Great thread and better thoughts! Learning the 'value' of something like an old bike is........well..........invaluable and very hard to find these days in our disposeable society.
And speaking of bikes, I've had my share starting with a Rudge 3 speed from England with those wonderful Brooks saddles in 1961. I rode the wheels off that bike! Wish I still had it.
'Been thru the tandems and the Mountain bike thing (Oregon still has mountains but Florida does NOT) and got into road riding as a result. Had a bunch of Cannondales and a Merlin. My 3 year old Giant TCR carbon was stolen right from my garage during the 5 minutes that the door was open last year. Replaced it with a NEW Giant TCR carbon. What's not to like?
It's a superb bike for any road conditions and I really look forward to the OR trip every year to ride in the hills!(especially at 16 lbs.)
We are considering bikes for riding the Katy Trail nearby and for campground rambling or level trails on trips. However, we are upper 60's, haven't biked for years, DH has arthritic frozen spine and, on a bike, we'd both not do well with a spill. So, you young fit kids on this forum may now laugh, we are looking into the trike bikes, 3 wheels for stability. Yesterday we looked at one that was low, stretched out, with a very comfortable supportive seat with back that Max liked a lot. I was really put off by how low it was and strange it looked. I imagined not being able to see past the road side weeds along the way. I tried an upright 3 wheel with a really broad seat (matched mine!). The low one was in the $1000 range; the upright around $500. Both seem exorbitant to us, but then my last bike was a Schwinn in the 60's--wish I had it now. Please, some comments or recommendations from bicyclists on the forum. Thanks, ~G
maxandgeorgia,
Check out Electra Bike's Townies e l e c t r a. These aren't three wheelers, but they have an upright seating position, comfortable seat, and your feet are flat on the ground when stopped. Pat loves hers. She had to give up the drop handle bars and other performance bike "features" a few years ago do to some issues similar to your's.
Randy
__________________ Randy and Pat Godfrey
1st VP Florida Unit WBCCI# 7591 - AIR# 17017
2007 Safari SE 23' - Daisy
2006 Lincoln Mark LT - Hoke
Lot's of good stuff, but having drawn to myself a couple of Collegiates, Suburbans, and a Twinn, I just have to say:
I like old Schwinns and I can not lie
You other riders can't deny
when a bike goes by that's electroforged
and circles again you say "My Word!"
You wanna go ride you get your hat
cause you know Chicago steel is where it's at.
I started riding again about 3 months ago, mostly road and in town for errands. Right now I am doing 24mls to work one way ( can't make it home yet, too many hills). Takes me 1.5 hrs average. I use a Specialized Allez Elite Torture machine for the long ride, and an older, cheap converted mountain bike with narrow street tires for running errands around town. I also have Specialized Mountain bike, but use it only occasionally.
Steel is definitely more forgiving than aluminum, I noticed.However, the Specialized Road bike weighs in at around 18lbs, whereas the converted Mountain bike weighs 31lbs...a tank, in my opinion. It's weird to switch back and forth between the two.
Either way, it's not the bike that counts, it's the fun and exercise value. I try and bring a bike or two on all my camping trips, all but Mexico. I found out that bikes don't work well on beach sand, but riding desert trails early in the morning is fantastic. The pic below is from a recent trip to Mojave desert, where the bike came in very handy to explore little trails and desert roads.
I snapped this shot on our return from the midwest rally last night. I must use a medium wheelbase recumbent and it's not easy to put such a long bike on top of a tow vehicle. I created my own mount for attaching Yakima aftermarket skewers to my rubber bed mat. This works very well for standard bicycles too. The rear wheels are stabilized against lateral motion by wood slots at the front of the bed. I am able to travel far from home with bikes inside and my canoe on top!
I snapped this shot on our return from the midwest rally last night. I must use a medium wheelbase recumbent and it's not easy to put such a long bike on top of a tow vehicle. I created my own mount for attaching Yakima aftermarket skewers to my rubber bed mat. This works very well for standard bicycles too. The rear wheels are stabilized against lateral motion by wood slots at the front of the bed. I am able to travel far from home with bikes inside and my canoe on top!
They make something called a 'bike tight' that screws down to a 2 X 4 or other bracing or floor deck and will hold the front forks super tight. Almost any well stocked bike shop should have them.
They make something called a 'bike tight' that screws down to a 2 X 4 or other bracing or floor deck and will hold the front forks super tight. Almost any well stocked bike shop should have them.
I've got two, "free to a good home" for the shipping fee.
Randy
__________________ Randy and Pat Godfrey
1st VP Florida Unit WBCCI# 7591 - AIR# 17017
2007 Safari SE 23' - Daisy
2006 Lincoln Mark LT - Hoke
Yes Lew -- I maybe reinvented the wheel but ended up with a very low profile holder. Susie's upright bike and my recumbent's seat back were high enough as it was. I'd still have needed some way of securing a Bike Tight into my bed. I found references here and here.
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