July 17, 2009: I bought a new bike. Scroll down for details.


i bought a new ride, and i picked it up november 28th. i've put about 180 miles on it since then. i got bored tonight, so i finally took some pics of it. enjoy.












i've already crashed it once, but it still rides fine. i just had to get it readjusted and the front wheel re-trued.

 

One of the best ways to keep in shape! Pushing with your 2 feet...

 

sweetness.

 

thanks, guys. i've been biking to work (8.5 miles each way) twice a week since i got it, and i go for a ride on the weekends that's at least 15 miles. i'm kind of hooked on it.

 

lol, Jack.

 

he belongs to my gf. he was standing on the edge of the shot, so i figured he'd make a nice prop.

 

That thing is awesome lol.

 

here's my friend's letour. i think he has about $250 invested.

 

how much did you pay otd if you dont mind me asking

 

$400+tax
and that comes with free adjustments and repairs for a year

 

i've ridden a little over 200 miles around town so far, and i have to say that most people on the roads are courteous and careful in relation to me while i'm biking. with that said, there always seems to be at least one person each day i ride that refuses share the road with a cyclist. one peeve of mine is people who make it their dying mission to pass me, no matter what. if i'm doing 20mph in a 25 zone, they'll gun the engine to get in front of me just to slow down again for a stop sign. this happened to me yesterday. i was literally 10 feet from a stop sign, and this infiniti suv came up on my left and forced me over into the curb. i had a few choice words to say, but i left it at that. i will say that it's mostly pickup truck and suv drivers that refuse to share the lane, and entry level luxury car drivers follow a close second. i've had a couple econo sedan drivers honk me out as they passed, but at least they gave me some room. before you get all annoyed next time you're stuck behind a cyclist, just try to remember that we're not trying to hold you up. we're trying to get somewhere just like motorists, and we have every bit as much right to use the roads to get there. </rant>

 

^ agreed.

pick up trucks are @ssholes.
well the ones i've seen.

 

i biked to work this morning, and i beat my best time by a few minutes. i'm very happy about that because i've been struggling to keep pace over the past couple weeks. so my best time into work is:
8.5 miles in 31:26
that's an average speed of 16.5 mph, including stoppage. i'm really proud of those numbers, and hopefully i can beat them in the near future.

 

sweet bike

 

thank you, sir.

 

ok, i've been riding to work 2 or 3 days a week over the past couple months, along with sporadic rides on the weekends. i've put well over 500 miles on the bike, and i'm ready for something better.

the initial quality was great for the money, and i was very happy with the performance of the bike considering the price i paid. as is the case with most chinese products however, things aren't as they seemed initially. the front derailleur steps out of alignment which causes the chain to rub in the lower gears. i've gotten it readjusted several times, but the problem comes back after a while. whenever i try to accelerate on the 5th rear gear, the chain pops. i don't know if it's skipping or binding up, but it only happens on that gear. it's incredibly annoying and sometimes scary when you push to accelerate and get nothing but clack clack clack. the fittings are garbage. i already had to replace the seat post clamp because the stamped aluminum factory one snapped. my advice to anyone buying a bike is to just spend a couple hundred bucks more and get a good american or european bike. i wouldn't say i totally regret my purchase, but i would be happier if i'd taken my own advice and spent a little more.

my friend at work tells me he wants to buy an '05 specialized allez from one of the ladies in his riding group for $300, but his wife won't let him spend the money. it's a nice bike from what i hear, so i told him to hook me up if decides not to get it. i'm already getting my hopes up, which i really shouldn't do, but i'm ready to upgrade and can't afford a new bike.

 

ok, so i took my bike to the shop and had them look at it again. apparently riding the same gear all the time isn't good. the reason the gear won't hold is because the teeth are worn. i have almost 700 miles on the bike, but the guy thinks it's still too early for the gears to be showing that kind of wear. he contacted the schwinn rep, and i'm getting a new cassette installed for free this week. that should fix the problem.

i thought about it, and i've been looking at it wrong. i was ready to give up on the bike and buy a whole different one just because the cassette was worn out. i've decided to keep the bike and upgrade the components as they wear out. it's a good frame, and i like the ergonomics. once the new cassette starts to go, i think i'll be ready to upgrade the drivetrain. i'm also thinking about getting a single speed road bike later in the year to have as my second bike. i'd use that for weekend rides and keep the super sport as my commuter bike.

i bought my girlfriend a new bike saturday. it's a schwinn searcher. it's a 21 speed comfort bike that's very easy to handle and comfortable. it's not very fast, so i have to slow way down when we ride together. she also hasn't been on a bike in at least 10 years, so it's still tough for her. we rode about 4 miles yesterday at a slow pace, and she said her legs were burning. i'm excited for her to get to the point where we can go on longer rides.

that's pretty much it for now. i'm still trying to push myself to make the commute to work faster. i got it under 30 minutes last monday, but thursday's and friday's rides were both a few minutes off that pace. i'll try to post pics of the girl's bike soon. i'm kind of stressing about school, so i don't know when i'll have a chance to take some.

 

i got my bike fixed yesterday, and they did an awesome job. i got the rear cassette and chain replaced. the bike rides better than it did new. it shifts like butter and cranks so smoothly. i'm so glad i didn't get a different bike. i can't wait to ride it again.

 

thanks. my bike is definitely on the lower end for road bikes, but i still love riding it. i can just upgrade the components as they wear out, and eventually it will be the same as a much more expensive bike. as a hobby it's great because after your initial investment it's very cheap to keep it going. it's also great exercise because it's very easy on your joints.

 

well, i bought a new bike. it's a Jamis Beatnik. it's a track style single speed with bullhorn bars and a flip-flop rear hub, so i can ride it fixed or free. i bought it to use as a fixed, and since we don't have any crazy hills around here, it will most likely stay fixed. i don't have any pics yet, so here's what it looks like:

i'm excited! i can't wait to ride it home.