New Here, LLooking for an inexpensive (vintage) bike... in Portland, OR

Hi,

I have recently started biking again. Well, yesterday, actually.

After my car died in November, I kept putting off the purchase of another infernal combustion machine. Then the Oregonian ran a headline story on the glaciers on Mt. Hood melting. The article made me nauseous, the writer at one point was nostolgic about the loss of a scenic veiw of Mt. Hood. What about the fact that much of our city's drinking water is melt from the snowpack? Anyway, it was time for me to commit myself to being carless.

I've been riding public transit all along, but with sailing season, I need to commute 7 miles to participate in this sport. And I have no idea where in my cluttered garage, my air pump might be. And I really miss my Raleigh three-speed, that was stolen last year.

I'm not looking forward to the neck ache and low back pain from my mid 70's Schwinn Letour. I thought I might need a new bike to get me out of my rut. Something with a more upright posture. I have probably spent 60 hours in the past two weeks, trying to get myself motivated to get the Schwinn in working condition again, or SOMETHING.

I don't know why I didn't find you earlier. I know I googled women and bikes, but got a lot of manufacturer sites, no forums. But maybe it's better. (I've see lots of nice bikes to drool over in this forum.) I've pretty much decided to stick with the LeTour for awhile, while shopping for another bike.

Besides, if I HAD found you earlier, I would have been HERE, and wouldn't have found so many other sites.

But I was close to crazy with all the different notions of bike fit. And then wondering how they applied to women. And then to ME specifically. And how does that apply to women specific bikes. (Now that there are women specific bikes out there.) One lbs had me nearly convinced that I needed a new bike, because now everything is aluminum. And they would have put me on a hybrid whatever that is, (A hybrid of WHAT exactly?) What is it for? Is it not designed to do anything well? (I didn't have it clearly in mind what exactly I was going to do with the bike. The Trek catolog was NOT helpful.

After all that, I have decided a few things. First, my LeTour can work for awhile, while I get used to riding. I went to a bike clinic on Saturday, and learned that I should have changed my chain long ago. And now I provbably can't because the spockets are worn, from the chain elongating. (Who KNEW that those things happen? I thought that I only had to replace stuff that BROKE.!) I was paniced, but the only difference is now I am aware of it, and I can actually slow it down by better maintainence.

One of the posts here made me realize that my body will change, I'll get used to being in the saddle. My posture will change, so buying a new bike right now might be foolish. My posture MUST change, because I never paid much attention to it, just plopped myself down, tried not to lean much on my hands.

When I started riding before, I was dating someone who thought pain meant I was getting thin. He pushed and pushed me, and was never satisfied. In fact, I developed asthma during this period, and I put on more weight because I would sleep the whole next day (or two) after an outing with him. And I would eat Big Macs on the way over to his place, because I became so self-concious of eating in front of him. And when I did bring over healthy food, he would usually eat it, and so it wouldn't be there when I was hungry. So the Big Mac routine continued.

YIKES, sorry for the length of this post. But I think I've finally found a site where I will get very useful information, that is relevant to me, as a woman.

Thanks for being here,
Mary

Hi Mary,

I am pretty new here myself. You will find this to be a very welcoming site with very knowledgable women who are willing to share what they have learned. I do not know the answer to all of your questions, but I will answer those that I can.

First, a hybrid bike is a hybrid between a road bike (like your letour) and a mountain bike. There are different types of hybrid bikes, some are more roadie, some are more mountain bikish. In general, they are more upright than a road bike with wider tires. They are built for comfort and commuting. The things that you describe in your first paragraphs had me thinking hybrid before I got to the paragraph where you said the lbs recommended one. I ride a hybrid when I am out with my kids, especially if the youngest is with us in the burley trailer. I have a road bike as well that I ride for workouts.

Women specific bikes are no longer the old, "girls bikes" of our younger years with a less strong frame and a down sloping tube. The ones made by the best bike companies accomodate the differences in men's and women's anatomies as they relate to cycling and design bikes that better fit women. In general this relates to the fact that for any given height the average woman will have longer legs and arms and a shorter torso than the average man of the same height. WSD is not right for all women. Shorter women tend to benefit more than taller women and those in the middle you just don't know without trying a bunch of different bikes to discover which fits you best. I wound up on a WSD (the specialized Ruby) when the men's bike that I wanted (Felt, can't remember which one) could not be made comfortable without major modifications.

