Cool!. That´s the natural process of passion... Step one on "going green". I should buy a bicycle... What kind of bike should I buy?...mmm... I get it!. Lets say a hybrid. I´m an amateur who use the roads but want agility and a higher speed than usually offered by 26" tyres...What a beauty I bought. Its a comfort and excellent bike for boht forms of roads either paved or pathways but... Cant´t sleep... I´m missing something. My bike is not intended to be a great road or mountain bike. Why not try and buy another bike?. Then come step two, your flamboyant road bike is at home!. Yeah! It´s designed for road surface with increased aerodynamics and speed...but... Oh my God, I can´t sleep again! I have no comfort over different road surfaces!... What Can I do?. Well, that´s what step three is for. You´re in a urgent need of a mountain bike!. A more robust frame and wider tyres... a mountain bike and my collection is over... Sure? Oh oh... By reading your reply post I know there is a fourth step: The ultimate rear damper dream!. Yeah!. Better traction over rough terrain... You seem as if you were born here... Mediterranean passion all over you!. . And yes, It´s healthy. Next step could be a trikke, a triahtlon or an electric bike... No matter what it is, it is a bicycle!. And yes, It´s healthy.:biker Cheers!.
It's easy to always want more, our consumer society encourages it. But it's also important to count our proverbial blessings. Holy moly I have four bikes now!! And I go riding every chance I get. Never thought I'd get this far (you've come a long way baby). And who knows? Maybe one day I'll get a good full suspension bike, tho surprisingly I've been sensible lately and thinking that maybe I'd better go easy lest one day I break my behind. You know, people writing in the forum saying they've broken this or that bone. Me, who no longer wears a young man's body, must erre on the side of caution. Well, that's what I've been thinking lately: should be careful (sometimes I'm not). I've always been wary of electric bicycles. They seem like a contradition, it's like going to a football match and watching it on a portable TV you've brought with you. If you're going to a match don't watch it on TV, and bicycles are for pedaling, tho I suppose it's good for rank beginners who at least pedal a little and use the motor to get up hills. So what kind of bike have you got?
Mine is a hybrid. Step one on the way to your final consumist result. Its equipped with little 60mm shock absorbers on the fork and 160mm mechanical disc brakes to go on paths, to do forestry trails where it´s slower than a mountain bike. 700x35 tyres in size for paved road, where a road bike is faster by putting you lower and more aerodynamic. But It can handle a wide range of tasks. It´s not a bad compromise on the door-to-door route wherever you are in town, bike lane, open road or in the dirt,,, pretty much right in the middle between a MTB and a road bike, so average speed could be faster than riding a MTB or even a road bike depending on circumstances. I really love it. I think it meets my today style of riding. Don´t know if in the future I´ll need another one. I´m also reluctant - it doesn´t seem to fit for me- to ride an electric bicycle unless I need it, but I´m curious about it. Another rainy day in Madrid!. The rain in Spain seems to actually be mainly in the plain!... Should we go to southern California to ride? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pyC7WnvLT4 Cheers!.
Sounds like you've got a good all-purpose bike. So I'd say it's high time I gave you the bike purity test and find out what you're really made of. So have you got 1. a camelback 2. clipless pedals 3. cycling shorts (and you don't wear anything underneath) 4. matching jerseys 5. cycling sunglasses 6. an expensive helmet 7. and an onboard GPS? If not then you should definitely have a complex because you are NOT cool (and that's the worst thing that can possibly happen to anyone). So get out your credit card and start spending! Ha ha ha. I hope it was clear I was joking. I myself am a bit of a rebel and do things my own way. I don't have a camelback (don't like a sweaty back), don't have clipless pedals on my mountain bike (and this really makes me an oddball at times), no GPS, and I wear an underwear under my cycling shorts. Oh well...
