As you may recall, my commuter/mountain bike was stolen in June. Since then I've been searching for a replacement for the bike. Now that wasn't an easy task since I loved that bike so much. I finally decided to get a nice mountain bike and a beater commuter bike. A typical commuter bike is set up with 700c x 38 tires (skinny but not as skinny as a road bike) which isn't ideal for commuting in the winter so I set out to find an older mountain bike that wouldn't be such a target to thieves. That was a tougher challenge than I thought. I had a laundry list of requirements for the bike and finding on bike that fit all the requirements proved to be difficult. In the meantime, I rode my road bike to work, burdening it with a rear rack and pannier bags. This was usually fine but it looked stupid when I rode the Big Sky State games and Downtown Crit races. I also hated changing shoes for a one mile commute but didn't want to put regular pedals (or even two sided pedals) on my road bike.
Here was my wish list.
- Not attractive to thieves (old and cheap)
- Functioning
- 26" wheels (so I can use my snow tires)
- Rack mounts
- Large frame (about 19")
- 21 speed (so I can use my spare rims)
- No clipless pedals. I'm sick of changing shoes.
- The right price.
So after months of searching pawn shops and craigslist, I finally noticed THE BIKE that I'd been looking for on the used bike rack at The Bike Shop on Grand. They were even willing to work with me on price. I ended up with a Raleigh Talon, probably early 90's. It's still a nice looking bike which makes me a little nervous but I also have a U-bolt and a heavy cable lock which may deter most thieves. So far I'm happy with the bike, but being an older style, it sure is a heavy bike. I can really feel the difference.
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