MetaChat - Bikefilter: I Have Just Experienced My First-Ever Case Of Bicycle Lust!

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14 June 2009

Bikefilter: I Have Just Experienced My First-Ever Case Of Bicycle Lust! →[More:]

Walked past this beauty in our local bike shop and nearly walked into a lamp post.

Had to go inside and ogle it in it's shiny, black-fendered, generator-powered headlight, little ringy bell and 21-gear glory.

I have never in my life wanted a bike so badly as this one - I have no money to buy it with.

Plus, said bike shop had bonus russet-colored golden retriever who attached himself to my hip and showed me his in-store tennis ball retrieval acumen.

I WANT THIS BIKE!!!!

post by: Lipstick Thespian at: 13:19 | 20 comments

That's a nice bike!

*kicks tires, sniffs seat*

posted by Hugh Janus 14 June | 13:48

I know next to nothing about bikes, but that is one sexy mofo.

posted by deborah 14 June | 14:36

What kind of bike do you have now, LT?

posted by box 14 June | 14:50

'Sup Box - I don't have any bike right now. That's why this one hit me so hard.

Miko and I have been talking forever about doing bike rides together out to the beaches and stuff around here, but it wasn't until recently that I really got excited about the idea.

Even when I was a little kid, in my prime " I wanna bike Mom and Dad!" years, did I ever want one as bad as this model.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 14 June | 15:55

OMG - Bonus Bike Lust! The future is NOW - Now - now....

posted by Lipstick Thespian 14 June | 16:02

Ooh, you should get a tandem.

posted by box 14 June | 16:25

filthy bike porn! I feel no shame.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 14 June | 16:36

You know, my husband has an entry level Specialized commuter/hybrid bike that was only about $500. Not saying that one isn't sweet as hell, but you could still do nicely for a bit less $.

Mine is also an entry level commuter, a Trek. My bike lust now is for a road bike, though. It never ends. :)

Husband and I are thinking about doing a century (100 mile) later this summer... We rode 31 miles today as the beginning of our training. Considering I just bought my bike in April, and it's the first I've owned in 12 years, I've clearly been bitten by the bike bug BAD. (Whoa, alliteration.)

posted by misskaz 14 June | 18:28

Misskaz - I know, I know - the model the link goes to sells at the midpoint for $600.00. I'm still in sticker-shock over that price.

I STILL WANT THOUGH. The lines on that frame, the neat-o morning milk delivery jingle of the bell, the accommodating angle of the handlebars....

"um, we're closing now, sir. Perhaps you'd like to take home the catalog?"

posted by Lipstick Thespian 14 June | 19:33

Oh man, now I'm scoping out road bikes on craigslist. I blame you, LT!

posted by misskaz 14 June | 20:36

My current bike lust is for mountain bike parts from the '80s--the low-production American stuff, especially, plus the niftiest offerings from Japanese companies like Suntour, Dia-Compe and Nitto. I recently bought an old Bridgestone mtb on Craigslist, and I'm in the middle of setting it up as a period-appropriate all-rounder kind of thing, suitable for utilitarian city biking and light trail riding. Just bought some Deer Head thumbshifters. That said, though, my singlespeed 29er (those links are to bikes like mine, not my bike) will probably still be my main ride.

Is Portsmouth pretty flat? Do you anticipate riding on anything rougher than, say, gravel roads, fire roads, rail-trails, that kind of stuff? I think you'd love a singlespeed cyclocross bike like the Surly Cross-Check.

posted by box 14 June | 22:09

A friend of mine has one of these. I'm so jealous of it. I'm tempted to get a bike, and she's offered me her old one, but it needs new wheels and a seat, and I don't know if I would actually use it a lot. But then, I don't have a car now, so maybe it's worth fixing up...

posted by kellydamnit 14 June | 23:24

Oh man, KellyD, if your hometown isn't radically hilly (think SF, CA) by all means get a little cruiser like this bad boy Schwinn you posted us to.

Riding around town for errands is a secret joy that is not to be missed. I can't wait to get a bike for this summer!

It's exhilarating in a way that is only the provenance of great old movies, coming-of-age stories, and pure faerie folk tales.

Can't beat it, in other words.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 14 June | 23:32

Buffalo's pretty level. I'm tempted. There's a basic plain old bike out there I can have, if I put the $ into it to get the thing into riding condition.

I'm just, well, lousy about sticking with exercise. And I'm kind of worried it'll aggravate my ankle and I won't know until after I get it.

I should, though. School is about two and a half miles away from me. Not a bad distance for a bike ride.

posted by kellydamnit 14 June | 23:41

KellyD - don't rationalize fun! It's never un-fun to ride a bike around town! It's zippy and fresh and a great rush.

Just do it, girl. Seriously - you'll thank me later when you're all cardio'd out and your thighs are being optioned for their own spot on Oprah.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 14 June | 23:53

LT is right, biking is so darn FUN that you don't think of it as exercise! It makes you feel like a kid again. I bike to/from work these days and my commute is now the best part of my day. (8.5 miles each way.) The other good thing about biking to/from places is you can't really poop out mid-way through, the way you can if you're just at the gym and getting bored or tired. Do it! Do it!

posted by misskaz 15 June | 08:20

LT: Just start perusing Craigslist. You'll find some more experienced honey of a bike that will make you forget about that young hussy.

If you keep your eyes open, you might something like this in a dumpster:

≡ Click to see image ≡

or when you're dropping off something at the city dump, you might trip across something like this:

≡ Click to see image ≡

or if you're really lucky, you can find a fine bike like this

≡ Click to see image ≡

or this

≡ Click to see image ≡

at garage sale prices.

Yes, all of them are mine. Yes, that's how I got each of them. Total purchase price of all those bikes was well under $200.

Oh, and... that first one? I rode it 46 miles Saturday. Before noon.

posted by Doohickie 15 June | 21:39

Oh, and.... cycling is the ONLY exercise I enjoy. I've started to ride my bike to work most days, it's a nice 40 minute workout, twice a day. I highly recommend it.

posted by Doohickie 15 June | 21:44

Doohickie - can I have that last one, seein' as you haz so menny of thems bikes?

posted by Lipstick Thespian 16 June | 09:31

Sorry, that last one is the pick of the litter.

posted by Doohickie 18 June | 19:46

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