Advice: Bike for casual riding?

1deborah

>You aren't planning on riding in a dress are ya? ;-)

Never know... but point taken.

OK, it's REALLY dumb question time!

1. Mainly, I clicked on the women's frame because I figured it would have a women's seat and a better arrangement in general for a lower center of gravity. I definitely need the seat, although I assume it's possible to switch out seats. But would the frame on a men's or men's/women's bike not sit me at a more uncomfortable angle than a purely women's bike? Or is this all hype that does not matter?

2. 21 VS 24 speeds... do I NEED 24 speeds? Or even 21? Remember, this is the woman who has never shifted a bike in her life -- the one time I tried shifting that old bike of mine, the chain fell right off it was so surprised. I'll accept that I need to learn about the whole shifting thing, but what would the advantage of 24 over 21 be?

Thanks! (I'm so grateful that no one has made fun of me yet!)

1deborah

(On the other hand, at 5 foot 3, a step-through frame has its appeal...)

1deborah

Cool! Thanks for the review -- I'll ask about the deraillers and the tires. I'll check out the grip shifters and see what I think.

coolworx

First the seat/comfort question... you will go alot further with a properly fitted bicycle ('men's frame') with a decent pair of bicycle shorts - if you are averse to spandex, they do make cotton 'camp-type shorts' with the requisite padded parts.

Now as to number of speeds.... first of all, no matter how many speeds a derailler system bike claims to have there are a fair amount of 'useless gears' - either they 'cross chain'* (meaning using the inner front chainring and outer rear cog - or vice versa) or there are 'duplicates' (A 44/22 and a 28/14 are the same 2-1 ratio), or else they are so close to 'duplicates' as to not really act like another gear - so basically 24 speeds is better than 21 (and 27 better than 24) because you are more likely to end up with 15 or so useful gears.

* crosschaining is very bad for your whole drivetrain - plus it's noisy!

BTW, no such thing as a dumb question.

coolworx

What's your inseam?

coolworx

By the way, you mentioned that you're in the Boston suburbs...
That would put you very close to one of the Bicycle Gurus of the Net:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/index.html

Why don't ya stop in when Sheldon's around, and ask for his input! I'm thinking about taking a ride on I-90 East and visiting him myself!

1deborah

Coolworx -- thanks for all the advice, and I had already found Sheldon's website and got the skinny on this whole newfangled shifting thing... great site!

So this morning, we did the American thing -- we went shopping. I did take the very good advice and went to a bike shop, but first called around to see who had what brands in stock. My, but some of us can be oh so snooty! I went to the one that was nicest to me on the phone (expertise is one thing, but expertise plus common courtesy is much more rare) and sat on every bike in the shop. They didn't have the exact models I was looking at in stock (no one did) but I ended up with a very lovely Raleigh C40 for 369.

We just came back from a ride and I LOVE it -- now, given my prior biking experiences, I'd probably love just about anything, but I'm sitting much more comfortably, and shifting like a pro. Ok, shifting like less of a rank amateur.

So thanks again -- I'll probably be back when I'm ready to upgrade some of the components. I really appreciate the help!

coolworx

I just looked at the specs and looks like you did pretty well for yourself - 700c tires, a good range of gears [21 - 113 gear inches], and it looks like it has a geometry similar to those old 3 speeds - over which you were waxing nostalgic .

Of course, ya know I'd have had the LBS upgrade the derailleurs and give me credit for the originals - would only add $40 or so!

So congratulations! Now go memorize your gear patterns:
http://vps.arachnoid.com/bike/

Geonz

You're going to have a ton of fun. Making the switch from a bike that doesn't fit to one that does -- night & day.
I use about five of my 21 speeds, out here on the prairie. When I hit real hills, I use a few more (and sometimes even go down to the little bitty gear). I did make myself learn the gears though, and my knees are glad I did.

__________________
Sioux Geonz, webmastress
http://www.resourceroom.net

1deborah

Will do, coolworx and geonz -- took a two-hour ride around the McMansion developments here (those oversized, overpriced houses they keep insisting on building around here -- called McMansions because they all look the same and they're EVERYWHERE! Nice gardens though, and nice pavement! Smoooth...)

Anyway, rode for two hours, mostly because I didn't notice the time going by -- so comfortable, so much fun! Thanks for all the advice!

coolworx

That's GREAT 1Deb!

Having fun is what it's all about - and you can stay fit to boot!
A lot better than slaving over a stair stepper - eh?