Back in the late 90s when I was stationed in Germany I bought a Schwinn Mesa and rode it to and from work when ever weather permitted. Daily I would hop on my Trusty Schwinn and venture out onto the 6 mile path to work as long as weather permitted. But once I moved back stateside my bike just collected dust as I was deployed and I never really got back into it as my family grew and my time diminished.
Now lets fast forward to 2008, I am back in Germany and have ridden a few times but not nearly as much as I did 8 years ago. Two days ago a group of guys from my unit invited me to go on a bike ride with them for Physical Training (PT). So I packed up my trusty late 90s era Schwinn Mesa and drove to work. Upon my arrival I jumped out and remounted the wheels and pushed it over to meet up with the others and as I did I felt like the kid who showed up to a BMX race with a Huffy These guys all owned fully suspended Treks and Giants. They all kidded me for bringing my dinosaur and asked me why I was still choosing to ride a hard tail. I immediately told them I didnt like the lost power that the rear shock allowed when it compresses as I pedal. Then this guy wheels over his Giant Anthem and shows me how the shocks now adjust and lock at the flick of a switch and I immediately fell in love. That could make my rides so much more comfortable being able to lock the shock for climbs and then release it for riding on gravel or bumpy paths I refuse to ride their $2,000 bikes for fear of falling in lust and wanting such an expensive bike as I can not afford to put that much money in a bike right now. But I do want either to upgrade/update my trust Schwinn Mesa with disc brakes, adjustable/lockable front forks, as well as move from 21 gears to 27 gears, or buy a new bike. The issue is I do not have a great deal of money to buy a new bike, in fact I would like to limit my purchase to $500-700.
Since I was only reintroduced two days ago does anyone have any urls (links) to sites that do bike comparisons in my price range? Reviews are good too, but comparisons will tell me more I think.
I am also open to all conversations and input. Thanks.
Now lets fast forward to 2008, I am back in Germany and have ridden a few times but not nearly as much as I did 8 years ago. Two days ago a group of guys from my unit invited me to go on a bike ride with them for Physical Training (PT). So I packed up my trusty late 90s era Schwinn Mesa and drove to work. Upon my arrival I jumped out and remounted the wheels and pushed it over to meet up with the others and as I did I felt like the kid who showed up to a BMX race with a Huffy These guys all owned fully suspended Treks and Giants. They all kidded me for bringing my dinosaur and asked me why I was still choosing to ride a hard tail. I immediately told them I didnt like the lost power that the rear shock allowed when it compresses as I pedal. Then this guy wheels over his Giant Anthem and shows me how the shocks now adjust and lock at the flick of a switch and I immediately fell in love. That could make my rides so much more comfortable being able to lock the shock for climbs and then release it for riding on gravel or bumpy paths I refuse to ride their $2,000 bikes for fear of falling in lust and wanting such an expensive bike as I can not afford to put that much money in a bike right now. But I do want either to upgrade/update my trust Schwinn Mesa with disc brakes, adjustable/lockable front forks, as well as move from 21 gears to 27 gears, or buy a new bike. The issue is I do not have a great deal of money to buy a new bike, in fact I would like to limit my purchase to $500-700.
Since I was only reintroduced two days ago does anyone have any urls (links) to sites that do bike comparisons in my price range? Reviews are good too, but comparisons will tell me more I think.
I am also open to all conversations and input. Thanks.
