Noob to cycling, need advice, Annandale to Tysons Corner

[dasgeh]

You’ve gotten lots of good tips, though I’m in the “you probably don’t really know what you want” camp. There are ways to deal with this: you could buy used from a shop, which will save you money but mitigate the worry about getting a lemon, or you could do some serious test riding. It seems like which you want to do depends on how much time you have to test ride, and whether bikes will be available in your size.

So which sounds more appealing to you:
1) spend a day or two shopping at used bike shops (shout out for Phoenix Bikes in Arlington, which is a non-profit, but I also hear good things about Ye Ol’ Bike Shop in Clarendon – no idea about others), find a bike you think is ok, buy that — I’m guessing about $300-500 will get you started biking. Start riding. Note what you like and don’t like about the set up you bought. Give it a while – say 6-9 months. Then you’ll have an idea of what you really want, then buy new. If you find that you like having the used bike around as a “beater”, awesome. If not, sell it on Craigslist.

2) spend 4+ long days shopping at, e.g. Bikenetic. Take bikes out for super long rides — preferably ride the route you’ll ride to work, plus some hills. Ideally you’ll be able to do the same bike 2 days in a row, and you’ll get out in the rain and in the super hot. Think about whether you want really bad weather options, and whether you’d prefer two bikes or just one, for which you’d change out tires when it’s bad. If you’re thinking backpack, ride with a backpack. You won’t start commuting for longer, but it’s more likely that you’ll love the bike you buy, and not be looking to replace it in 6-9 months. (You’ll still be looking to buy more bikes in 6-9 months because n+1 is a disease).

Either route you choose, good luck. It’s really, really fun to bike places. And welcome to the club.

[Greenbelt]

Since you’re going to commute, I recommend saving back part of your budget for gear. Good jackets, warm tights, rainwear, gloves, hats, shoe covers.

Basically for weekend riders getting started on a budget, try to save back 10-20% of your budget for road shoes, chamois shorts, jersey.

But for new everyday commuters, I think saving back nearly 50% of your budget in year 1 for accessories can be wise. Panniers or good backpack, portable pump and tools, gear will make your commute much more enjoyable than spending all your budget on the bike.

That’s my one cents worth — the other half of my two cents is to take lots and lots of test rides at bike shops. Over a certain threshold of good design and quality make, the biggest problem I hear about is fit and suitability. An ill-fitting or ill-suited bike is the biggest reason people are uncomfortable, not whether its an expensive bike or not IMO. Some people buy expensive road bikes only to learn the hard way that they really prefer a more upright flat bar stance. With other people it’s the opposite. So test, test, test.

And then don’t over think it. Sometimes the bike selects you, not the other way around. -Jeff

[ebubar]

I’ll chime in as well!

I like Jeff’s suggestion to keep a decent chunk of change for gear aside. A good option for cheap gear is REI’s local garage sales. You might be a member since you’re a hiker already and I’ve gotten a lot of good cycling gear for 50-60% off from those garage sales (though its bit of a crap shoot!). I haven’t seen anyone else suggest it, but my simple little Garmin Edge 200 GPS has made my commutes more fun since I race my previous best times occasionally. It adds another layer to my commute that I enjoy. Plus I like the continuous display while riding that I don’t get from my phone apps.

DEFINITELY test ride a bunch. I test rode a variety of bikes for similar purposes to yours (commuting 15 miles each way in my case and for weekend rides). My list of tests included: Kona Jake, Kona Jake the Snake, Bianchi Volpe (steel), Jamis Aurora, Jamis Nova, Specialized TriCross, Giant Defy 2 and 3 (aluminum with carbon fork), Fuji Sportif, Torker Interurban (steel) and finally a Jamis Quest Comp (steel with carbon fork). All the bikes were nice though I noticed that 1) steel was comfy and smooth and 2) Sora and Tiagra shifting felt the same to me.
I noticed a lot of talk about 105 being the lowest acceptable gear but it was out of my budget so I chose to not see what I was missing. I have had no problems with my “budget” level Sora components in around 1800 miles on my Jamis Quest Comp since getting it around Easter this year.

Regarding hybrid versus road, i’d say go straight for the road bike for that commute length. I started on a hybrid (Trek 7.2 FX). It worked fine and I still keep it for bad weather commutes and errands when I need to lockup a bike outside. With daily commuting the bike was just exhausting me. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t well designed for daily distance commuting comfortably, IMHO. Since switching to the road bike, I’m not exhausted and can help my wife with chores when I get home (maybe that’s an argument against the road bike…?). The road bike is also a lot more fun to ride and easier to ride faster than a flat-bar hybrid.

