Friday, November 04, 2005
Bicycles...
Argh, i want to get a bike, but i don't know which one to get. Want to use it for triathlon training as well as saving on transport when going for lectures and to the hospital. Haha! I hope maybel will come online and help me take a look and decide. First one is almost twice the price of 2nd but it seems to have been modded to a really good extent. Please advice me girl. Thanks!
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4 comments:
haha yesyes. hmmm let's see...
firstly, the most impt thing abt the bike is the frame. giant is good.. but OCR... TCR better. well just get one with a brand.. can ask me online abt the brands :)
next is to make sure the bike fits you.. for eg i'm pretty short so my frame is 48cm. i dunno ur height though. haha but ur frame size will definately be above 51cm. giant goes by S, M, L. trek goes by 43cm, 45cm, 47 cm etc etc. depends on the frame brand. next is ur groupset. for leisure purposes, u can get sora or tiagra parts.. but if u wanna race, u should get 105, ultegra or durace. and if u get tiagra parts and u want to upgrade, u got to change the whole group set. 9speed or 10 speed wise doesnt really matter. 10 speed just makes ur gear shifting smoother. and i assume u're not very heavy.. haha if u're below 60kg, u can get lightwheel.. if not get a more stable wheel.
the rest of the bike (seatpost,fork,saddle) aint very impt actually unless u are hardcore racer who cares alot abt weight.. of cos, get a comfy saddle else ur butt will hurt like shit. ESPECIALLY guys.. keke
hmmm with regards to the 2 bikes.. haha.. dont buy the first one. cheat... sora and tiagra parts lor..and it's not very cheap... and 2nd one.. hahah i dunno the brand. and that guy didnt provide the groupset so i can determine if it's a good buy or not. looks ok though. why not ur email the guy and ask for the specific groupset and gears?
anyways when tt 2nd guy said tt his bike is 14 speed, it's actually 7speed x2... u should try to get one tt's 9speed x2 like what i mentioned in the previous comment :)
Porky how about the four wheeler type .. the ones with the two small side wheels ..
No Sora or tiagra ... Toys R Us will do .. : )
wah why everyone is into tri
u want to get a bike...
well my advice is get a cheap one first la... cheap one not of high end cos you won't know whether your like for tri just a passing phase in your life(hopefully its not)
bear in mind that this will be a bike you gonna discard in a few yrs time after you find out your needs in a bike
Biking is fun... but there are many bike handling skills to go along with it which will make your ride/trg more enjoyable
k here is my 3 cents advice
hope it helps:
to choose a bike of correct size:
this is a long process but it helps for long run (prevents hernia and testicle problems)
-with your bare feet 6 inches aprt, hold a tape measure firmly into your crotch and measure to the floor.multiply this number by 1.09. this will give your saddle height.
-pedal backwards using your heels. place the saddle just below the pt where you must rock your hips to keep your feet in contact with the pedal
thus u obtain your saddle sitting position
after getting your saddle position, bent forward, holding on to the handle bar, keep in mind your hands has to be bent a few degrees( this is to help you in obtaining a aero position later on)
after getting into the riding position, place your eyes just below the stem,
you know u are in an ideal position, (the frame size is right for you) when your eyes, stem and fork are in line with one another
grp set:
there are many grp sets in the market ie. shimano: sora,tiagra, 105, ultegra and dura ace campagnolo record and chorus
dura ace and ultegra are of higher and thus will cost more
reason is because dura ace and ultegra gear shift are smoother. you will understand when u try out sora and then a dura ace
8,9, 10 speed to me is of little importance to a tri rider as there is no drafting required. drafting is illegal in tri anyway
it is only impt for pro cyclists when riding in a team as there is a need for drafting and keeping of similar spd
but of course, a 10 speed gear shift dura ace of 2003 is smoother than a 8 speed gear shift of 1998. thus u will be req to pay more for the former
frames:
the more popular high ends frames of today are carbon fibre, scandium and titanium
aluminium and steel bikes are yest tech.
even though aluminium bikes are lighter... they are of lower value as compared to steel
steel bikes are more stable and are more comfortable to ride on
i couldn't access the picts of the bikes you are comtemplating on buying....
however i hope the tips on obtaining the frame size and grp set will help
cos frame and grp set are the impt things you look out for in buying a 2nd hand bike
my advice is that you come back to singapore then buy la.
at least you can get professional advice and then consider.
you wouldn't want to splurge and regret at the end of the day.
furthermore if u are keen, you can join a ride with my team, get a feel of how is it like to ride with the pros who rep singapore and clubs(which will definitely make you more interested in riding)there are also many bike shops owners and mechanics who are more than willing to help in sourcing for a 2nd hand bike
furthermore by exp, ang mos do not maintain/take care of thier bikes, thus thier life spans are shorter(got money mah)
bringing over the bike back to eng will not be a prob, you can get a bike bag for $200...
remember for beginners... its very common to splurge on unneccessary equipments...
however if you really wanna excel in riding... you have to improve your bike handling skills which can also be done with a toys r us bike.
it is not the value or price that makes a good cyclist, its the skills involved
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