A Beginner's Guide to Buying a Bike

by Linda Shrieves
The Orlando Sentinel, Florida

Walk into a bike shop today, and it’s easy to get lost in the choices.

There are road bikes and hybrid bikes, mountain bikes and comfort bikes. Beach cruisers and commuting bikes. "City path" bikes and touring bikes. Even the most basic bike, the standard beach cruiser, may be operating under a new alias: a lifestyle bike.

Confused? No wonder.

Bike-shop owners face this problem regularly. People wander in and don’t have a clue what type of bike to buy. The answer depends on what kind of biking you want to do–long-distance rides, trail riding, road riding–or just spins around the neighborhood.

"I get asked about bikes all the time," says George Cheney, president of the Florida Freewheelers, Florida’s oldest cycling club. "My advice is borrow a bike and see what you think. Or ask a lot of questions. But don’t go out and buy a real expensive bike until you know that you enjoy the sport and know what you want to do. Don’t go out and buy a $5,000 bike. You can have an awfully good time on a $500 bike."

The first steps inside a bike shop can be intimidating, especially for the derailleur-challenged. But the bike industry, which once catered strictly to Lance Armstrong wannabes and the mountain-bike crowd, is today aiming at people who want to love bicycling as they did as children.

So don’t be surprised to walk into a nearby bike shop and see, in addition to the rows of black-and-red road bikes, an array of one-speed bikes in mint or yellow or baby blue with swooping handlebars and even tassels that hang from the hand-grips.

"Riding this type of bike is like riding in a ’67 Chevy convertible," says Deena Breed, co-owner of Orange Cycle in Orlando. "You just look cool…It’s an image, but it puts a smile on your face. It makes you feel good."

Finding the Bike for You

Not sure what type of bike fits you best? First, visit a bike shop and talk to the employees. Then, don’t be afraid to take a test ride around the block.

Not interested in spending $400 on a bike? You can scope the classifieds for a used bike or head to a discount store such as Target or Wal-Mart. But biking experts warn that you get what you pay for: A cheaper bike will have cheaper components that could break down after a couple of years of use. And the bikes are often heavier, which might not matter if you’re going for a spin around the block, but may be a big deal if you’re trying to ride 10 miles or more at a clip.

Road bike: If you’ve been taking spinning classes at your local gym, but now want to hit the road, many bike shops will suggest a road bike. Likewise, people who have been runners, but are switching to cycling because of bad knees, would be good candidates for a road bike.

"They’re athletic, they’re already in shape, so we know they’re going to go gung-ho," says Breed. And if you don’t like the drop-handlebars on a road bike, Breed says, consider a new style: the upright road bike.

Price range: $700 to $10,000

Mountain bikes: There are no mountains in Florida, but that hasn’t stopped the mountain bike from becoming a hot seller. The reason? In the 1990s, it became the bike of choice for people who wanted a bike that was more durable than a road bike and could handle riding on different types of surfaces, including sand and dirt paths and brick streets.

If you’re looking for the basics, remember this: Mountain bikes (also known as all-terrain bikes) aren’t for riding fast, they’re for riding furious–meaning that you can jump curbs or go off-road or bounce around on them, and they’ll hold up well. But you’ll be left in the dust by your friends riding road bikes if you’re out on a 20-mile trip.

Price range: $200 to $3,000

Hybrid bike: In recent years, the debate among occasional riders has been whether to buy a comfort bike or a hybrid bike. Both bike styles allow riders to sit up straight, rather than leaning forward, road-bike style. But hybrids have been more popular than comfort bikes, says David Sanborn, owner of David’s World Cycle.

The reason? While comfort bikes have a wide tire and a smaller wheel, hybrids have a skinnier tire (like a road bike) and a bigger wheel, so the bike will go faster without as much effort. "Hybrids are lighter than comfort bikes, and everybody likes to go a little farther a little faster," says Sanborn.

Price range: $300 to $2,000

Lifestyle bike: The newest family in the bicycle kingdom is the lifestyle category of bikes. Lifestyle bikes encompass several different types of bikes, but they all share one thing: attitude.

