Saturday, February 28, 2009

Some Really Great Bikes For Cycling In The Great Outdoors

There are some really classy and classic looking bicycles available on the market today for the cycling enthusiast, who enjoy spending their time in the great outdoors riding on streets or on trails. Riding bicycles has become extremely popular with fitness addicts of all ages and abilities.





One of these great bicycles is the Raleigh Coasting, which is a reinvention of the old fashioned steel English three speed. This has been proven to be one of the fastest bicycles on the market due to its seven hundred centimeter road-bike wheels, which are several inches taller than the twenty-six inch mountain bike size wheels that come on other bicycles. This bicycle has the Shimano Coasting three speed electronic drive train that has also been used on Giant and Trek bikes. It enables this bicycle to shift automatically into a higher gear when a monitor on the front wheel detects speeds of seven and eleven miles per hour.





This bicycle also includes coaster rear brakes that enables the biker to back pedal in able to stop. It also comes with stylish hub caps on the wheels that give it a classy and retro styling. The problems with this bicycle is that it has no front wheel brakes and the bars are too low for long, out of the saddle climbing. For all the Coasting bikes, the coaster brake and automatic shifting, which can some times shift too late or too early, can be irritating for anyone already comfortable with hand brakes and shifting gears. It tends to shift abruptly when the individual is working hard to get up an intense hill.





Another great bicycle on the market is the Ellsworth Ride, which is exotic and a high performance eye candy that has a cutting edge design and drive train. This bicycle has style and speed with head turning looks that features massive two and three-quarter inch wide tires, a dual crown carbon fiber handlebar, and sleek aluminum frame with a clever use of the burly rear fender as a structural support. The NuVinci internal hub houses the world's first infinitely geared drive train with the twisting of the dial ring on the right handlebar grip, which enables the individual the capability of changing the gears.





Most of the gear range of the normal double derailer twenty-seven bike blends a comfy and laid back seating position with a potentially rapid cruising speed. The problem with this bicycle is that the handlebars are low slung, which makes them too low for efficient out of the saddle climbing and that it has no front brake or mounts for water bottles.





The Delta Cycle C Drive is a conventional three speed recreational bicycle that has a clean and hassle free drive train that makes it smooth to operate. This is a smooth and quiet bicycle that has low maintenance with its aluminum frame that features a Kevlar reinforced belt drive instead of an oil dripping chain. The Sturmey Archer three speed internal hub is controlled by a handlebar twist shifter and it includes a rear rack, front and rear fenders, water bottle mount, and a convenient hand pump. The seating position is straight back with an adjustable stem.





The only problem with this bicycle is that the belt frequently slips under high torque such as if the individual is cranking hard while standing up out of the saddle when the bicycle is pushed too hard. The cable cover at the rear hub looks sleek, but it does get knocked off every ten minutes or so by the individual's heel.


Victor Epand is an expert consultant for sweatpants, sweatshirts, outdoor gear, sports clothing, and model motorcycles. Click here when you want to find sweatpants, sweatshirts, outdoor bicycles, and model motorcycles.

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Six Fictions About Commuting By Cycle

1. It is too treacherous. Yes, theres palpable risk associated with riding. Cyclists do smash and get knocked by vehicles. But how risky is riding in comparison with other modes of transportation and with our judgement of the hazard? A surprisingly less than you might presume.





Think on the studies of a company that performs safety and failure testing, once called the Failure Group and now called Exponent. The company considered a selection of past-times and calculated that the number of fatalities per million hours of exposure was 0.26 for riding, 0.47 for driving, 1.53 for living (all causes of death), and 8.80 for motor biking. To put it another way, they found that the hazards of riding were about 50% that associated with driving and a sixth of that connected with simply with being alive.





Disappointingly, the precise methods Exponent used are secret, and the whole paper isn't available to the public, but rest assured that this isn???t a fly-by-night riders' advocacy organization that???s cooking the numbers. As the company details on its website, it has been trusted to consider high-profile misfortunes such as the sabotage of the federal building in Oklahoma City.





So, for the effect of argument, let us claim that the Failure Associates work is an underestimation and debate another detailed study that measures the dangers using a slightly different metric??"the number of deaths per billions of kilometres moved instead of per hour of exposure. The Rutgers University researchers who completed this study concluded that, per kilometre travelled, bicycling deaths are eleven times as high as automobile occupant fatalities. Seems quite grim for riding until you look at what the same study discovered about walking. Walking deaths per kilometre travelled were 36 times as high as driving kills, suggesting that walking is more than three times as risky as pedalling.





However, there is still more that bikers can do to take accountability for our protection. A disturbing 24 percent of fatal bicycle accidents involve an drunken cyclist. Work shows that cyclists get into many smaller accidents that could be prevented. Various articles have shown that the failure to use lights at night or a helmet significantly increases a riders risk. Finally, newer riders should be really careful about cars opening doors and taking turns, and about riding on the pavements.





The bottom line: Its not that riding doesn't have danger, but with some perspective is in required, more so when you start to count the many health advantages that cycling enables.





2. Distance is too great. The ride might take too long or take too much effort if you live further than, say, 13 miles from work. But consider ways to increase your potential range. Most commuters, for example, use folding bicycles so they can go partway on a morning train.





3. I'll need an expensive cycle. Wrong. You should be able to get a new or used bike ideal for basic commuting for below $500. Find a good, local cycle shop with a knowledgeable staff, discuss the route and length of ride youre considering, and they'll help you choose the proper frame and number of gears youll want.





If youre just beginning, you should look for a functional, commuter bike that has fenders to protect your pants, a stand, and a comfy saddle. And, if youre really looking for a easy ride, take a gander at the new class of coasting bicycles that are designed to remind people with carefree memories of riding as a child. They feature pedal brakes called coaster brakes instead of hand brakes and an automatic shifter, and although they are not designed for quickness, theyre a great way to get reacquainted with the saddle, says Doyne.





4. Its impossible to tote the gear I require. If this is what you think, you are carrying way more than the normal cyclist to work or you don???t own the proper bag or features on your bike. A good basket or touring panniers will mean you can easily carry a laptop, change of clothes, lunch, paperwork, a slew of binders, and any other bits and bobs you usually carry.





5. There isn't anywhere to scrub up. Jeff Peel of the League of American Bicyclists says that most cyclists do worry over this, but that there are numerous other solutions beyond simply showing up at the office stinky and sticky. First, look to ensure that your building doesnt have a full bathrooms somewhere. If it doesn???t, look for nearby gyms or fitness clubs. Many offer shower-only memberships for cycling or running commuters.





6. Biking will make me impotent. This is a charge that has circulated since the mid 1990s, and theres a kernel of fact to it. There is proof that professional bike riders may experience temporary and maybe long-lasting erectile dysfunction if they log many hours on a racing saddle that doesnt fit well. But there are now plenty of saddles with specially designed cutaway grooves that remove the pressure off the key arteries and nerves. As long as your saddle fits properly and you dont ride as much as a professional rider training for the Tour de France, cycling is more apt to lower the chances of erectile dysfunction than raise them, since riding will assist keep cardiovascular disease a major creator of erectile dysfunction.


The author rides to work with his 3 year old infant on a Safe-T-Seat, the baby bike seat and enjoys every minute of it!

bike saddle: bike saddle

bike saddle: bicycle saddles

Article Source: www.articlesnatch.com