I am a novice on bike maintence, so can't really comment upon that. As for the ex, sorry you were involved with such an *******. Thankfully, that is behind you.

Hi Mary,

Wow, long post, lots of questions where to begin :) :D :p

Welcome to TE, when you get a chance surf on over to the getting to know you thread. There you'll get to know us and we can get to know a bit more about you.

Sorry about the ex.

Posture, lots of stuff here about bike fit and core fitness (which'll help your sailing too! :D )

New old bike? Or old new bike? Or both. You can't have too many bikes.

You may want to keep you classic Schwinn, lots of fans here of rebuilding the classic bike as a fixed gear or freewheel...or replace the power train.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ghlight=friend

I wanted an upright bike that would go fast-ish and I could commute on without popping tires. I also wanted to be able to ride on dirt trails sometimes. I'm tall with long arms, so don't need WSD. Oh, and I only had $400.

My LBS ( www.recycledcycles.com ) very nicely took me under their wing and showed me ALL their $400 new bikes. They took the time to explain the differences between them. I never felt like I was being talked down to.

I settled on a Kona Dew. Actually, I fell in love with it. Love at first ride. The guys said it is a great frame, with ok components. If I wanted a nicer bike later, I could just replace the low-end components (drive train especially). It has full-sized road wheels with cyclocross style tires. (not as knobby as real cyclocross) I ride over junk and holes and bumps and muddy patches and these tires have graciously taken care of me.

If I want to go really fast I can put slicks on it. If I want to go really REALLY fast I can change out the bar and put in drops and new levers.

I've got a rack and panniers. It handles just fine, even with one pannier full of my stuff and the other one full of dog food.

http://www.konaworld.com/shopping_ca...6&parentid=253

I didn't mean to rant about him. He did get me to start riding more. Just to let you know where my head is at. I am ready to enjoy my own pace. (If I will let myself.)

Then I read the posts about short stains, I knew I was in the right place! ROTFL!

Mary

Welcome to TE! :)

You should be able to replace both the chain and the sprocket together for your older bike, but if the frame of this bicycle doesn't fit you properly it's never going to be an optimum situation.

If you're looking for older recycled bikes, check out the Community Cycling Center over on NE Alberta. They're a very good organization, I know a number of folks who have gotten cheap bikes there.

More dicey - you can look for bikes on craigslist but do keep in mind that any of the bikes sold there may be stolen.

I have never visited the Community Cycling Center, but I will soon (after school tern is over in about 2 weeks. YAY!

I've calmed down now that I realize my gears are not just going to crumble away. I don't know if the frame fits or not. I've been too nervous to play with it. Scared I won't be able to tighten things up properly. Can't afford the bike shop tuneups.

I'm thinking of buying a bike repair stand, Heck compared to the cost of car insurance, I could probably set up a nice little repair corner in my garage! I'm going to stop being so chintzy on my cycling spending.

And I'll have lots of room when all the car clutter is gone!

Mary

I guess that if I buy from Craigs list, I can check with the Police Department, or something. Somewhere there should be tips on the net on how to avoid buying stolen goods. It is in my own self-interest to do what I can to discourage bike theft.

Mary

Hi Mary,

In addition to Community Cycling Center, there is Citybikes.

http://www.citybikes.coop/index.htm

My housemate got a great bike there, pretty much custom built from old bikes. You can mix and match. If you get the right frame, you can start with upright handlebars and then if you change, replace them with drops or whatever. Frankenbike... Even if you get them to do all the mechanical work, the bikes are still a great deal. They also sell some good quality, moderately priced new bikes from Jamis, KHS, and Biria. What they don't stock, they will order.

If I hadn't been so set to buy my Breezer, I would have gone to Citybikes.

BTW, if you're a member of any Portland food co-op, they'll take 5% off your bill.

Couple of other places that sell used bikes:
http://www.therecyclery.com/
http://www.sellwoodcycle.com/

Congratulations in getting off Tri-Met!

I've been cruising CL in search of a cheaper commuter/touring bike. So far haven't found "the one" but I always cross-reference this Portland area Stolen Bike Listings site. Also, as long as you have good "methdar" you will probably be able to tell if the person selling the bike just needs $50 to go buy more drugs or what.

PS: I'm also at PSU and waiting for the next two weeks to be OVER!!! :eek:

I am so glad for the website of local stolen bikes. I've seen a few bikes on ebay listed in the Portland area for sale on ebay with local pickup.

Mary