Making the best of it.

[Owlie]

A friend lent me a bike to tide me over until I get my bike, which will hopefully be at the end of the month. (If, that is, I get paid, but that's another story.) She got it for $20, and it looks like it. It's a Murray of some description. The brakes are awful, it makes terrible noises when you change gears... in fact, the only positive thing my riding buddy/boyfriend can find about it is that the tires hold air. The brakes I can handle. The shifting...well, I'll be treating it as the single-speed thing I grew up with.

What I can't handle is the seat. It's an old, cheap men's seat, so it doesn't actually support what it's supposed to, and my weight ends up on parts that should never have my weight on them. It's painful. This concerns me, as it's too painful to ride for any more than 10 minutes at a time, so that I can't get any actual riding in until I buy the road bike. I'll be visiting my family over the July 4th weekend, and there are bike trails nearby. I'd like to be able to do more than the 1-mile loop at the beginning.

Any suggestions for making the most of this bike?

[Biciclista]

are you sure the seat is adjusted properly?
are there any bike shops that are nearby who could a/ look at your bike fit
b/ sell you a used saddle that will feel better?

of course, you have to get used to sitting on even the best of saddles.
good luck
i''m glad you're getting a new bike soon!

[OakLeaf]

You'll need to find a saddle that fits you for your new bike anyhow, so you may as well start the search now. Good luck!

[uforgot]

Owlie...I have an older Terry Butterfly saddle sitting around here that I purchased here on TE. If you pm me your addy I'll send it to you. If it doesn't work out, all you have to do is promise you'll send it on to someone else who could use it, but it should certainly be better than the one you have!

[Owlie]

uforgot--I might take you up on that, especially if they show no signs of paying me.

I went out again yesterday. Not quite as bad seatwise, but this bike is starting to scare me. It's scaring the BF as well. The wheels are both loose and the bolts are a) frozen, and b) impossible to remove with the tools we have at the moment. If you try to turn, they'll wobble and the bike 'fishtails.' I'm not taking this thing on the road with the brakes as they are (I've been riding around a parking lot to get my balance back).

[fatbottomedgurl]

So the bike is a POS and you stop it with your feet- that's for Fred Flintstone. You could probably find a better bike at a garage sale for cheap.

[MartianDestiny]

uforgot--I might take you up on that, especially if they show no signs of paying me.

I went out again yesterday. Not quite as bad seatwise, but this bike is starting to scare me. It's scaring the BF as well. The wheels are both loose and the bolts are a) frozen, and b) impossible to remove with the tools we have at the moment. If you try to turn, they'll wobble and the bike 'fishtails.' I'm not taking this thing on the road with the brakes as they are (I've been riding around a parking lot to get my balance back).

Do NOT ride this bike anywhere. Give it back and wait until you can get something that is at least Safe!!

[MomOnBike]

Agreed. You need another bike. One that is safe. Go to Goodwill and check them out. Troll Craig's list. Ask friends, relatives, co-workers, strangers on the street. Just find a safe bike. They are out there. Really. Whatever you spend on a safe bike will be less than trying to patch yourself back together when the current POS fails.

(Did I mention that you need a safe bike?)

[Owlie]

Worry not! This bike will be in my possession (not being ridden!) for another week and a half, max. I think I'm ready for the road bike, and assuming payroll hasn't screwed up, I'll have a nice, safe shiny new bike by July 2nd. It should solve the braking issue (not least because my feet won't hit the ground!), and the saddle issue...well...Does one ever solve that in the first few months?


Now the question is...teal or gold?

[wackyjacky1]

Now the question is...teal or gold?

I'm diggin' the gold.

[MartianDestiny]

Teal

I actually have last year's model of this (an OCR3w). Nice bike.

[Tri Girl]

I'm glad you're getting a new bike. The current one sounds like broken bones just waiting to happen. Personally, I like the gold. Woot woo!