The old beach cruiser, for instance, has gone retro, with bright colors and swooping handlebars. "These are bikes for a certain lifestyle," says Sanborn. "It’s an image. It’s for rolling over to the Starbucks and getting a coffee."

Also included in the lifestyle category are comfort bikes, which have as many as 21 gears but come equipped with a wide seat and a wide tire like that found on a mountain bike.

Some high-end lifestyle bikes are also sporting a new feature: a three-speed gearing system that shifts automatically. Also in the technology department, one American bike company, Electra, has developed bikes with "flat-footed technology" that allows riders to put their feet flat on the ground at a stoplight — without getting off the seat.

"This is great for people who’ve had knee operations," says Breed. "At intersections they don’t want to stand up on their tiptoes. They want their feet securely on the ground."

Yet it’s the splashy colors and the comfortable, squishy ride that are drawing customers. "We have young kids that come in and want to look crazy on these wild-colored bikes, and then we have people who are grandparents who come in, and they want that bike because it’s like the one they had when they were kids," says Sanborn.

Price range: $199 to $700

Linda Shrieves can be reached at lshrieves@orlandosentinel.com. To see more of The Orlando Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to www.OrlandoSentinel.com. Copyright (c) 2007, The Orlando Sentinel, Florida. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Bear Training #3

Irvine, Newport Beach & Corna Del Mar — "Every which way but down."

 

Click to enlarge.

 

Click to enlarge.

 

DIR		TO NEXT TURN	TOTAL MILES
L	IRVINE CENTER DR.	1.1	1.1
R	JEFFREY	2.3	3.4
L	JORDAN/RIDGELINE – Hill	1.3	4.7
L	TURTLE ROCK	3.5	8.2
R	STARCREST – Steep climb	0.8	9.0
R	RIDGELINE – Steep downhill	0.4	9.4
R	TURTLE ROCK	0.6	10.0
L	SUNNYHILL	0.2	10.2
R	SHADY CANYON	1.5	11.7
L	BONITA CANYON	0.5	12.2
L	NEWPORT COAST- Hill	1.9	14.1
R	SAN JOAQUIN HILLS – Downhill Caution, next turn at base of hill.	1.5	15.6
R	SPYGLASS – Hill	1.1	16.7
L	SAN MIGUEL – Steep downhill	1.0	17.7
L	SAN JOAQUIN HILLS – Hill	2.5	20.2
R	NEWPORT COAST	2.5	22.7
R	PACIFIC COAST HWY	1.6	24.3
R	MARGUERITE – Hill	1.2	25.5
L	PACIFIC VIEW	0.4	25.9
L	REST STOP Shopping Ctr, Food, Restrooms	0.1	26.0
L	PACIFIC VIEW	0.1	26.1
L	SAN MIGUEL	0.1	26.2
L	SAN JOAQUIN HILLS	0.5	26.7
R	MARGUERITE	1.0	27.7
L	PACIFIC COAST HWY	1.7	29.4
L	NEWPORT COAST (Climb, then downhill)	4.4	33.8
R	BONITA CANYON	0.5	34.3
R	SHADY CANYON	1.5	35.8
L	SUNNYHILL	0.2	36.0
R	TURTLE ROCK	0.6	36.6
R	RIDGELINE/ROSA DREW	1.5	38.1
L	MICHELSON	0.4	38.5
R	YALE	0.3	38.8
R	W. YALE LOOP	2.0	40.8
R	YALE	0.1	40.9
L	IRVINE CENTER DRIVE	0.4	41.3
R	DEERWOOD	0.0	41.3

 

Followed Ron Hetherington up San Jajoaquin Hills.  Strong rider, likes to climb standing up with even tempo.  His wife, Jean, spinned up hills.

New Training Routes

This week I experimented with four routes with good results: two allow me to work on my cadence and spinning techniques, and the other to build endurance and strength for climbing.