Take a guess what kind of biker I am. On one hand I don´t like the fancy riding branded clothes with big logos unless I am paid to wear them. I don´t feel like riding as if i were a sandwich board man with all those big names... SPECIALIZED, CANNONDALE, ORBEA, BH, THIS GIVE U WINGS!!!, etc on them... . The only chance for me to wear such a thing is a give away. It´s funny how people are willing to spend more money to wear a logo. It should be the other way around. To me, no money, no way! On the other hand, I like to keep a low profile when riding, I mean, I am a very competitive person but when it comes to riding a bicycle I do it just for fun. Things are not the same if you wear in a stylish-elitist way cause almost everybody else on the road want to challenge you and see who is faster... You Know, It´s a psychological protection against competitiveness when riding... I just ride slow, fast or whatever I like. I don´t want to have someone to point at and say "look, he wears Specialized from head to feet but I am better than him", I don´t ride for some team... No GPS. I´ve been living in Madrid since I was a child. Just don´t need it on my bike. My helmet is quite simple, not expensive one, but conforms to EN1078 European regulation, of course! Why I picked it up from Sport Zone: The colour (or color, i don´t exactly know what word you are used to, american english word color I guess). Anyway it matches with my bike´s... So what kind of biker am i (if any!)?. Well, I didn´t pass the test, so I am far from an elitist mentality... Cheers!.
I went to a Sport Zone in Ferrol last summer when I was on holiday there and I thought their products were a very good value. I got cycling shorts and a jersey, both around 20 euros, and they're holding up just fine. I recently checked the prices in a shop around here and the starting price is around 50 and that's just too much, unless of course the more expensive clothes you wear the faster you go?! (ha ha ha) So is there one in Madrid? I just googled it and it looks like there's one in the south by the M50, but it's a little far from my stomping grounds. I usually get around on the Metro and I don't think there's one near this shop. This rain is really putting a damper on my riding lately. For example on Fridays I usually go for long rides but today all I did was go jogging for about a half hour or so, the bare minimum to stay in shape. Colour or color: it doesn't matter to me. I'm American but I mainly work with Brits.
Sport Zone has 7 facilities throughout Madrid. I think Madrid is their flagship city to sell. Problem is they are all in the skirts of the city. It is worthwhile paying a visit only if you are in the area or want to buy something in particular. Value for money is great!. Even greater than Decathlon in my humble opinion. I was looking for a Hybrid and trying to make up my mind between 2 models from Trek and BH (FX 7700 vs Renegade). Then I did an online research on all this stuff and I was surprised to find good reviews about Berg and Sport Zone´s good value for money... I went to one of those centers and ended up getting a Berg Crosstown 7.4 Price is awsome. Components are decent.I fully recommend this iberian-portuguese franchise (Berg and Sport Zone). Yeap, I had an assembly problem with my brake disc. That´s when I first wrote in here and you helped me. I fixed it as you told me and worked fine, but eventually I used the guarantee to change the whole front wheel. SZ was also great at it!. I didn´t have the slightest problem with them. Here you have the SZ link to see where they are located: http://www.sportzone.es/Services.aspx Cheers.
Maybe I'll be able to visit a Sport Zone one of these days, but like you say, they're a bit off the beaten track (I should say my beaten track). By the way, yesterday I got on my old faithful hybrid bike and went around the Carril Verde. I mainly use this bike for doing hills when I want to do a bit of exercise in a short time, but yesterday it was looking like rain so I decided to do the loop trail because there's usually a subway stop somewhere in the area, and if it starts bucketing down I can go home on Madrid's excellent underground. BTW, in the end it didn't rain. In any case, this bike has seen better days. For example, the other day it started squeaking when I turned the handlebars, so I took off the forks and saw that the bearing races are pitted. I just relubed it but sooner or later it's going to need new forks; and a new front wheel for the same reason. I'm going to ride this bike into the ground. Then I'll probably buy another bike like it, but used. I love having an old bike around that I can thrash and not worry too much about (I normally really take care of my bikes). I remember the problem with the brake now. Gosh, we go way back. If I'm ever riding along and I see a Berg Crosstown I'll say hello (if it's you). Cheers!
Sure. A second hand bike could be a pretty good idea if you want to save time by being a little careless, but even if your budget is low, take your time and some advice before you get a deal. You can find a lot of guide lines on the internet. Second hand market is a mystery bargains, quality, crap, mint condition, broken or even stolen bikes are side by side out there!. I´ll pay attention to all those bicyclists that ride their bikes like Lance Armstrong!. One of them is surely you!... Incidentally, your bike is ------------ (Oh, Oh Don´t say it, DO NOT say it Trek Madone!!!) Cheers!.
