I finally did it!
#1, The store. I went to 3 other places. The service here was hands down the best.
#2, Decisions, decisions! There were 4 areas packed with stuff ready to roll.
#3&4, My choice. I checked Consumer reports to get some ideas, and then looked at mountain and roadbike review for some real feedback.
I tried runnig last year and tore both calf muscles, made it hard to even walk. If this doesen't work there's still swiming, which I should be doing this winter.
Mark.

Sweet Ride dude!!!! Disk brakes, huh? All the good stuff. Cool dude. I want to get myself a new bike (i'm still riding my toys-r-us $60 special) but I'll wait till my son is big enough where I need a real bike to keep up with him (he has a good bike-I don't skimp much when it comes to his sporting equipment.).

Awesome ride man, looks perfect for the driveway it's on. I've never had a bike with disk brakes before....I always envision them being like regular brakes x100. I picture myself pressing them in and the bike flipping over as the front wheel locks up :) I'm probably overestimating the stopping powe.... :D

Trevor, Lionheart,
Not sure yet about the disc brakes yet. They added $70 to the cost, $30 less than expected.
I think Old Fashioned:) brakes work better dry. I hope these work better wet or muddy.(they work fine dry). It was between this and a hardtail mtn bike. I don't think I'll be going far off of the road.
Just rode 3 miles and needa shower. It'll be a while before I ride it the 8 miles to work, and then back sometime between 1 & 3 a.m
Mark.

8 miles sounds like the perfect commuting distance to me :) I'll be doing a ~9 mile commute (each way) as soon as I move in a couple weeks. Here's my commuter (will be throwing on some fenders soon)

8 miles sounds like the perfect commuting distance to me :) I'll be doing a ~9 mile commute (each way) as soon as I move in a couple weeks. Here's my commuter (will be throwing on some fenders soon)
Nod Nammit, you make me feel like such a fricki'n wuss :o , untill you mentioned adding fenders :p !
All kidding aside, thats a bike with character! Some questions if you have the time.
How old is it? (the frame.) How much does it weigh? What's it made from? How many speeds(internal hub?)? Just being nosey.
BTW, that three mile ride I took had a great impact on my day.My Job sucks harder than a Eureka and I normally feel like i'm going to rip sombodys head off at any moment. Today I was calm and smiling, and everybodys head was safe. All due to 25 minuetes of exercise.
Cant waite to break the bike in a little more today.
Mark.

My Job sucks harder than a Eureka and I normally feel like i'm going to rip sombodys head off at any moment. Today I was calm and smiling, and everybodys head was safe.
Mark.
Wow. What do you do for a living? I've been in a situation like that. HMO dental practice seeing 30-40 patients a day per doctor, plus 10 more in hygiene for exams, 12 hour days with no lunch, all for less pay than a hygienist. Ended up in the hospital with chest pain, staying overnight because the EKG and Troponin-T levels suggested a mild heart attack -turns out I was just fine. The doctor ordered 7 days away from work or quit and find a new place. I quit and found a new place after I found out my old boss was popping off behind my back about how I faked a heart attack to get time off from work and how much production he was losing on my account. Now I see 10 patients a day, a lot less stress, and actually take home a pay check once in a while :D

Nod Nammit, you make me feel like such a fricki'n wuss :o , untill you mentioned adding fenders :p !
All kidding aside, thats a bike with character! Some questions if you have the time.
How old is it? (the frame.) How much does it weigh? What's it made from? How many speeds(internal hub?)? Just being nosey.
BTW, that three mile ride I took had a great impact on my day.My Job sucks harder than a Eureka and I normally feel like i'm going to rip sombodys head off at any moment. Today I was calm and smiling, and everybodys head was safe. All due to 25 minuetes of exercise.
Cant waite to break the bike in a little more today.
Mark.

