Bikes and stuff
Mar. 6th, 2012 12:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sorcyressOfficially, I'm in the market for a new bicycle.
I took Blaise in to be looked at over at Broadway Bikes. The dude was nice, and frowned and confessed that the amount of work needed would probably cost more than she had. I pressed for details, and ayep, the overhaul she'd need on brakes and gears would be somewhere around $160 (and that's not even getting into all the other ways she is honestly not a great bike.).
New bikes start around 300, 350. I'd be able to install my rack, get panniers, actually hold some cargo in a manner other than "on my back". This is...not a terrible idea? But it is an awful lot of money.
(And I say that, but I ride Blaise every day, eight miles or more. She is the second most necessary thing I own (after Vera), and easily the second most used. Having a bike is important to me, and having a bike that sucks less would be valuable. Five hundred dollars, or less, for the ability to go anywhere I want1, whenever I want2, safely3? That's really hard to pass up.)
1: Well, anywhere within about ten miles of Dinosaur Sashay.
2: Faster than the busses, and seriously, I can leave when I want. I am a slave to no transit system. Yes. Please!
3: Because, to be honest in the sort of way I've been avoiding mentioning because it's an embarrassing situation, Blaise isn't exactly what you could call safe right now. I'm a safe rider, sure, but she is not a safe bike to ride.
So there we have it. I want a new bike, and if I'm very careful with my money for a month or two (plane tickets to Atlanta, what plane tickets to Atlanta...), and take all the odd jobs I possibly can, I think I can afford one without getting too tightly uncomfortable about my finances.
So I'm going to be doing research, and saving money, and collecting a good idea of what my needs/wants/desires are (multiple speeds/fat bouncy tires/orange!). And then I'm going to find the right place to buy such a beast, and well, then I'm going to give someone a lot of money.
Advice on any of the above is welcome.
~Sor
MOOP!
PostScript: Dear Dreamwidth. Fuck you.
I took Blaise in to be looked at over at Broadway Bikes. The dude was nice, and frowned and confessed that the amount of work needed would probably cost more than she had. I pressed for details, and ayep, the overhaul she'd need on brakes and gears would be somewhere around $160 (and that's not even getting into all the other ways she is honestly not a great bike.).
New bikes start around 300, 350. I'd be able to install my rack, get panniers, actually hold some cargo in a manner other than "on my back". This is...not a terrible idea? But it is an awful lot of money.
(And I say that, but I ride Blaise every day, eight miles or more. She is the second most necessary thing I own (after Vera), and easily the second most used. Having a bike is important to me, and having a bike that sucks less would be valuable. Five hundred dollars, or less, for the ability to go anywhere I want1, whenever I want2, safely3? That's really hard to pass up.)
1: Well, anywhere within about ten miles of Dinosaur Sashay.
2: Faster than the busses, and seriously, I can leave when I want. I am a slave to no transit system. Yes. Please!
3: Because, to be honest in the sort of way I've been avoiding mentioning because it's an embarrassing situation, Blaise isn't exactly what you could call safe right now. I'm a safe rider, sure, but she is not a safe bike to ride.
So there we have it. I want a new bike, and if I'm very careful with my money for a month or two (plane tickets to Atlanta, what plane tickets to Atlanta...), and take all the odd jobs I possibly can, I think I can afford one without getting too tightly uncomfortable about my finances.
So I'm going to be doing research, and saving money, and collecting a good idea of what my needs/wants/desires are (multiple speeds/fat bouncy tires/orange!). And then I'm going to find the right place to buy such a beast, and well, then I'm going to give someone a lot of money.
Advice on any of the above is welcome.
~Sor
MOOP!
PostScript: Dear Dreamwidth. Fuck you.
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no subject
on 2012-03-06 05:51 pm (UTC)2) I have no idea what those words mean.
I would prefer to ride with my back straight up and down, and handlebars that I can comfortably reach from that position. As things currently stand, I have to lean slightly forward, and that's no good. I often ride with a backpack, which can be as much as thirty pounds or so of stuff, so *having* to be bent over is a bad situation for me. Obviously, I should be getting a proper cargo set-up, but even once that's happened, I doubt I'll drop the pack entirely.
3) I will be storing it mostly in the basement of the house. Down about six steps, yes. Light is not the hugest issue --Blaise is a heavy piece of machinery-- but having places to put my hands and carry it is important. Also places to let me lock the bike to things, since I spend a lot of time out and about in the city, and need a secure attachment. Bonus points for a front wheel with no quick release, so I don't have to procure a second lock to attach it.
~Sor
no subject
on 2012-03-06 06:43 pm (UTC)Quick release skewers can actually be replaced with non-quick release ones pretty cheaply and easily. You can even get locking ones if you're worried about people with wrenches, but those are kind of pricey, and probably not worth it -- I've never had a wheel stolen even with quick-release wheels, though I don't tend to leave my bike outside for long periods.
I have heard good things about Bike Boom (http://www.bikeboom.net/) in Davis Square -- they sell good quality used bikes. I'd be happy to accompany you on a bike-shopping expedition if you want, to have an extra pair of eyes.
no subject
on 2012-03-06 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2012-03-06 10:15 pm (UTC)