Actually I hope I don't have to get a secondhand bike any time soon: I'm pretty attached to my Diamondback Override. That's my first bike here in Spain and I bought it back in 1992 (I think). You know a lot people buy new bikes, sometimes even really good ones, then hardly ride them. They just sit in “trasteros” (store rooms?) for years and then they finally decide to sell them. That would be the best kind of used bike to get. But like you say, it's always a risk. If you ever see a Scattante road bike out there, that's me. It's pretty unique, in fact to my knowledge it's the only one in Spain. Bought it in California and brought it here, tho it turns out I didn't play my cards right in Barajas and was hammered with taxes (oh well, live and learn). In any case, Scattantes aren't well-known and tend to be cheap, but it's still a good bike, I tend to ride mine on Friday mornings with a couple of friends. Here it is, same color and everthing. http://joelcory.com/blog/2007/07/31/2007-scattante-cfr-review/
Nice!. So you ride in true and unique style!. :biker :globero Very nice bikes. Didn´t hear about Scattantes. Diamondback Override rings a bell. You know, I´m new at all this, but too curious... did a little research on Scattante´s page and found they are located in 18 states. I presume its a reputated local brand in the California area to be expand firstly across the States, worldwide if possible. There are so many quality local brands that deserve to be known everywhere... North spanish reconversion process of the steel/aluminium industry boiled down to a change - from making arms to make bicycles... this is a true "making-love-not-war :flores" example I´m sure you love! - . As a ressult, some very reputated bicycle brands and manufacturing Companies were born. Orbea, BH, Mendiz, etc... For decades almost every spaniard boy had one of these names in mind when Santa or the Three Wise Men were about to come down the chimney. . But there were other magnificient local brands -Mentor, Otero, etc...- which never expanded so much... Anyway, very very nice bikes you have, as well as unique and stilish. I´m very bad at identifying another biker so far. It´s easier for you to identify me. My Berg is a very cheap bike, but I estimate every day no more than 2 or 3 bikes like mine could be riding all over Madrid!!!. So, in a way, my unpopular Crosstown is also unique in the Madrid´s Anillo Verde!.I bet my jeans on it!. :fumador Today I went to Tres Cantos for the sake of a very pleasant ride... Few people, some road bikes, and great sunshine!!!. :baile Let me know whenever you see or pass me on the road!. Pd.- Be aware of custom taxation at Barajas. You should never rule it out when importing things. Concerning bikes, you are the first to be hammered by the man of the tax, not the man of the hammer... Cheers!.
Hi! Actually I think Scattante is made in Taiwan. That's what it says right on my bike: “Made in Taiwan”. Actually I understand lots of bikes are made over there even though the company itself may be based elsewhere: everything is globalized now, for better or for worse. I rode my Scattante to Soto del Real yesterday. It was a beautiful day and I was inspired, in fact I was on fire, think I did my fastest time to date: my average speed was 30 km/h for the whole trip. Actually by the time I got through Las Tablas and Sanchinarro it had descended to 29.6. City riding really slows you down, especially if you more or less stop at traffic lights. Today I explored new territory on my mountain bike and went to Valdelatas with some people from around here I met via the foro. Nice people and a nice place! And it's not too far from where I live. That's a really good thing about Madrid: you can get out of the city and into the wilderness pretty quickly.
Well done. I am usually around 22 Kmts/h on average on my hybrid w/ 700x35 +- 60/70 Kmts leisure rides starting from my house downtown Madrid (I can´t get into the wilderness that easy). I don´t push much, routes are not hilly, with the occasional stop at intersections, stoplights and breaks... I think it will improve some. Maybe 25-26 it´s fine for my hybrid style. I´ve started recently and my average speed should increase over the next few months as I continue to ride, but It´s not my intention to become a speed demon... Better to just ride a lot and get the kmts in for now. Definitely annoying headwind makes the difference to me and my not-aerodynamic position when riding. Sometimes I do feel very slow into the wind. A F-18 hornet jet reaching the speed of sound with it at my back!. Everybody get out my way!!! If I´m able to catch a slow peloton (miracles exist, don´t they?), my pace gets up to their cruising speed. It´s the best way to ride on my way back home!. BTW... Does anything come to your mind if you want to translate our ironic saying "chupar rueda" into English? - in the sense of "ciclista parasitario parapetado tras primo cortaviento"- . I´m also exploring new territories around here... I wanna see the pathway to Arroyo Tejada in Parque del Manzanares or the new intersection in the Anillo from Casa de Campo to Caja Mágica, which I believe will be inaugurated this very month, the 15th. Cheers!.
