Page 11 - Indulge June 2017

A question of balance
Finding happiness on two wheels
By Patrick O’Donnell
Do you remember the first time you rode a bike
without training wheels? That feeling of elation as
you controlled your balance and forward motion all at the
same time?
I don’t. Probably because it was so long ago the bike
had stone wheels and a wooden frame.
What I do remember is the first time I got back on a
bike after many years off. I was about 30, recovering from
back surgery, and needed to rebuild my lower-body strength.
“You need exercise that has a low impact on your
back,” the doctor said. Swimming was out — I lived far
from any pools. So he said, “Biking.”
I hobbled off to a sporting goods store and, budget-
strapped, bought the cheapest mountain bike I could
find. It was a steel-framed, orange beauty: 21 speeds
and a front suspension — oh, the luxury! Then I
remembered something “Peanuts” creator Charles M.
Schultz said: “Life is like a 10-speed bicycle. Most of us
have gears we never use.”
So what was I going to do with 21?
As it turned out, plenty. Biking on gentle trails not only
augmented my physical therapy, it reintroduced me to a
world of two-wheeled fun. I biked every spare minute and
soon graduated to steeper, tougher trails.
I wore that low-end cycle out. When I retired it, the
rims were bent, the frame was cracked and it needed a
new derailleur.
Clearly, if you have the cash, it pays to invest in
something robust. I learned, when buying a replacement,
that the orange beast had been too small for me, not to
mention poorly made. Had I been able to spend more
initially — and if I’d gone to a true bike shop — I might
still be riding it.
Tomias Hinchcliff, president of Genesis Bicycles in
Easton, validated that when I asked about the biggest
mistakes bike-buyers make: “Choosing short-term savings
over long-term value: A bike needs to be carefully chosen
man cave
for proper size and be assembled and fitted to the rider
by experts,” he said. “There will also need to be follow-up
‘break-in’ adjustments.”
“We sell thousands of bikes and no one ever comes back
and says they wish they had bought a less-expensive model,”
he continued. “We do see a lot of customers quickly fall in love
with riding who wish they had bought a better bike.”
Saucon Valley Bikes owner Steve LaBrake echoed
Hinchcliff. “The biggest mistake is people going to a big box
store thinking that they can get a great bike … the average
department store builds a bike in 10 minutes. Our build
takes an hour,” LaBrake said. One way to spot a poorly
assembled ride, he said, is to lift it and spin the front wheel.
“Is it wobbling? Does it rub the brake pads?”
Both pros shared some recommendations. At Genesis,
Hinchcliff said Trek’s Dual Sport line is popular because of the
Valley’s many canal paths and rail trails. Customers want bikes
that “ride comfortably and handle well on these paths as well
as on the road. These bikes combine the low hill-climbing gears,
suspension fork, and disc brakes of a modern mountain bike
with a more upright riding position and somewhat narrower,
easier-rolling tires.”
At Saucon, LaBrake suggested the Roam (men’s) and
Rove (women’s) series from Giant Bicycles. “The Roam is a
very capable bike that is great for town riding, rail trails and
canal paths. The bike has a full-length cable housing to help
keep your cables from corrosion. The disc brakes make an
incredible difference for all-weather braking.”
SDAVAETTHEE!
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JUNE 2017 • indulge | 11