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This is why I carry a clown horn

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As I said before, go cheap with bike #1. I predict the following:

You get a hybrid.
You end up hating bike commuting. Story ends here – Or you love bike commuting and you discover that a hybrid just doesn’t cut the mustard.
You end up buying a road bike.

So how to choose the hybrid? Getting a used one would be the cheapest, but since more of a pain in the neck as you have to find it. Go cheap, but get a good quality bike. Someone else suggested Giant, and I think that’s a great brand for the price.

Papillon Cycles on Columbia Pike carries them and the owner is old school.

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Damn. 20 miles is a long ride for me.

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+1 on the documentation.

I hope you heal fast!

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Damn. No presto adapter the compressor

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Spend as little as possible on your first bike. Then go crazy on #2

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I’ve started noticing e-bikes on the trails now. So far so good, but I think it’s a matter of time before the speed those bikes allow will cause an accident.

Like others have said, there is a time and place to go 30 mph on the trails. Today was the first day I felt confident enough on my new road bike to drop down on the Custis trail hill after 66 and let loose. But even then I made damn sure the coast was clear and the only person I was putting in jeopardy was myself.

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Any recent sightings?

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If you want to meet people, Contes has a group ride every Tues evening

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Thanks FFX, that helps narrow things down.

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@Greenbelt 4766 wrote:

OK, I think we’ve got a winner, at least in the fantasy price range (and assuming very secure parking):
http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/06/bikes-and-tech/dirty-kanza-tech-nick-legans-salsas-vaya-ti_178867

Just get a pair of the toughest, heaviest U locks and leave them at your office.

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I suggest OP skip getting shoes and pedals and use sneakers and the plastic jobbers that came with the bike. Get used to your ride before you start messing around with locking in.

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@Greenbelt 4910 wrote:

There was a pretty well-commented thread from a DC-area e-biker on a liberal political blog a few days ago (most of the comments bike oriented, not political):
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/11/984188/-An-abortive-Bike-to-Work-Day–with-many-bike-to-work-days

My two cents is that if e-bikers only use the motor for hill climbing, not to buzz past pedestrians and regular bikes on the flats, we should give them a chance on the trails. Of course, the trails in my area aren’t too crowded, so my two cents might not be valid elsewhere.

In Virginia it is illegal to ride any motorized vehicle on a trail or sidewalk.

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@Dirt 4805 wrote:

Eventually this motion becomes second nature. I went through this in the mid 1980s. It brings back fond memories. Hang in there.

Which pedals did you get?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014UG3WE

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@CCrew 4788 wrote:

I just do a quick snap outward of the heel. I know it feels odd at first, but it does become second nature.

How much slack should there be between the cleat and pedal? When I do a twist, I feel some wobble sometimes before it snaps out.

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