New Bike

[boy in a kilt]

She's ferrari red. I'm torn about touching up the paint. Numerous scratches but none that go through the powder coat underneath the paint. And I'm always a little suspicious of bikes with no scratches on them.

[kdskaggs]

How long have you had the bike? My 18-year chose magenta for me. Personally, I liked the reds and purples!

I'm with you, scratches show that you ride your bike!

Kenda

[boy in a kilt]

I bought the frame in late 2001 along with the head set and seat post. I put he rest of it together with parts from my previous bike.

I still have the headset, seat post and saddle but everything else has been replaced since. She now has a campy drive train (centuar/veloce), phil wood hubs and BB, shimano cantis and cassette (campy cassettes are too narrow for phil wood hubs but shimano 10 speed cassettes work with campy 10 speed shifters), and nitto mod 177 handlebars, size 48cm.

This wasn't a factor in my decision, but when I bought my car, I realized it matched my bike. If you have a choice, you should always buy a car that matches your bike.

[bikermomma]

I use T-Towns other store, Midtown Bikes on Harvard next to Trippet's and Staples. I also use Tulsa Supercenter of Bikes over on Mingo. I bought my bike on mingo (they are very helpful), but the guys at are helpful and ultra nice.

I saw in the phone book that Sand Springs has a bike store? Does it still?

[kdskaggs]

Biker Momma,

I emailed the Serotta user's forum for help with my bike and a very nice man responded. The world is so small! He is a dog trainer from the dog club that I'm a member of in Tulsa. He and I are both at advanced obedience levels now but he was my puppy teacher four years ago. Larry works at the Mingo store! He asked me to come in so they can help me with fit and he also rides a Serotta! Because my name is so unusual, he knew immediately who I was.

I'm doing the happy dance now. At least I can get another local opinion about my bike and perhaps they have something to show me in their shop. I really like the Co-motion bikes and would still like to drive to Plano to see/ride one before I decide on anything. There is also a Serotta shop nearby.

Boy in a Kilt, I have a silver car, does that mean I can have any color bike I want? I was showing the Co-motion website to my husband last night and he really liked them. He initially wanted me to get an aluminum or titanium bike because they are lighter than steel. I'm used to the weight of my Serotta, it's also steel, and don't think the weight is an issue. Of course I don't want to get a tank.

Kenda


Kenda

[elk]

Kenda...off topic here....but who are you training? I have 2 Open dogs (papillon) and one Novice; the novice dog (my collie) is also training For Delta Society certificatoin...

elk

[kdskaggs]

Hi Elk,

I am training my Golden Retriever, Max. He has his CD, UCD, CDX and UCDX. We're working on utility now. Unfortunately we took the summer off because I did a lot of traveling. It shows. Unfortunately my class filled up before I thought to send in a reservation so we're out until after the first of the year. I should probably change dog clubs and train somewhere else so we don't have an even larger gap in training.

What is Delta Society?

I love Collies and Papillons! We have a second Golden but she isn't show worthy and probably never will be. She was a rescue and is a bit neurotic!

Kenda

[kdskaggs]

I phoned the Plano Co-Motion dealer today and spoke with the guy in charge of operations there. He is going to the Vegas bike show next week and won't be available to meet with me until the following week. We discussed my biomechanical issues, scoliosis, leg length difference (but not really, it's my scoliosis), hip problems, etc. He specializes in scoliosis patients. I'm going to visit him the following week. The store he works at sells other brands of bikes so he isn't pushing Co-Motion on me but I am impressed with Co-Motion as far as their interest in earning my business. I have been communicating with a man at their corporate office for the last couple of days. He answers all of my questions and has been extremely helpful. Serotta, on the other hand, has blown me off. Bigger business, I guess.

Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to see the guy from one of our local bike shops that wrote me from the Serotta site to see what he thinks about the fit of my current Serotta.

The downside of a Co-Motion is 12 weeks of waiting once the order is placed. Good thing it will be winter! If it's really rainy and snowy, it won't matter as much.

Kenda

[boy in a kilt]

Have you been talking to Duan at Co-motion? He fit me for my bike. Very nice guy.

Aluminum or Titanium would be lighter. No argument there. Co-motion builds the Americano with their tandem tubing and it's a bit of a tank. But if weight was really an issue, I'd lose more weight and I wouldn't have put phil wood on it.

It was a tough wait for me too and I only lived 40 miles from the factory when I bought it. Skipped my fluid mechanics class to go down and get it. I'm not very good at fluid mechanics anyway.

[hirakukibou]

I don't know your budget or if there is a time factor, but if you end up still needing a new bike, you might want to check out the Luna site. www.lunacycles.com She talks about women's bike fitting and makes wonderful bicycles. I actually bought a pre-built bike from her, but before she sold it to me she checked measurements etc... for fit. I was impressed with the care she took.
Good luck!

[kdskaggs]

No, I have been speaking with Pete at Co-Motion. He has been very helpful and has gladly answered all of my questions. I am very happy with their customer service so far!

I did take my Serotta to the LBS today. They slid my seat back some so that my knee was plumb with the center of my crank, which it should have been already and put a longer stem on it. The bike felt better on the trainer and I'll get out and ride her Sunday. The bike shop did feel that I was buying time and that I would never be really comfortable on the bike because it is just too small.

Kenda

[kdskaggs]

Thank you for the Luna link! I'll have to check into their bikes more. I like that they guarantee the fit of their bikes. Which bike did you get?

Kenda

[kdskaggs]

Hi,

The LBS had me test ride a Giant carbon fiber bike today. One of my complaints about my Serotta is that it isn't comfortable to ride on, I feel all of the bumps in the road. I thought I'd love the feel of carbon fiber but didn't like it at all! It felt really strange to me, I ended up preferring the feel of my steel bike, which really shocked the guys at the bike shop! Maybe I have a thing for steel and I didn't even know it.

Kenda

[Righteousbabe]

Kenda...I hope you are still checking this thread. I did a search for "scoliosis" on the forum, and this thread popped up. You mentioned Plano Cycling and Fitness and someone there who is helping you with biomechanical issues related to scoliosis. I would like to chat with you to find out what has happened since September. I have scoliosis too, and I am having some back issues. I am seeing a doctor in Dallas, and I am being told that cycling may not be the best thing for my back. I cannot accept this. So I would like to discuss your experiences and what information you have gathered.

Shannon

[rhiannon008]

I am in Colorado, and would have to vote against a fit at Wheatridge Cycle. There may nothing particularly terrible about the way in which they perform their fits, but they push sales a bit too hard IMHO. They tried to sell me a $3,000 Serotta when I went in for a cleat adjustment! When it turned out I just needed a different stem, handlebar, and fore/aft tweek If you are going to travel that far, there are several top notch places in Denver and Boulder that I would trust. However, I will give you a bit of info on the 2 places I have personally used.

The first is the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. They do amazing fits to an existing bike, and spell out clearly what changes would need to be made if purchasing a new bike. The fits are performed by people who are certified fit specialists as well as physical therapists. They address biomechanics on the bike, as well as specific exercises and stretches to treat certain issues like IT pain.

The second place I would recommend would be George at Mob Cycle in Denver. His fits are extremely detailed, using both your existing bike, as well as a fit cycle. Also, power meters are used to gauge the efficiency of your position before and after adjustments are made.

In any case, be very specific with any fitter regarding the type of riding you will be doing.

Best of luck!