Not Exactly Maintenance

[Kano]

Double vs. Triple: Triple means more gears to get your butt up those hills. My advice is that if you foresee hills being a problem for you, then go for the triple.

I'm pretty sure the triple is for me -- got hills here in Boise, and some of 'em get mighty big! (the little ones feel mighty big to me yet too!)

Shimano vs. Campy: That's Campagnolo, if I spelled it right. Many people favor Campy because of the quality and history of the company. On here you'll read alot about Campy shifters being easier to use for those with small hands. But I'm also convinced some people just like it cause its Italian, and well, roadies instinctively love anything that's italian. (I know it's true because it said so in that cycling movie... you know the one I'm talking about).

There's a cycling movie I should know about? Did I mention I'm NEW to this stuff?

And, while you get the quality of Campy (yes, just like Euro cars, Euro crafted gear costs more moolah too for the higher quality)

Ahhh, European quality -- think sewing machines made by Swedish Guys! -- might be starting to make some sense!

you have to think to yourself, just like a foreign car, when you need parts in a flash (you're broken down in some podunk town where the only bike shop is a BikeLine whose section of performance bikes consists of a Huffy mtn. bike with pegs on the front and back wheels) they may be hard to come by.

Again, an important consideration!

I can do that -- not too low end Shimano makes sense from the getting parts stand point as a newbie learning to love this new obsession (I can get mighty serious about hobbies, considering I have an $8K sewing machine in my collection!)

Pedals: Get what feels good!

Perhaps this will sound like a silly question: How does one know that the pedals feel good?

But make sure your pedals and shoes are compatible (in simpler speak... look at the number of holes on the bottom of the shoes. Match them up to your pedals. There are two types of pedals/shoe systems. Two holes and three holes. The road shoes tend to be three holes and the mtn. bike tend to be 2. There, isn't that simple?) Oh, and I hope you don't think I'm talking down to you here, but that's exactly how the guy at the shop explained it to me when I was confused about the difference.

Talking down? Not in the least! I know pretty much NOTHING when it comes to bikes -- I'm still struggling with that the color name for mine is "silver" and it looks much more like, oh, champagne to me! This all information that I don't have, and there's so much that I don't know that I'm not even sure what to be looking for much less what to be asking! First time we looked this spring, the sales person pretty much just said "it's the components" that make the difference in price -- but I couldn't even say for sure what "components" are on a bike! Didn't bother to find out too much more than what felt good to ride on while shopping for this first one, but you can bet before I'll spend a thousand dollars or so on a bike, I'll understand what I'm buying and why some bikes cost ten thousand! Not to mention at least knowing what questions to ask!

Wheels: don't worry about it! Get the kind that come with the bike, and odds are they will be perfectly serviceable (especially if you get a half decent bike). At a later point you can always upgrade anyway.

I have a feeling it's a long while before I start getting quite that particular -- saw wheels advertised at $1K a pair the other day and couldn't believe it! On the other hand -- there are some interesting spoke configurations out there. I thought that there were just spokes evenly spaced around the wheel, but I'm seeing different now -- well, evenly spaced, but not like on my bike and any other bike I've seen in the past! Eventually, I might want to know the point of that too...

Thank you Kimmy!

Karen in Boise