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I learned at 40 and made the mistake of buying a racer with a 25 inch frame (back when the huge frames were SUPPOSED to be the things.) I taught myself (because it is so simple a CHILD can do it,) the learing curve was very fast in spite of having the feeling of being 8 feet up on a bike so stiff that running over a PEA was teeth cracking.
But today's 26 inch bikes (we have 2) with wide bouncy wheels and racing suspensions are SOOO easy, comfortable, and secure feeling and built like tanks to take the rigors of the City.
Just find a big empty lot and hop on. Have someone tell you how the brakes work, but a small shiny book on bike maintenance, buy a couple simple tools and go for it.
Though the freebie short term bikes is a nice idea, you will grow attached to the feel of YOUR bike very quickly and will always prefer it. Go to K-Mart or Target with $75 and pick out one in a color and size you like.
Probalem for many New Yorkers is where to PUT it. (Here the citi-bikes may be handy.)
No question there...it will be citi-bailout.
we have road bikes and love them even at our age. the problem is when a road bike isnt sized for you.
it can be so uncomfortable if to big or to small but when sized right they are great for long rides. it should be sized so your bent over in a very relaxing almost weightless position akin to playing short stop . just loose, flexable and in a nice weight distribution.
you can stay like that for hours. but if the bike isnt set up exactley for you it can be so uncomfortable.
we are just getting back into it again and just brought our bikes back from PA today.
every year we do the tour d putnam up in westchester county. you can do 20-30 50 and 100 mile rides but that terrain is killer.
Last edited by mathjak107; 05-28-2012 at 10:10 AM..
Road bikes are a little fragile for NYC. I feel Cyclocross or tourers fit the bill nicely. Slightly wider tires, more durable frame butsimilar ergonomics.
yep for manhattan i agree nuch to fragile..... the boroughs are fine for road biking.
we used to do abou 100 miles a week biking .... we kind of lost interest in it when we bought the house in PA but i brought them back to queens this morning and are actually going out for the first ride in 5 years in an hour.
Last edited by mathjak107; 05-28-2012 at 10:11 AM..
Alot of cities are launching Bike Sharing programs....and the largest one is in nearby Montreal...second Largest is in DC....at in North America. But I agree with mathjak107 that a bike sharing program is better suited for the outer boroughs and in the areas where there isn't any Rail Transit. NYC isn't the only city in this region that plans on lanching a Bike sharing program along with Bikeways and bike lanes...
Jersey City & Hoboken will have one by 2014
Newark by 2015
White Plains & Yonkers by 2015
Long Beach by 2014
Old history:
Remember when the proper sizing of a bike used to be that on the pedal downstroke your leg shoudl be fully extended. That bit of misinformation cost me $250 on the worst god-awful piece of agony inducing POS I can imagine. Of course if the bike frame is that big, you CANNOT touch the ground, you fall over instead...it's mechanics.
Remember when a saddle that felt like a 1/2 inch bar of titanium between your legs was the way to go?
But the junky $75 HUFFY'S from the big discount stores are TERRIFIC. Imagine, the Chinese figure out a way to make biking pleasurable, comfortable, and completely affordable.
And if someone steals your bike, you merely buy another one and know that you now have new tires/tubes/chain/bearings, etc...all for $75.
And you couldn't bend the frame on these bikes unless you were run over by a HUMMER.
Old history:
Remember when the proper sizing of a bike used to be that on the pedal downstroke your leg shoudl be fully extended. That bit of misinformation cost me $250 on the worst god-awful piece of agony inducing POS I can imagine. Of course if the bike frame is that big, you CANNOT touch the ground, you fall over instead...it's mechanics.
Remember when a saddle that felt like a 1/2 inch bar of titanium between your legs was the way to go?
But the junky $75 HUFFY'S from the big discount stores are TERRIFIC. Imagine, the Chinese figure out a way to make biking pleasurable, comfortable, and completely affordable.
And if someone steals your bike, you merely buy another one and know that you now have new tires/tubes/chain/bearings, etc...all for $75.
And you couldn't bend the frame on these bikes unless you were run over by a HUMMER.
I STRONGLY disagree. The cheap bikes are crap. The components are flimsy most of the time. The build, unsecure. The gearing, inefficient. A quality bike will last DECADES.
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