Hi, I'm Brian in St. Louis
06-04-12, 09:43 AM
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Hi, I'm Brian in St. Louis
My name's Brian and I'm from St. Louis. I'm 44 and I haven't ridden a bicycle since college 25 years ago.
Long story short, I'm getting back into biking for fun and fitness, and in my research on bikes (gotta know what I'm getting into before dropping the dollars!) Google searches always seemed to lead back here.
A buddy has given me his old 1986 Trek 830 Antelope, but the 22-inch frame is too tall for my inseam. And since I'm planning on doing mostly urban and paved trail riding, and eventually commuting, the MTB gearing probably isn't ideal for my needs anyway, so it's new bike time!
Anyway, I'm impressed by the general friendly and helpful attitude here and I wanted to say "Hi!", so . . .
Hi!
Long story short, I'm getting back into biking for fun and fitness, and in my research on bikes (gotta know what I'm getting into before dropping the dollars!) Google searches always seemed to lead back here.
A buddy has given me his old 1986 Trek 830 Antelope, but the 22-inch frame is too tall for my inseam. And since I'm planning on doing mostly urban and paved trail riding, and eventually commuting, the MTB gearing probably isn't ideal for my needs anyway, so it's new bike time!
Anyway, I'm impressed by the general friendly and helpful attitude here and I wanted to say "Hi!", so . . .
Hi!
06-04-12, 10:17 AM
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Hello Brian,
Welcome to Bike Forums.
Mountain bike gearing is good for your first bike.
Welcome to Bike Forums.
Mountain bike gearing is good for your first bike.
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Fred "The Real Fred"
Fred "The Real Fred"
06-04-12, 02:06 PM
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Thanks, 10 Wheels! While the gearing may work for a first bike, this frame definitely will not for me at all. Just straddling the frame has me speaking a couple of octaves higher. My LBS guy is steering me towards a 19" Jamis Citizen, which is a much better fit.
06-04-12, 07:54 PM
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Pint-Sized Gnar Shredder
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Welcome Brian! You may actually find the higher gearing on the mountain bike adequate. The really high gearing on road bikes is only useful for downhills for most of us, I suspect. But if the bike doesn't fit, that's a much bigger problem. I don't know anything about the Citizen, but I do ride a Jamis Komodo, and think that Jamises are highly underrated bikes that are great for the money.
06-05-12, 04:07 PM
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Welcome brian, the way i look at it is no matter what kind of bike you have its better to be on the road then at work!! What part of STL you from?
06-05-12, 05:46 PM
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South city, near Ted Drewes. After talking with my LBS for another hour this afternoon, and a fitting and test ride, I put a down payment on a Specialized Work https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/globe/work
VERY comfortable, great fit. Really looking forward to this!
VERY comfortable, great fit. Really looking forward to this!
06-05-12, 11:39 PM
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Anything you feel good on is just great, at this point. You REALLY don't need to spend a lot at this point. If the deal on the Trek falls through, there's got to be a buttload of suitable bikes your size on the local Craigslist. https://stlouis.craigslist.org/bia/ To start, get a bike that just feels good for the for the first couple miles. St. Louis is pretty flat, I take it?
How're the Rams going to do this year? Never mind, just clear you head with a nice ride.
How're the Rams going to do this year? Never mind, just clear you head with a nice ride.
Last edited by Lascauxcaveman; 06-05-12 at 11:44 PM.