I only ride on the street so didn't have a need for wider tires right now but the frame and rims I have will allow me to fit some cyclocross (knobby) tires on there for winter time and snow....although I haven't honestly decided if I'll actually ride in the snow. I'll try it a few times and see if I hate it or not :)

What you describe about feeling good after a ride is the same I feel. I'm also a new rider trying to get in shape.

I put this bike together from new and old parts from ebay. It started with the frame. It's a steel lugged, triple butted frame from a1985 Trek model. I just did the "stand on the scale with/without" thing and it looks like it weights about 20 pounds. There are lots of areas to save weight if I cared about it....actually, I already ordered a different seat post because the one I have is so cheap it's actually a little crooked up top and that bugs me. And by coincidence the seatpost currently in there weights a LOT!

It's has ONE gear. The gearing is 40T up front and 16T in back although I going to switch to 17 for a while until I build some more strength. There's a really cool gearing calculator (http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/) that you can play around with to give you a feel for things. Not having cables and derailers is one reason for the clean look and lighter weight.

Too bad we couldn't commute together a few days out of the week :) One thing I've learned about bicycle fitness, it doesn't take too long before that 8 miles is easy. I'm already comfortable with the lower, racing like position on road bikes, otherwise I'd have built something with geometry like yours to make the commute fun AND comfortable.

Trevor, A 1 speed commuter? You are definatly hardcore! I havent checked out your link to the gearing calculator yet, but it reminds me of when I got my first real bike. A Schwinn traveller III. The owners man had a section that gave how many ft per crank rotation for each gear. As far as comfort and position is concerned, I have raised my seat, and it is level with the handlebar. I'll be looking into what adjustment can be made to the bars. Right now they seem a bit close to the seat. I think leaning a bit more foreward may be more comfortable.
The bike is sweeter than sweet! My biggest complaint so far is that the seat is a real pain in the butt. Is there really a comfortable saddle out there? Thanks to Consumer Reports for pointing me in the right direction. I only wish they include more bikes in their reviews. specifically Electra townies, a kind of upright recumbant.
If your into building bikes Trevor, I have a complete Schwinn Hybrid bike, a late 80's model Crisscross I think its called, sans rear brake. I have no use for it and can send it to Algonquin, IL.
with my bro who lives there and frequently visits here.
A 1 speed bike? I thought I was nuts. Your going to have to join a gym so you dont have Schwarzenager legs on a normal body!
Thanks for your replies,
Mark.

Lionheart, I drive a forklift. My company has gone downhill like a snowsled with a rocket engine on it in the last few years. We're on our fourth plant manager in three years. We were the shining star of North American operations 3 years ago, and now the concencsus (sp) is that we'll be closing our doors soon! I have been frustrated near to tears sevral times this year. Inside the plant is like an obsticle course, outside is like a junkyard. It would take a long time to describe exactly whats happenning here.I thought about finding another job, but with 8 years invested here, I have decided to just wait and see. If the doors do close, there may be some benefits to the workers, and if they don't, things may improve. So I have made up my mind to stay. My heart strongly disagrees with my mind!
I'm glad that you left your bad situation and that things have worked out.
Good dentists are hard to come by,
Mark.

Lionheart, I drive a forklift. My company has gone downhill like a snowsled with a rocket engine on it in the last few years. We're on our fourth plant manager in three years. We were the shining star of North American operations 3 years ago, and now the concencsus (sp) is that we'll be closing our doors soon! I have been frustrated near to tears sevral times this year. Inside the plant is like an obsticle course, outside is like a junkyard. It would take a long time to describe exactly whats happenning here.I thought about finding another job, but with 8 years invested here, I have decided to just wait and see. If the doors do close, there may be some benefits to the workers, and if they don't, things may improve. So I have made up my mind to stay. My heart strongly disagrees with my mind!
I'm glad that you left your bad situation and that things have worked out.
Good dentists are hard to come by,
Mark.

