Bike Woes

[sorcyress]

Officially, 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.)

Comments

[jere7my.livejournal.com]

Unsurprisingly, I have many advices on this subject! I will share them on LJ when a) it is loading and b) I am not running off to a meeting at BU. For now: I think fat tires (and a heavy frame) are damn good ideas; narrow tires are trendy, and bike shop people may try to convince you that you want them, but the streets and paths of Boston are so bad it's like off-roading half the time anyway. I had to scrap my last bike when the frame bent after a particularly nasty bump. The tradeoff is that wide tires and heavy frames are more of an effort to move, but I think it's worth it.

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[(Anonymous)]

Really pleased to hear the body is hoinldg up in those extreme conditions but I'm sorry to hear about the eye infection. I hope you get it sorted easily. What a shame you can't camp??!! and use your new luxury cooking facilities. I expect Ted won't mind staying in motels though. He has some useful new birthday bits and pieces to bring with him including chamois cream and waterproof high-viz socks! I can imagine the scenery is stunning probably even so more than the Essex countryside we were riding around in this weekend. I hope your bike is still in tip-top condition I'm very pleased to hear that you are keeping up your usual standards of bike cleanliness. Looking forward to hearing when you've managed to turn right and start heading downwards. That feels more like the right direction! Lots xxx