Transitioning from hybrid to road/cyclocross

[MollyJ]

NWG, Both of my bikes are so light that I can lift them easily (at age 62) into the bed of my truck. I AM wary of weight. A slow, heavy bike made me not like cycling as much. I noticed a big difference with my lighter bikes.

Since bikes are an investment, I think the point is to take your time and know why you want it. (Give yourself time to get past "new bike fever".)

[north woods gal]

NWG, Both of my bikes are so light that I can lift them easily (at age 62) into the bed of my truck. I AM wary of weight. A slow, heavy bike made me not like cycling as much. I noticed a big difference with my lighter bikes.

Since bikes are an investment, I think the point is to take your time and know why you want it. (Give yourself time to get past "new bike fever".)

I'm right there with you. I'm 68 and 1/2, now, so, yeah, I pay attention to how a bike matches up into how I plan to ride it. I haven't always done a good job of that, but have learned a lot from my mistakes and that's a good thing.

Speaking of weight, one thing I have learned over the years on all bikes is the importance of good wheels, as in hubs, rims and the right tires. That's where the weight and performance count the most. A set of custom wheels can cost more than a lot of bikes, but until you've actually ridden a bike with such wheels, you'll never fully appreciate what a top notch set of wheels can do for the way a bike rides. I have such a set on one of my single speeds and every time I ride it I'm still amazed at how effortlessly it rolls compared to my other similar bikes with standard factory wheels. Bought the bike used. It was a full custom build by the previous owner and I got it for half of what he had in it. Could never have afforded such a bike, otherwise.