View Full Version : All the questions that I should have asked when buying my first bike.
Is it wrong to be considering a second bike whilst learning to ride one's first?
I have a Marin Stinson "comfort" bike that I'm learning to ride on. It is sturdy and sensible, fine on tarmac and ok over bumpy ground, but feels quite heavy at low speeds and is really not very attractive :o. I'm thinking about getting another bike next year. Something that I love and that I can use when I don't need to carry the shopping or the child and just want to go out and ride once the girl starts preschool after Easter. I prefer cycling on tarmac/paths/canal paths to anything bumpier, it's generally flat here though there is the occasional hill, and I would like something prettier than my Marin. It would just be leisure riding, though I would love to do a charity ride once I'm good enough.
If I want to cycle in a skirt and boots do I need a bike with a chain guard or skirt guard?
If I'm not seriously off-roading do I really need anything other than a "normal" bike?
If a bike doesn't come in sizes, what size does it fit? eg Electra Ticino
Can you get up a hill with a Pashley?
Bikes that I'm considering are:
Pashley Poppy (http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/poppy-pastel-blue.html)
The Therese one from here (http://lunar-cycles.com/)
Electra Ticino 8.
Sorry for all the rambling, opinions and advice welcome. I'm in the UK. Thank you for reading.
crazycanuck
09-09-2010, 03:45 AM
I think it's normal to want another bike...even if you are on your first. (What'll you do if you want to do more than what you've listed...!)
I know nothing about the bikes mentioned and i don't have the greatest internet speed so i can't see the Therese one..I think the Pashley bikes are cute! What about the Roadster???
In terms of getting uphill on one-are we talking a weenie hill or a super duper steep long hill that you just want to swear at & run away ;)
I'm babbling and will let the more knowledgeable folks chime in :o
You've landed in a forum on enablers. :D
There are plenty of very knowledgeable people here and most questions will be about the type of riding you want to do. Have you tried the two bikes you are considering? I looked at the Therese and it is a lovely bike, a mixte frame (there is an entire section about mixtes here). It has 7 speeds compared to the 3 speeds in the Pashley, so that can be an edge if you have hills around. Try them out, so you are able to compare what feels more comfortable, lighter, and faster to you. Some bikes make you want to ride them, others feel "dull" when you ride them...
PS: Here is the thread about mixtes: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=19205
And for crazycanuck's viewing pleasure, a screenshot of the Therese:
I think it's a pretty typical progression in just about any activity to get into it, buy some equipment, get MORE into and then realize the stuff you bought was all wrong. I know knitters who replaced all their needles after a couple of months and then bought all new yarn because they bought the wrong stuff the first time around.
I don't know if you can get uphill on a Pashley, but I'd like to be given the opportunity to try. Those are such pretty bikes. And I think I'll spend the rest of today drooling over the Lunar Cycles website. Gorgeous!
More seriously, we had a short discussion about upright/cruiser type bikes on hills that you can find here (also includes discussion about the Ticino): http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=39594
I think any of the bikes you linked to would do fine for the type of riding you're talking about, but the Electra Ticino and the Therese have better (or at least MORE) gears that'll help with headwinds and hills. They'd also all be fine for riding with boots and shorter skirts, but if you're going to wear long flowy skirts, you'll want a skirt guard. The chain guard helps when you're wearing trousers (or you can just roll up the right leg or slap on an ankle band) or long flowy skirts.
Have fun shopping!
Sarah
I think it's normal to want another bike...even if you are on your first. (What'll you do if you want to do more than what you've listed...!)
I know nothing about the bikes mentioned and i don't have the greatest internet speed so i can't see the Therese one..I think the Pashley bikes are cute! What about the Roadster???
In terms of getting uphill on one-are we talking a weenie hill or a super duper steep long hill that you just want to swear at & run away ;)
I'm babbling and will let the more knowledgeable folks chime in :o
I worry about wanting more bikes :o The Roadster is gorgeous, but looks a bit big.
