I don't know at this point if I shall become a bicyclist of long duration. Maybe I am just a temporary bicyclist. I bought a mountain bike from an internet retailer. It arrived with problems. The retailer refunded my purchase and kindly told me to keep the bike. The problems are not serious: a slightly bent rear-axle and a poorly designed frong derailer. I have ridden the bike a few miles and find I do not like riding it. A mountain bike, it requires me to adopt a forward leaning posture. I bought it because it was iinexpensive compared with other types of bicycles.
I have enough mechanical skills so that I can make some modifications that could make the bike more pleasant for me to ride. For example, a "swallow" handlebar would allow me to sit in a more upright posture. To substitute a swallow- for the flat-handlebar, I shall have to replace the brake cables. They need to fit the swallow handlebar. I think I have enough skill to make this replacement.
The slightly bent rear axle does not have to be replaced immediately. If all else is satisfactory with my swallow modification, I could eventually replace the bent rear axle.
I live in Florida, which is a nearly flat terrain. I really do not need to shift gears to ride in my State in most locales. I am thinking that I shall remove the derailers entirely or use only the rear derailer. I may even remove that and the rear gear cassette, leaving only the smallest or next-to-smallest size gear for the chain drive. I don't know if I shall be able to do that, or if I should have to replace the entire rear wheel. I'll discover the answer when I get around to doing the axle replacement.
I would be more enthusiastic about biking if traffic in my city were not so terrible. It is very dense. I would only bicycle on a bike trail, as things are. Electric bkes may have taken over that possiblity. As things are, I would bike on my condo's perimeter for exercise in good biking weather - not to hot, not too cold, not too windy. Any comments?
I have enough mechanical skills so that I can make some modifications that could make the bike more pleasant for me to ride. For example, a "swallow" handlebar would allow me to sit in a more upright posture. To substitute a swallow- for the flat-handlebar, I shall have to replace the brake cables. They need to fit the swallow handlebar. I think I have enough skill to make this replacement.
The slightly bent rear axle does not have to be replaced immediately. If all else is satisfactory with my swallow modification, I could eventually replace the bent rear axle.
I live in Florida, which is a nearly flat terrain. I really do not need to shift gears to ride in my State in most locales. I am thinking that I shall remove the derailers entirely or use only the rear derailer. I may even remove that and the rear gear cassette, leaving only the smallest or next-to-smallest size gear for the chain drive. I don't know if I shall be able to do that, or if I should have to replace the entire rear wheel. I'll discover the answer when I get around to doing the axle replacement.
I would be more enthusiastic about biking if traffic in my city were not so terrible. It is very dense. I would only bicycle on a bike trail, as things are. Electric bkes may have taken over that possiblity. As things are, I would bike on my condo's perimeter for exercise in good biking weather - not to hot, not too cold, not too windy. Any comments?