So MEGAN asked me what road bike I would buy if I could buy any bike I wanted and I told her a PINARELLO PARIS CARBON, I suspect that the Pinarello Dogma is,, well,, a little too dogmatic for me, but Megan might like a brown dogma :) But keep watching the page, as they show the Paris. It's Italian and beautiful, but America is making some great road bikes. Trek, Cannondale, Litespeed and others.Above is a photo of my regular road bike. I got it in 97 I think. It's a Trek 5000 fully carbon bike and the frame is exactly like the one Lance Armstrong rode to his first couple of Tours de France wins. Then after that they started to improve them. But at the time it was one of the best frames you could buy and it only weighs 2.8 lbs. They honestly haven't improved them all that much more. My bike has Campagnolo/ Italian parts on it. The one Lance rode had Shimano/ Japanese parts on it, and here is a bit of trivia; Lance's bike was the first bike equiped with Japanese parts on it to ever win the Tour de France. And correct me if I'm wrong, it was the first American bike to win the Tour de France.
This Trek sucks up road shock like other bikes don't and believe me after riding 60 or 70 miles, with 30 miles left to go, that is a very good thing. There are two things that can take away your energy you when you distance ride. Time in the saddle, and fatigue from the bike. Riding slow can be a problem as you don't get the ride over with soon enough. And I've had bikes that would burn out my body at shorter distances because they just hurt too much. That's what is so cool about this bike and why it fits my needs for touring so well. It's stiff, light and also quick. It's just a great design even though it's not the latest thing anymore. For Lance, it's not about the bike. I think that was the title of his book, but I noticed he was kind of particicular about his bikes. (?) For me well,...
But I didn't buy my Trek because of Lance. Riis won on a Pinarello in '96, and Jan Ulrich won on another Pinarello in '97. Just for the record I bought my bike right before Lance won on one. It was just the best full carbon bike at the time. It was a good investment as I still don't feel the need to get anything better. Man, I can't believe that was 10 years ago!
Realistically, if I were going to buy a new road bike I'd probably get a Cannondale since a Pinarello Paris would cost more than I'm willing to spend on a car. So a Cannondale will probably be my next road bike if I ever think I need one. I love the way they feel. I did buy a cheap Motobecane single speed road bike off of e-bay to have a backup road bike and I ride it to work all of the time. It only cost $350, but it only has 1 gear. Here is a photo of that, and also me last summer when I only weighed 175 lbs. The photo makes me look like I shave my legs but I don't. Racers shave their legs not for speed, but to be able to apply and remove bandages, and to keep wounds clean.Yes I'm wearing a mountain bike helmet but it was sunny out and I wanted the visor! It's bad form to wear a mountain bike helmet on a road bike. Also kind of bad form to not shave your legs.
3 comments:
I've been tempted to get a so-called "beach cruiser", just because I live so close to the beach and driving a mile-and-a-half seems a little ridiculous to go sit on the beach. That, and I don't like trying to find parking, especially when it's crowded. I was thinking about getting a Shimano; that was one of the brands I looked at that I liked.
I guess a "real" beach cruiser would only have one gear, but I've see them have 3 or 7 and one I saw had 15.
Your legs look pretty sexy already; I don't know what the girls would do if you did shave them! You should be glad you didn't take up competitive swimming!
By all means, get a bike Diane. If a beach cruiser fits your lifestyle, then that is the bike for you. And yes, gears are probably a good thing for a bike like that, especially if you have to return up hill.
I have an old schwinn cruiser. I got an old 1960s frame from out in the woods believe it or not, and built it up. I got some really old wheels, probably from the 50s, and rebuilt the rear coaster break. They are really cool wheels, painted with pin stripes. But the bike was originally a 3 speed. It's kind of a hippy bike. The sort of thing that the granola set rides in Missoula, and it would be just fine to get around on in that town. I just leave it up at the lake but hardly ever ride it. Just part of my collection of things. It's pretty cool though and I do ride it from time to time. I'm sure it would be pretty cool on the beach where you are.
I never learned how to properly swim. I did get some sort of swimming badge in boy scouts. I swam a mile or something. I don't think I have a gift for swimming. I can't bring myself to shave my legs. Kind of an un-manly thing to do. No need for it anyway as I'm not racing. But thanks for the compliment :)
No problem!
I used to swim in middle school competitively; I did OK, but felt there were some ethical problems with the swim team so I quit swimming. Swimming is not something I regret learning. While not a "cool" skill, I think it's a necessary one to have.
I'll put the bike on the list of things I'd like to get in the near future! I need to do more research though; I know there are probably good used bikes I can buy. I don't think I could justify buying a brand-new bike. There's also something about used items that, if well taken care of, have a character and specialness all their own.
Leg shaving does seem to be a bit unmanly, but some guys apparently get their chest and back hair waxed so who knows?
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