Regarding the hill, it may well be smaller than my mind is painting it. It's about half a mile long and if I walk it with a 28lb child in a buggy it takes about 15 minutes and I'm a bit out of breath at the top. The thing that makes me worry is that I drove past a male cyclist who was sweating buckets going up there. I suspect that in a lesson or two I'll be riding it with my teacher so will know for myself.
You've landed in a forum on enablers. :D
There are plenty of very knowledgeable people here and most questions will be about the type of riding you want to do. Have you tried the two bikes you are considering? I looked at the Therese and it is a lovely bike, a mixte frame (there is an entire section about mixtes here). It has 7 speeds compared to the 3 speeds in the Pashley, so that can be an edge if you have hills around. Try them out, so you are able to compare what feels more comfortable, lighter, and faster to you. Some bikes make you want to ride them, others feel "dull" when you ride them...
PS: Here is the thread about mixtes: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=19205
I haven't tried any bikes other than the one I'm riding, apart from a very cheap and horrid mountain bike that I tried to learn on many years back. I absolutely love the look of "mixte" frames, I think I definitely want a step-through frame. I wanted to get a bit more knowledgeable (and also figure out where the money will come from :o) before getting on a bike and falling in love with it.
I think it's a pretty typical progression in just about any activity to get into it, buy some equipment, get MORE into and then realize the stuff you bought was all wrong. I know knitters who replaced all their needles after a couple of months and then bought all new yarn because they bought the wrong stuff the first time around.
I don't know if you can get uphill on a Pashley, but I'd like to be given the opportunity to try. Those are such pretty bikes. And I think I'll spend the rest of today drooling over the Lunar Cycles website. Gorgeous!
More seriously, we had a short discussion about upright/cruiser type bikes on hills that you can find here (also includes discussion about the Ticino): http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=39594
I think any of the bikes you linked to would do fine for the type of riding you're talking about, but the Electra Ticino and the Therese have better (or at least MORE) gears that'll help with headwinds and hills. They'd also all be fine for riding with boots and shorter skirts, but if you're going to wear long flowy skirts, you'll want a skirt guard. The chain guard helps when you're wearing trousers (or you can just roll up the right leg or slap on an ankle band) or long flowy skirts.
Have fun shopping!
Sarah
Yes, I have an unfinished baby jumper because I absolutely hated the feel of the wool by the time it got to the making up stage and couldn't bear the thought of it next to my girl's skin!
I'll look up these bikes in real life, the Lunar will take some planning as it's in London. Thank you for the advice, I don't wear long floaty skirts but would love to be able to ride in my winter wardrobe of skirts and boots.
Many thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate your time and will read the linked threads. Do any of the mainstream manufacturers make mixtes any more?
And I think I'll spend the rest of today drooling over the Lunar Cycles website. Gorgeous!
I'm glad you like it, it's nice to be able to give something back. You might like this site too - it's way beyond any budget of mine but beautiful. link is to their womens frame but the rest of the site is pretty too (http://www.merciancycles.co.uk/frames/23/miss-mercian)
I can answer one question.
The Ticino comes in only one size. Fits all. Or most, anyway.
Tri Girl
09-11-2010, 07:45 AM
The Therese is GORGEOUS!!!! I would love to have one of those. I say get one of each. We ARE enablers here! ;)
Trek420
09-11-2010, 04:19 PM
And for crazycanuck's viewing pleasure, a screenshot of the Therese:
Hey, they made my bike :rolleyes:
Catrin
09-11-2010, 05:44 PM
I did the same thing, I was barely out of my practice parking lots before I was considering the Salsa Fargo - fell in love with it actually. Took some time before I realized that it just will never fit me - it is too big. Then I rebounded to my beloved steel steel steed, Ms. Explorer.
This is indeed a group of enablers, but if they really think you are making a mistake then they speak up :) My LBS at the time had talked me into getting the LHT frame and having them build it up - but in the end it would have cost me a lot more money than the complete build and with no better components - it comes with pretty good components anyway. Thanks to a few outspoken women here (who I thank from the bottom of my heart), I didn't go that route.
In the end Ms. Explorer was customized anyway - but this was out of physical necessity - which is a very different story.
