Is it the Indians or the arrows (new bikes vs. old bikes)?

[shootingstar]

The original poster is pretty new around here.

I gotta another story which I'll post as separate topic/thread.

[Geonz]

Welp, I had a pause at the title, too -- by itself and out of context it clearly says "it's the attributes of the user of the tool that's more important than the tool" -- I'm afraid I sat briefly pondering whether it woudl have been more or less jarring to say "Native American" instead of "Indian," then went back to the policy of It's Never Good To Ever Ever Ever Say Anything About Someone's Heritage Or Maternal Unit.

And 'round here, they say "it's not the chassis, it's the motor" -- BUT the same motor on a faster bike is ... faster! And a lighter bike will go up hills ... faster! And... it might be worth searching for "how to attack hills."

So Sayeth this Flatland Fool

[Velocivixen]

In regard to the title of the post and being culturally sensitive, those words are a quote from her riding friend, not the original poster. I suppose the original poster could have used different phrasing to make the same point, but she quoted her friend. I didn't take any offense to it.

[Cataboo]

i wouldn't expect anyone to match my pace on a hill. they can wait for me at the top. From experience, it is really really hard to climb a hill at a slower speed than your own. Basically, it means I mash my way up instead of spinning my way up.

As for loaning out a bike... Her friend probably has her own pedals, etc that don't match whatever the pedals are on the bianchi. Her friend's probably fitted to her bike and doesn't want to ride an entire ride on a bikethat doesn't fit her. I have loaned out bikes - I let TxDoc borrow my litespeed to ride when we were out here, and we swapped the pedals, seat height, flipped the stem, and moved the spacers. NOt a big deal - it did take me a few rides to tweak it back into "my position" that I was comfortable with. I did that knowing that TxDoc was a skilled rider and was unlikely to crash or scratch up my bike or carbon compoenents. But if I go with someone who isn't as good of a rider, no, I don't let them borrow my fancy road bikes with carbon components, because I've got to replace a bike that's worth thousands. They can borrow my steel frame, they can borrow my mountain bike... but I'll cry if they drop my bike and my carbon handlebars break.

Maybe her friend would have a different view about swapping bikes for just one or two hills to see the comparision.

As for the indian arrow thing... count up the number of teeth on your front crankset and let us know if it's a double vs. triple. Then count up the teeth on your back cassette... It may be that you have a standard double and huge gears, and you'd benefit from adjusting your bike so that it has more climbing gears. Your friend probably does have better climbing gears. She also has years more experience with changing gears and biking in general, and that really does make a differnce for climbing. A few years ago, I was horrible on hills... I'm still not great, but even if I take the winter off cycling... I still can climb a hill in a reasonably competant manner 'cause I've got better hill climbing skills than before.

[Trek420]

I bought an old '93 Bianchi, steel-frame, 7 speed road bike from my sister-in-law about 3 years ago so I could ride with my very experienced friend. She rides a custom-built steel-frame 9 speed. She always rides away from me whenever we climb

Here it is. I knew it was somewhere. There are quite a few TE'ers who ride a Bianchi. Some of these are classic 80's, 90's. They clean up quite nicely

http://www.sersale.org/bianchi/

[Grits]

I experienced this situation in reverse a couple of days ago. I purchased a fairly high end road bike in Nov. and rode with a couple of friends for the first time with the new bike on Tuesday. They have more entry level road bikes and, after commenting on my new one and asking if it was carbon, proceeded to discuss how it was the engine not the chassis, (or some similar terminology) and it would be silly for them to upgrade implying, of course, that it was silly for me to upgrade since I could have just worked harder like them.

I just smiled. I know they didn't mean to disparage my decision to get my bike, which was purely a luxury purchase for me. They just weren't thinking - and many of us do not far too often- of the full implications of their words.

[Cataboo]

To some extent they were probably just squashing their jealousy over your nice new ride.

I have found that upgrading to a bike with a better fit/geometry does make me a better rider - position does matter. If that bike is carbon vs. steel vs. aluminum, it affects my comfort levels on the bike. IF I'm comfortable on the bike, I am more likely to ride it long distances - and that's worth a ton of money to me.

[Trek420]

IF I'm comfortable on the bike, I am more likely to ride it long distances - and that's worth a ton of money to me.

*1,000. I'd rather ride a $200 bike that fits than a $5,000 bike that does not. You're faster when you're more comfortable.

[limewave]

To some extent they were probably just squashing their jealousy over your nice new ride.

That would be completely true of me. I tell myself its the "engine" all the time because I can't afford the upgrade. Grits--sorry the other girls made the comment though. Jealousy is a personal issue--not something to be put on others or to squelch their fun and joy!