I wouldn't do anything to a Wal Mart bike. It will be all you can do to keep it functioning properly. I say this as having ridden a 90 dollar K Mart bike for 3 years. Never again, unless it is a last resort....

I was referring to entry level bike shop bikes. My Giant Sedona is what I reference. Not a bad bike at all, middle of their lineup of crossover bikes. And mine is the middle level of Sedona.

But they are not designed for riders like me, in terms of weight. Nor are they designed to haul 60 pounds of stuff in a trailer. Eventually I will get a heavier duty bike for this. But maybe not! The frame is certainly strong enough. It is the rims and tires I am concerned with.

A guy or gal can get themselves a nice bike in this class for under 250. And if around town is all someone wants, and at a leisurely pace (just cruising) why not grab a bike like the simple or the Suede SS. These are single speed bikes with a coaster brake, and forged front forks. Waaaay comfortable and simple and built very well. I am getting one after I pay off the Trance I have on layaway!

And for the record, it is not just Giant that has bikes like this, Trek, Schwinn and a lot of others do. Just, well for me anyway, avoid the big box bikes. That Schwinn you buy at wally world will not be the same bike as one at the local bike shop, for nearly the same money. Corners will be cut and quality will be compromised on a big box bike.

Ask any local shop owner, they make a TON of money servicing 120 dollar walmart bikes! You should see what comes into a shop for repairs and how little it really takes to need repairs.

For me it is save a little longer and buy a better bike. I'd never tell anyone to use something or buy something that I would never do or use. It's only fair right? And if you have ever ridden a 90 dollar bike then ridden a 300 dollar bike, the difference is night and day!

Oh I agree I have always had the use of good bikes. My first one was a peugeot that was handed down to me from my uncle. I rode the crank set out of that to the point it could not be repaired anymore. Than I moved to a Raleigh that I really loved. I upgraded components on that a few times. But again I rode that into the ground over the course of the years.

Currently I have two bikes that are both in good working condition. The first is a Cannondale R600 rode bike. I really love this bike but at my current weight I wont try riding it. But once I get close to 340ish I will be all over it. My second is a Schwinn Moab Montain Bike. Never been a real big fan of Mountain Bikes but it does give a big guy more stability.

I been in a cycle all my life. I have gone from 340 down to 180 all due to bike riding. I even entered one race and did so well I was invited to tryout for a few pro teams the following year. I ended up in the army that winter and never did get to try out. Years later I put back on the weight and went to 400lbs. Thru bike riding I took that down to 280ish, but ended up quitting the next year and gained it all back. Now I am planning on doing it all again. But I tell you Prof it gets harder over the years. And the extra weight has pretty much made me not a nice person.

Romulas and MammaGiff;
You to have really inspired me! Doing a century(Romulas) and riding 15-20 miles/day(Mamma). I decided I haven't been pushing myself hard enough, so I signed on for a charity ride on April 18th. The options are 8 or 30 miles or a metric century. I do 8 miles almost daily commuting, so I'm shooting for the 30 miles. Yesterday I did 20 (a new high for me) and I am feeling it today! I thought I'd feel it in my legs/knees most, but they are ok, weirdly I feel it in my abs and shoulders most.

Any tips for training? I've heard about increasing your weekly milage by 10% a week, and then taking it easy the week before the big ride to build up glycogen stores for it. But well, since I'm LC'ing that doesn't really seem to be applicable other than to build up stores of other nutrients.

Hopefully I will have a better bike by that time too, so it should be easier riding.

Any hints/training ideas would be appreciated.

When I was riding I would vary the type of riding I would do. One day I might go out and just go for max miles. Then the next day I may go out lower miles but faster pace. I use to live back on the east coast and I had a 20 miles loop I could run. For fun I would time myself, I had it under an hour by the time I was the summer was over.
Also on up hills I would always stand up and attack the hills. Downhill I would sit and relax; I know most do it the other way. But something about riding and me I've always been strong at it. One problem I have is that when I can get into the groove of riding, I can't find anyone who will want to stay with me. I just want to ride too long or too fast. Probably just the people I hang out with.
That is a great idea, signing up for the race. This will give you something to train for and motivate you thru your training.