Good luck on searching for your second bike - it is a LOT of fun ;)
It's reassuring to know that such good advice is available here, thank you to everyone who has answered my posts and replied so helpfully to my pms. Sorry in advance for this long post.
I think I'm moving the goalposts. When I started cycling I wanted to be able to ride into town with my daughter on the bike. The more I do, the more I learn that the roads into town frankly aren't the best for a newish rider to ride with a child, they are either too busy or too steep. There is one possible route though I haven't tried it yet. I'm also learning that I absolutely cherish my solo time on the bike and it is giving me such mental and physical benefits that at the moment I'd rather not share that time. I could buy a child-seat/trailer, or I could put dd into creche for two mornings a week and just get out and ride. The other thing that I'm learning is that I absolutely love riding off-road. Bridleways and towpaths are plentiful and right on my doorstep, and I have always loved being off the beaten track. I thought I wanted to bike instead of using the car, but I think now I want to use it to reclaim a little bit of me time, as well as some much-needed exercise.
I'm going to do some more off-road riding. I am starting to wonder if a mountain bike would be worth considering in the new year. Fenders, twigs and mud don't seem like a great combination on the evidence so far. Then one other bike with rack, fenders and the ability to take a child-seat/trailer/tagalong for when I am better at both riding and sharing, and when dd is past the terrible twos. Or maybe I just ask dh to take care of the child-transport and I can get a mixte :D
Did anyone else start out wanting one kind of riding then change their minds?
featuretile
09-30-2010, 09:13 AM
My first bike was a Specialized Globe. It was a comfortable, easy to ride hybrid. Within 2 months I realized that it was just too slow and heavy. I sold it and bought a Specialized Vita WSD. This is the bike I would recommend that you try. It has flat bar handlebars, but is lighter weight and rides much better than the Globe without being any more difficult. Not sure about off road, but you could request cyclocross tires to replace the ones it comes with (before you buy the bike so you don't have to pay for additional tires - just the difference).
Since then, I bought a Specialized Ruby carbon road bike that was almost new on craigslist. I love this bike, but you can't add child seats and fenders to a carbon bike. Since I got Ruby, I have stopped having 'bike envy' and looking for bikes. It's a better bike than I ever thought I would have, so, there is no up. I did get a Bike Friday for travel.
I think it is very easy to buy the wrong bike when you start out, because you don't really know how much you will get into cycling. So, you just don't know what you need.
Thank you! Spookily, I was just reading the Specialized brochure.There is a LBS about 20 miles away that carries them, and I need to buy a bike lock anyway...
Bike Writer
09-30-2010, 07:04 PM
"moving the goalposts"...Hebe the wise one...as with all new hobbies, interests and passions it "evolves." First is the thrill and freedom of getting on a two wheeled transportation vehicle and transporting yourself around and mastering the skills needed to do it with ease and like it's second nature, just plain getting comfortable and confident with a bike. In the beginning the learning how to use it, the feeling of pride by accomplishing it, the joy itself of riding is the main thing. And while in that phase a person thinks of all the things they can do with their new found hobby, then practicality enters and a clearer picture emerges. This can take a few weeks or months, each person is different, sometimes even longer.
"To answer your question did anyone else start out with one kind of riding and change their mind?" Yes, then no, then yes again. The style of bike I have is the style of bike I want (in the foreseeable future). I like the nostalgic townie look and I live in a small town and love to run simple errands with it. Initially I loved the ability to leave my car home, hop on the bike and go exploring neighborhoods with a new level of intimacy that only a bike can provide. Riding consisted of sidewalks, paved side streets and a little bit of gravel roads. As ability and capacity grew the riding routes became larger until I found myself on roads with high traffic and speed volumes.
I discovered that I don't need to "only ride where I can get from home" and it's just as fun to cart the bike by car to different areas and new riding paths. I found that I really don't like road riding (now anyway) but I do like paved and non paved trails. I never thought that I would transport my bike but now I am as likely to transport as not.
Next week I am riding in my first organized tour and chose a short route of 28 miles. The tour offers 6, 10, 28, 38 and 64 mile rides. We'll see if that changes my wants and desires yet again! :D
I hope your tour goes well! I'm very excited for you.
