New and Full of Questions

[aeiea]

Funny, three months ago I was thinking a $300 full upright, step through "commuter" bike. Not so much anymore. As I've ridden more and more, I've not only changed the types of bike I am considering, inched my budget up. I've learned more, have a better sense to what I need. (well, inched may be an understatement ...started at $300, went to $500 and now is in the $800-900 range). I just don't want to spend $400-500 now and by next June or July be thinking, damn, now I want a new bike.

Of course, I have hard core biker friends trying to push me even higher. I think this range should be fine for quite a while....esp. because I still will have to go down the whole gear path...shoes, tool kits, better computer, , tubes, under seat gear bag for those tubes, tools.....the list goes on and on.

Any reason to not go road bike?

Yeah... I was thinking "Oh, I'll spend $600 on a new bike; it'll be awesome!" My intent was to get a hybrid touring bike. Did some research... talked to my friends (most of whom were Bianchi fanatics)... and $1800 later...

Whatever, I'm in love!!!!

But if I had more time (ok, patience), and if I were taller, I would have stalked craigslist for a good used road bike first.

Actually... nah...

[kimikaw]

Any reason to not go road bike?

I'm guessing that's a rhetorical question, but yeah, the reason is I'm a little afraid of them. The skinny tires are a huge change from what I have...worried they'll be squirrley and that at 49 I'm getting too old to be that hunched over. First LBS, the one close to home that was trying to get me in the men's Trek more or less told me that. Like seeing this:

you can get fit to a road bike so that you ride it in a more upright touring style - you don't have to be all leaned over.

Also a bit of am I still too big (I'm 65lbs and a bout a year into a journey to go from sedentary, obese to fit and lose 100lbs, still have 35lbs to goal. I'm currently 185 at 5'8"). Maybe a bit of still imagining myself big, big, too big for a road bike.

But having said that, I suspect just testing one will change that. A friend suggested if I'm really worried about a 23 tire, to ask the LBS if the wheel will accomodate a 32 (or 30) and have that swapped out up front.

So....first goal find a LBS I like trust, and does real fittings. Not just have me stand over, and say, yep that's the one. (at the time I had work clothes and 2 1/2- 3" heels on). Been getting lots of good hints in the fitting thread. Really glad to have found you guys. Thanks for the answers!

[Cataboo]

If you're worried about weight - maybe consider like a steel touring/road bike... A surly pacer or one of the other surlys (crosscheck?). Something that you can put fatter tires on. And when you get more comfortable you can switch it to narrow tires if you want.

jamis aurora's another.

[OakLeaf]

Shame on that first LBS.

You weigh less than most of the men they probably fit on road bikes. And a smaller frame is automatically more rigid. You're not even close to being "too big," if there even is such a thing.

And, if you're properly fit to your bike, you won't be "hunched over." In fact, it's pretty rare for a woman to be "hunched over" on a road bike, because our upper bodies tend to be so much shorter in proportion to our lower bodies than men's. It's much more common that a woman will be excessively stretched out.

If you don't have good core strength - which is the only thing that your age might possibly have to do with anything at all - you can improve that. As we get older, everyone (male or female) loses muscle mass if we don't do strength training, and the first things to go are the abdominal wall and the glutes. So if you're not doing them already, lots of planks and bird-dogs and variations of those will help your stability - not only on the bike, but in everyday life.

Other than that, being 49 has nothin' to do with nothin'. Except if you're lucky like me, you don't have to worry about bloodstains on your shorts any more.


PS - if you want wider tires than 23s, think about 25s, or possibly 28s. 30s and 32s are (1) very, very wide and heavy and (2) almost certain not to fit on a road frame. Also, if you're thinking about putting different sized tires on, the wider one should go in the back, not the front.

[Kalidurga]

kimikaw, if you would really feel more comfortable with wider tires, you could also consider a cyclocross bike. They work perfectly well on the road, often have sturdier tubing than road bikes, and can fit tires up to 32. I've got a Specialized Tri-Cross that's been adjusted to have a touring-type fit and it makes for a very comfortable, sturdy road ride.

And Oakleaf's right. Bicycling Magazine frequently runs articles about folks weighing 300+ pounds getting into cycling. You're a feather compared to that, so definitely don't worry about your weight. I would think that the two most important things to consider are the type of riding you plan to do and whether the bike's geometry can be adjusted for your comfort.

[badgercat]

kimikaw, if you would really feel more comfortable with wider tires, you could also consider a cyclocross bike. They work perfectly well on the road, often have sturdier tubing than road bikes, and can fit tires up to 32. I've got a Specialized Tri-Cross that's been adjusted to have a touring-type fit and it makes for a very comfortable, sturdy road ride.

And Oakleaf's right. Bicycling Magazine frequently runs articles about folks weighing 300+ pounds getting into cycling. You're a feather compared to that, so definitely don't worry about your weight. I would think that the two most important things to consider are the type of riding you plan to do and whether the bike's geometry can be adjusted for your comfort.

Agreed on all of this. My boyfriend was over 300lbs when he got himself a very solid Cannondale cross bike just over a year ago. That actually came with knobby 700x35s. After a while, he switched them out to slick 700x28s (which I also did on my Trek FX).

Anyway, he looooves his cross bike (which he rides exclusively on the road). And he's lost 40lbs so far.

[Yelsel]

I love 'cross bikes just for the flexibility - you can run all sizes of tire, from skinny 23s to beefy 45s in some cases (Surlys -- and still have fenders!!!). The disadvantage of going with a cyclocross bike is that there no women specific models from major manufacturers -- though since people usually get a size down than they ride in road bikes, the top tube is then also shorter.

I suggest trying a Bianchi Volpe and a Surly Crosscheck, which have a relatively short and long toptube, respectively. My only bike for a long time was a Bianchi Castro Valley, a Volpe built up as a commuter bike (generator hub and fenders). True touring geometries are also great, comfortable road bikes -- usually a bit more upright position, and with a long wheelbase they are very steady on the road. All manufacturers have realized that most people are not 18 year old racers in aero positions -- they all have road bikes with more relaxed, upright, and longer wheelbase geometry: these are usually labeled something such as sport, endurance, comfort, coast-to-coast (for the Bianchi lovers).

And there are great deals on Craigslist and eBay; plus now is a great time to shop for bikes since the 2010 bikes are coming out, and the 2009 bikes are at steep discounts. I got my 2005 Bianchi Castro Valley in the summer of 2006 for $600 (vs $799 retail); 1998 Bianchi Eros off of Craigslist for $580; and 1996ish Bianchi Reparto Course Cyclocross for $610 on eBay; 2009 Novara Carema for $400 at the REI scratch and dent sale (42 cm bike returned because the person didn't like the ride -- smart woman because it has 700c wheels, so the geometry forward of the crank is actually a tad longer than my 52/53 cm unisex bikes -- but it makes a great bike for SO with his short legs and long torso, and works okay as a guest bike for smaller riders -- the headset can be raised upwards = back).