Any bikers? (Jesda, get in hurrr)

[Jesda]

I had a used Giant mountain bike that I paid $20 for. Despite leaving it outside and allowing the chain and gears to rot, it stayed together nicely. The build quality was surprisingly good and the weight was respectably light (aluminum frame). I eventually gave it away and got a new Trek.

[cellardoorv]

Get clipless pedals and shoes! And DO NOT compromise on the quality.

Rob, the advanced rider I rode with, had these. Scared the crap out of me, imagining being attached to the bike like that. What if you fall and break an ankle, etc. But he said it was like second nature to know to slide them off.

[Jesda]

I think its safer than using the plastic clips like I use since you just twist your ankle to pop the shoe out. Conan O'Brien said he once fell off his bike riding through town when he couldn't get his shoes out of the clips in time.

I wear my clips somewhat loosely since I occasionally deal with intersections and road hazards. I still get the advantage of forward motion and a little bit of upward motion, and it keeps my feet from slipping. $7.

[Looneybomber]

I rode and raced with clips (the plastic cage with the strap) for years when I was younger. Once I switched to clipless, I eventually got used to them, but never fully comfortable. My riding performance remained mostly the same because it's only on flat ground while in the saddle that you can take advantage of the upward motion. Once the riding starts getting rougher and more technical, riding skills comes more into play and balance is the name of the game.

For bikes, I'm a trek fan. I still own my old GT, but rode and raced various other trek bikes including an 8000 or 8500. I forget what it was because most of the parts were swapped out for XT and XTR. If I were to buy another bike today for casual riding and some MTB, I'd look at the 4500 w/disk. I love me some old school v-brakes though and think they work great, so don't think you have to buy a bike with disks.

[Red coupe]

You could always grow a mustache and get a fixie.

Look at that ironic pile of gay.

Fixed gears are great for winter riding, as they grant greater control. Other then that though, ghey.

I wanna build one on a vintage frame for a paddock bike.

No need for tons of speed, and no derailers to get banged around in the back of the truck on the way to the track makes it a pretty good solution imo.


If you are riding on road, really really consider a road bike. $500 will get you a killer one used, and they are so much better at riding on roads its almost surprising.

I have actually taken to cycling quite a bit in the better part of the last year, and I will say I would not be into NEARLY as much if I was still tooling around the streets on a mountain bike.

If nothing else, make sure to at least head by the local bike shop and give one a test ride. A good road bike is actually quite a bit different to ride then the bikes when you were a kid...

Get clipless pedals and shoes! And DO NOT compromise on the quality.

Rob, the advanced rider I rode with, had these. Scared the crap out of me, imagining being attached to the bike like that. What if you fall and break an ankle, etc. But he said it was like second nature to know to slide them off.

You twist your foot, it pops out.... You really wont break an ankle because by the time it is twisted enough to do any damage you will be clipped out.

People worry about having to twist their foot... ever stopped and thought about what it takes to get out of your car if something goes wrong? If a swarm of bees came in, or a fire started would you turn to sprint, only to slam into the door finding yourself locked in and seat belted, or would you be reaching for the belt and door handle as fast as possible with out thinking?

[skydragoness]

Ah. I'm going to be looking into a bike soon as well as my work commute got a hell of a lot shorter. Probably going to go used, there's a guy 3min away that sells used Trek/Cannondale/etc mountain bikes and also does repairs. Win-win.

[Jesda]

You could always grow a mustache and get a fixie.

Look at that ironic pile of gay.

Fixed gears are great for winter riding, as they grant greater control. Other then that though, ghey.

Nope, they're only good for attracting penises to your butthole.

[C-Kwik]

After working in the bike biz for as long as I did, I can honestly say I much prefer Trek to any other brand. GT used to be the s***, but they sort of sold out. Specialized is also very, very good. Canondale is expensive, but also good (some of their designs are funky as hell though).

GT hardtails can have some great value. I managed to find mine and my GF's on ebay for relatively cheap. Of course, you get no support for putting it together unless you want to pay more. Their full suspension bikes are probably not going to be a great match for the hardcore as the rear triangle action will not react as well to terrain when standing up (since the bottom bracket is attached to the rear triangle). I have one of these as well but I mostly ride on pavement but wanted to be able to ride casual trails with moderate terrain (not to mention its a bit more comfortable on the rear). This design is great for this as it allows me to minimize losses when pedaling as the tension between the crank and the gear won't be trying to compress the spring. I'll probably look for another bike for more technical stuff if I ever have the time to ride more (probably won't happen til I graduate though). I do want a road bike as well.