I can't believe that I've changed my mind even since starting this thread :o I had no idea that even going just a little bit more offroad would be so much fun. I think you're right - ambitions extend even faster than ability - which is a wonderful thing really.
I'm starting to wonder about transporting the bike too. DD will start at a nursery one morning a week after Christmas, and there is access to a National Trail just a few hundred yards away... I'm already thinking about driving her to nursery with the bike on the back then hitting the trail for a couple of hours before collecting her again. I guess in January that won't be happening often, but after Easter she will increase her hours to 18 a week, which is a lot of riding! For me, anyway.
Melalvai
10-01-2010, 08:14 AM
IDid anyone else start out wanting one kind of riding then change their minds?
Ha ha! I've been a die-hard commuter for 5 years with NO interest in any kind of racing. Last month I was introduced to the Triathlon and I am completely hooked. So I'll be buying a road bike, when I can scrape enough money together!
Updating! Hopefully I'll have bike funds in place soon from selling my alto sax (my main instrument is tenor sax but I have a secondhand alto as a spare). The alto is vintage and should sell for enough to buy a new bike and have sufficient funds left over to pay for a year's worth of lessons on my tenor. I'm better at the tenor anyway :cool:
So once the sax is sold I'm going to try an entry level Specialized Myka, and anything else that the two shops that I have easy access to have in my price range. I think that will be Specialized, Giant, and Marin brands. My Marin will be kept for a sensible shopping/errands bike, and will eventually carry dd too, though I'm in no rush for that. A mountain bike should hopefully keep me riding off-road and up the hilly bits through the winter and will be absolutely no-compromise unadulterated me time. No rack, no panniers, no shopping, no child (until she's old enough to ride with me).
Good luck Melalvai!
sandra
10-17-2010, 05:54 PM
OOOOOOOhhhhhhh, I love the Therese....but then again, I DO have this mixte addiction (but I can stop at any time!) It is a gorgeous bike! That's what I'd go for!!!
It is beautiful, but I don't think it's an off-road bike. Plus they never answered my email asking for the pricing range :(
Bike Writer
10-18-2010, 10:14 AM
Updating! Hopefully I'll have bike funds in place soon from selling my alto sax (my main instrument is tenor sax but I have a secondhand alto as a spare). The alto is vintage and should sell for enough to buy a new bike and have sufficient funds left over to pay for a year's worth of lessons on my tenor. I'm better at the tenor anyway :cool:
So once the sax is sold I'm going to try an entry level Specialized Myka, and anything else that the two shops that I have easy access to have in my price range. I think that will be Specialized, Giant, and Marin brands. My Marin will be kept for a sensible shopping/errands bike, and will eventually carry dd too, though I'm in no rush for that. A mountain bike should hopefully keep me riding off-road and up the hilly bits through the winter and will be absolutely no-compromise unadulterated me time. No rack, no panniers, no shopping, no child (until she's old enough to ride with me).
Good luck Melalvai!
How thrilling! You've settled in on a biking style, I peeked on line at the Marin and Specialized mountain bikes, they're sharp looking. Hooray for you for discovering your niche...once you settle in on a model and make please share with us.
Vanilla
10-22-2010, 09:31 AM
I bought a cheapy £200 bike from Halfords back in May. I started cycling again for the first time in seventeen years and was unsure about how much I would enjoy it and also how much I would actually use it. I started off by promising my boyfriend that I'd only go around the park and the quieter streets of where I live. Quiet streets in central London! Ha! That soon turned into cycling to work a couple of times a week and now I'd love to do London to Brighton/Paris and perhaps the Coast to Coast :rolleyes: I'm not sure that I'd buy a different style of bike from the one that I already have as I love it, but never say never. My uncle is desperate to get me into mountain biking and going out with him but it's not really worth moving back to Scotland just for that :D
buffybike
10-24-2010, 11:55 AM
And for crazycanuck's viewing pleasure, a screenshot of the Therese:
Who do you DO THIS TO ME???!!!! Just when I had committed to saving money...
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