I don't like em but I ride one. Those thisgs will make you reevaluate you quick run to the shops on flat quality ground. It is like dragging a brick behind you all the time.
former bicycle mechanic of a fleet of about 400 with many different styles . after working on them for a few years never buy a bike with gears in the rim. yes they are nicer to look at but a nightmare to maintain. find one that has gears on the front and back makes the ride a little better when you can change the gears to fit the road conditions. mountain bikes are ok but dont get one that weighs a ton and look for road tires/rims .
look at the cables if they are rusted or fraying you will need to replace them asap. if the cables do not work smoothly you can pull them out of the housing and lube them with silicone spray or any type of grease leaving the ends clean. if you get one with bent rims you can straighten them with a simple tool that tightens and loosens spokes. will take some time playing with it but once you get the hang of it it is simple.
aside from that look for rust on any of the welds. if you spot rust on the welds do not buy the bike, unless you know how to weld and have access to a welding machine.
It depends what is it you are looking for. there are bikes for just about everything. If you live in the city like i do, it's best to get a road bike.
This is the exact model i have just in black. As for a beginner make sure you keep your eyes on a bike that has a 10-speed or above..
http://mikesbikes.com/product/specialized-sirrus-sport-210733-1.htm
As for Bike Lighting and or Bike Locks and all that stuff.
Depending on the area there i personally recommend 3 locks. and not because I'm paranoid and honestly depending on who you talk to someone will say it's crazy but, I'll going to explain why with a few points, and thankfully I've never had a bike stolen.
One for the seat. yeah it's crazy but people will steal that.. but what's good is you don't need to remove the lock or put one. but find something that will hold the seat to the frame.. and of course for the bike wheels.. luckily a U-Lock will handle the bike frame and front wheel just fine. (or the frame and the back wheel, whatever your preference) and a long metallic flex cable. like so,
As for brands. I've had excellent experience with Kryptonite locks. I live in NYC and it's basically THE BRAND to get. just make sure you get one with a 6 and or above rating. they are durable. or if you want to be crazy you can get a Kryptonite "New York Fahgettaboudit" U‑Lock. it has a rating of 10. which is the highest fucking rating you can get. and the bars are like 18mm thick. it will take heaven and earth to break that lock.
But the who important components you need is that flex cable. and a U-Lock. those are the things i recommend you definitely carry.
As for the bike lights and all that.
I use Knog bike lights..
Why? cause they are cheap, effective, and takes a minute to install and or remove. BUT if you're outside and you're going to lock up your bike. just make sure you remove it. people will take that lol.
As for how to properly lock your bike. this is what I do.
Wrap the flex cable around the back wheel twice. then connect it to the U-Lock which is holding the front wheel, the frame. and whatever you are locking the bike to. and as i mentioned, have something that holds the seat down. you can never trust your area.
hopefully this helps you on your journey to get started on bike shopping.
Oh and i forgot to mention how to tell what speed a bike is..
each of the gears. is one speed. so if you see something like a 9 speed. it has 9 gears. now if you see something like a 21 speed. that means there is 7 gears on the back wheel and 3 where the pedals are.. 7 x 3 is 21.
if the front wheel has 2 gears. and lets say 10 on the back. so 10 x 2. you have a 20 speed bike..
that's all and have fun riding.
Definitely get a lock that can't get cut by bolt cutters. Friend of mine got his bike stole because thieves steal in town and sell in another city. Its a small city but there are a rash of thefts when college starts. He even had a cable lock but those will only stop people just walking by not the ones looking to steal.
Depending on how long and how many hills you might be able to get a single gear bike.
Also if buying used check if it is stolen
https://www.nationalbikeregistry.com/
http://www.bikeregistry.com/search_bike.php
http://www.bikeshepherd.org/
Thieves need to pay for what they done. Also reports shops that sell bikes that may be stole.
Cheap, convenient and better than nothing but I found them pretty in-effective when my old housemate had some on her bike. Much brighter lights out there that are nearly as convenient IMO
it's all subjective. they work fine for me. what works for me may not work for you. I just recommended what i use.
one of these days that door is going to get tired of your shit and fall on your PC lol
bike only weighs 9kg though and its an olden day flat when they built stuff tough, she'll be right :D
For an update on this:
I got a bike...turns out it's frame might be just a hair too big for me. Also: I apparently don't know how to ride a bike. Which is pretty embarrassing to admit. I mean, when I was like 10, I learned how to and then basically never rode there after...but that whole "once you learn how to ride a bike you never forget" or whatever the fuck the saying is...yeah that's full of crap.