Yeap, nice weather all over Spain. We have to take advantage of it before summer comes, specially in the East coast of Spain - Mediterranean area, Valencia, Alicante, Barcelona, Gerona, Castellón, Murcia, Mallorca, etc, etc..- !!! Where humidity is so (fuc...) high you can´t ride (even walk) 1 Kmt without sweating as if you went 100. I hate humid weather!. Cheers!.
I can't believe this weather, I'm just so used to cold or rainy weather all the time. The problem is that in Madrid it seems the higher the temperature the higher the smog level. I went for a short ride with my daughter today. It was practically in slow motion compared to how I usually go, but I didn't mind at all; it's so nice sharing a hobby with someone and helping them get into it.
C´mon: This is Madrid and It´s April, you can´t rely on the weather. It can be either hot or cold, rainy or blue skied and clear. It has always been this rather unpredictable way, -not global warming effect! - so check it out before you ride. Sunny skies set to continue this week: http://www.eltiempo.es/madrid.html Enjoy your rides with your daughter at the marvellous average speed of 10 Kmts/h... :foto Cheers!.
We've gone three days in a row now. Today she was looking pretty tired, says she's going to take tomorrow off. That's good because Friday is road biking day (my turn to get tired). Anyway, we've been doing 16 km rides from my home in Sanchinarro to the Juan Pablo 1 Park, our average speed was a breakneck 16 km/h. By the way, I used to do that route years ago when I was getting back into biking, then I started doing the Anillo Verde. I really hope she gets into it. If she does we're going to have to get her a decent bike. She's riding a real cheapy we got for her years ago and has been in our store room for donkey's years. It does look like the god of weather is smiling upon us bike riders. I'm looking forward to a lot of pedaling this weekend!
I took the morning off and went to Arganzuela. Good news: The new +-20 Kmts bike-line is alredy open. You can almost go to Caja Mágica from Casa de Campo without leaving the line!. There are some remarkable new bridges, beautiful sport facilities and much more... even a beach or a BMX circuit. But there is also bad news: Riding speed on this new bike-line must be slow. I emailed the City Council to ask them when the bike-line will be segregated from the pedestrian route. In a long, prompt and kind email, they replyed me that it´s not intended to be segregated. No segregation at all. It has been planned as a kind of melting pot where cyclists and pedestrians, dogs and skaters, lovers and robbers are all toghether walking and riding around the banks of the Manzanares river. They want the bikers to slow down over there... Oh boy. Well, as a pleasure ride with your daugther its ok, I recommend it. But don´t you dare to prove your ability as a cyclist over there!. My prediction: if an accident occurs, It will be segregated. It´s just a time question. This bike-lane ( which is called "Senda Ciclable", not bike-line or "Carril-Bici" itself ) is very crowded, specially on the weekends. Both banks of the river have their own bike&pedestrian line. Why on earth didn´t they think of a left or right segregation!!!? Have a nice biking day.
Wow! That sounds interesting, and I had no idea there was a new bike lane there. Like you say, it sounds like something I might want to do with my daughter. Of course if I ride to the Casa de Campo, then do the new route, then back home again, I'll get a good work out. But my daughter's not ready for that: she might get there but would be too tired to get back home. Of course she (we) could take the underground home if it's the weekend or holiday. As you say, it sounds like a mistake not to give us cyclists our own lane: there's bound to be an accident sooner or later and I suppose then they'll rethink things. BTW, today was road bike day and I'm pretty knackered, but one of the guys I went with is extremely knackered as he hasn't really been staying in shape in the winter. On the way back he bonked out big time; that is, he got pretty seriously nailed by the guy with the hammer.
