Cycling OSers

brix_2

headintheclouds wrote: »

Hi,

I'd really appreciate any tips as to what I should look for. I haven't had a bike since I was a child. My "problem" is that I have very long legs - about 35" inside leg (and I'm a girl!), and I want a ladies' bike - not a crossbar one. I've never used more than 3 gears - how many do I really need?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

i'd recommend going to your local independent bike shop and asking for advice in there as they will have a much better range than argos/halford's etc and will also have catalogues of whatever they don't have in stock.
They may even allow you to pay for the bike in advance in installments. My local bike shop does that.

i'd like to know how many gears we really need too!

Austin_Allegro

I'd say you don't need more than ten gears. It's not really the number that's important, it's the range. If you like off-roading, you need a lot of very low ratio gears for getting up steep hills and rough tracks, but if you are a road cyclist you need higher gears for cruising or you'll 'spin out' at high speeds.

Also, to the person who recommended keeping to the left hand lane on roundabouts, I don't really think this is a good idea, as you are likely to get 'left hooked' by cars who assume you will be turning left at the first exit. I think if you lack the confidence and speed to go in the right hand lane it's probably best to get off and walk.

There's a big busy roundabout on my commute, and when I first started cycling I got off and walked for the first few days, observing how motorists and cyclists interacted. When I got a fair idea of what went on, I started cycling round it. I'd recommend this for ANY part of your route you're not sure about.

As Jon Snow said 'Assume motorists haven't seen you, and if they have, assume they want to kill you'. :rotfl: