My bikes- about my road bike, my trail / commuter bike, my recumbent

About My Bikes

Every bike I bought was the wrong bike, although I didn't know it at the time. I've always done the FitKit adjustments and had a bike fitting with an expert.

After spending time riding the bike and understanding the gap between what I had and what I wanted, I knew what I should have done instead -- and then I've sort of forced the bike I bought into the bike that I should have bought. It seems like you might have to go through a few bikes to figure it out.

This is not smart on the part of the industry. They market mountain bikes to people who'll never do any technical riding, and road bikes to people who'll never race -- instead of selling hybrids or town/commuter bikes, or touring bikes. When I was in Paris and London this spring I was amazed at the practicality of their bicycles -- why can't you buy those bikes in the States?

When I went to buy my first adult bike in 1993, I weighed 285 pounds and was worried about bending a frame, so I bought a mountain bike. I should have bought a 700c hybrid commuter. But since then I've changed the wheels, tires, gear, bar, stem, and seat -- the frame's the same -- and it's an excellent trail bike / commuter. But I wish it had 700C wheels.

When I'd lost some weight and shopped for a road bike in 1994, I should have bought a touring bike, not a "sport racing" bike like the Trek1100. But I've changed the gear, the handlebars, and the shifters, and it's beginning to approximate an ersatz touring bike.

My first recumbent was also not "the bike for me", but at least I knew it going into the bike; I bought it to get some miles on a recumbent with under-seat-steering, and then I sold it a year later.