New girl, green as the grass

[rebeccaC]

If it’s in reasonable shape keep that original blue/white seat if you decide to change to a different seat. People like original parts!! For a Brooks you'll need to change your seatpost to a 13/16 with a 7/8 top…..and again, if you change keep the original. Talk to your LBS about seatpost options if you do decide to go with a different saddle. Perhaps think about saving the money for your next bike instead of spending what a Brooks will cost for the Hollywood.....well unless you really want to bling it out

[ZoneFive]

What I said about putting the Brooks on my wishlist was more a reminder to myself not to go all nuts and buy the expensive toys -- all the bling -- before I've ridden ten miles yet. I do keep a bike wishlist at Amazon and while I'm aiming for the sensible/essential stuff first, there are a few high-end fripperies that are on there just so I can think about them a while.

I'm going past my LBS today so I think I'll drop by and check out their handgrips. And I have to ask -- what does your custom inscription read?

rebeccaC, thank you for the reminder about keeping the original equipment. The tires were shot and I doubt they were original so I didn't keep those, but the saddle and post will definitely be put aside when/if I replace them.

[rebeccaC]

muiren...i agree on a comfortable saddle, but a Brooks on a Hollywood is bling to the frugal me ….and like I wrote I’d suggest spending that money towards a better overall bike when Ann-Marie is ready for one….but then that’s just me, others can spend their money any way they want.

I know older Schwinn’s and changing parts problems. When I first moved to California I joined a group of women that would get old bikes, I liked older Schwinn’s, we'd completely go through them, single speed them if not already, spray paint them bright yellow, put red lettered decals that said ‘this is a free bike…ride and then leave for someone else’ on them and set them out in different areas of the city. I still see some of them every now and then.

[ZoneFive]

You're right, I shouldn't have used the word bling. I have a lot to learn, and thank you for all the help.

[ZoneFive]

Didn't take it that way, honest. All is well.

[ny biker]

Welcome to TE! Enjoy your bike, ride it, have fun -- that's the whole point. As you get stronger, you may find that something about it is uncomfortable, in which case we can help you figure out how to address it.

[ZoneFive]

I remember riding my little blue Sting-Ray bike -- back when dinosaurs roamed the earth -- alongside my friend Mary Chris while she rode her Raleigh "English racer" (what we called any bike with pretensions to roadishness back then). That was the first place I saw a Brooks saddle and I can remember how impressed I was with it. It looked so elegant, and seemed so far above my glittery silver banana seat in terms of what a "real" bike was supposed to be. There's still an element of that awe associated with a Brooks saddle. Some of the more current saddles are positively scary -- not that they aren't technologically advanced and absolutely perfect for the right applications, but that I can't imagine my large posterior perched on one of them for a moment.