Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More - View Single Post

08-24-2004, 10:33 AM

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article <30bdaaee.0408240546.4a28b272@posting.google.com >,
Yellowstone Yeti <ndamtns@hotmail.com> wrote:
>I need some help deciding on a new bike. Here's the story: I made a
>deal with my wife. If I can lose 53# and my Clydesdale status, she
>will buy me a new bike. I'm almost there and looking to save some $
>by buying a closeout 2004 model. My limit is $1000 for a complete
>bike. I would like 105 as the minimum component group. My question
>is: do I buy a touring bike, road bike, cross bike? I've done quite
>a bit of touring in the past on a mountain bike. In fact, that is my
>"road" bike right now-an early 90s steel Fisher mtn bike with slicks.
>It is heavy, slow, and the perfect bike for losing weight. Do I keep
>it as my touring bike and buy a faster, lighter road bike? Or do I
>buy a decent touring bike and use it for all of my road riding? Will
>I notice the difference between a road bike and a bare touring bike,
>especially at my size? If it matters, I've never ridden a "real" road
>bike since I've been a mtn biker for 20 of my 42 years.

_ Unless you're racing, there is very little reason not to get a
touring bike. If you put skinny tires on a touring bike, you
probably won't notice much difference at all. Cross bikes are fun
if you ride dirt roads a lot, but their higher bb's and slightly
steeper angles make them less comfortable on long rides.

>
>Secondly, can anyone recommend some models for me to check out? I
>think I would prefer steel, due to its durability and longevity. I
>plan on keeping the bike for a long time.

>I would appreciate it. By
>the way, I'll be using the bike primarily for fitness rides of 20-60
>miles, but working up to a century ride. I'll also be doing 1 or 2
>two week fully loaded tours/year.

_ I would look at Jamis and Fuji bikes for steel touring bikes
under $1000.

http://www.jamisbikes.com/

http://www.fujibikes.com/

_ Trek makes a fine touring bike called the 520, but you might
need to change the crankset for loaded touring.

_ If your Fischer has rigid forks and a reasonably high quality
frame, you might consider touring on your Fischer. I use my 88
Hoo Koo E Koo for just this purpose. Mtn bikes with rigid forks
from that era make very good rough road touring bikes and 26 inch
wheels can work very well for touring. Compare the geometry with
something like the Surly Long Haul Trucker in the smaller sizes.

http://www.surlybikes.com/longhaul.html

_ Booker C. Bense

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.2

iQCVAwUBQSuKDmTWTAjn5N/lAQH/iAQAk6mLTQvSCqdIM4B6yPosrJ3l4wyQ85GT
vxbHYCSdCg15lLRCCdN2UpnhAiZ2ZSCFWko6/1W+Ng15z25IYGgNnuxy+Z06bqcJ
vaAoiFqhJVar/HivZdD0hMADmKWz3k5hJm1FJ9kv1slGlDLFXkUzMxuo6v2GcQY 7
rkhZ3SWevS8=
=zkNw
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

08-24-2004, 10:33 AM	#3 (permalink)
Booker C. Bense Posts: n/a	Re: Road, touring or cross bike? -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- In article <30bdaaee.0408240546.4a28b272@posting.google.com >, Yellowstone Yeti <ndamtns@hotmail.com> wrote: >I need some help deciding on a new bike. Here's the story: I made a >deal with my wife. If I can lose 53# and my Clydesdale status, she >will buy me a new bike. I'm almost there and looking to save some $ >by buying a closeout 2004 model. My limit is $1000 for a complete >bike. I would like 105 as the minimum component group. My question >is: do I buy a touring bike, road bike, cross bike? I've done quite >a bit of touring in the past on a mountain bike. In fact, that is my >"road" bike right now-an early 90s steel Fisher mtn bike with slicks. >It is heavy, slow, and the perfect bike for losing weight. Do I keep >it as my touring bike and buy a faster, lighter road bike? Or do I >buy a decent touring bike and use it for all of my road riding? Will >I notice the difference between a road bike and a bare touring bike, >especially at my size? If it matters, I've never ridden a "real" road >bike since I've been a mtn biker for 20 of my 42 years. _ Unless you're racing, there is very little reason not to get a touring bike. If you put skinny tires on a touring bike, you probably won't notice much difference at all. Cross bikes are fun if you ride dirt roads a lot, but their higher bb's and slightly steeper angles make them less comfortable on long rides. > >Secondly, can anyone recommend some models for me to check out? I >think I would prefer steel, due to its durability and longevity. I >plan on keeping the bike for a long time. >I would appreciate it. By >the way, I'll be using the bike primarily for fitness rides of 20-60 >miles, but working up to a century ride. I'll also be doing 1 or 2 >two week fully loaded tours/year. _ I would look at Jamis and Fuji bikes for steel touring bikes under $1000. http://www.jamisbikes.com/ http://www.fujibikes.com/ _ Trek makes a fine touring bike called the 520, but you might need to change the crankset for loaded touring. _ If your Fischer has rigid forks and a reasonably high quality frame, you might consider touring on your Fischer. I use my 88 Hoo Koo E Koo for just this purpose. Mtn bikes with rigid forks from that era make very good rough road touring bikes and 26 inch wheels can work very well for touring. Compare the geometry with something like the Surly Long Haul Trucker in the smaller sizes. http://www.surlybikes.com/longhaul.html _ Booker C. Bense -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBQSuKDmTWTAjn5N/lAQH/iAQAk6mLTQvSCqdIM4B6yPosrJ3l4wyQ85GT vxbHYCSdCg15lLRCCdN2UpnhAiZ2ZSCFWko6/1W+Ng15z25IYGgNnuxy+Z06bqcJ vaAoiFqhJVar/HivZdD0hMADmKWz3k5hJm1FJ9kv1slGlDLFXkUzMxuo6v2GcQY 7 rkhZ3SWevS8= =zkNw -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----