Ping Mountain Bike Riders

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Yup. Off the shelf bike = off road tires. Thanks.

As Data once said, "It is clear that I have much to learn".

 

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I'm no mountain bike expert, but I have mates who guided me in buying mine and gave me tips like this. If you fork out for a great bike and make appropriate amendments, it will revolutionise your cycling experience!

 

I decided to take it out for a spin this evening. The helmet actually came with an owner's manual so I scanned enough of it to tell me how to adjust it and put it on. My wife tried real hard not to laugh at me when she saw this thing on my head.

Before that, I put some air in the bike's tires. The tires say they take anywhere from 45 to 60 psi so I put in 50 just because it was a nice, round number.

Oh boy, the seat needs to be raised. I felt almost like I was going to eat my kneecaps. Also, I'd forgotten how bicycle seats make certain *ahem* areas sore (ouch).

The gearing seems more or less straightforward, but I don't think I was able to hit all the gears. Either I'm doing something wrong, or the gearing system needs a lube job (probably both). Also, the brakes had a tendency to grab, but that could also have been my inexperience.

And nobody told me about needing eye protection. A little bug nailed me (or I nailed it) in the tear duct. When I got home, I went to the closest bathroom and fished it back out (sad to say, the poor thing didn't survive the procedure). I felt like that dorky pickup truck from the movie "Cars".

The single oddest thing about the whole experience was that I had an overwhelming urge to turn on my turn signal when I made a turn.

Oh...I spent a little time in the parking lot of a nearby elementary school, trying to figure out the gears and such. I saw a Mom teaching her little girl to ride a bike without training wheels for the first time. Feeling kind of awkward at the moment, I could relate.

 

Yeah, if you're riding regularly you may want to think about buying some cycling shorts that have padding around your nether regions. Also upgrading your seat to something that is more comfortable will help too. As you've already noticed, and as most people seem to forget, cycling can give your pereneum a bit of a hard time!

 

To get your seat high right your knee should be slightly bent when your peddle is at its lowest position. Get yourself some good cycle shorts aswell. Its worth mentioning that the saddle sore will get less the more you ride.

Park tools do an excellent bike maintenance book if you fancy dabbling with repairing the gears etc.

 

The ford F150 is the worlds quickest selling car, down side is it's shockingly poor lol. Its registed as a van so it doesnt have to comply with certain health and safety laws. moral of this story is buy german or japanese

This is as close as i could find to my bike, i only really bike off road.....wales mostly

Grim

 

I assume you mean The Big Blue Book Of Bicycle Repair. I found just one copy of the 2008 edition at Amazon, which I thought odd, but from the Park Tool site, it looks like they encourage people to buy the book from local bike shops.

I used to take care of minor repairs on my old 12 speed back in the day, but that was ages and ages ago. I think, at least as far as a once over and tune up, I'll take it in to the local bike shop in my neighborhood. That said, I will take a crack at raising the bike seat when I get time.

Thanks for the tip.

 

You would be amazed how many people actually don't do their car's tyres then moan when the edges are worn off, one customer the other day even claimed that his handbook didn't say he had to check his tyre pressures, he was wrong and our tyre fitter pointed him to the right page though

Its also due to badly named tyre pressure monitoring systems which make people assume if they need to worry it tells them, which it doesn't.

 

Pics?

 

No!

 

I guess I'll have to Photoshop a helmet on your existing pic, then.

 

Remember, the door swings both ways. There are plenty of pics of you floating around here. It wouldn't take much for me to put one on a horse's rear....

 

Wouldn't be the first time.

 

Yep, he is right there. I remember one floating around but I ummm, someone put it on a mule not a horse. He was being very stubborn that week.

 

Yeah, thats the book. Its a great read and it even tells you the park tool ordering code for any tools you need for a job