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09-05-2017, 07:00 AM
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: https://binged.it/1KdDqKO
Posts: 2,428
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What kind of Bike do I want?
Hoping there are some bikers out there that can help me find a bike that and old man can peddle up a hill! For two years I have had a 26" Mongoose with Fat Tires. I like the looks of the bike and have loved it in flat land areas. But I am finding it more and more difficult to haul it up hills. Recently I was in a park and notice other old guys pumping there bikes up hills that I had to push up. My bike has 7 speeds. I know my bike is heavy and I am old but I want to get something different. Do I want as many speeds as possible or do I need a particular kind of gear set. Can I ad gears to the bike I have? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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09-05-2017, 07:29 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 4,569
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Lance said, " It's not the bike."
In this case it is. You just need more gears or new knees. The more gears the better. The bike doesn't really matter.
__________________
1996 Tioga Class C
2007 Monaco Diplomat 40 PDQ
TOAD 2012 Cadillac SRX 4
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09-05-2017, 07:48 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,740
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My suggestion is this .
Go to a real bike shop . Try some of the comfort or hybrid bikes . Try s bike that actually fits you , honestly you'll be amazed .
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09-05-2017, 08:00 AM
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#4
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 75
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stepside454
My suggestion is this .
Go to a real bike shop . Try some of the comfort or hybrid bikes . Try s bike that actually fits you , honestly you'll be amazed .
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Second the motion to spend a few hours at a real, professional bike shop. Explain your needs and capabilities, and an expert will fit your dimensions and gears into a proper frame/tire production or semi-production bike you will actually be able to use. Like all things, you generally get what you pay for.
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09-05-2017, 10:21 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Chasing 70 degrees in lower 48
Posts: 2,031
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I am 78 with many years road bike riding and just went thru that exercise looking for an old geezer bike. What I was looking for:
1. low and more gears - like 27 or 30 speed
2. lighter weight - close to or under thirty pounds
3. front suspension with 100mm minimum travel - no rear suspension
4. 27.5 inch tires but 26 inch will generally be cheaper, more choices and better components for bikes in same price range
5. disk brakes
6. name brand components like Shimano, Sram or FSA
7. bike/frame brand not real important aluminum or steel OK - carbon fiber means big bucks
8. for your kind of riding - small block 8 tires - much quieter and smoother ride
9. bike frame size - should be able straddle bike with feet on ground and no pressure on crotch - no touch at all better
10. depending on where you live used bike would be good if lots to choose from
add a cheap bike computer that measures speed and cadence/pedal RPM at a minimum
I ended up buying this one https://www.amazon.com/Sundeal-Hardt...rds=sundeal+m7
Very happy with it. Whatever you get learn to SPIN. That basically means pedal fast in low gear. Your knees will love it and climbing will be much easier. I try to keep my cadence in high eighty's.
Adjust seat high enough so that leg almost straight with heel on pedal at six o'clock and foot flat.
Can you add gears to current bike - maybe - check with one or two bike shops.
__________________
Suzie & Chuck USNR USAF USCGA Challenger Owners Club 2015 37KT Challenger, Demco Commander tow bar, Ready Brake, Sewer Solutions, Safe-T-Plus 41-230, 5-Star tune, towing 2017 Ford Edge FWD 3.6L V-6 four down & 385 FastTrack kayak in the basement.
Summer - Creede, CO Winter - Okeechobee, FL
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09-05-2017, 10:35 AM
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#6
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Moderator Emeritus
Damon Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Lone Star State
Posts: 19,203
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Just an alternative idea...
We will be adding an electric assist system like this to our bikes - just swap the front rim:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/26-x1-75-...ller/126941896
If you want to shower money on a "real bike shop" for some exotic, be my guest. We do not, so we have a couple of WONDERFUL, bikes used for mixed road and trail riding sourced from a chain retailer. The bikes have everything the brands that demand 4 digit prices have (full front and rear adjustable suspension and name brand derailer) - except the brag factor.
Safe travels
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09-05-2017, 11:00 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,740
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Bike shop bikes aren't about exotic bikes with 4 digit price tags or brag factor as you say .
It's about finding a bike that fits .
Mongoose & other dept store brand bikes are basically one size fits all . Guess what , they don't .
You can find the same bike at a bike shop in many differant sizes .
My wife's bike a Marin Kentfield comes in 5 differant sizes , all with the same size tires . New they run about 400-500.00. Hers is 18 years old now & still works great .
