Bike season seems to have started! In March!

[dreamshark]

Inspired by pegkerr I chipped the ice away from the backyard bike shed this past weekend and took my bike around Lake Harriet for the inaugural ride of the season (earliest EVER!). Once the bike was out of our backyard, there were no impediments. The street was reasonably dry and the bike paths were all clear. Saturday felt much warmer than the temperature read, with warm sun and no wind. Lovely easy ride. Did it again on Sunday, which was much more difficult because of a brisk wind. My legs and back are a little tired today, but not terribly so.

I remembered when I tried unsuccessfully to downshift the front derailleur that I had been planning to take the bikes in for a tuneup during the winter. I should have done that in the fall, BEFORE the glacier formed in front of the bike shed door. After the Sunday ride I loaded both bikes in the van and trundled them over to Erik's Bike Shop, which is an excellent place to get ordinary recreational bikes repaired. Unlike Freewheel, which has remade itself into a high-end shop for serious bikers, the guys at Erik's don't try to talk you into $350 rebuilds or a new bike. However, since Richard has been having so much trouble with his chain falling off and the gears getting out of alignment, I decided to go with a full drive-train replacement for his bike, and the $59 tuneup for mine. The guy did point out that we could get a comparable-quality new bike on sale for $250, but wasn't pushy about it. Considering the degree of customization that R has applied to his old beater, that seemed like more trouble than it was worth. Since my drive train is also kinda worn out, I agreed to start THINKING about a new bike, maybe in the fall when they have their big warehouse sale. We'll see how she runs after the tuneup. I haven't had a lot of trouble with slipping gears or chain dumping, although that may be because I so rarely ride up steep hills.

Comments

[mmagidow.livejournal.com]

Yes, Erik's rocks! I was going to Freewheel for years, then suddenly felt like an old Schwinnish fogey when all the employees started wearing lycra bicycle pants with padded behinds and clacking around in their expensive bike racing shoes. I have bought approximately 6 bikes at Erik's over the years.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

We like Erik's a lot as well.

K.

[sraun]

If you remember, would you please post when Erik's has their big fall sale? I keep thinking about getting a bike...

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

I'll try to remember [...the kind of September, when bikes are cheap and frames are hollow...]

More to the point, they're having a big spring sale right now. Prices are really amazingly low. For whatever reason (globalization?) the real price of nice mid-range bicycles seems to have dropped markedly in the last 15 years. The ACTUAL price of these bikes, not adjusted at all for inflation, is about what we paid 12 years ago at this same bike shop!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I like Erik's, too. We bought Fiona's bike there, and I was there last weekend, taking advantage of the sale prices for bike accoutrements such as a water clip and that new ugly neon orange vest with reflective tape.