New To This! (Would this Bike Work?)

[Sidewinder Jerry]

Easy, easy. I'm not looking for a fight or to start a "Who's better than who" at this sport.

Put simply if you're a light weight, slow moving (20 mph or less) and a flat lander, you may be able to use department store pads. However if all the above conditions don't exist then you need something that's going to stop you.

I personally don't want to see anybody hurt. I also understand expense and making the best use out of what you have.

To Armandospiffy this frame calculator will let you know what the ideal frame geometry for your particular body build if you had a custom built frame. If the frame geometry isn't close to your ideal frame geometry then you have to modify your riding position to where the frame will be more comfortable for you.

My bike was only designed for someone up to 5'10" and I'm 6'2". So I put the stem raiser on and changed my riding posture to an upright position.

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[Fishfiles]

Since you'll talking brake pads , I live right on side of St Tammany Trace which is a bike trail , there is a flashing light at the intersection of my thru street and the Trace , vehicles and bikes are suppose to stop , Saturday , there was a guy and his wife coming up to the intersection on bikes , I stopped and he hit his brakes and went over the handle bars and flipped the bike , hit on his head and then back , I jumped out the truck to see if I cold be of any help , he was shaken but ok , he had a helmet and gloves on , he say this was the first ride after having his bike turned up with new brakes and he hit just the front and wasn't use to them , I think I'd loosen that front brake up a bit

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

Since you'll talking brake pads , I live right on side of St Tammany Trace which is a bike trail , there is a flashing light at the intersection of my thru street and the Trace , vehicles and bikes are suppose to stop , Saturday , there was a guy and his wife coming up to the intersection on bikes , I stopped and he hit his brakes and went over the handle bars and flipped the bike , hit on his head and then back , I jumped out the truck to see if I cold be of any help , he was shaken but ok , he had a helmet and gloves on , he say this was the first ride after having his bike turned up with new brakes and he hit just the front and wasn't use to them , I think I'd loosen that front brake up a bit

I often tell people a locking wheel is never a good thing at high speeds. The wheel should still be able to rotate but each rotation should be slower than the previous rotation. There's a road in Gatlinburg that's about a mile long. The high point is dead in the mid part of the mile. So either way you're going down a 30% grade hill for a 1/2 mile. On both ends of the road are Stop signs; 2 way only. To keep from gaining an extremely high speed (60+ mph) a cyclist has to bump brake going down a hill that steep with a stop sign at the bottom.