New girl, green as the grass

[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?

[Crankin]

Just remember, the size of your posterior has nothing to do with the size of the right saddle. This is a common misperception. It's the width of your sit bones. A huge, wide, cushy saddle can be extremely painful and cause chafing. So, those saddles you see that look scary may be quite awesome! The trick is, to find the right one; sometimes it takes a long time. I tried the Brooks route and could never get used to it. After 6 months, I gave it up.

[ZoneFive]

That's really good information on the 6-month return policy at BTN and Wallingford, thank you! Hopefully my local shops will let me try saddles in their test-ride locations, but if I can't find a comparable policy locally, I'll shop at one of the two online.

We have quite a lot of spray shellac in the garage from Wiggy's various restoration projects, so I'm prepared for their shellacing requirements on the grips.

I'd thought that cyclocross bicycles were only for cyclocross racing. Am I right in seeing cyclocrosses on the continuum between MTBs and road bikes, with hybrids mostly in the middle range and cyclocrosses more towards the MTB end? I'm not yet sold on drop handlebars for me and I think I prefer flat or with a bit of a rise. I looked at the Straggler and Cross Check, and also at some other cyclocrosses from Liv/Giant, Cannondale, Trek and Specialized -- and I like what they all say they can do. I'll be trying out a lot of bikes between now and whatever time I decide to add to the stable!

I'll be reading through the rest of your post slowly, to try and really understand the part about brakes. I have a lot to learn!

(But, I have 5 bikes, and really do need to stop).

Now this, I do understand! I weave, spin and knit. Fiberistas tend to accumulate a LOT of yarn/roving/tools. Once it gets to a certain point we refer to it as SABLE: Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy. What do you call it when bicycle acquisition reaches new-garage proportions?

Oh, and I should note that today's ride was 2.5 miles, yay me. I'm stretching it about a half a mile more each day.

[rebeccaC]

Rebecca: I did check eBay and found some fun-looking Schwinn grips -- blue glitter, with actual streamers!

and they're attached to a '66 blue stingray

[ZoneFive]

That flat-bar CX discussion was very interesting. Looks like I'll need to be a bit more open-minded when I go test-drive bikes. There have been some good YouTube videos about CX bikes -- Vincent KWC seems to love the Giant Anyroad 1, and he was talking about disc brakes too, and with pictures. While it's a bit beyond what I'd like to spend (I'd like to stay in 3 figures the first time out), Giant's Liv Rove 2 looks very good and is a member of the same family, too. They all look good, but it's all about the ride and I want some more experience before I even start test-riding. There are only a couple of Surly dealers anywhere near me, so that just means a road trip, right? And I'm 5'7", by the way.

I'm going to pass on those sparkly blue handgrips on eBay. While I'm just tickled at the idea of streamers, probably plain white or blue pistol grips would be a little more appropriate, just in the matter of looks. The cork grips, for comfort and functionality, should arrive in a day or two, and I'll work on getting the old ones off and the new ones on.

Didn't get to ride today; light rain off and on all day. I have a long work day tomorrow, so hopefully Thursday will work better.