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I want to ride my BICYCLE! BICYCLE!


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Lets talk about bikes here.

I've been thinking about purchasing a bike, now that the weather is getting pretty warm and to get toned/in better shape, and (of course) to cut down on gas to/from work.

What are the best bikes for city commute? Like suburbs? Sturdy/practical?

Fixed? 6-Speed? I'm in the dark here.

Enlighten me!

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I just got this brand new beauty in the mail yesterday.

[image]

I love it to death. Super fun to ride. Super smooth. Shit fucking rules. I put off getting a fixie for a long time cause I felt like I would never be able to get use to riding a bike that couldn't coast and I live in an area with a ton of hills. Two days in and I already have a hang of it for the most part. I heard a lot of people say that I would crash while learning but that's not the case. Completly different feeling riding a fixie. I also have an old Schwin road bike that I was riding all the time. I'm of the opinion that everyone should ride bikes. Find a type of bike that you like and that feels comfortable and just ride the shit out of it.

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I just got this brand new beauty in the mail yesterday.

[image]

I love it to death. Super fun to ride. Super smooth. Shit fucking rules. I put off getting a fixie for a long time cause I felt like I would never be able to get use to riding a bike that couldn't coast and I live in an area with a ton of hills. Two days in and I already have a hang of it for the most part. I heard a lot of people say that I would crash while learning but that's not the case. Completly different feeling riding a fixie. I also have an old Schwin road bike that I was riding all the time. I'm of the opinion that everyone should ride bikes. Find a type of bike that you like and that feels comfortable and just ride the shit out of it.

What is the point of getting a fixed wheel bike? I don't see the upside. Help me out here.

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I love bike riding! It's my favorite pastime! When I first got into it, I bought a hybrid and that worked really well for the area that I live in, but eventually I sort of "outgrew" it and got a real nice road bike.

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I just got this brand new beauty in the mail yesterday.

[image]

I love it to death. Super fun to ride. Super smooth. Shit fucking rules. I put off getting a fixie for a long time cause I felt like I would never be able to get use to riding a bike that couldn't coast and I live in an area with a ton of hills. Two days in and I already have a hang of it for the most part. I heard a lot of people say that I would crash while learning but that's not the case. Completly different feeling riding a fixie. I also have an old Schwin road bike that I was riding all the time. I'm of the opinion that everyone should ride bikes. Find a type of bike that you like and that feels comfortable and just ride the shit out of it.

Is that a republic bike? I was looking at those, how do they hold up?

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I know nothing about bikes. I don't even know how to ride one save for one with training wheels when I was a kid. Wheels and I don't get along.

BUT I really want to learn and take it up as it is something super practical to have and do living in the city. I'm hoping my boy will teach me when the weather is consistently nice, he's not sick anymore, and we're both not super busy. My only concern is my bum knee getting in the way. I live in constant fear of severely dislocating my knee again. I will have to find my knee brace and make sure I wear it.

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I bought a fixie for the simple reason that it's fun to ride. Having to use your legs to control everything gives riding a whole new layer of interaction with your bike. Really the only thing that I can boil it down to is that it's fun. Yeah it's the trendy thing to do now adays and there are a lot of wankers who are into it that don't care other than they want to look cool but who cares? I look at it the same as records. They are trendy so people who don't have a passion for it buy them. That doesn't make me not want to buy records so why should I let that affect what kind of bike I ride?

yes they are way easier to maintain. Living in Seattle with all the rain and grime on the street makes it nice to have less parts to worry about.

I had my bike built by Mission Bicycle in San Francisco.

www.missionbicycle.com

I haven't heard good things about Republic Bikes. If you are looking into something in that price range I hear that Big Shoot Bikes are a lot nicer quality. www.bigshotbikes.com

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I know nothing about bikes. I don't even know how to ride one save for one with training wheels when I was a kid. Wheels and I don't get along.

BUT I really want to learn and take it up as it is something super practical to have and do living in the city. I'm hoping my boy will teach me when the weather is consistently nice, he's not sick anymore, and we're both not super busy. My only concern is my bum knee getting in the way. I live in constant fear of severely dislocating my knee again. I will have to find my knee brace and make sure I wear it.

wow. i never thought i'd meet someone your age that doesn't know how to ride a bike. that's just nuts. and it doesn't really hurt if you have a bum knee.

bicycling is probably one of the best things for your knees. its less impact than walking and strengthens your legs in the process. My doctor told me to stick to riding a bike instead of a skateboard when i dislocated my knee. Then again maybe he just told me that because i dislocated it skating? hmm. nonetheless, i did it and i only have problems when i walk for long distances. never when i ride.

Also, am i the only one here that rides strictly bmx?

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If you are commuting, doing much city riding etc. don't get a mountain bike. I ride trails all the time here in Colorado and I don't have a mountain bike. Suspension is useless and very heavy if you aren't doing big bumpy descents. My all-around everything bike (except strictly road riding) bike is a highly modified surly crosscheck. Excellent, pretty cheap bike.

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The thing about fixie bikes is how impractical they are for most people. By all means, ride a bike no matter what it is. But a couple of gears, so breaks and freewheel go a long way toward making cycling easier and more enjoyable for MOST people. Like I said, there's the minority out there for who fixie bikes are fine. And they are super simple and easy to maintain. Believe me, I love that. About the third time you have to replace your dura ace rear derailleur you start wishing you were on a one speed.

My recommendation to anyone looking to get into this sort of cycling is to get a free/fixed flip flop rear hub. Paulcomp.com makes a good one. That way you can have a nice time learning to ride a single speed, then flit it on over when you get all bad ass and hip.

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i almost had enough money to buy the bike i wanted but my student loans started asking to be paid :(

im still trying to save back up for it, i was looking at the novara divano or one of the other novara road bikes (i work at REI so i get super awesome discounts on novara stuff, its our house brand) so im hoping to get it in the next couple months

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I ride a Fixed gear bike and go up massive hills every other day for work, its not bad at all. It really depends on your gear ratio. You can always get a freewheel cog which lets you coast like a "regular bike." Also, you can get a hybrid commuter bike which is more stable than a fixed or a road bike but not as fast. I really good website is bikesdirect.com They sell all types of decent cheap bikes.

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