My Kona is about the same age , works great
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09-05-2017, 11:11 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,740
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Also I'll add this , it also depends on how much you use the bike , to justify the cost . We rode 20 miles one afternoon recently & we'll be doing 18 mikes next week . I wouldn't even try that on a Walmart bike .
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09-05-2017, 11:27 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 4,569
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If you spend hours on your bike and the mongoose hurts your knees, wrist, shoulders, etc. than go ahead and go to a bike shop.
I still say, just get more gears. Most people have their seat too low. Try your seat a little higher. If you start rocking as you pedal you should lower the seat a little. The weight of the bike doesn't matter much as long as you have lots of gears and you aren't trying to get somewhere as fast as possible.
You don't really need a bike shop if you just want to stroll around the campground and occasionally ride for an hour or so.
__________________
1996 Tioga Class C
2007 Monaco Diplomat 40 PDQ
TOAD 2012 Cadillac SRX 4
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09-05-2017, 11:33 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 108
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I ride bikes... a lot. I will agree wholly with going to a real bike shop, yes it's more expensive than Walmart, there's are huge reasons for that. I'll add more information later, but fit and components are just part of the equation.
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09-05-2017, 09:15 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 108
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@ the OP, a few questions:
1. What kind of riding do you do or want to do? Trails? Paved roads or trails? Country roads? Events?
2. How far do you ride? Around camp, around town, 30-40 miles, 100 miles?
3. How much are you willing to spend?
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09-05-2017, 09:23 PM
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#12
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Community Administrator
Pond Piggies Club LA Gulf Coast Campers Outdoors RV Owners Club Entegra Owners Club Skyline Owners Group
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 40,594
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We went to a bike shop & purchased electric bikes. Best $$ we ever spent on bikes. We can ride them with or without assist. You might try them.
Lori-
__________________
Lori (& Dave, my spirit guide) - RV/MH Hall of Fame Lifetime Member | My iRV2 Photo Albums
2016 Phoenix Cruiser 2350S, 2018 Phaeton 40IH,2006 Bounder 36Z, 2004 Cougar 285EFS, 2000 Aerolite 25FBR
There is great need for a sarcasm font.
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09-06-2017, 05:32 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 4,569
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matfam1
@ the OP, a few questions:
1. What kind of riding do you do or want to do? Trails? Paved roads or trails? Country roads? Events?
2. How far do you ride? Around camp, around town, 30-40 miles, 100 miles?
3. How much are you willing to spend?
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Hopefully we'll hear from homeless soon but this is what we know. He loves his mongoose. He wants to get up hills easier. He's handy (this is an assumption based on the fact he kept his motorhome on the road) MH'ers are typically handy or rich.
So;
Get something like the Mongoose with more gears.
__________________
1996 Tioga Class C
2007 Monaco Diplomat 40 PDQ
TOAD 2012 Cadillac SRX 4
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09-06-2017, 06:04 AM
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#14
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: https://binged.it/1KdDqKO
Posts: 2,428
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Ok more gears is what I had assumed I needed if I wanted to go up hills and stay seated. As I said the Wife and I both like the fat tires. But trying to research how to get my butt up a hill, I find that there are all kinds of racing bikes kind of stuff. Gears seem to be as many as you can afford. But I also read that having a front derailleur makes for more problems for chain jumping off and shifting problems.
I also don't mind spending 4 or 500 dollars for the right bike if it make riding up hills more fun. We have had our bikes for two years and mostly have ridden in Texas coast area, Flat. We do live and travel in a motorhome and don't have time or money to be buying and trading bikes to find the type we need.
So I have a state of the art Walmart Mongoose with 7speeds. I was considering the idea of changing the chain ring to a smaller one and loosing the top end. Even in Texas we don't usually ride fast and top gears don't get used. We are at Lake of the Ozarks State Park and there don't seem to be any fancy bike shops near us.
So I wonder can I even find a smaller chain ring and can I even take the one I have off? Is this a practical way to go? How low do I go?
If I buy another bike such as an Kawasaki Sumo 21 speed is this overkill?
I do raise the seat as high as I can, I under stand stretching out, but at present I am on my tiptoes at a stop. Do I really need to have a bike that fits? I like the fell of a cruiser. I have added ape hangers to my bike. And that has made it impossible for me to stand up and try to peddle.
We have road 20 miles in a day on a fairly flat paved trail. We would ride more if we could not think we are dying going up hills.
It seems like trying to give more information is like my research, it can go on an on. So I hope this helps with my discussion. We are and old couple trying to stay young with out killing ourselves, and with out breaking the bank.
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