty friction generator for head and tail lights that never worked. It also had those weird racing-style handle bars and really thin tires. I removed the awkward pedal clips pretty quickly.

Despite its short-comings, I was pretty good at riding that thing and could control it with one hand.

Having endured that thing when I was a teenager, I was determined to get something this time around that was state of the art, sized for me and something that was not crap. I bought a Cannondale something or other from Eddie's in Akron. It is a hybrid configuration which apparently means something besides being gas-electric. It was made in America which is important to me. There were Chinese models about 20% cheaper but I was concerned about a frequently repeated phrase that surround the word 'Chinese' with 'typical' and 'crap.' I was looking for a ten-speed and was told that the simplest gearing they had was 21 speeds. While the old one had shifting levers on the frame, the new one has them built into the hand grips like a motorcycle with indicators that plainly displayed which gears are in use. The new bike has regular handle bars and fat tires with treads. I find the new bike a bit difficult to get on and off. The frame is my size and the seat is higher than I am used to using. Also, I don't have the lateral leg movement I used to have. Once on, however, it is quite comfortable. The cycle is very light being made of some kind of hardened aluminum.

Gizmonic already has a multigear bike she bought ten years ago. She bought a Townie which is made for relaxing casual riding. It keeps her in an upright seated position which she finds comfortable. It is a 3-speed with the gearing inside the rear hub. Also it is pink with fat, white-wall tires.

The old bike had a tire pump that was steel and fit between to points on the frame. The dealer tried to steer me to an automatic unit that inflates the tire with a CO2 canister. That seemed an awful lot like Fix-a-flat to me and I demurred opting for a tiny manual unit instead. When we picked out water-bottle brackets we were dismayed to see that they did not attach with metal straps like in the 1980s, but the frame had to be drilled and tapped so the bracket could screw directly onto it. After a few minutes we realized that bicycles now come from the factory pre-tapped for such accessories. While I would not have been caught dead wearing one in the 70s or 80s; we opted for some $60 styrofoam hats. Drivers around here suck and there is no abundance of consideration for cyclists.

Anyway, we went riding on the Towpath which once ran along side of the Erie Canal. It is now a hiking and cycling trail. We rode for about an hour. While I once felt comfortable riding down a New England hill at 20 mph with one hand where the handle bars attach to the vertical part, I now crept while holding on for dear life. My wrists ached and after an hour my fingers were numb. That was Saturday. I'm a little sore today. We will go again next weekend.

[AllegroRondo]

1. good choice on the Cannondale

they have a lifetime warranty on the frame and fork - the Chinese ones dont.

happy riding!

[happyslug]

2. Cannondale Hybrids are an excellent choice for a Bike

Cannondale, for all practical purposes, invented the Modern Aluminum bicycle. As such Cannondale and Trek have been the two premier bicycle makers since the 1970s (Schwinn, which had that title till the 1970s, after the 1970s went downhill and into Bankruptcy in 1992, Schwinn today is only a name put on bikes by Chinese bicycle factories). Aluminum is a "Stiffer" metal than steel and thus easier to pedal (70% of pedaling power can be absorbed by the bike frame, the stiffer the frame the less power is absorbed and thus easier to pedal).

As to the Components (i.e. the Crank, chain, brakes etc) these tend to be made overseas (Mostly Japan). Shimano is the main maker of Japanese Components (Through Sram out of California is moving up). Shimano had various grades of bike Components, the top two for Mountain/Hybrids are the XT and XTR groups. The XTR is twice the price of the XT groups, but is NOT twice as good. XTRs are used by professional racers who want that Extra edge, for most people XT components are better then they are cyclist (I have used both, and the XT will outperform MOST cyclists). With cheaper components I tend to use the bike to find the right gear and stay with it. Basically such cheap components do NOT switch gears quick enough to make much of a difference (Through Upper end, Shimno LS, XT and XTR groups and SRAM 7.0 and 9.0 groups, are another story, these change gears quickly as the grade on the road change as you cycle). When I used lower components I just found a gear and stayed with it, with upper end components I learn WHY gears exists other then to people a broad range to select the one they will use.

I mention Components in that as you improve your biking ability you may want to improve your bike. I would suggest going to XT components if and when you do so. Many cyclist, after cycling a while, see what is "Wrong" with their bike and upgrade them to be better bikes. Don't do it now, wait to see if you say with biking and if you do such upgrades will start to look better and better.

My observation as to the Three speed your wife picked up, such Internal hubs have one huge advantage over derailleur systems, you can change gear while standing still. On the tow path not much of an advantage, it is a huge advantage when waiting for a Red Light. Such internal hubs are heavier than Derailleur systems (and more Expensive if you want more than three gears), but the fact you can change gear while standing still is an advantage.

Pumps are another story. The problem with most bikes today is to get the best use out of them you should pump them up to the Maximum number on the Tire. That is hard for a portable unit, thus whenever I can I use a full size Floor pump. When I do get a flat on a trip i use my portable pump, but I know I will NEVER get it to the pressure I can with a Floor Pump so I just pump it up enough for me to get home.

Just some comments on two excellent choices for riding the tow path and comments about what you will see if you keep biking.

[Kali]

3. heh heh - nice descriptions

I started walking a week ago, just made it up the "Half Mile Hill" today - ugh. Even though I have been riding (horse) daily again for a couple of months, walking hurts for some reason. Probably because I never liked it. It will be a while before I can do a bike - they just DON'T make seats for an ass this size!

Daily swimming is soon though. Looking forward to that - much less gravity.