New girl, green as the grass

[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.

[ZoneFive]

Aha! I was just looking at these Cardiff grips! I'm guessing the shape of the grips is purely personal preference?

[ZoneFive]

(Hit send by accident. Oops.)

As far as a new bike, I aspire to distance, not speed. There are some nice bike trails near us here in SE Michigan, and a good number across the state as well. Most are asphalt but there's some mileage in packed dirt as well. I'm thinking of a hybrid, a maybe closer to the road bike end of that spectrum. (Michigan roads are universally awful, especially after winter, so skinnier road tires might not be that great an idea.)

Later today I'm taking my husband's Schwinn Hornet to the LBS for the same treatment they gave my Hollywood. While he's as much of a bike noobie as I am, he's been talking about replacing his old newsboy Typhoon for a few years now -- it was through his searching for the Typhoon that we found my bike at Shop Goodwill. So he got the Hornet for $6, we'll spend $150 to get it up to code, and hopefully he'll join me on the road to utopia.

[rebeccaC]

Ann-Marie…A Hornet and a Hollywood makes you two a pure styling couple!! Hoping the two of you enjoy the time riding together…it can make for an enjoyable days exercise and communication. If you end up liking the more upright riding position of the Hollywood you’ll like some of the hybrids/urban/commuting flat bar bikes available.

I remembered today on my ride that I got blue glitter original grips for a older Schwinn off ebay a couple of years ago. If you want original you may want to search ‘vintage bike parts’ on ebay for Hollywood grips (7/8 inch) to see if any are still available at the moment or come up soon.

Muirenn….the Brooks B66 has a 7/8 clamp and the Hollywood has a seatpost with a 5/8 top, so Ann-Marie would still need a new seatpost. That is a good saddle for more upright riding though.

[ZoneFive]

Stylin'? Oh mercy, what have we done? Now I suppose I'll have to get a porkpie hat or a stingy brim for Wiggy (the husband in question) and somehow attach it to his helmet. Me personally, I'd like a big rose-covered bridge club lady hat, and I'll stick that to my helmet.



And cat-eye glasses to go with. Go big or go home, I say.

[rebeccaC]

.....

[ZoneFive]

I did some comparison shopping while I was out and about yesterday. I didn't see any pure-cork grips but there were a few with cork insets, and I liked the feel of them. I was hoping to take a look at a Brooks saddle, but I didn't see any of those, either. I did get a bicycle bell (I HATE it when cyclists sneak up behind me while I'm walking the dogs, and I don't want to do that to anyone else) and picked up the most recent Bicycling magazine. And then I came home and ordered plain cork grips from Amazon.

Rebecca: I did check eBay and found some fun-looking Schwinn grips -- blue glitter, with actual streamers! My inner five-year-old is all agog. Thanks very much for your notes on what I'll need to change if I go with a Brooks saddle in time, too.

Sheila, what can you tell me about Surly bikes? I've checked out their website, and apart from not really understanding a lot of their bike lingo, the first thing that comes to mind is hardcore. What do you love about your Krampus?