The search for a bicycle took on new bounds yesterday. I hit the local store with the intention of not just looking but scrutinising what was available. Trying to understand exactly what today's bicycles are all about in comparison to the old ones. Generally they look more rugged but this could be one of those ploys to make you believe they will actually last longer. It's not really the case. Saying this, the most startling thing is the change in technology, in gears and brakes. The old style cycles always had cantilever brakes. These just pulled a cable which then applied brake pads to the rim of the wheels. Wheels could lock if depressed hard enough and in poor conditions the breaks would less effective, or completely ineffective. It is a lot more common nowadays to see bicycles with disk brakes. I thought these were for cars. Nope, not just for cars, very much for bicycles as well. I have never ridden a bicycle with disk brakse, so I don't know how they feel, but there does seem to be some value in having them. Especially hydraulic disk brakes which will have give a greater loading to the pads. Very interesting. The number of gears cycles have is also extraordinary. My old racer used to have 5 or was it 10 gears, now gears range right up to 27. I'm sure that doesn't include a reverse. Well there are some things which don't change. I was also amazed to see some bicycles had suspension built into the frames. Which seems a bit needless I thought. However, if you go mountain biking (MTB) then it may be useful.
I was reading the first mountain bikes were put together by blokes who just wanted to coast down a mountain track. They got some heavy frame bike and would then bolt on Motorcycle wheels. We're now talking big chunky things, to give them more grip. The reality in the UK is there are very few mountains about. Certainly in England, but I suppose if you want to do a little bike rambling through woods and parks it's a similar thing. Not quite the same scale, but similar. Of course it would also mean putting up with being chased by dogs as they had their walkies. The MTB wheels although excellent for grip are actually slower for cycling on roads, whilst suspension on a bike would be advantageous for rough terrain or pot holes in roads it is an additional item which can go wrong. This makes me think of the Volkswagen Beetle for some reason. An odd lovable car where we all think of Herbie (I'm sure it's time they had a remake) which unlike other cars was air cooled. Which probably contributed to the different sound the engine made. However, by having air cooling it meant there was an additional item not to worry about. The bloody radiator, because it didn't exist. So I am pondering on a style of bike which is between both a road bike and a MTB, but looks like an MTB. This is called the hybrid, most of which have little suspension on them. This would be suitable for roads and as a possibility for cycling to the Fish Factory. The only way it would pay for itslelf.
So as I walked round the store I took notes, wrote down what bikes caught my eye and some of their specs. I was a little dismayed none of the store staff approached me to see if I needed any help. Sod em I thought. I also took photos of the bikes so as to prompt my memory when it comes to making a decision. This stage is very much the fact finding. I've been checking all the bikes I liked on Google to see if I could find reviews on them. One of them made by a company called Voodoo is brand new to the market and has very few reviews. It looks good but how far do you trust something which doesn't have any track record at all. I want reliability as much as anything else. The other most noticeable thing was to find nearly every bicycle didn't have the extra bits on it. The bits which are equally important, no pump, no bike stand, no mud guards, no water bottle with cage, no lights etc.. All these other items have to be purchased separately. Some of which can be pretty expensive in themselves. Mud guards for instance can cost nearly 30 quid. A decent lock to keep the bike chained up could easily topple the same price and some going as high as 50 quid. It seemed like some kind of madness as I looked at these things. It became really no surprise as I looked at further bicycles on the Internet to see they had broken the four figure level on price. Wonderful, surely it would be better to go and by a Beetle I thought at least then you could put shopping in it. Whoever is willing to part with such money were either very serious about bicycles, had more money than brains or has never worried about costs anyway. Russian oligarchs come to mind, but I have never seen any of them pictured riding a bicycle to work if they work at all. Although the odd politician has, mind they don't do much work either.
So the thought process has began. Do I or don't I? Where's Lance Armstrong when you need him?
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