 

Commuting has been a good way for me to build saddle time during the week, but I can only get about 40 minutes of workout from only 10 miles of travel each way.  Also, the traffic lights along the way decrease the quality of my workout.  The solution to improve the quality is finding alternate routes with longer distance or hills.  I look for routes that has fewer traffic lights or less cars on the street.  In the past, one such route is through Shady Canyon bike trail.  After Shady Canyon, I would ride through the UCI campus via Anteater and Compus Dr. and onto the Mountain-to-Sea trail to connect to Main St.  For a little more distance and climbing, I would turn left on Bonita Canyon after Shady Canyon and climb the backside of Newport Coast Dr. to San Joaquin Hills and onto the Mountain-to-Sea trail.  There is only one thing I do not like about the Shandy Canyon route — to get there, I need to ride through the 405 overpass on Sand Caynon.  The cars from the moring commute merging onto the 405 on-ramp makes me nervous, especially if there are no other cyclists on the street.

Missed Tour de Palm Springs

About a month ago, I decided to sit out this year’s Tour de Palm Springs.  Recovering from a lower back pain and missing training most of December, I knew I would not be ready physically.  Completing the century would be difficult on sheer well along, not mentioning that I succumbed to the flu just days before the event.

 

To begin with, I had an aggressive training schedule; I wanted to ride my first century only two months after getting my new bike.  By mid-January, I had only logged about 500 miles on the new bike, and my lower back still tinkled after 40-mile rides.  I needed time to get stronger, to build my base and endurance.

 

So like any Saturday morning, I put on my gears and headed towards Deerfield Park, where the riders from the local cycling club BCI gathered.  I had expected to be empty because of Tour de Palm Springs, but to my amazement, I found a sizable group of cyclists when I got to the park.  It turned out to be a nice day to ride, and I made two new friends — Arnold and Will.

 

Click to see the ride detail.

Bear Training #2

 

 

DIR		TO NEXT TURN	TOTAL MILES
L	IRVINE CENTER DR.	5.7	5.7
R	LAKE FOREST	0.6	6.3
L	SANTA VITTORIA (Hill)	1.3	7.6
L	SANTA MARIA	0.7	8.3
R	MOULTON PKWY.	0.7	9.0
R	EL TORO RD. (Hill)	1.6	0.6
L	ALISO CREEK (Real Hill at start)	5.6	16.2
R	MOULTON/GOLDEN LANTERN (Major Hill after Crown Valley, then Rolly)	5.2	21.4
R	VIA LADERA. Rest Stop – Restrooms, Coffee, I Luv Bagels	0.1	21.5
R	CAMINO DEL AVION (Caution – steep Downhill)	0.8	22.3
R	NIGUEL RD. (Hill)	2.2	24.5
R	MARINA HILLS	1.3	25.8
L	GOLDEN LANTERN/MOULTON (Caution – Steep Downhill to sharp right turn – watch speed)	0.9	26.7
R	PASEO DE LAS COLINAS (Caution – sharp left downhill turn into next left)	1.3	28.0
L	CAMINO CAPISTRANO	0.1	28.1
L	AVERY	0.2	28.3
L	MARGUERITE (Long Hill)	2.2	30.5
R	FELIPE/OLYMPIAD (Hilly)	3.3	33.8
L	JERONIMO (Rolly to Los Alisos)	6.8	40.6
L	ALTON	0.4	41.0
R	MUIRLANDS/BARRANCA	1.9	42.9
R	IRVINE CENTER DR.	3.2	46.1
R	DEERWOOD	0.0	46.1

不錯哦

去年4月29第一次跟Irvine的自行車Club星期六早上騎車。那時用這輛2006 Marin Stinson自行車。

 

開始沒半法爬到藍色箭頭那裡。因為太陡了。後來用推的。9月16，第二次騎同樣的路程，可以一次法爬到藍色箭頭那裡。而且比第一次快20分。不過爬坡還是蠻累的。

 

11月，為了騎更遠的路，爬更陡的坡，買了新車2007 LeMond Buenos Aires。今年二月3號，第三次騎同樣的路程，26英里，已經不覺的累了。這回只用了1小時45分。