New bike? (Must have Campag Record)

[kvholio]

Welcome to biker-heaven:

[Variac]

But wait ! those bikes don't all have Campy Record!!! You call that heaven?

OK you guys are so fortunate to have such wonderful bike infrastructure- and few hills..... I guess the wind is bad sometimes though....

[kvholio]

With almost 20 million bikes and 16 million inhabitants we need the infrastructure...
The road in the picture is only available for cars making a delivery

Winds can blow pretty bad here ; i remember standing on the pedals throughout the whole 10-mile journey to school (on a bad day it would take me more than an hour, on a good one just 20 mins.) , only to find out on my way back the wind had turned - NOT in my favour

Klaas

[AndrewT]

Life can be so cruel.

[maxro]

Originally posted by ash_dac


1a. No

1b. About 6years since I owned a bike (had a mountain bike)

2. Not very fit but started running recently (I hit that wall so obviously not too fit)

3. No 9st 10

4. 24 . wear glasses to correct 'bad' astigmatism in right eye

5. pavements, a few pot-holed country lanes, occasional brike road. Hills, yes there are a few


6. no lunch:- bottle,maybe the occasional papers. maybe occasional shopping trip good, and bike lock ?

7. probably as I walk to station in the rain currently

8. �300 excluding the extras

9. Yes secure at home, and there are places to lockup your bike at the station but they are limited available.

Okay, so you're young, trim, don't need to carry much cargo and riding on mixed tarmac. And, for 300 pounds, it looks like a hybrid is the best choice for you. That said, the term hybrid has morphed to encompass a variety of bikes that aren't 'road' or 'mountain' specific. Hybrids range from skinny-tyred road bikes with flat handlebars to suspended, upright comfort bikes with fat tyres. I would steer you towards the former type. Well, maybe 35-40mm wide tyres, but skip the suspension.

I looked at the website you linked to to see what one gets for 300 pounds. It looks like about what would be $500 CDN here. That's usually a good bang for buck price point.

Features that you may or may not get on a particular bike at that price, but should seek-out are:

Cassette type rear hub (also called 'freehub') as opposed to 'freewheel'. (If the bike has 8 cogs on the back, it probably has a cassette hub. But, do ask.) The cassette hub places the bearings closer to the ends of the axle so that axle breakage is a non-issue. Bent and broken axles are an embarrassingly common phenomenon amongst freewheel type hubs.
(However, at your weight it ought not to be a problem. But, if you plan to launch off kerbs on a daily basis...)

Shimano brand hubs in this price range are likely to be made in China, but parts are readily available for them compared to off-brand Taiwanese hubs, so they are strongly recommended.

Stainless steel spokes, for obvious reasons.

Frame fittings and clearance around the tyres to fit mudguards.

Purchase from a decent shop that you feel comfortable dealing with.

Max

[maxro]

Originally posted by pinkmouse
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4794198.stm

I always thought that telephone poles should be run down the middle of the road instead of the sidewalk. It would sure keep centre-line violations to a minimum.

max

edit: spelling