Best of luck with the job situation Mark. Just be comforted that you made a decision. Many people have a hard time just coming to a decision. I can relate with you though, 9 years at my last company when I resigned on my own terms. No benefits but I'm currently happy. I'm sure things will work out for you as well.

Best wishes, and don't forget how good that first ride felt!

The most popular comfortable saddles are WTB or Titec saddles, I prefer Titec saddles myself, they seem to have a shape that fits my rear end a little better, the larger portion prefers WTB saddles. Make a trip back to the shop you bought the bike from with the bike and they should let you test ride a handful of different saddles on your bike.

Ridding on snow is lots of fun, I did it for a few winters while I was in college, the thing you have to remember is that you won't be able to stop or turn quickly so keep a good distance from anything that might make you stop or turn. It's much easier to ride on snow over grass or dirt than to ride on snow over concrete.

The most popular comfortable saddles are WTB or Titec saddles, I prefer Titec saddles myself, they seem to have a shape that fits my rear end a little better, the larger portion prefers WTB saddles. Make a trip back to the shop you bought the bike from with the bike and they should let you test ride a handful of different saddles on your bike.

Ridding on snow is lots of fun, I did it for a few winters while I was in college, the thing you have to remember is that you won't be able to stop or turn quickly so keep a good distance from anything that might make you stop or turn. It's much easier to ride on snow over grass or dirt than to ride on snow over concrete.

Thanks for the info kornphlake. I'll waite a while and see if my butt conforms to the seat better after riding a while. it didn't feel so bad yesterday. I'm hoping it will continue to improve.
Mark.

Best of luck with the job situation Mark. Just be comforted that you made a decision. Many people have a hard time just coming to a decision. I can relate with you though, 9 years at my last company when I resigned on my own terms. No benefits but I'm currently happy. I'm sure things will work out for you as well.

Best wishes, and don't forget how good that first ride felt!

Thanks Trevor. Things will work out well. It's my understanding that they always do, untill about three days before someone throws dirt on your coffin! Sounds morbid I guess, but I mean it to be funny.
The other bike is yours or anybody elses for the asking.
Suns almost up. Time to ride,
Mark.
BTW, each ride gets better!

I've been putting in 10-15 mile trips on my Specialized Crossroads. The only thing I have going for me is the lack of hills here in Miami. While in South Carolina during the summer I thought I was going to die when I encountered those things called hills.. It was the first time I ever had the bike on first gear and first chain ring. Good luck with the riding, it helped me lose 20 pounds this summer,

Mark,

Do you have a small point and shoot you can take with you while you ride?

Some more inspiration for you....took my first ride with a fixed gear cog :) 20 miles of spinning and it was a lot of fun. I have to admit I almost fell out of the saddle twice when I forgot it was fixed!

I've been putting in 10-15 mile trips on my Specialized Crossroads. The only thing I have going for me is the lack of hills here in Miami. While in South Carolina during the summer I thought I was going to die when I encountered those things called hills.. It was the first time I ever had the bike on first gear and first chain ring. Good luck with the riding, it helped me lose 20 pounds this summer,


I remember when i was a kid and and rode about 12 miles to go see a girlfreind. this was on a divided highway that dosent have much of an apron, and in the small area of the apron there were wheel eating steel drains. To this day I dont know how I survivied the three or four trips! It took me an hour to get there going all uphill, and half an hour to get back!
Oh, to be 15 and that horny again!
Mark. :p :rolleyes:

Mark,

Do you have a small point and shoot you can take with you while you ride?

Some more inspiration for you....took my first ride with a fixed gear cog :) 20 miles of spinning and it was a lot of fun. I have to admit I almost fell out of the saddle twice when I forgot it was fixed!


A fixed gear cog? I take it that the pedals move whenever the rear wheel moves. So you have reverse? :D
Your bike has so much character, espeacially the handlebar and seat! love the pics.
I plan on Pee Wee Hermanizing this bike and taking my D70 on it. However, When I do purchase a digital ps camera, I'm sure I'll leave the slr at home.
Mark.