How many of you are into bikes (bicycles, not the terrorist support things that run on foreign oil)?

Without getting into why - no matter if its because you can't afford to drive, or want to make a quit statement against oil wars, or because where else can you wear lycra and not get laughed at - what kind of bike do you have, what kind of mods do you have on it, or do you want to have.  What kind of riding do you do.  What has/does riding do for you?  Where does your current bike rate in the history of your bikes?

O' my dearest Tekla, I love you for this topic! 

I have a 12-speed mountain bike I've had since I was younger.  It's older than dirt but I use it almost every day, to ride to work or to run errands.  I take good care of it, which is why it's lasted so long.  It's all stock, except I had to replace the rear tire recently because I ran over a nail and punctured the old tire.  I also have a small wire-frame basket on the front for carrying groceries, etc.

I sold my pickup truck and went vehicle free in May, and I haven't looked back thus far.  How I've managed is beyond my understanding, but I love it!  Not having to pay rising gas costs, insurance, or maintenance is wonderful.  I've been able to save the money for surgery, and being car-free and relying entirely on my bicycle has helped me notice the small things in life again.  Flowers growing beside the road, the wind in my hair, the changes in the weather, etc.

Mostly, I went car-free and rely on my bike now because I believe in Peak Oil, and didn't want to rely on foreign energy and contribute to the apparent "need" to have oil wars to fuel an ever-increasingly unsustainable way of life.  Problem is, once I get some money after surgery, I'm going to have to get a small car for the winter.  Navigating the Northeast on a bike in the winter is going to be next to impossible, and possibly dangerous, so I won't even try to attempt it.

Jenn

I ride for a number of reasons, mostly because it's fun. But I commute and run errands in addition to fun rides.

Right now, I have a 7-speed Dahon Boardwalk. But, I'm planning to get an Electra Townie 21 pretty soon here. I've got tendonitis and the normal bike position aggravates it. The more laid-back riding position of the Townie should eliminate this. I used have cruisers and recumbents before and they didn't aggravate the tendonitis.

I walk, wheels make you pass life too quickly.

Quote from: lisagurl on August 07, 2008, 01:34:55 PM
I walk, wheels make you pass life too quickly.

Not the way I ride. Let's just say I'll never win any races.

Yeah I ride pretty slow too.  I have a Specialized Stump Jumper that is the sixth bike in my line starting with a Schwinn back when I was 7.  Its got 21 gears, but unless I'm on the trails, I hardly use but 3 or 4.  I ride it everywhere, take it on the bus and use it in the City, and have been car free since 9-11.  It's great for my legs and general health, and I do like the pace, and the expansion of the personal.  When you start five miles seems a lot, after a few years, 20 miles is not all that much.

Well, I've a $5000 custom racing bike, though I don't race :-).
I routinely top 40 mph on the flat making cars go crazy racing me
from light to lights HEHEHE. They don't quite understand how
I can go that fast. My top gear ratio is HUGE, most people could
not even move it :-).

Been thinking of removing some gears, to further reduce my bike's weight,
though it could be a bitch going uphill on mont-royal

When I wear my mid thigh skirt and dainty girly shoes
and crush the poseur guys
in lycra and racing shoes on the flat, or
going uphill, or downhill,  I laugh and laugh.

My legs are huge hunks of muscles, while I'm slight in the upper body.
I wish I'd gone into track cycling, instead of high jumping.
maybe I would have been able to go to the olympics instead of just coming close...
I have the body type of a 4000 meter track cyclists.

When I was living in SFO, when I came back from work
and went home on telegraph hilll. I went straight up the
montgomerry hill on telegraph hill without stopping at a very high pace.
The view down that hill into downtown at night is very beautiful.

I can't ride a bike without racing it, I generally race the clock, got
a bike computer, but I race cars mostly, since its rare I find
another biker who can keep up with me. I'm sure there are
some, I just don't see them.

I think I could top 40 MPH if me and my bike were falling out of an airplane.

I've gotten close, though. I was coming down Edgewood Road in Redwood City on a 50 pound recumbent and I was doing 39.7 MPH. If the bike had better gearing, I might have broken 40. I'm one of those folks for whom the bike makes a big difference.

I'm like the Engergizer Bunny when it comes to biking. With enough water and carbs, I can keep going and going. Speed requires a tailwind and/or a downhill slope for me.