I think if I get a different seat and adjust the pedals I might have better luck.....? maybe I should just get some platform shoes or something to make me taller. I only need to be like an inch or so taller....or the bike an inch or so shorter.
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Pedaling is overrated
<img src="/uploads/default/original/3X/d/1/d197633a16ce9efed30c71c35d9aafb6de336226.png" width="720" height="534"
Note that a few of those wires are not from the bike.
So did you figure out how to ride a bike?
Once you get moving the force of the rotating wheel should keep you upright and then from there... the future!
That's a really sweet frame to have made in to an e-bike. Do you ride with the rear shock locked out or do you keep it fully opened up and squishy?
Rear is locked out, had to for the back part where the batteries are placed.
Didn't expect this to come back up.
Yeah, actually. For the bike people out their who know their stuff, it's a Specialized Sequoia....I think he said it was 2012....hmmm, not 100% on that - but I guess year isn't as relevant to bikes as it is to cars anyways.
The guy put some really, super-duper light aluminum wheels on it.
So, at first I thought the bike was too tall for me, which I thought was weird since I used some sort of site to estimate what size frame I needed and this bike I bought was perfect.
Well, since I'm bike retarded, I took it to the bike shop (and that was actually the first thing I said when I walked in the bike store was that I was "bike retarded" which got them all to laugh - this is relevant, I'll come back to it) and one of the guys showed me the proper way of riding the bike...which is to step over the frame, and then push off the peddle and lifting myself onto the saddle, rather than standing over the saddle when I am at a complete stop. This made a world of a difference!
I asked him about the gears, since the bike has 27 gears, and they said it was automatic. I thought that was odd, but, hell, what do I know? Technology has come a long way. I figured maybe it had some sort of tension based system where maybe the amount of tension in the chain would pop it to the next gear....remember I said I'm bike retarded.
Anyways, fast forward a month to where I was about ready to murder all the GADDAMN hills out here and I was like, "Is this bike even shifting?"
So I took it back to the bike shop and they were like, "Hey it's you! The not very bike savvy, guy!"
I corrected him. I get it, they're trying to sound profession, but, I'm not "not bike savvy", I'm "bike retarded".
Anyways...turns out there are some small paddle things on my breaks that I push in to switch gears...and immediately when I took it for a ride:
But, because I'm a fat, out of shape, sack of shit, I had been doing 2-days on, 1 day off. Thanks to some torrential downpour in the area, I missed my daytime ride, so I decided to take it for a late night spin...which was stupid because not only do we have a 28375902134657-and-a-half hills here, but we have even more pot holes...and some really gnarly potholes too...and I haven't gotten a headlight for my bike because they are stupidly expensive....and I wound up hitting a really deep pothole....and got a flat tire -.-
So....uh....I'm not riding at the moment, because flat tire.
It lives!
Good thing fixing a flat tire is one of the easiest repairs you can do yourself! Tire off, patch the tube, tire back on and pump! Trust me, if your going to be riding a bike it's going to happen to you often and being able to fix it when your out in the dark in the middle of a monsoon fighting of mutant Narwals with a spear that you made out of a splintered fence post is a skill you will appreciate (after you fight back the mutant creatures).
People become bike savvy by practice. Good thing you didn't crash hard when you were out, that's another great thing about learning how to bike as an adult. Did you have any close calls in the first month or so?
The best website for DIY bicycle maintenance is http://sheldonbrown.com/beginners.html. That guy was a boss and had an internet site waaaaay back in the 90's
+1 on Sheldon Brown's site. Seriously just an amazing resource for anything bike related.
Congrats on starting to ride! You will find the pounds quickly come off when coupled with even a decent diet. I was riding, until I had to move, meaning my ride went from a reasonable 45 min, to 3.5 hours, with no public transit options to benefit in any way. I am desperately trying to find a place closer, mostly just for the fact that I can reasonably ride once again.
I also suggest just looking at Vimeo and YouTube for inspiring cycling videos. I don't mean the ones where people in lycra are all dressed up talking about racing, but the ones of everyday people talking about how the Bicycle changed their life. TED talks also has a few good ones too. These are great inspiration to help keep you motivated! There are also a few good reddit subforums /r/cycling/ /r/bikecommuting/ and /r/bicycling/ are a few to check out. Find friends to take trips to; Take trips downtown (whereever that is for you) and hang out; try exploring some dirt trails nearby. You will rediscover your city, and make connections, and those connections are what keep you motivated in the long term.