Many years ago I read that one should never pedal up hills while standing up, because it is dangerously wearing on the knees. If I can't make it up a hill while sitting on bicycle seat, I get off and walk the bike for half a block or so, and then resume pedalling.

For people who have weak knees and are concerned about ruining their knees through bicycling, here's an interesting page:

http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cach...e=UTF-8&strip=1

I encourage you to do a search at google - there are millions of webpages about bicycling; also, next time you're at Barnes & Noble, check out the biking magazines.

I got a not so friendly reminder that cyclists are invisible to drivers yesterday. A woman in a mini van talking on her cell phone ran me off the road and I got to check out the pavement up close and personal. I have various scrapes/bruises/bumps and a pretty badly sprained wrist but no major damage to me or the bike. My left wrist is pretty useless for gripping and my knee is too swollen to ride. My whole body aches and I'm pretty down mentally cause I can't ride and its my primary form of exercise.

Just wanted to remind everyone that we are invisible.

I'm so sorry to hear this....I'm glad you weren't more seriously injured....hope you heal quickly...

Wouldn't you just like to shove that cell phone up .....well, you know. That is also a reminder to all our non cycling low carb buddies. Talking on your cell phone can kill someone. Inattentive drivers have seriously injured others and will continue to do so. Cyclists need to pay attention when they ride and so do drivers. The sad fact is in a cyclist vs a car confrontation, the cyclist almost always loses....

And most importantly, I am glad you're not seriously hurt. Did you call the police and report this incident? If not, do so and be as descriptive as possible with the driver and the vehicle. And see a Doctor if you have not done so already!

Hope you feel better soon, but unfortunetly this is a side effect of bike riding. I always end the season with bumps and bruises all over by the end of the summer.

Not sure if you heard or not but Lance Armstrong suffered a bad crash recently. And broke his collar bone in a few places. They operated on him this week and he has already resumed training for this years Tour DeFrance. If he can do it with that injury, well it might motivate you and all of us a little.

Did you visit your doctor?

Sounds like that wrist needs some attention, or at the very least one of those heavy duty wrist wraps available at many drug stores.

Hope you feel better soon.

With non-critical sprains, I use a soak method.... Get two large bowls or tubs of water, depending on what size you need. One bowl is filled with cold water, and is kept very gold by adding an occasional ice cube to it.

The second bowl should have very hot water, but NOT hold enough to scald or burn your skin.

You submerge your wrist in the hot water tub for a few minutes, and then in the ice cold tub for the same amount of time ----- and repeat this many times, changing the warm water back into HOT, if necessary.

But if your wrist is currently in severe pain, I advise you to have it checked out by a doctor.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I'm feeling better today, wrist seems to be the only thing still bothering me, so at least i can do some walking today for exercise. OMG yesterday I was reduced to doing crunches and working w/ free weights w/ my right hand. I'm hoping to be back riding on friday for my commute, and get in a good ride on saturday.

Anybody else got their bikes out yet? or am i the only one w/ decent weather?

I've only had about 8 rides this season so far...weather here has taken a turn for the worse again so who knows when I'll be able to ride outdoors?! It will probably be another month before I can start riding regularly.

Most definitely! Thanks so much for the great advice. I was out on the Walmart website reading the reviews last week and this sounds like just the right bike for me as a beginner and for just riding around. In fact I went and checked it out the other week and I'm definitely going to purchase it once I get a few $$....probably this weekend! In fact myself, my hubby, and daughter (her old one was stolen a year ago) are all getting bikes! They will each be about $100 each which is $$ that could definitely be used elsewhere. But I figure the investment in our health IS WORTH IT! Thanks again everyone. I'll have to let you know how my first ride in 17+ years turns out!

Thanks Lil Annie! GREAT ADVICE!!