So my suggestions on top of the EXCELLENT advice already: 1) drop bar road instead of hybrid 2) don’t be afraid to test lower level components to see if you notice a difference 3) try different frame materials (carbon, steel, aluminum, titanium, combo’s thereof) to see if a material sticks out 4) enjoy the shopping!

[KLizotte]

@laughter95 91242 wrote:

Thanks for your post. I’ll meet with Pete and Clovis. I’ll look for the Cannondale Synapse 105… certainly all the praise for the carbon version of this must be an indication that the alloy version could be nice as well. A commuter that could also be used for fun/freedom in the area would be greatly appreciated. Any thoughts on the Ultegra ($2,170) vs the 105 ($1,570)? I’ll have to test drive both of them. Just curious of your insight on them. Pretty big price jump between components…

I got the 105 aluminum (women’s) version since the carbon did not contain eyelets for a rack. I refuse to carry a backpack; just a personal preference. The only thing I really don’t like about the synapse is the inability to put on wider tires (at most I can squeeze in 28s) and I find that limits my ability to ride gravel out in Loundon County and the Poolesville area. It also meant that I had to sit out most of last winter because my 25 tires could not handle the icy/snowy roads and trails. I’d recommend highly getting a fork/frame that allows for a wider range of tires. I think I’d also prefer disc brakes but it’s not a biggie for me since I don’t ride really fast anyway.

Oh, and I bought my bike in 2012 so this year’s version may be a little different. I’m pretty sure ultegra wasn’t an option in 2012 for the aluminum and I wouldn’t have sprung for it anyway; I park my bike around DC fairly frequently and figure it is always at high risk of theft so don’t want to have too fancy a bike out on the street.

[KLizotte]

@dasgeh 91249 wrote:

2) spend 4+ long days shopping at, e.g. Bikenetic. Take bikes out for super long rides — preferably ride the route you’ll ride to work, plus some hills. Ideally you’ll be able to do the same bike 2 days in a row, and you’ll get out in the rain and in the super hot. Think about whether you want really bad weather options, and whether you’d prefer two bikes or just one, for which you’d change out tires when it’s bad. If you’re thinking backpack, ride with a backpack. You won’t start commuting for longer, but it’s more likely that you’ll love the bike you buy, and not be looking to replace it in 6-9 months. (You’ll still be looking to buy more bikes in 6-9 months because n+1 is a disease).

I’ve never come across a shop, with the exception of BicycleSpace, that allows you take out a bike for more than 20 minutes. I took a bike out for 30 minutes one time at FreshBikes and the LBS assistant was in the parking lot waiting for me and slightly upset. I’m pretty sure they don’t want their bikes getting too messed up in bad weather either because it mean extra work cleaning them and possible damage to the yet unsold bike. I think the shops give you more leeway if it is during a weekday when they are quiet since they usually have people lined up to try bikes out on weekends.

[KLizotte]

P.S. If you buy new from a shop, try to negotiate a good trade on the stock wheels for better, lighter ones. The wheels on stock bikes tend to be low end. They will work but tend to be on the heavy side. If you buy from Spokes, Bill Mould is your go-to guy for custom made wheels and he will work with you in your desired price range.

[dasgeh]

@KLizotte 91265 wrote:

I’ve never come across a shop, with the exception of BicycleSpace, that allows you take out a bike for more than 20 minutes. I took a bike out for 30 minutes one time at FreshBikes and the LBS assistant was in the parking lot waiting for me and slightly upset. I’m pretty sure they don’t want their bikes getting too messed up in bad weather either because it mean extra work cleaning them and possible damage to the yet unsold bike. I think the shops give you more leeway if it is during a weekday when they are quiet since they usually have people lined up to try bikes out on weekends.

I’ve never test rode at a shop that put a time limit on their test rides. I wouldn’t buy from one that did. I’ve test ridden at CycleLife in Gtown, BicycleSpace and DailyRider in the District and Bikenetic. I think I’ve test rode at FreshBikes in Clarendon, but I’m not certain.

Re: “road” bikes: there are many types of bikes with drop bars stock: road, CX and touring being the main types. Road is the most “aggressive” (you’re the most hunched over while riding) while touring is the most upright. Of course, this is just a rule of thumb and there are no rules that bikes have to stick to and no labels on the bikes – it’s just easier to talk about bikes this way. You probably want to try a bunch in the range — you might want to be more upright to see traffic, you might prefer really aggressive to go as fast as possible, you might like in between.

Re: tire clearance – your options here are to get one bike with enough clearance in the fork to accommodate wider tires in the winter (and change your tires in the winter) or get two bikes – one with that can take wider tires and one that’s faster. I won’t get into trade offs, but there are enough of us that do the summer bike and winter bike lifestyle, I wanted to throw it out.

