Staying on two wheels

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Jeff:
Bought a bicycle to try and fend off getting fat, and also so I can go on bike rides with my family. Since, I haven't ridden a bicycle any sort of distance at all since I got my driver's license 20+ years ago, I decided to start cheap-ish and went with the nicest Schwinn I could find at Target. I figure if I ride this one a ton and am going to keep riding I'll get a nicer one next time from the local bike shop. I do like the paint job on this one though.

I decided to ride it to my office today. 7.2 miles in 38 minutes which I thought was decent, all things considered. Definitely needs a tuneup though - it shifts like shit. Now I'm going back and forth between getting it tuned up, or returning it and getting a Trek FX.

Jeff

bomber:
go to the library -- you'll find many books on bicycle tuning . . . . ..

DogBoy:
Good for you. :bigok:

Book recommendation: Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance

If/when you decided to upgrade remember there are great deals on craigslist.

Rogue:
+1 on the bicycle maintenance books. I found a great one but it's at home and can't remember. It's almost like a Service manual for bicycles! You will need a tool kit for the more complicated stuff but it's so much damn easier than a motorcycle to work on.

Congrats! :thumbsup:

That is a very good bicycle to re-start on. If you're able to ride 7.5 miles in 38 minutes after years of not riding, you are in good shape. I could barely ride 5 miles back in 2009. Add hills and I was dead!

If you don't want to work on it, take it to a FRIENDLY bicycle shop and pay them to tune it. Warning: most independent bicycle shops will give you a lot of shit for buying a Target bike. They may even refuse you service. Don't give them your business if they do. I remember this one bicycle shop in Irvine, CA called Irvine Cyclery/Sand Canyon Cyclery. I brought in my Internet bicycle there and the fookers (the Asian manager specifically) gave me so much grief about buying my bike from the internet. He kept on dissing my bike and telling me it was a total POS! Then refused to service it because he claimed they were "too busy". Fook that asshole! I learned how to service my own bicycle and do the job right!

JReazor:
Quote from: bomber on June 12, 2012, 09:26:42 AM

go to the library -- you'll find many books on bicycle tuning . . . . ..

Also, check the calendar at your local REI or Performance Bikes if you have one. They often have bicycle maintenance classes for free.

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