newby here!

[abvnx]

hello all, my husband and i just moved to the seattle, wa. area found out how easy it is to get around here without a car, just using bikes and bus instead so we ditched the cars. i also found out that i love cycling. i tried a road bike and im hooked. now im looking to buy my first road bike.:)

[nicole309]

Well, welcome to the PNW and TE!
I have also found how great public transportation is in this area along with a new found love of bike riding since January. I don't own a car and quite frankly can't see why anyone would in this area. If I do decide to take a longer trip I just rent one. Since last fall (about 7 months) I have had about $150 in automobile rental expenses and a little under $100 in bus costs. Not too bad! I use my bike for pretty much everything including commuting, errands, leisure, and work related travel. Still trying to convince my office that I should get reimbursed for mileage just like the cars do!!
Are you looking for advice on a new bike? I started out with a road bike, a Trek 1000, which I really liked for long road rides. I however found it really impractical for commuting and grocery shopping and ended up investing in a touring bike. The Jamis Aurora that I bough is great and I use it for everything now including bike tours such as metric centuries. If you have any questions, you found the right place. Hope you are enjoying your new home!

[mimitabby]

welcome to TE!
where are you located? are you enjoying all the bike shops?
I find it refreshing to hear that you think it's easy to get around Seattle on a bike. Love those hills?

Where are you from? (that might help explain it!)

[abvnx]

Well, welcome to the PNW and TE!
I have also found how great public transportation is in this area along with a new found love of bike riding since January. I don't own a car and quite frankly can't see why anyone would in this area. If I do decide to take a longer trip I just rent one. Since last fall (about 7 months) I have had about $150 in automobile rental expenses and a little under $100 in bus costs. Not too bad! I use my bike for pretty much everything including commuting, errands, leisure, and work related travel. Still trying to convince my office that I should get reimbursed for mileage just like the cars do!!
Are you looking for advice on a new bike? I started out with a road bike, a Trek 1000, which I really liked for long road rides. I however found it really impractical for commuting and grocery shopping and ended up investing in a touring bike. The Jamis Aurora that I bough is great and I use it for everything now including bike tours such as metric centuries. If you have any questions, you found the right place. Hope you are enjoying your new home!

thanks, some bike advice would be great. the trek 1000 is one that im considering. im also looking at the giant ocr 3 and specialized dolce. we dont miss having a car at all. we love it here.

[abvnx]

welcome to TE!
where are you located? are you enjoying all the bike shops?
I find it refreshing to hear that you think it's easy to get around Seattle on a bike. Love those hills?

Where are you from? (that might help explain it!)

we are in redmond, ive noticed that in bellevue people seem to be kinda "bike stupid" redmond seems to be an island of bike friendliness. i love the bike trails, and bike lanes. we are from IL(chicago burbs and bloomington) we never saw bike lanes until we got here. the hills, im slowly getting used to those;)

[RolliePollie]

I was just in Seattle visiting family last week and I was amazed at the number of cyclists everywhere! How lucky that you live in a bike friendly city! As a strictly rural rider (so far), riding on those busy streets with traffic seems terrifying...but terrifying in a good way. I'd love to ditch my car but it's really not practical where I live. I also noticed your hills. We were staying up in the Fremont area near the zoo...wow, loads of hills!!! With loads of cyclists riding them!

Enjoy riding and good luck deciding on the new bike!

[abvnx]

I was just in Seattle visiting family last week and I was amazed at the number of cyclists everywhere! How lucky that you live in a bike friendly city! As a strictly rural rider (so far), riding on those busy streets with traffic seems terrifying...but terrifying in a good way. I'd love to ditch my car but it's really not practical where I live. I also noticed your hills. We were staying up in the Fremont area near the zoo...wow, loads of hills!!! With loads of cyclists riding them!