Current bikes:
(If you want specifics PM me, I don't want to post exact details because it could out me to this exact industry.)
1. A very rare, hand built road bike from the 80's by one of the top frame builders. 16 speeds, all Dura Ace components, I try to put 30 miles 3 times a week on it, but the weather has not been co-operating (It is worth more than many used cars).
2. Street bmx bike (yes, X-Games type stuff)
3. Flatland bmx bike.

What has it gotten me?
Jobs, sponsors, parts, messed up body:laugh:, but I enjoyed it all.
Again, I can't say much more or I risk outing myself.

I try to ride the road bike 30 miles, 3 times a week, but weather has been a problem. I only average 15mph on it through rolling hills, but who wants to go fast when you are riding through prairies, corn fields and just an amazing countryside.

Yeah, my gearing will not cruise much past 10-11, so its rough when I ride with my brother who has a road bike and trains a lot more than me and can cruise at 17-20 for 20-30 miles without even getting winded.

A poem dedicated to my recently stolen bike:

O Bike o Bike, where art thou bike?
Torn from me by the primal instincts of (wo)man.
We layed together, we threw up together, we climbed mountains together.
Abused thou were by my amateur techniques yet thou help up strong.
And now thou are gone, gone, gone. May you trek many more journeys in the hands
of thou new primal owner.


Sorry, somewhat ridiculous . Does a good job of describing my experience, I had a mountain bike for a while: gt full suspension mountain bike. I had many good treks on this bike. Though, I think Im going for a road bike next time. I  am not so great at mountain biking and prefer the long rides in rainy afternoons

One thing I really like, and I didn't think it would make much of a difference, but I was wrong, was the front shocks.  Easier on the hands I guess I knew than, but the control is much better to, not only on the trail, but on the street.

I used to bike-commute in downtown SF on an unsuspended mountain bike. I got the feeling that many of the roads in downtown in reality weren't paved and that I should have been using a fully suspended bike.

That and the amount of glass on the streets is amazing.  You could not get more broken glass out there if you did it as a public works project.

The roads in SFO are great compared to the streets in montreal which are
destroyed every year bike countless thaw-freeze cycles. Potholes are so big
you could put a horse in them... I've never seen as bad city streets anywhere.
If you don't watch the street while riding (and the cars of course), you'll wind
up dead or with a flat, whichever happens first is totally random...

In SFO, its mostly the tram line tracks, especially those on market,
that freak me out, but its only because I've
a competition road bike with the thinnest of tires. With a mountain bike, I wouldn't
worry at all.

Except for days when I'm feeling so particularly suicidal or when there is Critical Mass, I try to stay off of Market.  In the daytime its a killer, and my brother, who runs a road bike had trouble with the huge grates for the Bart/Muni vent systems too.

But ya, that freeze cycle ate the roads in the midwest something horrible.

Last year, somebody gave me a used bike, and I used it for commute and exercise. It was worn-out, and a few months ago I could not find it at my workplace. Probably a sweeper cleaned it, or sombody took it.

Here it is rather unsafe to ride bike in roads, and I need a helmet which usually costs as much as a new bike > $100. Sports bikes are far more expensive here > $600 and I think an ordinary bike is enough for me.

There are numerous bike clubs, and they usually ride bike in group. Every night I see groups of bike riders in local roads. Riding in group is far more safer than riding alone. It is like school of fish or flock of birds. I also joined a bike club at my workplace. We planned to go to a nearby city by bike which would take about 12 hours, but we have been too busy to do that. When we go to the city, I will purchase a new bike.

Barbie~~

You could ask around, or see if there is a Craig's List type deal for your city.  I got mine because I was bitching about the last one being jacked, and one of the people I work with told me she would sell it to me because her last roommate left it and split to Europe.  She charged me $150 for it, which for a Specialized is a deal.  But put up a note on the board at work, you never know.

Coaster bike with a nice wicker basket. Love it. Makes for great riding on the canal and real exercise.

Although I must admit that at the Cape it might have been nice to have had some gears. But, stand up and pull away and made most of the dunes.

About like this:

Nice, the "crusier" style bikes are real big in Santa Rosa, where you can ride the city which is pretty flat, but you get to SF you need some gears (and steel toes boots) for even the more basic rides.  Damn hills. 

The trouble with standing is that it builds up the thighs, for burning fat, the deal is to keep a consistent pace, circles inside of circles.

I'd love a road bike, my bro has a specialized road racer - 27 gears and tires as thin as a dime I swear, but he can get it moving, even on long uphills like from Novato out to the Coast.