Glad you were able to find something you liked! Now go ride it until you feel confident weighing in on the car versus cyclist and cyclist versus everybody else on the "bike path" threads...

nice color.

gratuitous bike pic of my bike:

C'mon agrams. You still haven't taken off the dork discs or light reflectors?!?!

I'm lazy

htxag09 said:

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C'mon agrams. You still haven't taken off the dork discs or light reflectors?!?!

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Dork.disk?

Congrats on the new bicycle! It looks great. Best of luck with the new hobby and to feeling better. The hardest part is getting past the inertia of getting started and seems you just checked that box!

Thanks to all of you, y'all definitely gave me the right terminology and ideas to go in to a shop and not feel silly with.

Now if my sinuses would mellow the hell out( been fun going in to test ride bikes hacking and coughing with my sinuses running...), I'm dying to at least go ride some!

Congratulations! I kinda missed out on this thread, but I've been singing the praises of gravel bikes for quite a while. I bought a Trek Checkpoint ALR5 a little over a year ago, just before COVID hit. It's been a great bike and it has allowed me to go on some great rides I couldn't take with my road bike. They're really versatile. You'll have a great time with it.
Edit: I converted to tubeless and put on 40 mm tires, and I have taken it through some great terrain with my riding buddies with no flats as of yet

Maybe we can just make this a general bike advice thread...

As stated previously I got a Salsa Journeyman Flatbar Sora last summer. Great bike, super light. However, on anything over a couple miles my hands are killing me. Should I look into different grips or get new handlebars that allow for different hand positions?

do you have gloves? bar end handles can help. ergon grips are good too.

I don't but I guess I could try that. I wouldn't mind the drop bars like on the OP's new bike either

Pahdz said:

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I don't but I guess I could try that. I wouldn't mind the drop bars like on the OP's new bike either

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It is hard to go from a flat bar to a drop bar without having to buy new shifters. Best idea is to try gloves and addd bar ends to give you more hand positions. Also check to make sure your saddle isn't tilted forward. That can cause you to put more weight on your hands and get neuropathy pretty quickly.

Also, geometry of straight bar bikes are usually a little different. You may make the switch, which won't really be cheap, and it be uncomfortable as hell.

I'll look into the bar ends, I didn't even know those existed.

RockOn said:

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Salsa Journeyman sounds like a good fit for ya.


I have a Salsa Fargo and looovve it.

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Love my Fargo as well! Bought one last year, have rene herse 2.2 endurance plus tires on that thing and it rolls over everything. Very comfortable bike with very relaxed geometry. A do everything fun bike. Plus the stock 1x gearing allows me to basically climb up everything. I did upgrade the sram apex to a sram rival derailer and shifter, but other than that it is a ton of fun.

I actually went a couple mile yesterday.... good lord I'm out-of shape.

Also got charged 4 times by dogs, will be finding a new area to bike. My dog runs around the neighborhood, but the worst think he's ever do to a cyclist was waddle out looking for a treat and "awooing" with his tail up. He's such a big teddy bear the people who ride horses north of us come down and turn around in my yard so they can pet him, and they know to.just grab my water hose to water their animals. There's one pair that I though I was going to have to take measure with they got so aggressive

when I started riding last fall, I started with a 7 mile loop around a local lake. did that for a month or so, then started doing w loops (13 miles). I've added slowly each month and now do about 2 rides a week of 30-36 miles for 2 hours. I've done a max of 41, but honestly just having the time for a longer ride is a big challenge for me. when I started I was averaging about 13mph, but have also since climbed to about 17.5mph. I can break 18mph average on a single lap, but haven't been able to do so for a whole ride. that is my next goal, to hit an average of 18mph over a 25-30mile ride.

keep at it. learn to adjust your fitting a little and get more comfortable. I'm still adjusting my new bike here and there, but small adjustments can really help your comfort level as you work up to longer rides.

That's awesome. I have the same problem of being able to ride consistently due to time constraints. I was doing 20-30mi rides 2-3x/week pre-Covid but haven't been able to get back into it since. My wife and I did the 67mi Conquer the Coast ride in 2019 and had planned on doing it again. That is a really fun ride BTW and I'm hoping it is back in Sept '21.

I'm currently doing more running as I can more easily squeeze in a 4-5mi run in the time it takes to just gearing up and checking my bike, etc. But running is so boring and my old knees aren't tolerating it as much these days. I probably just need to sign myself up for a ride to give me more motivation to get back on the saddle.

man i feel you on the knees... its the main reason I started riding, being 6'4" and 250, my knees were having none of that..

Question for the group: Looking at getting into biking part as exercise and part for riding with the kiddo on the way. I can get a 2011 Raleigh Talus 3.0 for under $100 (condition seems OK, but obviously not new). Worth it, or is buying a 10 year old bike a complete waste? What should I check when I go look at it?

