Too Fat to Ride??? (Gear shifting problem)

[malkin]

Maybe she's just out riding her bike!

[planetluvver]

I will update my e-mail address to my current one, so I actually see the subscription notifications! But a new post caught my attention. (I use this address for mostly low priority things. However, I intend cycling to be a high priority for me.

Yes, my shifters are like those in the picture Xeney posted, that she called stem shifters. A cycling friend suggested that I switch them to be mounted on my tube. I do not want to buy a new bike right now, unless I luck into a bargain at the thrift store. But I guess it can't hurt to browse at bike shops, and see what is out there.

My next purchases will likely be rain gear and baskets or bags. ( I am getting tired of strapping my backpack onto the rack with bungee cords.) I have slowed down my expectations of riding quite a bit, and so I am paying more attention to what I am doing. I am dismounting and walking across the street more often, and just trying to feel more comfortable with my bike. (Though, I guess I haven't ridden in about a week, Oops!)

THank you all for your supportive remarks. I am glad that I am not the only woman who has had this problem. I think the bike fits me pretty well, though I am not really sure.

[wackyjacky1]

Yay, she came back!

Count me as another vote for bar-end shifters. I absolutely love mine.

Good luck, keep ridin', and let us know how it's going.

[Biciclista]

Yay! she's back!

And did I hear you say you are cruising thrift shops for bikes? This stuff is addictive you know

[planetluvver]

Thanks, gals for thinking about me!

I was thinking of moving the shifters lower down, onto the bike frame. (I think this was a popular spot to place the shifters. But noone has suggested that placement, so perhaps I need to look into the bar-end shifters. I will probably rejoin the PSU (Portland State University) Bike Coop, so I can have some hand-holding. I do not understand WHY I am such a wimp when it comes to working on my bike.

Though, maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself, I remember as a kid, that all the guys who worked on their cars would have a bunch of other people hanging around, in fact, working on the car was probably an excuse for hanging out in the garage, and drinking beer.

What I REALLY need is to clean out the garage. There is still some automobile related clutter in the garage, as well as general clutter. And I haven't owned a car for several years now!

[xeney]

Moving the shifters to the down tube is probably the easiest thing to do. My husband likes down tube shifters; I have never gotten the hang of them. The reason nobody suggested that, probably, is that both down tube shifters and stem shifters (what you have now) are something you mostly only see on older bikes.

Before you do it, I would test to make sure you're going to be able to reach them easily while you're riding. If you can grab a water bottle you can use down tube shifters, though.