Thoughts on Bicycles

Gather App
Guns.com Vault
Kevin

Kevin

🆒
Bronze Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2007
Messages
11,858
City & State/Province
Dallas, TX
I am finally facing the reality that I need to get in shape. Better shape I should say. I'm not that bad. Anyway, I've always found bicycles are great exercise. I've got a couple bikes. Old though. My last new bike besides the neighborhood cruiser is from 2015.

I've always liked steel framed bikes. Know what the latest and greatest thing in bikes is? Wireless, electric shifting. It's exactly that. You shift the same with your hand, and the gears shift like they always have with the derailleur on the chain, only it's wireless and electric.

I can only imagine "they" will want to make this some sort of monthly subscription. They could install some sort of cell phone receiver to download updates of some kind. You would have an account online to check your stats, distance etc.

But anyway, I will not have that. Too much trouble, and I'm not that serious of a rider.

Anyway, I also think back to the nice bikes I've had and gotten rid of. The way some of y'all talk about guns you used to have but sold for some reason or another. In high school, I had a steel framed Viscount. A British, steel framed racing bike, and yep, highly collectable today. Mine was blue. Then in college I had a steel framed Specialized mountain bike. We moved and I gave it away. The other day I looked on Ebay, they are going for $600 to $800.

I'm glad I never had a nice car in high school. Then I'd really be kicking myself. :)

I did actually find a bike and am going to go get it today. It's a Jamis brand steel framed "gravel" bike. They are a new-ish class of bikes half way between road and mountain bike. Pretty cool, it has disc brakes, which will be fun. I've never had a bike with disc brakes before. I figured with a new bike I will feel guilty if I don't use it.
 
Not sure what your budget is, Electronic shifting is generally a high price point item. At least $1.5k if not higher.

I just gave away two bikes. One was a Cannondale aluminum frame essentially a commuter, but a very good one. The other a custom build road bike by a bike shop tech in the 90's. That one was really nice. Giordana frame and Campy derailleurs and shifters on the brake levers. Light, fast, responsive. I'll miss that one, but I'm just too old now. If I were to fall, it would be all over. And the riding position is impossible for me.

But I'll sure miss them.
 
My wife and I got into riding bikes again probably around 1991 or so. We bought a pair of 10 speed bikes, don't remember the name. We rode them for a bit and wound up getting a pair of recumbant bikes, Bike-E's. What you sat on was more like a low lawn chair. They were comfortable enough but had small tires, 20 inchers, and they were squirrelly to ride. Neither of us ever had a bad accident but we had several friends who did. We finally aged out and quit riding altogether.
 
I have a very nice Electra Townie cruiser bicycle. I rode it regularly for many years, but I have slowed up. Worse than that, I've stopped altogether. I worry, just one slow speed rollover could cripple me.

Otherwise, I always enjoyed bicycling and I miss it.

Funny, in my younger days, bicycling was was easy and didn't seem like exercise. Later, I could huff and puff with the slightest hill.:rolleyes:





.
 
Last edited:
HIkayer said:
Not sure what your budget is, Electronic shifting is generally a high price point item. At least $1.5k if not higher.

I just gave away two bikes. One was a Cannondale aluminum frame essentially a commuter, but a very good one. The other a custom build road bike by a bike shop tech in the 90's. That one was really nice. Giordana frame and Campy derailleurs and shifters on the brake levers. Light, fast, responsive. I'll miss that one, but I'm just too old now. If I were to fall, it would be all over. And the riding position is impossible for me.

But I'll sure miss them.
Click to expand...
Bicycles can be incredibly expensive. Go into any bike store and they have multi thousand dollar bikes. The one I found was on sale for 20% off. I think it was from 2025. It's different though. It has the shifters on the brake levers. My other bike is a Novara Randonee from REI. It's very nice. It has bar end shifters and a 30 speed gearing. Very smooth. So this new bike is going to take some time to get used too. But it's nice. It's got wider tires so the ride is a little smoother.

Around here there is a charity called "Spokes for Folks." I've donated several bikes to them. The last time, I gave them a very nice Specialized mountain bike. One of those with front shocks and 29 inch tires. I used to ride it over in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania in the Poconos. There was a trail system that is built on an old train line. You can ride all day in one direction and they had busses that would shuttle you back to your car. That was so cool.

Anyway, I gave that bike to the Spokes For Folks, and they told me later it went to a disabled Vet. It was in great condition, I just didn't have room for it anymore. That and there is nowhere close to go riding on unpaved roads.
 