Where are you? When I bought my wife's and my bikes I had the sellers meet me at bike barn and they did a prepurchase inspection for me, as I had no idea what I was looking for. Not sure if it's worth the time for you for an older bike. But they are free.

Have you confirmed that the bike your looking at fits you from a size standpoint? If you get a bicycle that isn't properly sized, your not likely to enjoy it and you will be more prone to injury. There are lots of videos online that discuss proper sizing and ergonomics.

If the bicycle fits, $100 probably isn't bad to try out a new activity. If you can get a free inspection somewhere, I think that is a great idea to make sure everything is in working order. Think of the $100 bike as an investment. You will quickly learn what kind of rides you enjoy and what aspects of your bike you like and dislike. That experience will help you make a wiser decision when you're ready to drop $1-1.5k on your next bike. And/or, you save $1-1.5k if you realize you dislike cycling.

And I just bought some shoes that were more than my first bike. *insert face palm emoji

htxag09, one of the things in life I make sure to get good quality and buy good items of it shoes. Allen Edmonds are my go-to!

Yeah, I've been getting hot spots and my arch has been killing me on longer rides (>80 miles). So I definitely think I outgrew my local shop's Giro cheapest they make specials. But damn. To be fair, I've been holding onto a Strava Fi'zi:k Challenge 30% off code from November and used some AMEX PayPal promotions, still crazy to think about

Have brought this up on the Outdoors board in the past but couldn't ever get it off the ground, but will try here to see if anyone wants to do it. The second Saturday in June is the Texas Water Safari. I haven't raced it in a while, but always go back to spectate the early part of it from off my bike. I will park somewhere downstream, ride into town (San Marcos), visit with the racers i still know, watch the start, then view the race from several spots on the way back to my truck. I have gone from as far out as Luling, but also Fentress and Staples. Seems like Luling was about 70 miles round trip, and that long means it is getting pretty damn warm by the time you get back. I think Staples was something like 35 or so, total.

htxag09 said:

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Yeah, I've been getting hot spots and my arch has been killing me on longer rides (>80 miles). So I definitely think I outgrew my local shop's Giro cheapest they make specials. But damn. To be fair, I've been holding onto a Strava Fi'zi:k Challenge 30% off code from November and used some AMEX PayPal promotions, still crazy to think about

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Nice! About at that point myself, especially if I do a repeat of the hilly rides I did last summer. Standing on those pedals kills. Any idea about what shoes might be best for wide feet?

I don't, sorry. But I do know fizik has wide models for basically every shoe they sell.

This has been an interesting read - this sounds dumb compared to most rigs on here, but picked up a Tall frame Electra townie 7D prior to covid (I'm 6'4) - kind of a glorified dad bike, but really liked it for the posture/style, and ability to ride around with the kids.

Once covid hit I started (and continue to currently) ride it 12.5 miles a day as weather/time allows.

I took my daughters bike into bike barn yesterday and started thinking of a nicer road/neighborhood trail rig with a larger frame. A Specialized Sirrus X (XL) caught my eye, but I didn't give it a whirl.

I'll look into several of the suggestions on this thread, I'm coming up on 1,000 miles for 2021 on the ol' dad bike - may be time to upgrade.

Kool said:

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htxag09 said:

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Yeah, I've been getting hot spots and my arch has been killing me on longer rides (>80 miles). So I definitely think I outgrew my local shop's Giro cheapest they make specials. But damn. To be fair, I've been holding onto a Strava Fi'zi:k Challenge 30% off code from November and used some AMEX PayPal promotions, still crazy to think about

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Nice! About at that point myself, especially if I do a repeat of the hilly rides I did last summer. Standing on those pedals kills. Any idea about what shoes might be best for wide feet?

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fizik is at Italian brand and their shoes do run narrow, I have a pair I bought for my medium feet and they are a little snug in the forefoot. I bought a pair of Giro Privateer shoes and they are plenty wide and very comfortable. They come with standard shoe ties rather than any fancy straps so I like that traditional look as well. Bontrager is a brand that typically run a bit wider as well as Sidi.

I found this thread cause I'm also in the market for a bike soon. I'm just looking for something to ride around the neighborhood with and may occasionally take it to the hill country to use on some mild trails / terrain. Will I be happy with something less than $400? Before I saw this thread, I figured I would go find something at Academy...

Trek makes an entry-level road bike called the "Domane." I ride one today. Sets you back about $800.

There are different levels of the Domane. The base aluminum frame model can be had for under $800. The top end model with the SLR 9 carbon frame can top $10k

yup. most every trek bike has tiers from aluminum with a basic brake and groupset to carbon (+electric) with premium groupsets.