Due to the current state of the world I have taken back up my old hobby of biking. I know there are a few more bike enthusiasts on the forum, maybe we can have a thread to share bikes and ask questions. I recently got a 'walmart' BMX bike and it's holding up great! I really enjoy freestyle bmx. And I have my old road bike (2009 diamondback), I used to ride 10-20 miles a day back in NY. I'm thinking of possibly upgrading it to a sturdy 3 piece crank in a few years if it holds up.
I gave my old bike to my eldest nephew and he gave his bike to his younger brother. I'm thinking of getting a tricycle for the 2 year old or wait until he is 3. I'm not sure what kind of bike it was but I got it in 1997. Did clean it up and got new tires. My injuries makes it impossible for me to ever ride a bike again. Didn't know you wear a brace.
The knee brace is just for exercising. Skip the tricycle, get a balance bike. My daughter used the radio flyer one (cheap walmart one). She moved right to no training wheels at 4 years old. There are some youtube videos for how to use them. I watch one of the 2 minute ones and it was super helpful in teaching my daughter how to use it.
I like bicycles. Over the years I've owned, built & customized countless bikes. Mostly Lowriders, Classic Muscle (Banana Seat) Bicycles and Balloon Tire Cruisers. Although I do have a soft spot for 1980's BMx & Freestyle bikes. I had a GT Performer when I was 10. It was stolen within 3 months. Sadly, when quarantine hit and I had to close my business, I sold a bunch of my bikes. Which was unnecessary really, I regret selling my '69 Schwinn Stingray, 3 Speed Ross Apollo, and '52 Schwinn Phantom (All personal grails) but so is life. They can always be replaced. I still have a 1953 Schwinn Starlet that used to belong to Freddy Fischer AKA JoJo The Whale, a real beloved dude from the neighborhood.. and my current ride a Custom 1964 Schwinn Speedster.
Wow, did you just collect the vintage bikes or you actually still rode them? Do you have a pic of Jojo's bike? I like 80's/90's BMX bikes too, but they are so heavy .
I collect and ride them. Some more than others. I noticed the seat on the Stingray was starting to dry out a bit so I rarely rode it. I can snap a pic or 2 when I get in later
I'm a bicycle boi. The amount I'm able to actually ride varies wildly on account of the whole having Crohn's disease thing, sometimes I'm doing well enough that I can just eat up the miles without stopping, sometimes I'm lucky if I have the energy to drag myself out of bed never mind go for even a short ride, alas the past couple months it's been more the latter than the former. I'd always ridden bikes thanks to my Dad who's been riding MTB on and off since the first proper mountain bikes arrived in the UK in the early-80s, but it was getting into BMX when I was 14 that kicked off my obsession with bikes, many good times were had as a result. I stopped being able to ride as much after I got sick in 2009, but I finally got my first road bike in 2014 and it's been downhill and uphill and false flat and uphill and downhill since then. Now I need more! More bikes! Fat bike! Rigid steel 650+ MTB! eBikes (road and MTB!)! Vintage MTB! I just love bikes! For some reason my nephew and niece are obsessed with my bikes as well, I don't know if it's just my Cool Uncle™ status but they insist on watching and occasionally "helping" (read: holding random tools) when I'm working on or cleaning my bikes. My current fleet (I posted them in the hobbies thread a while back but seeing as it's relevant to the thread): 2014 Boardman Road Sport ltd edition (Bumblebee) 2016 Calibre Bossnut, yes it is a very stupid name but it's an amazing entry level full sus MTB, the newer models have only gotten better. (AKA Lockdown) 2017 Whyte G-160 RS (Megatron) 2018/19 Whyte Glencoe (Grindcore) Fit Bike Co Twenty Two (still can't think of a good Transformer nickname for it) Interesting fun fact related to the topic; one of my friends is a professional MTB rider, he's an absolute madlad on a bike and even has a couple world firsts under his belt. Alas, I have neither the skillz nor the stones to come anywhere even remotely close to his talent, haha.
Sorry to hear about your health problems, it sucks getting older, having more health problems, finding you can't do things you used to be able to do. Lockdown and Megatron are truly awesome. I'd really like to get into hardcore MTB now that I live in the mountain areas instead of the city. I used to MTB on walmart bikes through the Adirondacks all summer in my youth. But, at my age, I'd like to save up for something nicer. And your fit bmx is very nice! ETA: How about Starscream for the bmx bike?
I don't have any pictures, but I use a GT Aggressor Pro (I think that's the name) mountain bike. I got it last summer, and I've already probably put hundreds of miles on it. I go out nearly every day for at least twenty minutes, and frequently longer then that. I have some actual trails kind of near where I live that I use on occasion, if I want to go on a longer ride.
I was looking at those ones for a possible future MTB. I really want to get something with discs brakes and it's hard to find with the x-small frame size. I noticed the GT MTB at Dick's have them in a 13" frame.
This is Freddy's bike. I'm going to give it to a friend of mine who moved away about 10 years ago but will be coming back soon. When I bought it, I was stoked it had a flag holder (the little American Flag badge up front) Those old accessories can be rare and expensive. And this is my '64 Schwinn Speedster. I don't think I'll ever sell this one. I might change things up on it but I don't think I'll ever part with it.
Oooh, Starscream could be good. Ah, it's not even age related (yet, I hope, haha), I was 20 when I was diagnosed, 31 now and the past 3-ish years have been relatively stable, it's just a flare up but they never get any less frustrating, especially seeing as I'd been something resembling healthy for most of this year and been riding more than ever. Cheers! Megatron in particular is always a treat to ride, it's like it demands to be ridden fast. If you're thinking of getting into MTB you've picked a great time for it, whether you're looking for something more entry level or wanna spend a little more there are some genuinely great bikes out there that won't break the bank either.
Breaking the bank for me and you might be different based on your rides . But, do you have any recs? I'd like something with discs brakes and the frame has to go to x-small. I found a perfect girls 24" bike, but only had 7 speeds.
Ooooh, I could get into this. I used to ride trails, built my own bike that sort of thing, but I needed my hands for work, and after a colleague broke both of his with a fall and another took out both of his collar bones one after the other, I decided that maybe not riding through trees was a better idea. I ride roads, primarily, for fitness and to go fast. I hate replacing road tires. That is all.
Haha, Megatron may have cost more than my car but I am nonetheless a man of the people! Admittedly there is a bit of a gap in my knowledge as far as the US market goes though, in the UK we have Go Outdoors which is a chain of, well, outdoors stores (camping, hiking, etc) who went all in on their in-house bike brand Calibre a few years back who do a couple sub-£400 hardtails that consistently come out on top in budget bike tests but I'm not sure what the equivalent would be in the US. The above mentioned GT Aggressor Sport or Comp might be a good shout though if you can go brand new, alternatively with how good MTBs are now going second hand is a great option as well, I know you've had your woes with Facebook selling groups but if there are any MTB specific buy/sell/trade groups near you you can sometimes find some genuinely decent bikes for an absolute steal. Specialized, Trek, Diamondback, and Cannondale are a few other bike brands off the top of my head to look out for to see if you can find a second hand bargain.
Thank you, and you know my issue with these 'steals' on fb marketplace, and I have seen some really nice bikes go for around $250ish, but after that guy bought that 1995 barracuda we had that was good for scraps and then it went back on craigslist a hour after he picked it up for $150. I can't trust anyone. People claiming gears and brakes work great, and then out of fear 2 weeks later derailleur isn't working right, it's all on me, unlike if I bought from a legit shop. So, I'm very hesitant to spend more than $50 2nd hand which isn't going to get me anything decent.
