Cycling thread

If it's just riding with the kids then the specs won't matter as much because you'll be going slower? That said, and I'm generally clueless about mountain bikes so apologies if a daft question, but I always thought mountain bikes had super low gears to get up super steep hills. Obviously if you're doing flatter rides then a single speed will probably be just fine.
 

Bruce Wayne said:
If it's just riding with the kids then the specs won't matter as much because you'll be going slower? That said, and I'm generally clueless about mountain bikes so apologies if a daft question, but I always thought mountain bikes had super low gears to get up super steep hills. Obviously if you're doing flatter rides then a single speed will probably be just fine.
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Yeah, maybe I mislead with my intro. The kids just have bikes from a toy shop, but we live now on hilly streets and near dirt trails. Nothing serious that we'd need legit bikes for (plus, they're too young for that), and I can't ride the bike I already have (at least, not with street tires and I think it's too narrow in the forks to retrofit), so I'd rather invest in a solid, dependable bike (i.e., hardtail single-speed off-road) as a catch-all "ride with the kids" bike.

And I don't want a toy-store crap bike, like BBJ said to avoid. Hope that makes some sense.
 
SerenityNigh said:
I really don't know much about bikes, but I'll probably need to go to a bike shop and see what they have. I really want something simple and easy to maintain. I have a nice commuter (Trek Soho), but due to office moves I haven't put as many miles on it as I wished. And I can't ride it with the kids at our new house, so I want something simple and durable to ride with them.

And I'd rather spend $500-$800 than drop $2k+ for a new bike.
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SS certainly simple - with a set of decent brakes you're talking about bare minimum maintenance schedule.

You could pick up a good geared bike on ebay and convert it, to widen your options. Very easy - just need to buy a chain tensioner, a cog, some spacers for the freehub and (maybe) some thinner chainring bolts. About an hour's work if that.
 
Black Belt Jones said:
SS certainly simple - with a set of decent brakes you're talking about bare minimum maintenance schedule.

You could pick up a good geared bike on ebay and convert it, to widen your options. Very easy - just need to buy a chain tensioner, a cog, some spacers for the freehub and (maybe) some thinner chainring bolts. About an hour's work if that.
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That's an entire afternoon for me, at least the first time. But I understand it can be done without too much trouble.
 


Finish atop Mount Etna today. Should bring the first glimpse into the pecking order. I actually quite fancy Thomas today. It seems a consistent climb with no real changes in gradient so will surely favour those who can 'time trial' up it rather than pure climbers.
 

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