Newbie - getting my first "real" bike, so excited

Hi everyone!

I've been reading these forums for the past few months as I have been thinking about starting cycling. I hadn't ridden a bike since I was about 13 but have been wanting to get my first adult bike for awhile.

One day I just decided to stop into an LBS to see what I would be getting myself into. The owner suggested a hybrid at first and let me test ride it (even though I was hesitant and feeling somehow unprepared for my first bike ride in awhile). I LOVED it, it made me feel so giddy riding down the streets and I kept wondering why I had ever stopped riding a bike. He then insisted I test a road bike, which was pretty disastrous. But when I did get those few good strokes on the road bike I fell in love with the lightness and speed.

So after a few more months of test riding various bikes and getting a feel for a few different LBSes I think I've decided on my bike. A 2008 Kona Jake. I need the cross bike for a couple of our bad stone chip and oil roads here and I just love the versatility of them. I wanted a Jake the Snake at first, but I'm a poor student and don't want to get ahead of myself.

I've been waiting for weeks for them to come in and finally got to get on one on Saturday. It was only on the trainer though, because it was on hold for someone else and the weather was so nasty here.

I'm so excited, I might have my very first, brand new, shiny bike to ride very soon. This is getting crazy long, but I'm so happy to have found this forum and share my excitement with people who actually like bikes. You all seem so great, I can't wait until I start riding and coming here more often.

Thanks for listening! :o

~Erin

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Originally Posted by firenze11

Hi everyone!

I've been reading these forums for the past few months as I have been thinking about starting cycling. I hadn't ridden a bike since I was about 13 but have been wanting to get my first adult bike for awhile.

One day I just decided to stop into an LBS to see what I would be getting myself into. The owner suggested a hybrid at first and let me test ride it (even though I was hesitant and feeling somehow unprepared for my first bike ride in awhile). I LOVED it, it made me feel so giddy riding down the streets and I kept wondering why I had ever stopped riding a bike. He then insisted I test a road bike, which was pretty disastrous. But when I did get those few good strokes on the road bike I fell in love with the lightness and speed.

So after a few more months of test riding various bikes and getting a feel for a few different LBSes I think I've decided on my bike. A 2008 Kona Jake. I need the cross bike for a couple of our bad stone chip and oil roads here and I just love the versatility of them. I wanted a Jake the Snake at first, but I'm a poor student and don't want to get ahead of myself.

I've been waiting for weeks for them to come in and finally got to get on one on Saturday. It was only on the trainer though, because it was on hold for someone else and the weather was so nasty here.

I'm so excited, I might have my very first, brand new, shiny bike to ride very soon. This is getting crazy long, but I'm so happy to have found this forum and share my excitement with people who actually like bikes. You all seem so great, I can't wait until I start riding and coming here more often.

Thanks for listening! :o

~Erin

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Welcome Erin, Bike riding is so much fun. When I started riding again 3 yrs ago, I hadn't ridden since a teenager. I took my time and saved my money and now have 2 bikes I love. You'll love yours too. The Kona's are nice, heard good things about them. Enjoy! Jennifer :) ;)

Erin,
How great to hear your excitement!! I got my first bike since I was a kid just last summer, and I'm STILL crazy excited about it. For me it was about 38 years without even sitting on a bike. Then I got on a hybrid and just started riding down the road (they say you never forget and it's true), and like you I wondered why I had stopped riding for so long. :o
Welcome to the world of women biking! We are all friends here, feel free to babble on and on- we all feel the bike joy too. :p

Congratulations! Keep us posted about the process of getting your new bike. We want to know all the details. :)

Way to go Erin!! Riding a bicycle is so simple and fun and yet so many of us gave it up in high school...rediscovering the joy is such a grand feeling!! :D

Congrats, Erin! You sound so excited. Here's hoping for many, many wonderful miles on your new bike. Just remember - its very addicting! You will probably get hooked on a wonderful new sport for life! Yay!

Annie

Hi! Welcome!

And I've been looking at the Kona Jake, too! Looks like a great bike.

You're going to have a blast!!

Hi Erin,

I *love* my Kona (I have a 2008 Cinder Cone).

Like you I got my first bike in ages before that and wanted a good-quality bike that wasn't going to be too expensive. I got a Kona Fire Mountain (entry-level MTB) and I loved it too, but it got stolen this summer :(. Even the bikes at the lower-end of Kona's ranges are really great IMO and it really got me hooked.

I really want a Jake-the-Snake too. :D It's a great all-round bike, but I think it's pretty hard to justify since my mountain and road bikes go pretty much everywhere I need them to go, and I definitely wanted a Mountain bike.

Post a picture when you get your bike, and congrats! You will have some fun with that bike!

