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[OM] Re: [OM][OT] Bicycle advice

Subject: [OM] Re: [OM][OT] Bicycle advice
From: Andrew Dacey <adacey@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 11:32:15 -0300
On 8/16/05, Dan Mitchell <danmitchell@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

>   That should get you a pretty decent bike, it's just a matter of
> shopping around. I've found that here in Calgary, some of the Sport Swap
> branches have nice used road bikes, whereas all that pawn shops have is
> clunky old mountain bikes -- this may vary where you are, and of course
> there's also the classified pages in newspapers/etc. Used parts can be
> hard to come by -- e*ay will work (ediscountbike.com tend to have decent
> deals), but you need patience, an alternative would be to check out
> pricepoint / cambria / nashbar / etc and see what they have in the way
> of "this week's hot deals" at any given time.

Yes, I'm going for the convenience of dealing with a bike shop that
sells used bikes and new parts so they'll get the parts and build it
for me. Probably a bit of expense but given my lack of knowledge on
the subject I suspect it's the way to go.

Here's what I'm thinking so far:

Frame - probably cromolly seems a good balance of lighter and more
rust-resistant than steel but not as expensive as aluminum. Where I'm
building a hybrid I'm still debating on whether to start with a road
frame or a mountain frame. I like the lighter weight of a road frame
but I'm a little concerned about durability. Although I mainly plan to
ride this on the road with some trail use. This will be a used item.

Brakes - definitely going new here. Other than that I have no idea as
to the relative merits of cantilever vs. v brakes vs. disc or other
brake options other than knowing that the frame may or may not
accomodate certain types of brakes.

Wheels - not sure yet. I suspect frame selection influences what size
wheels you can run. Debating between road diameter and mountain
diameter, leaning more towards road diameter (700cc?). Figuring a
wider than road tire but not as wide as a mountain bike's tires. Like
to be a used item.

Shifters - some kind of indexed shifter, never liked friction shiftng.
Given that I've only used friction shifters before anything would be
an improvement so this will likely be a cost driven item. Probably new
but hard to say.

Saddle - Planning on a springer seat. The ancient 1 speed (with belt
drive, no chain!) bike I was riding in Laos had a springer seat and it
was by far the most comfortable seat I've ever riden. Since I'm
looking at a bike that's going to predominantly see road use I figure
this is the only suspension I'll need (I took the lao bike on some
pretty interesting "roads" and wouldn't want to ride on any worse
terrain). New item.

Gears - Defnitely mountain bike gearing due to the hills in my city
(Halifax, NS). So likely 21 or 24 speed. Not sure if this should be a
new item or not.

Handlebars - definitely bars for an upright position, my back does not
like leaning over on a bike. New or used with new grips.

Where this will be a commuting bike I plan to have fenders and a rear
rack as well.

So that's the list so far. Any comments or recommendations would be
appreciated. Especially for any essential items I've left off the
list!
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