Author Topic: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!  (Read 7450 times)

Offline drtaylor23

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Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« on: June 30, 2014, 03:29:31 AM »
So my oldest son is getting a "real" BMX bike for his 4th birthday to move up from his balance bike.  I got kind of pumped when my wife suggested I needed to get a bike to ride with him.  She was thinking boring grown up bike.  HA!

It's been 19 years since I was even on a bike, but I'd like to get back into it.  After a bit of reading I feel like I know the basics of modern bikes and understand why a lot of stuff was REALLY hard to do on my 1993 GT Vertigo (last bike).

It sounds like if I had this idea a year ago I would have found the threads here ordered a DK Opsis about 30 mins into my search and would be riding by now.

I looked online and can't find anything comparable to the Opsis at the price point.  I went a big local bike shop and the first guy asked a second guy and they showed me an Earth Crusier type thing and told me I could ride it on flat streets and stuff?  Was that what I was talking about?  No.  Thanks for your time.

I'm looking for something that will give me a reasonable starting point to figure out if I can pick this up again.  Decent enough that the bike is not working against me, but I need to keep it cheap so:

1. My wife doesn't kill me when I show it to her (I can probably talk my way up to $400, but $350 would be ideal)
2. I don't feel like an idiot and I either can't get it together or my three kids don't allow me time to ride

Any guidance you can give me on something that will at least get me riding something serviceable that I can hand down in a couple of years and upgrade my bike if I'm making progress.

The only thing I can come up with is this KHE Park Two at $300.00.  No freecoaster, but how much will that hurt me relative to the cassette on the Park Two?  I've also read some pretty bad reviews on the Affix rotor system and I'm not into replacing parts that are bad to start with. 

http://www.khebikes.com/2014/park-two-p-1642.html

Maybe there's something out there that I'm missing.  Maybe this bike is OK?  I just don't feel like I know enough to make the call, there's nothing to check out locally, and it looks like the manufacturers have gotten away from any soft of entry level flatland products from what I can tell.

Thanks very much in advance for the help.

Offline metalbmxer

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2014, 05:34:10 AM »
Just splurge the $500 on the eastern on FF and tell your wife to shove it when she bitches haha
Dax (now in LAS VEGAS as of July 2022)

Offline FlatSociety

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2014, 08:24:13 AM »
LOL Dax...Anyway, I'm an older rider & I started on a DK Opsis & now my son rides that bike & I've got the perfect set up for me now ha ha. If I were you I'd post on the 'wanted' section to get a feel for what the community here has to offer. You never know, you might be able to score a good ride at a decent price.

Offline drtaylor23

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2014, 05:14:44 PM »
OK, I'll call the "Shove it" option plan B for the moment.  I'm going to have to spend more than $500 if I'm about to get divorced over a bike.  When I lose my car I'm going to want to be riding something top of the line.

I'll check out the wanted section as well.  Sounds like that might take some patience.  I was just hoping somebody would swoop in with a "how the hell did you miss this" link that I could break out my credit card and go to town.  Still hopeful, but it's feeling unlikely.

Side note - seems like the freecoaster is a good idea to maximize how much mileage I get out of the bike (skill-building wise)?

Also, the captcha is driving me nuts.  I feel like a 3 year old trying to figure out WTF those letters are.


Offline Oneal Little

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2014, 07:02:02 PM »
There is a We the People Pony frame with fork on ebay right now $75. Leaves you enough money to buy a freecoaster wheelset. It has an old american bottom bracket so you could use  one piece cranks till you figure what kinda cranks you want.I know you wanted a complete but its going to be tuff to find at that price. Good luck.

Offline byke

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2014, 02:59:03 AM »
If you haven't ridden for 20 odd years, then I recommend you look for a bike with a 14" rear triangle.
Many people start up again after a long hiatus, only to find that new school geometry doesn't suit them.

Offline drtaylor23

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2014, 03:35:46 AM »
Thanks for the replies.  Trying to wait for the right thing to come along.  Appreciate the heads up on the frame.  I'm starting to see if I can put together a closeout custom.  Ugly as he'll based on whatever is on deep discount, but higher quality than otherwise available.  I keep working back to how Eastern is charging $500 for their entry level though.  Just hoping to come up with a different answer.eventually.

I think at this point anything is going to feel strange.  Might as well trust I'll be better off going with where things have professed to.

I realized I put 19 years in there. Actually only 15.  That's like no time.

Offline letsgo

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #7 on: July 05, 2014, 06:24:47 AM »
I am an older rider too.  My advise is watch videos of riders today.  When you see riders doing things you like and have a style you like or is similar to your riding then look at how those riders set up their bikes.  You do not have to copy but it gives you insight into what other people have found helpful/comfortable. 

As an example I really like Charles Paty.  I am not going to wholesale bite his style or rip-off his tricks but I like that street flat style and see that a Razzia or S-Kill type frame is suited to street flat in a way that a St. Martin Downtown or Ares Garuda would not be i.e. riding off a 5 foot ledge.  On the other hand I really like Yasunari Ishiijima's style (all front wheel style)  and low top tube bikes like a Quamen G9, St. Martin Downtown, Hersey etc.  would suit this style if I am going down that road.

Just remember to move forward not backward.  So do not go out and buy a Standard Shorty with H.P. 48's 
« Last Edit: July 05, 2014, 06:20:05 PM by letsgo »

Offline PSchoolen

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #8 on: July 05, 2014, 07:09:58 PM »
I keep working back to how Eastern is charging $500 for their entry level though.  Just hoping to come up with a different answer.eventually.