Anne

A BIG congratulations to you! I never rode Jake the Snake but I rode a Kona mtb down "the world's most deadliest road" in Bolivia, and let me tell you, those bikes can take a beating! I owe my life to a Kona's superior handling and brakes!!!

I just bought my first "real" bike yesterday!!! I went with the low end Trek (WSD), I LOVE IT!!!!! Can't wait to get back on!

Hey SillyMia... That's how I got sold on Kona too. :D

I hope you enjoyed the WMDR as much as I did!

Anne

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Originally Posted by onimity

Hey SillyMia... That's how I got sold on Kona too. :D

I hope you enjoyed the WMDR as much as I did!

Anne

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NO WAY!!! Small world! Did you do Gravity Tours? Amazing trip, eh?

Oh wow!

Thank you all for such a great, warm welcome. I've been babbling on and on about bikes to my friends and family for awhile and I think they're getting just a little bit tired of it. I'm so glad there is a place I can come and talk about it with a group of great women who know so much about the sport.

I'm also really glad to hear that Kona's get good reviews from some of you, especially if they can make a bike to handle "the world's most deadliest road!" It took a lot of time but I think the Jake is right for me. (Even though the Jake the Snake is so tempting, haha.) I can see how the sport and looking at bikes can be addicting. I remember the owner of the first LBS I went to told me the right bike would pick me and I think it has. Now I have lofty dreams of centuries dancing in my head. That will be a long way down the line, I'm sure. Baby steps, of course.

I'm so sorry I didn't respond to everyone individually, but thank you so much again.

Oh and I'll probably be posting pics of my new bike very soon. :D

~Erin.

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Originally Posted by SillyMia

NO WAY!!! Small world! Did you do Gravity Tours? Amazing trip, eh?

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Yea, I rode with Gravity too, they were amazing. I had so much confidence in them which was really key on that road! Not to mention the hydraulic brakes!

There were some girls with another company that we passed who were on miserable bikes, probably the Bolivian equivalent of a Wal-mart bike, and they were still in their cold-weather clothing at the bottom, riding by themselves (guides ahead in a van). One girl's wheel was out of true and hitting her brake pads. Talk about scary!!! :eek: Our guide (who claimed to be able to diagnose any mechanical problem on a bike from 500 feet) stopped to help her repair it.

That ride was so amazing, it is up there with the coolest things I've ever done in my life.

Anne

Just went over to Kona to look at the Jake...hot!
you can't go wrong with that bike!!!

I also just got my first new bike since I was 18....and I am having a blast!!
It changed my life...:D

And this forum is great...I can't believe how much I look forward to visiting it every day.

elk

Congrats on the new bike and welcome from another newbie!! I know what you mean about driving your friends and family nuts with your enthusiasm. I'm doing the same thing. I rode my heavy old Murray MB all summer and last month I got a Specialized Sequoia Elite road bike. I'm so excited and having a blast and while they are excited for me they just don't "get it".

I can't wait to see pics of your bike! You'll be surprised how quickly the miles add up and you're ready to do a century.

Lora

hee hee! I love new bike excitement. We all know exactly how you feel!

My advice: Go for Jake the Snake. It might mean cutting back on other expenses for a while, but it will nag at you if you don't get it... I bought my first bike in April and thought I was being very sensible by getting something affordable. By July I had sold it and bought a bike that cost 4 times as much! The Jake the Snake will keep you happier for longer and you will probably spend less in the long run because you won't be as tempted to make upgrades too soon!

Stay excited and keep us posted! I love both of those Kona's... Saw a Jake the Snake the other day in my neighborhood and it was beautiful.

The excitement continues!

I went in to my LBS today to make sure the 54 fit me and got to finally test ride it outside. I loved it, had it fitted, and brought my new Jakey boy home today. I was pretty torn for awhile about JTS versus Jake but am comfortable with my decision now. The guy at the LBS who helped me seems partial to the triple on the Jake and I think it will come in handy for me.

I also got a Blackburn fluid trainer, a smooth tire for my rear wheel when I use the trainer, and a riser block.

My next step will come in a few weeks when I get some clipless pedals and proper shoes. I'm going to be trying to use them on the trainer so I can get comfortable with clipping in and out with more stability. The LBS is keen on getting me some walkable, more mountain bike style shoes/pedals. He suggested SPD, I think.

I rode Jake for the first time on my road today and it's so much better than the road bike I tried. Our road is stone chip and oil and there was so much less vibration, it was wonderful. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow so I can go play some more.

I'll get some pics tomorrow and share them!

~E.

YAY!!!! :p :p :p
Sounds like you got a great bike. And sounds like you have a bike shop that cares, too.
Can't wait for pictures! :) :) :)

Congrats!!! :D

I can't wait to see the pictures! Have you named it Jake? Konas seem to come with names that work already. My Cinder Cone is 'Cindy' :o

I love the description of the Jake on the Kona Site: "The Jake will get you started in the art of turning your lungs inside out for 60 minutes on a weekly basis."

