Best Bike Buying Advice, EVER!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oh man, Smurfette, I hope you re-read that when you are 50- I guarantee you'll get a big laugh out of it!

the deal gets worse by the day, every day you are older, that bike is going to be less fun to ride.

Um...nothing could be further from the truth! The opposite is true for most of us here. If it were true we should have all killed ourselves at age 18 and spared ourselves decades of misery.

you're probably as good looking as you'll ever be....any 50 yr old woman can walk into a shop and lay down the amex for something sexy but she won't look good on it

I look damn FINE on my bike, as do plenty of other 40, 50, and 60 year women on here. What planet is this guy from, Planet Romper Room?? He talks like a 15 year old. Besides, a bike can't make you sexy- only YOU can do that...with your 'tude. But then he doesn't know that yet since he's apparently still in high school.
If you ask me he sounds like those guys you work with.
If you want to and are able to buy a new bike for yourself, you should do it without needing any boy's approval or permission anyway.

Honestly. This thread is really just a joke, right?

[smurfalicious]

Ooof, really wasn't trying to stir sh*t up. I guess perhaps it seems different because I know him, but I just liked the "stop stewing on it and buy a damn bike and ride the piss out of it attitude." Don't thing he was bagging on age, I know there are some smoking cougars on his team. Besides, at 27 I still get carded for EVERYTHING so I'm pretty confident I'll be adorable forever.

[Kalidurga]

...but I just liked the "stop stewing on it and buy a damn bike and ride the piss out of it attitude."

Interesting thread. I can't recall that considerations of either sex or sexiness have ever entered my mind when I've thought of riding my bike. I will agree wholeheartedly with the attitude you described above, though. When I ride the piss out of my bike, I do it for ME, for my enjoyment and good health. Not to look a certain way or get attention from anyone. But maybe that makes me weird.

[Duck on Wheels]

I think this guy's comment was one of those instances wehre you have to know the author to get the humor. Irony and flippancy do not come over well among strangers, especially in print. As one of the potentially offended older women on the board, I'm prepared to take Smurf's word for it that, knowing the guy, this was funny, not meant to be taken literally, and no offense intended. We can put our guns back in their holsters and pick up those teacups again, pinkies poised.

[Crankin]

Well, while I do wish I started riding in my 20s or 30s, I don't wish to be that age.
I ride with a group of people who are mostly older than me a few times a year. One ride was lead by an 83 year old . My goal is to be like them. They might not be the fastest, but, they are out there doing things that 98% of all Americans don't do, like 40 mile rides, 8 mile hikes, and x country skiing.
And, I know I am in better shape now than when I was overweight in my twenties or anorexic skinny in my thirties.
There's nothing wrong with being a 50 something with an Amex in her pocket.

[lph]

I guess I'm smack in the middle between the right age to buy a "hot, sexy bike" and the right age to afford one , but hey - I really can't see any need to get offended. How important can a bike be to your self-image anyway? Sure, he was "offensive" to 50 yr olds, but he was trying to cheer up a young woman, a friend, by being funny and encouraging, he wasn't sending a well-thought-out public message to all women cyclists out there. And it was "the best advice - ever" to smurf then and there, because it's what she needed to hear. I'm much stingier, so I don't agree with the "buy the best bike you can afford"-idea at all, but I can still appreciate the spirit behind the idea.

eta: I felt much the same way when I was browsing for a road bike, and a guy in his 50s, very overweight, came into the store, glanced around and casually walked out ten minutes later with the beeyoootifulll shiny sexy sleek red road bike I'd been lusting for but couldn't afford. Sure, I should have been thinking "woohoo, good for him, getting out there and getting into shape!" But I just kept thinking "waaahhh - that bike would've looked so much better going home with me!"

[redrhodie]

I bought my dream bike at 40. I will still be sexy on it at 50. Sexy is a state of mind.

[tulip]

Hi Smurf, It sounds like your friend was telling you to basically shut up and ride already! That I can appreciate! We do have a tendency to hem and haw and obsess about bike purchases because we want The Perfect Bike. There are plenty of bikes that will work very well for us; I don't believe in The Perfect Anything. That line of thought really limits life, in my opinion, and tends to paralyze us because we are afraid to make a mistake and end up with anything but The Perfect Whatever.

So enjoy life, don't sweat the small stuff, and just ride your bike. It's not about the bike, it's about how we feel when we are out in the wind and sun and thinking about nothing watching the fields and forests whiz by under our own strength and power.