[consularrider]

@KLizotte 91265 wrote:

I’ve never come across a shop, with the exception of BicycleSpace, that allows you take out a bike for more than 20 minutes. I took a bike out for 30 minutes one time at FreshBikes and the LBS assistant was in the parking lot waiting for me and slightly upset. I’m pretty sure they don’t want their bikes getting too messed up in bad weather either because it mean extra work cleaning them and possible damage to the yet unsold bike. I think the shops give you more leeway if it is during a weekday when they are quiet since they usually have people lined up to try bikes out on weekends.

When I was test riding road bikes in 2010, I went to four different LBS and told them up front I was going to do at least a 10 mile ride and at three of the shops I was checking out more than one bike. Since I intended to use the bike I bought for long rides (50+ miles), I expected to get a real feel for the bike and wanted to try it on some hills as well. If an LBS won’t let me do that, they’ll never see me inside their shop again for anything. I will say that these were mid-week, fair weather rides. Now if someone would let me do a 30 mile gravel test ride …

[Tim Kelley]

@dasgeh 91268 wrote:

I’ve never test rode at a shop that put a time limit on their test rides. I wouldn’t buy from one that did. I’ve test ridden at CycleLife in Gtown, BicycleSpace and DailyRider in the District and Bikenetic. I think I’ve test rode at FreshBikes in Clarendon, but I’m not certain.

Shhh, don’t tell Revolution Cycles, but I took a couple of their TT bikes down to Hains Point for some hot laps to try things out…I got some questionable looks when I showed up an hour later, but it was all good!

[TwoWheelsDC]

I test rode (and eventually bought) bikes at Freshbikes, and they basically said “see you whenever you feel like coming back.” I was astounded by how hands-off they were with the test-ride process (in a good way)….they must have amazing insurance.

[rcannon100]

Last year when we bought The Kids bike, we test road at REI, Revolution, City, Spokes, and maybe the Bike Rack. The Kid took them out for bike long rides, comparing the different bikes. Everyone was great. Gold stars to Revolution cause we did multiple rides with them. Ultimately bought from City.

The Kid says that we are an aberration. There are some customers he has to TELL to take a test ride. They just assume a bike is a bike even tho they are dropping 2G on it. Most people walk in and just expected to be handed a bike. People like us, who fuss over our purchases, and who want to take long rides – not so common.

And this is why LBSs dont pay attention to us. We are annoying.

[lordofthemark]

@KLizotte 91265 wrote:

I’ve never come across a shop, with the exception of BicycleSpace, that allows you take out a bike for more than 20 minutes. I took a bike out for 30 minutes one time at FreshBikes and the LBS assistant was in the parking lot waiting for me and slightly upset. I’m pretty sure they don’t want their bikes getting too messed up in bad weather either because it mean extra work cleaning them and possible damage to the yet unsold bike. I think the shops give you more leeway if it is during a weekday when they are quiet since they usually have people lined up to try bikes out on weekends.

When I went to Bikenetics to try out the Dew on the W&OD, I said, “I will probably just take it to the Arlington line, don’t want to keep it out too long” The response “Don’t worry, take it out as long as you want”

[KLizotte]

@TwoWheelsDC 91271 wrote:

I test rode (and eventually bought) bikes at Freshbikes, and they basically said “see you whenever you feel like coming back.” I was astounded by how hands-off they were with the test-ride process (in a good way)….they must have amazing insurance.

I must look like a criminal then. If I had had more time to try out the first bike I bought it could have saved me lots of money. 😡

[KayakCyndi]

@lordofthemark 91273 wrote:

When I went to Bikenetics to try out the Dew on the W&OD, I said, “I will probably just take it to the Arlington line, don’t want to keep it out too long” The response “Don’t worry, take it out as long as you want”

That is because they know the longer you ride the less likely you are to actually want to give it back! Jan has been known to say things like “oh, I’ll just order that in your size …. you can see if you like it …. if you don’t like it I’ll sell it to someone else.” And of course that never happens. Don’t ask me how I know …

[JimF22003]

Here’s the route I take from Annandale to Tysons, including the extension to Spring Hill Road I sometimes take when I go to the Honda dealership:

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5466270

I see a few regulars on this route from time to time, notably Sir Dirt.

A couple of annotations, because some of this is only rideable on a bike, not on a car:

1) About 8.5, cut through the back of the office building instead of staying on Gallows where the bike lane peters out
2) About 8.8, go under the parking structure beside the Olive Garden to get to the frontage road along Rt 7.

This is actually where I work, but sometimes I take the rest of the route to Spring Hill

3) 9.4 crossing Chain Bridge Road. Take the cross walk on the West side of International Drive onto Pinnacle. This is closed to cars, but is perfect for bikes, and keeps you off Int’l

[Author]

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