I am a New York City bicycle rider and I own 3 bikes. I own my old, trusty Trek 1000 that still gets comments `cause its so nice (not). I mean, it's a good quality bike and it's been well maintained so it runs great but it is past its prime. I've had that thing since the 80's and it is all I knew of bikes (except for my old BMX and assorted kid tricycles) until I borrowed a friend's mountain bike here and there.
Fast forward 20 years later and all I've ridden day in and day out is my road bike. It is very fast and very nimble which makes it a great racing bike. Unfortunately I never race (unless some other dude tries to pass me on one of my leisurely rides). Then it is a race I usually lose.
Still, I loved my bike and I loved riding it, except when it rained because my back got all wet and the brakes didn't work so well on a wet rim. Oh and I hated to ride it in rough pavement for fear of damaging a rim or popping a tire. Oh and I didn't like it off road for obvious reasons. I also felt unsafe bent don't near my brakes, but I felt unsafe sitting upright unable to quickly hit my brakes. And the road bike handlebars were not good for carrying groceries so going to the supermarket meant bringing a backpack. Last but surely not least, even though I loved and still love my Trek road bike, I never liked the fact I was going to get chain grease on my leg.
My girlfriend gave me a mountain bike about 5 years ago. That bike was very similar to my road bike (since I don't race) except it was slower and could go off road (duh). The handlebars were better for groceries but I still really needed a book bag. Another positive was that it got flats much less then my Trek.
I spent my days mostly on my Trek probably out of habit or because Dr. K would yell at me for riding my mountain bike. Only if I was bike riding with The Diva would I take my mountain bike. Even with all the negatives I loved and still love that Trek. Then something changed my life for ever...
Fast forward 20 years later and all I've ridden day in and day out is my road bike. It is very fast and very nimble which makes it a great racing bike. Unfortunately I never race (unless some other dude tries to pass me on one of my leisurely rides). Then it is a race I usually lose.
Still, I loved my bike and I loved riding it, except when it rained because my back got all wet and the brakes didn't work so well on a wet rim. Oh and I hated to ride it in rough pavement for fear of damaging a rim or popping a tire. Oh and I didn't like it off road for obvious reasons. I also felt unsafe bent don't near my brakes, but I felt unsafe sitting upright unable to quickly hit my brakes. And the road bike handlebars were not good for carrying groceries so going to the supermarket meant bringing a backpack. Last but surely not least, even though I loved and still love my Trek road bike, I never liked the fact I was going to get chain grease on my leg.
My girlfriend gave me a mountain bike about 5 years ago. That bike was very similar to my road bike (since I don't race) except it was slower and could go off road (duh). The handlebars were better for groceries but I still really needed a book bag. Another positive was that it got flats much less then my Trek.
I spent my days mostly on my Trek probably out of habit or because Dr. K would yell at me for riding my mountain bike. Only if I was bike riding with The Diva would I take my mountain bike. Even with all the negatives I loved and still love that Trek. Then something changed my life for ever...
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