Comments on: So You Want to Be a Cyclist? Part I: Choosing Your Equipment

By: Angela

Angela — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:57:20 +0000

I found your site today through PW. My husband and I have attempted to take up cycling since we got married (just last April). I’ve laughed my hiney off reading your site so far today. I’m sure that will help with my biking. I can’t wait for my hubby to check it out when he gets home from work today!

By: cyclegoddess

cyclegoddess — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:17:42 +0000

i thought that cycling would cure me of my clothes shopping addiction.
I now have enough seasonal cycle clothes, to fit out my own shop.
I havent even got to buying a second bike( Ive bee riding for a tear) and feel like Santa left ne off his list( cant afford it).
But like all cyclists, when told by husband that he would divorce me if I bought a carbon bike, 5000 or up, I thought, gee I’ll miss him!

By: Rox

Rox — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:19:24 +0000

Great post Fatty,
Don’t forget the workstand, the truing stand and the various tools like torque-wrenches. You will think that you are smart enough to fix your bike but you will end up getting it so out of whack that you have to take it to the shop and say that your “friend” tried to fix it for you. Also, you are required to subscribe to at least 7 diffent cycling magazines, read them constantly and leave them all over your office desk and break room to try to convince your fellow workers that you are indeed a true cyclist.

By: ferret

ferret — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:10:14 +0000

Nailed it, although I think weasel fur is far superior to stoat when it comes to avoiding chafing.

Which reminds me of the the old chestnut.

Q. What’s the difference between a weasel and a stoat?

A. One’s weasely recognised and the other’s stoatly different.

By: Ablejack

Ablejack — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:21:07 +0000

Not feeling a lot of love for us guys who eventually pass you. Albeit, it may take a few days in the saddle and a few nights in the tent.
/By the way, All bike clothing is made only of wool.

By: Isela

Isela — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:34:22 +0000

Fatty,
Just what I needed to read right now :). Even my cough doesn’t feel so bad anymore :)

By: spkell

spkell — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:42:10 +0000

I seem to have a block: c-o-u-n-t. a mea culpa

By: spkell

spkell — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:40:47 +0000

Tires! road bike: training tires, reinforced winter tires, race tires (or, perhaps attendant wheels for training, winter rides, racing);
Mountain bike: hard pack race tires, mud tires, off-season tires;
This does not include all the tires you will try for two weeks and decide they are too slow/too washy/too heavy/too little grip/too much grip/too low volume/too high volume . . .
at last cound I had 12 MTB tires from 4 brands in varying states of wear in a pile in my garage. That is not couting the six tires mounted on the three mountain bikes (xc ht, ss, xc fs)

By: Christa

Christa — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:52:48 +0000

Wow – and I who biked for three years on my bike I bought second-hand for 100 bucks! As long as you’re good at patching it up it’s a lot cheaper than all the color-coordinated shing-dangs…

By: Big Mike In Oz

Big Mike In Oz — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:01:10 +0000

There are places where you can cut costs. I failed to specify which hospital I wanted to be taken to the first time I broke my collarbone. I ended up in a facility where resources (doctors and beds mostly) were so strained that I was issued a calico sling, 2 codeine tablets and a certificate for a week off work. It saved me thousands in surgery and associated costs which I can now spend on other forms of medical intervention for the assymetrical shoulders I know own.