Mileage theory

[DarcyInOregon]

Pooks, you will make the right decision for yourself. The question you asked about calories burned versus the weight of the bike really isn't that important, but it is a question that everyone who is going through your decision-making process asks. If it was an important criteria in the type of bike being ridden, you would see the majority of cyclists on heavy comfort bikes. You don't. Cyclists on the road are on road bikes, not comfort bikes, and they are all fit and healthy. Just look outside to see what is the norm and you will have your answer.

Darcy

[pooks]

Aha. While reading for other info in Bicycling Magazine's NEW CYCLIST HANDBOOK I stumbled across this interesting tidbit:

"But it is known that the energy used in cycling varies dramatically as speed changes, thanks to wind resistance."

How about that?

I keep thinking about the speed/distance thing, and how there aren't any really good places to ride near me that I could really ride 20 or 30 miles or more without simply staying on busy streets.

However, it finally hit me that (duh) the faster I can ride those miles, the more likely I am to drive somewhere else to ride. Total time consumed by riding would have to include travel time, after all. And of course there's the fact that easier riding would mean more fun riding.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Too many variables!!! BRAIN HURTING!

I find I bike faster when I wear my plain chapstick as opposed to my peach flavored chapstick. I figured it out: With my peach chapstick, it's so yummy that I occasionally lick my lips while riding. At 20mph, wet lips quickly become cold, and the resulting body heat loss slows me down by at least .000000000000072 mph.
From now on it's PLAIN chapstick for me on the road!

[pooks]

Lisa?

Go to your room.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa?

Go to your room.

Hah! I had to go to bed now ANYWAY!!!!

[Kano]

just made the switch

I don't know if it burns more calories or not, but

my braking muscles got a better workout on the way downhill than ever before yesterday.

my ab muscles, yes my abs, gave out on the way up the hill -- so they must be getting a better workout on this new bike.

I didn't run out of gears on the way up the hill on my new bike. Old bike doesn't have enough gears for hills. old bike also doesn't have enough air in my lungs for up hills. This was not an issue on new bike yesterday -- well, not nearly as much, and when the cold given to me by the booger king goes away, all should be well! This means more hill climbing for me! (though new body position makes me a bit more nervous going DOWN hill, thus the better work out for braking muscles!)

This will sound a little silly: it's easier to work harder on this bike. It's easier to cruise along say one gear higher than I'd normally want to ride on the comfort-beast.

I don't think I'm working this bike to its capabilities yet, I'm still getting to know her and how we work together. She calls me to ride. I enjoy riding my other bike too, but that one has never called me like this one does.

Pooks, the hardest thing for me to do choosing this first road bike (shhhh, don't tell DH I called her my first) was look beyond the paint (when we looked at the Allez, the paint job had me cringing inside, even though the bike felt really good!) and concentrate on the features -- that triple was really important to me, shift mechanisms, etc. (and the double/triple debate that's been going on: I am really GLAD to have that triple!) I feel like I really lucked into the pretty part!

Karen in Boise

[pooks]

Abs? That sounds very promising!!!

As for braking/downhill/new position/new speed --

[Geonz]

Pooks, you will make the right decision for yourself. The question you asked about calories burned versus the weight of the bike really isn't that important, but it is a question that everyone who is going through your decision-making process asks. If it was an important criteria in the type of bike being ridden, you would see the majority of cyclists on heavy comfort bikes. You don't. Cyclists on the road are on road bikes, not comfort bikes, and they are all fit and healthy. Just look outside to see what is the norm and you will have your answer.

Darcy

To base a decision on what the majority does assumes that what matters to them matters to me. It's worth looking at more closely than that. (In other words: why be normal )

'Round here, on any given bike rack, you'll see mostly clunkers. Of course, the bikes going by are not quite as clunker-dominated... there's a connection there, too.