Originally Posted by
Jumpski
Will a cheap bike be good enough?
Yes! Recently, I was on the go to climb in my area. A local guy was on a titanium Huffy wearing flip flops- unbelievable. We exchanged smiles.[/QUOTE]
To digress… In my 30s I rode with a relatively quick recreational group and on one ride a guy in his 50s appeared on a MTB, 15 guys on racing bikes and this ‘old’ guy (am 66 now). We take off on our 30 mile quick training ride fully expecting to drop this clown in the first two miles. Not only was he not dropping but was taking turns at the front doing pulls. He was with us for the full 30 pushing huge knobbies which sounded like truck tires but even on sprints, he was right with us. I learned very conclusively that day, its the man, not the machine. Anybody can ride like a maniac if they train like hell and they can put the skinny-assed Lycra clad set to shame.