\

The biggest reason the Eastern is $500 is that it comes with a $180 Ezra Freecoaster hub. For comparison the much loved but now discontinued DK Opsis was $370 but came with a sometimes problematic $25 loose ball freecoaster hub. It too would have been over $500 if it came with a top of the line coaster.
Patrick Schoolen
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Offline drtaylor23

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2014, 07:49:32 PM »
Yeah.  This would all be much simpler if I was content to just ride in a straight line.

I'm thinking that it might be best to take the old Vertigo and start with some parts I could re-use.  I feel like I'd get more $ back out of that than a cheap bike if I don't stick with it or I could wind up with an overall more affordable decent bike if I keep going with a part here and there.

Probably start with the bottom and work up.  Not even sure I can put together a freecoaster wheel set and sprocket for $250?  Does that even make sense? 


Offline metalbmxer

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #10 on: July 06, 2014, 10:31:00 PM »
Yeah.  This would all be much simpler if I was content to just ride in a straight line.

I'm thinking that it might be best to take the old Vertigo and start with some parts I could re-use.  I feel like I'd get more $ back out of that than a cheap bike if I don't stick with it or I could wind up with an overall more affordable decent bike if I keep going with a part here and there.

Probably start with the bottom and work up.  Not even sure I can put together a freecoaster wheel set and sprocket for $250?  Does that even make sense?

You could do that, but it would be like putting a nice set of rims on a really old car. Just not worth it. Do yourself a favor (and fitness investment!) and go ahead and get the Eastern complete bike along with a copy of Matt Wilhelm's Ground Rules DVD (also from FlatlandFuel). It will teach you every trick and having a perfectly light, modern, and functioning bike will only help you succeed.

Don't be scared my friend you can do this!

Dax
Dax (now in LAS VEGAS as of July 2022)

Offline out~riding

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #11 on: July 07, 2014, 03:11:26 PM »
You can sell your Vertigo, it's not yet a desired collectors bike but you should be able to get some money out of it.

Offline drtaylor23

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #12 on: July 08, 2014, 04:30:54 AM »
Planning on getting the old bike from storage next time grandparents come to town.  Lucky for me they hoard.  Might see if I can liquidate my brother's same era Mongoose race bike and add it to my war chest while I'm at it. 

I can see what's what with the components and brush up on bike mechanic 101 stuff and ride it a bit.  Since there's no quick low cost fix and I saw FF had a Black Friday sale last year I'll probably just watch for a deal until then.  Since our third kid is only two months old and everybody is about to switch daycares in a month when my wife goes back to work realistically that's probably about the timeframe the house will be under control again.  If I haven't managed a deal by then I'll see what FF HAS at the time.  Holding off in the name of research will make me more credible when I bump the budget into the Eastern/low end Ares range.

Most importantly will get the vid recommended and start visualizing and planning.  That's worked for me getting back into golf and lifting after 10 years off those as well and now I'm way better at both than I ever was before.

Offline metalbmxer

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #13 on: July 08, 2014, 04:49:41 AM »
Planning on getting the old bike from storage next time grandparents come to town.  Lucky for me they hoard.  Might see if I can liquidate my brother's same era Mongoose race bike and add it to my war chest while I'm at it. 

I can see what's what with the components and brush up on bike mechanic 101 stuff and ride it a bit.  Since there's no quick low cost fix and I saw FF had a Black Friday sale last year I'll probably just watch for a deal until then.  Since our third kid is only two months old and everybody is about to switch daycares in a month when my wife goes back to work realistically that's probably about the timeframe the house will be under control again.  If I haven't managed a deal by then I'll see what FF HAS at the time.  Holding off in the name of research will make me more credible when I bump the budget into the Eastern/low end Ares range.

Most importantly will get the vid recommended and start visualizing and planning.  That's worked for me getting back into golf and lifting after 10 years off those as well and now I'm way better at both than I ever was before.

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and tell me if I'm wrong but I suspect you're probably getting close to 40. A lot of ideas have been popping up into your head and naturally you are considering your interests and passions. I'm kind of in your same boat--getting close to 30. In a professional school and not sure where I'll end up...but the point is that the time is precious! There is only so much. And as Ron W would say, "the time is now, ride!"

When you wait around for everything around you to fall into place, you are letting your surroundings control you! Take charge and make your plans become a reality. As guys we have many ailments that plague us, #1 being heart disease. You want to be able to see your kids graduate. Become successful. Grandchildren. Every day you ride or exercise is the best thing you can do for your longevity.

My point is that you have this urge to get out there and do one of the most intense full body workouts and you're letting that feeling surpass you in favor of external elements and financial concerns.

Come on brother get out there while you can!
Dax (now in LAS VEGAS as of July 2022)

Offline FlatSociety

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Re: Old rider, new bike choice. Help!
« Reply #14 on: July 08, 2014, 07:17:10 AM »
Great advise from a future Doctor! I totally agree with Dax on this. I'm 42 & I'm having a blast riding again & I feel better physically in my 40's than I did in my 30's (there's hope for you younger guys.) Anyway, now's the time, seize the moment & you'll have no regrets. Sell the bikes on Craigslist locally. (That way you won't have to hassle with shipping fees ,etc.) Order the new bike on a card so you have 30 days to pay for it with no interest payments. If you can sell both bikes together for say $200 or $250, you'll have enough money for the Eastern or Ares.