Originally Posted by
Sertsa
Thanks. It still feels out there to know two people killed while riding. One was at an intersection in a fairly large suburb where the driver ran a red light. The most recent was on a rural highway and was a hit and run.
Anyway, as for bike cost, I'm becoming aware that it's easy to spend 3 grand and much more. I'm thinking I can find something reasonable in the $1K range, but I'm fairly flexible on price. I also plan to stop at a local co-op once they have more bikes available.
That's tough. Look on the bright side a bit. In your first description, it was not the riders fault as the other person ran a red light. What could they have done differently? If they had been in a car, the other person would still have run the light possibly and caused a crash. Maybe not fatal, but cash none the less.
The second person was due to a hit and run. That is incredibly sad. Again, probably nothing they could have done to prevent it since it was from behind I guess. This is where a ride cam could have maybe helped to identify the perp. I am thinking seriously about getting a ride cam to record my rides just for stuff like this. That is, if I were to survive.
Little consolation here is the fact that whoever did the hit and run has to live with that guilt the rest of their lives. Not a fair trade in anyway but hopefully the guilt eats them alive. Maybe someday, when they can't take it any longer, they will come clean.
As for you bike and money, spend wisely. Like I said, I went for under a grand and got into a Specialized. Rode it a lot and then rewarded myself with a new bike that went on sale after Christmas a few years ago. Didn't plan on it but was just visiting a bike shop I had not been in and they were moving the shop to a new location. The bikes were 30% off as they were just trying to sell what they had so they would not have to move them to the new place. So, my 3k bike actually cost 2k. I got a heck of a deal. Full carbon with an ultegra group set. So, shop around. There are plenty of decent bikes around for 800-1000. My other advice is ride as many models as you can. There are differences. Try not to get hung up on a brand name. Focus on the bike that feels right to you. Oh yea, no race geometry. Go with the endurance geometry. It is a little more upright and a lot more comfortable. Leave the race geometry to those young guns that still have a lot of flexibility.
john