{"id":4096,"date":"2010-09-07T11:15:00","date_gmt":"2010-09-07T18:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=4096"},"modified":"2010-09-07T11:15:00","modified_gmt":"2010-09-07T18:15:00","slug":"looking-for-advice-selecting-a-new-bicycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=4096","title":{"rendered":"Looking for Advice: Selecting a New Bicycle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The reaction on the post about what to do with my aging bike<\/a> appears to be strongly in favor of replacing it<\/a>. So, I’ve been exploring possible replacements. The world of bicycles has changed drastically from when I last bought a bike in the 1970s. Back then, there were just a few manufacturers (Schwinn<\/a>, Raleigh<\/a>, Peuguot<\/a>, Motobecane<\/a>). There were just a few styles: the heavier steel road bikes (single or 3-speed) and the derailleurs (10-speeds). So, most of the adult bikes were the 10-speeds, with pull brakes and friction shifting<\/a>. If you were looking for anything, you were looking for light—aluminum frames and such.<\/p>\n

But today, oy, today! There are so many different styles and things to look for. Most of the manufacturers I knew are gone, and the ones that survived are the ones I wouldn’t use (Schwinn<\/a>, Raleigh<\/a>, (ahem) Huffy<\/a>). I have some rough ideas what I want, but I have no idea what the style is called. Basically, I’m looking for a bike with a fair number of gears (to handle the hilly northern part of the San Fernando Valley), a decent suspension and tires (to handle Los Angeles’ poor quality street maintenance), good brakes, and upright riding position with straight handlebars (not the bend-over curved handlebars of the old 10-speeds). I’d like a comfortable seat, and the ability to add a rack. <\/p>\n

Given we have an REI membership<\/a> and they appear to have great prices, I’ve been doing some preliminary triage of what models they have available. The models that appear to be of interest are:<\/p>\n