Sheffield_Tiger
Guru
Took one of my 2nd-hand bikes to work and back for a test ride before it goes on fleabay, I like to make a round trip on one where possible before offering it for sale - If I wouldn't be happy riding it I'm not happy selling it.
Nothing wrong with the bike aside from a half-turn on the rear mech barrel, and reasonable (well, only one step up from BSO but still good enough to be smooth and pleasant enough to ride for a leisure ride, which is what it was meant to be when new.
Only trouble is, it's a ladies bike and only a 14" frame. Even with a longer seatpost just for the trip it was considerably too small.
But what struck me was that my position was that of many cyclists who appear for a few weeks when the sun comes out. Knee still well bent at the bottom of the stroke, back straight up and shoulders back.
I've never really ridden an ill-fitting bike (well, not since my 23" mountain bike at age 14, bought on the usual parental logic of buying a behemoth of a bike assuming the offspring of two marginally below average height parents is going to grow to 7 feet tall - it didn't last more than a couple of months as it was too big to handle off-road and was totalled as a result)
I was shocked at how knackered I was after just 4 miles with a marginal headwind! Bike departments in non-specialist stores have got a lot to answer for, matching people with ill-fitting bikes "you need to be able to put both feet on the floor" etc...
Nothing wrong with the bike aside from a half-turn on the rear mech barrel, and reasonable (well, only one step up from BSO but still good enough to be smooth and pleasant enough to ride for a leisure ride, which is what it was meant to be when new.
Only trouble is, it's a ladies bike and only a 14" frame. Even with a longer seatpost just for the trip it was considerably too small.
But what struck me was that my position was that of many cyclists who appear for a few weeks when the sun comes out. Knee still well bent at the bottom of the stroke, back straight up and shoulders back.
I've never really ridden an ill-fitting bike (well, not since my 23" mountain bike at age 14, bought on the usual parental logic of buying a behemoth of a bike assuming the offspring of two marginally below average height parents is going to grow to 7 feet tall - it didn't last more than a couple of months as it was too big to handle off-road and was totalled as a result)
I was shocked at how knackered I was after just 4 miles with a marginal headwind! Bike departments in non-specialist stores have got a lot to answer for, matching people with ill-fitting bikes "you need to be able to put both feet on the floor" etc...
