Buying bikes

 

My friend is pushing me to open my wallet a little more to get something a little lighter.  I don't know - is shaving 5-6 pounds off the bike worth it when I'll be able to shave far more than that from my waist (starting in January!)?  I went through the same dillema when I went "ultralight" with my backpacking gear a few years ago.  In that case every pound is carried by me every step so weight won out.  Not so sure with a bike.

I've aged and gotten lazy at the same time. These days the campground grocery getter is a cheap "Chinese knock off" of the vintage Vespa scooter. It's fun but something not to wander to far off upon as you may be pushing it back to camp as well.

 

Yes, it brings back memories for a number of people.  It's a conversation starter.

 

We both wish we'd bought mountain bikes with smaller wheels and fatter tires so we could take advantage of more trail types. We're willing to go a bit slower on paved trails.

 

My buddy is a heavy duty mountain biker, and he's found that he only uses very few of the available gears on his Gary Fisher bike, so he's just bought a single speed mountain bike. Much lighter, simpler, and cheaper than his multi-speed.

 

Not sure if I'd go with a single speed, but it works for him. Something to think about, anyway.