Some years ago, I had a bike I bought in a Pawn Shop for a low price; had a gear shift and could be set for easy riding or speed/distance, Rode it 31 miles a day when I was looking to lose weight before some surgery. Got down from around 230 pounds to 185 and then figured out that muscles weigh more or as much as fat,. The Doctor was happy with 185. Ashley and I use to ride weekends at the local bike parks,
Finally sold it for more than I paid for it when I gave up biking.
 
thumbnail.jpg
 
That reminds me that the "law" requires that you ride your bike on the right side of the road along with TRAFFIC going in the same direction ! I ALWAYS FELT "URINATE " on the law and would ride on the opposite side of the road FACING TRAFFIC (like a pedestrian) because that way I could see some moron aiming his auto at me and NOT get taken by surprise.
 
Kevin said:
Great pic! That's you I assume?
Click to expand...
Yep that's me.
And the little guy riding with me is now well over 6 feet tall. I used to ride with him a lot, up until electronic interests displaced his interest in bicycling with Grampa. I think that's when I mostly stopped riding.



.
 
Last edited:
My youngest granddaughter loves to go for bike rides. I used to be able to walk along side her while she rode, but she is too fast for that now so I mounted one of their 15 speed, or was it 18 speed, bikes and rode with her a few times this summer. I need to get a wider seat because my azz hurts after a few minutes on that skinny thing and she likes to go on longer rides.
 
Y'all should visit Greenville S.C. it is now a bikers mecca .... somebody realized we had all these unused train tracks in town that used to supply the various cotton mills and now there is a major bike, walking, trail not only through town but up to several towns above.. they are even making an extension out to the "Millinium Center" where Clemson and BMW are designing the cars fo the future...

I had one too many speeding tickets back in 1980 and road a bike here in town for just under 3 years... this was before it was popular.... bounced off more than one car and I never thought it was that healthy... with breathing all the car exhaust.... even did an Alaskan roll one time... but not on purpose... finally went back to driving after I hit some wet leaves and the first thing that hit the pavement was my face....I was damn good looking before that, now just good looking, in retrospect ... a week after that crash I got a vasectomy (24 years old) and that kind of delayed my returning to biking for a while too..... never went back.
 
blume357 said:
Y'all should visit Greenville S.C. it is now a bikers mecca .... somebody realized we had all these unused train tracks in town that used to supply the various cotton mills and now there is a major bike, walking, trail not only through town but up to several towns above.. they are even making an extension out to the "Millinium Center" where Clemson and BMW are designing the cars fo the future...

I had one too many speeding tickets back in 1980 and road a bike here in town for just under 3 years... this was before it was popular.... bounced off more than one car and I never thought it was that healthy... with breathing all the car exhaust.... even did an Alaskan roll one time... but not on purpose... finally went back to driving after I hit some wet leaves and the first thing that hit the pavement was my face....I was damn good looking before that, now just good looking, in retrospect ... a week after that crash I got a vasectomy (24 years old) and that kind of delayed my returning to biking for a while too..... never went back.
Click to expand...
I love the train tracks that have been turned into bike and hike paths.

I just got home from a 10 mile ride. It’s a paved bike path but still fun.

When we lived in Boise I commuted by bike on nice weather days. I think it was about 7 miles to work.
 
Kevin said:
I've always liked steel framed bikes. Know what the latest and greatest thing in bikes is? Wireless, electric shifting. It's exactly that. You shift the same with your hand, and the gears shift like they always have with the derailleur on the chain, only it's wireless and electric.
Click to expand...

I could see that system crapping out when your 50 miles from home.
 
I used to enjoy cycling. My wife had a ten speed that had belonged to her first husband. I found the biggest granny gear on the planet and had that installed. Got a nice comfort seat and put straight handlebars on it.

First time I went out I said to my wife, "I'll be back in an hour or two." I made it about fifteen minutes. LOL.

Eventually, my son and I would go out and do about fifty miles on a Saturday.

I stopped cycling when I tore up a knee.
 
Bicycling is one of the two forms of aerobic exercise that I have ever enjoyed, in-line skating being the other.

Finding a good local bike shop (if such a thing exists, near you) can be well worth your time. Advice, help fine-tuning "fit," maintenance when you can't quite get your derailleur shifting the way you'd like, etc.

Bikes don't tend to hold their value very well, because they're always changing, and the used market is full of examples purchased by well-intentioned buyers who ride them once, then park them.

Sitting on the saddle isn't as much fun as it used to be, though. As a "big 'ol boy," after twenty miles I'm ready to be standing up, for a while!

