A REAL cyclist?

Lets face it, there are lots of sources of cycling info out there for anyone to read but lots of them have one things in common, they assume each of us has an annual bike gear budget of about a million dollars. I have dedicated the home page of the site to displaying info to help "REAL cyclists" ride without burning their whole pay check.

This section will be updated often so if something is incomplete check back later!

The REAL bike

So you want to try and ride, huh? I guess you'll need a bike. First thing to to do is say "no" very seriously to all bikes sold at stores such as target or k-mart unless you live in a seriously crime ridden area where no bike is safe. Such bikes ARE NOT SAFE. For about the same price you can get a used bike that is perfectly road worthy. I highly recommend looking into used bikes especially for people trying to start out on a budget. Craig's list, e-bay, even some bike shops have extensive selections of used bikes that work well. Some of the best deals right now are road bikes from the late 80's and early 90's. These bikes are often make of very high quality steel or aluminum (as this was the hot material of that era) which lasts a long time and has comfortable ride qualities. They also often have down tube shifters which stay in tune more easily than modern brake-leaver-shifter combo style shifters. Mountain bikes can be good too but one must be more careful when buying used mountain bikes as owners tend to neglect and abuse the components.

As far as what type of bike you need, you have to think of what you are going to do with it. Today we are blessed with several styles of bikes that were only recently introduced. Choosing the right bike for you is easier than ever. Bellow I've listed the major types of bikes starting with bikes suited for the most extreme conditions to the those suited for only the most smooth-paved conditions.

-Down hill mountain bike
-Free ride mountain bike
-XC dual suspension mountain bike
-Hard tail free ride mountain bike
-XC hard tail mountain bike
-single speed hard tail mountain bike
-BMX
-cyclocross
-hybrid
-touring
-sport road
-racing road
-triathlon and time trial
-track/velodrome

A few brands I like as good values are Giant, Jamis, Raleigh, Specialized, and yes (gulp) Trek.

REALLY fix your bike

There are thousands of places to get info about bikes and thousands more to get info about fixing your bike. This section will review some of the most important things to know about what you can do by yourself and how to get a good deal when having someone fix your bike.

DOING IT YOURSELF:
There are a few things that are very important (and very easy) to do to your bike to make it last a long time and to work well.
1. lube your chain! Just a quick squirt every few rides will make your life much easier (reducing friction and keeping your drive terrain from wearing out too fast). All you need is a little bottle of bike lube from the local shop. It's cheep. I like to to use WAX BASED lubes because they don't make such a mess usually.

2. Put air in your tires before a ride. Usually you loose a little pressure even if you just leave it over night. Pumping your tires will make your bike faster and help you save your energy.

3. spend some time monkeying around with your seat post hight and adjusting your seat forwards and backwards. Doing this will help you find the right riding position for you and your bike. This is seriously the most over looked thing I see on people's bikes. Having a bike with proper adjustment will save your knees and your back and help you to ride longer and harder without expending as much energy. You want to make sure your legs extend most of the way at the bottom of the peddle motion and that your thy never rise past parallel at the top of your stroke.

REAL cycling clothing

This is one are I am particularly adimant about. It is very important to wear proper clothing when riding and it is very easy to spend lots of money on it that you don't need to if you are trying to save money.

REAL Shirts:
Instead of dropping $75 on a Tour de France team jersey, often a you buy one of these alternatives for about half the price.
-Soccer jersey
-running specific t-shirt
-under armer compression shirts
-generic cycling jerseys from mail order catalogs (such as performance.com or nashbar.com)
-even normal cotton t-shirts work well when it is cooler out.

Some actual cycling clothing I recommend for the upper body.
-arm warmers
-*cycling gloves
-bike helmet

The REAL cyclist mind