[smurfalicious]

I guess I'm smack in the middle between the right age to buy a "hot, sexy bike" and the right age to afford one

Ugh, yep, I feel ya there. Life was simpler when the greatest toy ever was Lego's. It makes sense that most of the gals I end up riding horses with are old enough to be my mom or damn near. Kids are off at school, and they're living the dream. I don't know they do it, they strangely seem to enjoy riding the same trail every weekend a walk. Buuuut, they're also financially stable enough to have sweet pickup trucks with bun warmers in the seats that I looooove on a cold morning. I just want a purdy bike while I'm still young and dumb enough to see just how fast and how tight I can lay it into corners until I get roadrash.

eta: I felt much the same way when I was browsing for a road bike, and a guy in his 50s, very overweight, came into the store, glanced around and casually walked out ten minutes later with the beeyoootifulll shiny sexy sleek red road bike I'd been lusting for but couldn't afford. Sure, I should have been thinking "woohoo, good for him, getting out there and getting into shape!" But I just kept thinking "waaahhh - that bike would've looked so much better going home with me!"

Funny related story. I was in a local shop a while back and they had just special ordered a Colnago for a customer. Total retail after they blinged it out came to over $10k. I was in shock especially since they said the guy didn't ride. His logic was that if he spent a good chunk of change, he'd be more motivated to ride it. My question was, "Did he get a 52cm and should I watch Craig's List in a month?" I've done similar things though. Thus why next bike muuuust be pretty, it must call out to me "come ride me!!!"

Coworker just got someone's old team issue GF ProCaliber in pink and grey, not fair. It has an awesome carbon flat bar on it but all the guys keep telling her flat bars suck (really? loved mine) she's decided to replace it after a very small handful of rides. RAR! Not worthy!

Meh, you're only young once, and while sometimes I want to slap whoever started that vicious rumor that your 20's are so great, might as well have fun toys. Don't know when I'll have the chance to only worry about myself and the puppies again so if it means subsisting on ramen noodles for a bit then so be it. I did it when I bought Pony my old hardtail and I can do it again.

I can promise you none of you meet the description of the 50 year old with an Amex in her wallet. You all rock, you know that because you like bikes and I'm sure he'd gladly roll out a few choice for anyone of you to try out until you found the one that made you feel like fastest chica in your zip code. His thing is the people who buy just because they can afford it, not because they care. Like a few years back when he had a beautiful beyond compare Titus Motolite in metallic baby blue, 14" frame. It was blinged out beyond compare with pink pedals, pink spoke nipples, LE Chris King pink hubs and headset, etc. At the time it was $5k but with prices now it would probably be $7k. A gal came in wanting to buy it for her 13 year old son because "it might fit him." Yeah, for a week until he out grows it or gets beaten up.

BTW my grandma lovingly calls herself an "old broad" all the time, thus why I put it in quotes. She's busted her tookus on horses all her life, gone to quarter horse worlds more times than I know, so she can call herself whatever she pleases in my book.

[jobob]

BTW my grandma lovingly calls herself an "old broad" all the time, thus why I put it in quotes. She's busted her tookus on horses all her life, gone to quarter horse worlds more times than I know, so she can call herself whatever she pleases in my book.

But if a perfect stranger referred to her as an old broad, and in an unkind and insulting way, wouldn't you take offense??

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I can promise you none of you meet the description of the 50 year old with an Amex in her wallet.

Since the description said "any 50 year old woman", I think a lot of us do.

Here's your homework:
over 50...
Pop quiz on Friday.

[jobob]

We can put our guns back in their holsters and pick up those teacups again, pinkies poised.

"We" can? Speak for yourself, Duck.
I don't appreciate being told how I am supposed to react to a post.

[GLC1968]

Personally, I don't really find this offensive in its current form. Had he come on here and posted this himself, then yes, it would be worth ripping him a new one.

I just see this as a conversation between friends. It wasn't intended for my ears, so I'm not going to take it as a personal offense. Hell, it may not even be how he feels about 50 year old women...he might have just said it to make a point to his young friend. We can't know, because we don't know him.

I do think that perhaps smurf should have thought twice before posting his exact words on a forum where a large % of the audience is over 50, though.

[Triskeliongirl]

I am sorry if this is perceived as an attack on smurf, but its not. I view it as sensitivity training, and perhaps we have helped her by letting her know that aging doesn't have to be the way she has been perceiving it.

[smurfalicious]

If you want to and are able to buy a new bike for yourself, you should do it without needing any boy's approval or permission anyway.

Oh no, wasn't seeking his approval or permission, just his advice. He helped me with my bike immensely back in the day. I value his opinion more than certain others so I asked what he thought of my two contenders since he knows me and how/what/when/where I like to ride. I sent him about 5 pages of whiney, indecisive drivel and his answer was shut up and ride.

Besides, my immense crush on him died back when we hung out and InterBike and he was this totally whipped, lame, subdued version of himself. He buys his girlfriend bad *** bikes all the time that she could care less about. It's not fair, really, it's not.