SPDs are a great way to go for clipless...they are easy to get used to and there are a lot of shoes that are easy to walk around in. Make sure that you get shoes that are *really* comfortable, though. If you start riding longer distances you will really regret a pair of shoes with a mediocre fit.

You will really love that bike, I think, and your LBS sounds awesome. There is nothing better than a LBS that really takes care of you. :)

Anne

congratulations and welcome to the forum. You came to the right place to express your cycling enthusiasm.

Enjoy your bike and feel free to post your ride reports :)

~ JoAnn

Congrats! If you needed a triple crankset, then sounds like you made the right decision... Enjoy! And post pictures!!!

Ok, I'm back with some pictures. :p

Onimity - I've started calling him Jake (and apparently decided it's a him) since Kona picked a good name for the bike already. I do want to find a more personal nickname though. I'm open to suggestions from all. Actually I told my friend about my bike yesterday and referred to it as Jake. She thought I'd gone bonkers and done it out of my love for Jake Gyllenhaal.

Also I saw a beautiful blue Cinder Cone yesterday, my Dad actually found it first and said "ooh I want this one" haha. It looks like a fantastic bike and I love Cindy for the name, it fits. Thanks for the advice on the shoes too, I'll make sure to get something that fits well and is comfortable.

On with the pictures!!! :D :D :D

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...1/IMG_0589.jpg

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...1/IMG_0590.jpg

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...1/IMG_0591.jpg

It took me forever to get the images to work, I hope they aren't to huge. Lemme know.

~E.

Congrats on getting your new bike! It is very exciting. I purchased a basic road bike this past spring (Motobecane Sport) and just upgraded to a Giant TCR1 about 3 weeks ago and I'm loving every minute spent on this bike.

Argh, ok I tried to post pics last night and did it quickly so thought maybe it didn't go through. I tried this morn and read the thing about moderator approval. So if a mod reads this and wants to delete one of them, feel free. I know you all like pics but I don't need to inundate you! :o

Thanks! I think I should limit my posting to when I'm actually paying more attention.

~E.

The pictures are clear..great looking bike...!!

what is it about our bikes that we LOVE so much? They are so much more than just a ride.....

elk

That is one sharp bike! Hope you're enjoying the miles.

Jake is too cool. :D I love the pictures, thanks for posting them. They always look a lot happier with a little dirt on the tires...

My Cinder Cone is blue like the one you saw, I love the color a lot more than I thought I would...your dad should get one! :)

Anne

Jake looks like a bike ready for many diverse adventures. Congratulations.:)

Nice bike!

Do you get any road buzz or harsh vibrations through that straight steel fork?

Nice job with the pictures! It is a sleek-looking machine for sure. Looks like a great ride. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by elk

The pictures are clear..great looking bike...!!

what is it about our bikes that we LOVE so much? They are so much more than just a ride.....

elk

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Bikes have a soul, and that's why I think we get so attached. My car- I'd be OK if it was stolen (well, you know :rolleyes: ), but my bike- don't you DARE touch her: we've spent waaaaay to much time together and she belongs to ME.

Argh, it's raining. It has been raining the past two days. Jake is just sitting in the house and I think I hear him crying. ;) Tomorrow looks like it should be drier though.

Christopher - Jake has less vibration than the Devinci Silverstone I tried on my road. I'm wondering if that has more to do with wider tires than anything else because I think the Silverstone had a carbon fork at least. I'm not sure of the specs though I was just borrowing it to test out how I'd like riding a road bike.

Tri Girl - I think you're right about bikes having souls. I feel very attached to mine already. I think it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship. And one LBS I went to told me the bike would pick me so I should test a lot. Sure, he was probably talking about geometry, fit, ride, components, etc. but I'd like to think he meant there'd be a little "je ne sais quoi," love at first ride involved too.

~E.

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Originally Posted by firenze11

Argh, it's raining. It has been raining the past two days.
Tri Girl - I think you're right about bikes having souls. I feel very attached to mine already. I think it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship. And one LBS I went to told me the bike would pick me so I should test a lot. Sure, he was probably talking about geometry, fit, ride, components, etc. but I'd like to think he meant there'd be a little "je ne sais quoi," love at first ride involved too.

~E.

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:p You must live near me....Today is suposed to be the stormiest: tommorrow, dry.

I definately feel like when I got on the Globe it was the right bike...and even though I tried out 3-4 different sizes, step through and not, I knew it was my bike...
When I was crossed a major urban street, and went rattling over the cobblestones under a bridge in inner SE Portland, with cars and creeps, and didn't care...I knew we were on to something!