Trying out a couple of new saddles, one of which doesn't have much "horn" (my term) in front of the seat post. Initial rides have given me high hopes for continued/improving comfort! 👍
 
Uncle Howie said:
Bicycling is one of the two forms of aerobic exercise that I have ever enjoyed, in-line skating being the other.

Finding a good local bike shop (if such a thing exists, near you) can be well worth your time. Advice, help fine-tuning "fit," maintenance when you can't quite get your derailleur shifting the way you'd like, etc.

Bikes don't tend to hold their value very well, because they're always changing, and the used market is full of examples purchased by well-intentioned buyers who ride them once, then park them.

Sitting on the saddle isn't as much fun as it used to be, though. As a "big 'ol boy," after twenty miles I'm ready to be standing up, for a while!

Trying out a couple of new saddles, one of which doesn't have much "horn" (my term) in front of the seat post. Initial rides have given me high hopes for continued/improving comfort! 👍
Click to expand...
"Bicycling is one of the two forms of aerobic exercise that I have ever enjoyed, in-line skating being the other."

Just a few years back, one of my granddaughters challenged me to in-line skating. Huh!! Can't be that hard I laughed. I damn near killed myself, and limped around for a few days afterwards.😂
 
Last edited:
I used to ride a lot and need to start getting out more again. I own a classic Colnago Master PIU steel racing bike that I use primarily on a training stand. It has a shorter wheelbase that makes it a bit twitchy for me but it rides beautifully. I bought a nice carbon frame 2018 Cannondale Synapse Hi-Mod Dura-Ace Di2 that has a slightly more relaxed geometry and is easier to handle. My wife will join me occasionally on her Specialized Sirrus Expert Carbon.

We have lots of great bike trails near me so I have no excuse. The Green River Trail head is 2.5 miles from me. I used to ride from my house to get to the trail head but I put my bike on a rack and drive down now due to how dangerous riding on roads has become.

Cannondale_Synapse_Colnago_Master_PIU_1600p.jpg
 
I have a few bikes. Two aluminum Cannondales (One mountain bike for fishing and one road) and one aluminum Schwinn road bike (all made in the U.S.) from the last century. No bluetooth, no gizmos just me and the road.

My fourth "bike" is a Etrike I use for long and far photo taking excursions of 20+ miles.

Before COVID I was riding 15+ miles per day, now two to three is my max.


bike_vs_car.jpg
 
Began riding by assembling my bikes from stray parts, later built 3 mountain bikes before i knew they were a thing. tho i grew up across the bay from mt tam we moved out before gary fisher built his first klunker. My favourite (non mtb; love them skinny tyres!) for some years was a motobecane, but broke the fork after a shunt by a camaro. My most fantastic bike is a motiv 20" bmx Monorail that has a 65 tooth driver off a schwinn exercycle, same gear inches as most tenspeeds, i used it several years for patrolling at certain sites. My last bike is a nice full-suspension alloy mongoose, but havent ridden since last blowout of my knee.
Actually my most fantastic bike was, on reading in the school library of dr abbott's recordbreaking run on bonneville, i designed (but dident build) one that could be built from parts readily available in a sawmill town, and was told by everybody who heard about it that it couldnt possibly work. It was practically copied by john howard for an even faster bike.
 
Last edited:
I won a couple of races when I was 17, then my bike was stolen. The kids had road bikes for training, and I got a hybrid (larger seat, fatter tires, "normal" handlebars) so I could ride a bit with them, but didn’t ride much. Sold that and haven’t ridden since. Kids bikes were nice, Cannondale was one, Trek was one…
 
I'm a former rider. For almost two decades I rode to work (through some pretty sketchy areas too boot). I continued until my knees said no more.
Still I have some complaints about today's riders. First they think they have the right to ride two or three abreast. In addition the local cities have decided to make the streets more bike friendly. Their favorite trick is to take a street that already has a bike lane, and is two lanes on each side, and wipe out one of the traffic lanes, by making the right hand lane a bike lane. Want to mess up traffic flow? This is the ideal way to do it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

BULL'S-EYE
Soccer...Your thoughts? ⚽️
3 4 5
Replies
138
Views
3K
t-reg
T
J
Thoughts
Replies
10
Views
436
jav
J
M
Random Thoughts
2 3
Replies
75
Views
2K
Richbaker
Richbaker
4
Anyone have any thoughts on tiny homes?
2 3
Replies
81
Views
3K
mirglip
M
thinckley
Bedtime Thoughts.... What distance to zero a pistol?
2
Replies
53
Views
1K
t-reg
T

Latest posts

Back
Top