I concur on using disc brakes. Not saying rim brakes are useless, but it will require one to keep their wheels true for best performance. And if you can, go for hydraulic brakes. Mine feel loads better than the mechanicals on my hardtail. And they are not even middle of the line models. I do need to get new pads though as I must have had a seeping leak as my pads got contaminated.

People worry about having to twist their foot... ever stopped and thought about what it takes to get out of your car if something goes wrong? If a swarm of bees came in, or a fire started would you turn to sprint, only to slam into the door finding yourself locked in and seat belted, or would you be reaching for the belt and door handle as fast as possible with out thinking?

I guess this doesn't apply to watching a family member's car flip over an embankment. After my dad got our car stopped, I opened the door to get out and forgot to remove my seatbelt. Got yanked back in by it. My hand was still on the door so I inadvertently closed it and after I got my belt off, I promptly ran into the window. The kicker was I finally got out, and as I ran across the street, I slipped on the black ice and landed flat on my a**. Somehow, I still managed to be the first one at my aunt's car. Guess this means I shouldn't use clipless pedals huh?

The recommendation I hear a lot if one does decide to use clipless pedals is to do only one foot until you get used to it. This way you always have at least one foot you can put down. Once you get one foot used to it, you will hopefully be able to get that foot out consistently so you still have at least one foot you can put down until you get the hang of the other foot as well.

[Red coupe]

I guess this doesn't apply to watching a family member's car flip over an embankment. After my dad got our car stopped, I opened the door to get out and forgot to remove my seatbelt. Got yanked back in by it. My hand was still on the door so I inadvertently closed it and after I got my belt off, I promptly ran into the window. The kicker was I finally got out, and as I ran across the street, I slipped on the black ice and landed flat on my a**. Somehow, I still managed to be the first one at my aunt's car. Guess this means I shouldn't use clipless pedals huh?

Yes, you might be too stupid to use clipless


Sorry, joke aside... Notice your ability to wait for the car to stop and to open the door. Nothing concerning that is natural or innate in any way shape or form.

Think about having your car almost spin out.... The natural response it to jump on the brakes with out thinking, but those who have experienced the situation and trained themselves will counter steer and keep on the throttle with out a second thought.

It is not only the second driver who demonstrates my point here, the "natural" response is ANYTHING but natural. There is no reason to go for the brake other then your brain has learned from constant drilling that doing that makes things stop... This effect is so deep that when learning to drive in a performance setting it takes a while to overcome.

I am not saying there are no ways to hurt yourself with clipless pedals... but every serious road rider I know uses them, as well as everyone I talk to, and from viewing forums, pretty much every one there too.
I actually cannot think of hearing a single story where they were a problem other then the whole first stop sign thing which hurts much less then you would imagine.

In fact in all the crash stories I have read on biking forums, not a single one even mentioned them for better or worse. Pedal designers are smart, the typical unclipping motion is not an accident, it is designed to be not only a motion that will almost certainly occur in a crash (watch bike races/crashes and you will see how well this works) but also a motion similar to the twisting your ankle so that you are not constrained in a manor that would likely cause damage.

There is actually a fair amount of danger in bike riding, and I have had many butt puckering incidences on the road... none of them had had anything to do with the fact that my feet were firmly on the pedals, MUCH bigger dangers out there.

I rode and raced with clips (the plastic cage with the strap) for years when I was younger. Once I switched to clipless, I eventually got used to them, but never fully comfortable. My riding performance remained mostly the same because it's only on flat ground while in the saddle that you can take advantage of the upward motion. Once the riding starts getting rougher and more technical, riding skills comes more into play and balance is the name of the game.

Guess its different on road, but I find the biggest performance advantage is short uphill out of saddle climbs....
In all honesty, clipless is not likely to make you faster over 30mi, you can use extra muscle but its more tiering to do so, so its almost a wash in consistent riding. They are mostly a feel and security thing.