When I was a kid I started off with a Schwinn Scrambler. Later I inherited my big brother’s 10 speed and road it to and from school daily. I would take that thing off road just about anywhere; my ride home incorporated getting three feet of air at 35 mph. After I ruined that thing (bent the frame, forks, pedals, etc.) I bought another Schwinn 10 speed. I didn’t ride it that much, especially after I got a car. When I was in college the mountain bike craze took off. Alaska is a great place for mountain biking and I wanted one. I was frugal though and bought nearly everything used. After not being able to find a used one for quite awhile I finally broke down and bought a new one. I paid more for it than I’d paid for any car. It was a great bike and even had a front shock back when most mountain bikes still had solid front forks. I road it everywhere and had a blast with it. When I moved to Hawaii, I brought it with me. Most of Hawaii was paved so I replaced the knobbys with a solid center dual purpose road tire. That sped the bike up tremendously and I rode it more than ever. The next move was to Colorado where I had plenty of places to put the original knobby tires and front shock to good use.
Now I live in Ohio and I’m feeling and looking old(er) but still try to stay in shape. This summer I’ve been biking regularly for at least and hour each ride. I can get a good workout on my old mountain bike, but I kind of want to go faster. Of course most of my ride is paved so I’ve got the street tires back on. Most of the time I’m in the top gear and quite often wish I had higher gears. (I’ve always though this bike was geared too low since anything steep enough to require the lowest gears ends up with the tire spinning on any surface except pavement.) I also wonder about the efficiency of my tires and riding position. A road bike handlebar drop position looks a lot more aerodynamic. I’m sure much of my energy is spent just dragging air around. Then there’s the tires; I’m about 10% faster at 80 PSI than I am at 40 PSI. I wonder how much faster slicks would be? But, what would be the point without higher gearing. I have another issue: I’ve got arthritis in my hands and some serious tendon issues. Alternate hand positions would be nice. Those triathlon-bull-horn-forearm-pad-handlebar extender things also look interesting. I’d like to have the option of putting weight on my forearms for awhile.
I‘ve been looking at road bikes on ebay and at a local shop. Bottom of the barrel is $700… dang, and I’m poor. Where the heck are the cheaper used bikes? (Besides the old steel frame shifter POS)
Do I really want a road bike? I don’t know because I haven’t ridden one in 20 years and that was a POS Schwinn. My daily ride takes me on subdivision streets, highway, paved bike trails, city streets and even a bit of sidewalk, loose gravel, dirt and grass. The loose gravel stretch is on a fast downhill/steep uphill – maybe will be repaired section of the bike trail. It’s a bit tough to control on a mountain bike, I think I’d be taking a big risk flying across it on a road bike. I also find myself often passing pedestrians and other bikers on the grass to the side of the pavement. I don’t know how much control I’d have on a road bike? Then again I could always slow down for that stuff.
So, my questions are mostly for those of you who know both road and mountain bikes:
How much faster is a road bike over a mountain bike (with street tires)?
How much harder are they to control in less than ideal surfaces?
Is there anything decent out there in the $300-$500 range (new or used)?
Where would you shop?
Would you even recommend a used bike for a road newbie?
Would I be better off just finding a higher/faster set of gears and tires for my old Giant mountain bike?