Enjoy riding and good luck deciding on the new bike!



yeah, im more used to trails and stuff like that too. this riding in traffic thing takes some getting used to. luckily there are lots of bike paths here. as for the hills, i still walk some of the hills:o

[Laterider21958]

Well, welcome to the PNW and TE!
I have also found how great public transportation is in this area along with a new found love of bike riding since January. I don't own a car and quite frankly can't see why anyone would in this area. If I do decide to take a longer trip I just rent one. Since last fall (about 7 months) I have had about $150 in automobile rental expenses and a little under $100 in bus costs. Not too bad! I use my bike for pretty much everything including commuting, errands, leisure, and work related travel. Still trying to convince my office that I should get reimbursed for mileage just like the cars do!!
Are you looking for advice on a new bike? I started out with a road bike, a Trek 1000, which I really liked for long road rides. I however found it really impractical for commuting and grocery shopping and ended up investing in a touring bike. The Jamis Aurora that I bough is great and I use it for everything now including bike tours such as metric centuries. If you have any questions, you found the right place. Hope you are enjoying your new home!

Sorry for interrupting the thread, but I am wondering what difficulties you encountered when using your road bike for commuting and shopping. Was it lack of carrying capacity (i.e. rack/panniers) or something else? Just curious as I have a hybrid and may in the future get a road bike. I'm still a bit of a newbie, so forgive dumb questions!:)

[salsabike]

Hey, welcome to the area. And don't forget to also look at the Bianchi Eros Donna. I have one, and it's a great bike.

One of these days perhaps you'll join us local TE folks for a ride...

[Torrilin]

Sorry for interrupting the thread, but I am wondering what difficulties you encountered when using your road bike for commuting and shopping. Was it lack of carrying capacity (i.e. rack/panniers) or something else? Just curious as I have a hybrid and may in the future get a road bike. I'm still a bit of a newbie, so forgive dumb questions!:)

I'd bet on "can't fit a rack". Not all bikes have braze-ons (bike-speak for "screw holes") for a rack. Good sturdy racks for groceries need to be screwed onto your bike in several places, and most of the ways of attaching a rack without screws just aren't very sturdy.

A touring bike will at least have braze-ons for a back rack, 2-3 water bottles and a frame pump. Usually they'll be set up to take fenders, a front rack and both skinny slicks and fairly fat knobby tires too. They're a good choice of road bike for normal people because of that.

[farrellcollie]

May I suggest looking at Jamis bikes? I really like my new Jamis Quest. It is steel, can handle a rack, weighs 21 lbs.

[Starfish]

Still trying to convince my office that I should get reimbursed for mileage just like the cars do!!

Next time you have that yearly tune-up, replace your cassette and chain, lay in a supply of tubes and pick up new tires, cables and housing for the season, show them the bill!

[Laterider21958]

I'd bet on "can't fit a rack". Not all bikes have braze-ons (bike-speak for "screw holes") for a rack. Good sturdy racks for groceries need to be screwed onto your bike in several places, and most of the ways of attaching a rack without screws just aren't very sturdy.

A touring bike will at least have braze-ons for a back rack, 2-3 water bottles and a frame pump. Usually they'll be set up to take fenders, a front rack and both skinny slicks and fairly fat knobby tires too. They're a good choice of road bike for normal people because of that.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. My bike has all of these, so now I understand why it is more suitable for commuting than a road bike. :D

[Laterider21958]

Well, welcome to the PNW and TE!
I have also found how great public transportation is in this area along with a new found love of bike riding since January. I don't own a car and quite frankly can't see why anyone would in this area. If I do decide to take a longer trip I just rent one. Since last fall (about 7 months) I have had about $150 in automobile rental expenses and a little under $100 in bus costs. Not too bad! I use my bike for pretty much everything including commuting, errands, leisure, and work related travel. Still trying to convince my office that I should get reimbursed for mileage just like the cars do!!
Are you looking for advice on a new bike? I started out with a road bike, a Trek 1000, which I really liked for long road rides. I however found it really impractical for commuting and grocery shopping and ended up investing in a touring bike. The Jamis Aurora that I bough is great and I use it for everything now including bike tours such as metric centuries. If you have any questions, you found the right place. Hope you are enjoying your new home!

Just wondering if your work related expenses incurred, due to using your bike instead of a car, could be considered a legit tax deduction? I'm from Australia, so not sure if your rules allow this, but it would be worth a phone call to the Tax Dept. (or your equivalent) to find out. It can't hurt to ask. Nothing ventured - nothing gained!:D