Tricycle or Bicycle with trailer?

You probably could. I can tell if the white stripe on the side of the road needs repainting. You might consider smooth tires instead of knobby dirt tires. If you're spending all your cycling time on pavement, you'll find slicks to be more efficient. I'm not sure fat tires will completely eliminate the need for a suspension, though a 'hardtail' with front shocks only is a nice compromise. Whatever you get, I hope you enjoy all the benefits of cycling, including clean air, and increased mental and physical fitness.

 

I got an earful on electric bikes today from my former next-door-neighbor, the owner of Bikes at Vienna.

He won't sell them. He sells electric assist bikes designed for people with mobility problems (e.g., handicapped). Those are very high-end pieces of equipment. But won't sell run-of-the-mill electric bikes.

Story is that he bought a bunch seven years ago, after going through the trouble to clarify with local law enforcement that electric bikes were OK to ride on the W&OD bike trail (the main bike trail here in No VA). Sold the lot of them. Then they started having problems, and guess what, he could not get parts. He refuses to sell what he can't fix, so he won't sell electric bikes. His take on it is that the tech and the market are in such flux that he doesn't think, even now, he could sell a bike and in good conscience guarantee that he'll be able to repair it for any reasonable period. He has a steady stream of electric bike owners (and apparently a cluster of them after every Christmas) who have broken electric bikes, they can't get the parts, and they come to him, at which point he tell them that he can't get the parts either.

I don't mean this as a slur on the entire industry, just as a caution. If you go for an electric-assist bike it may be worthwhile to at least guess whether the manufacturer is going to be in business and have parts for it three years from now.

 

This is probably the best commuting/touring bike ever made:
Helens Cycles - It's Bicycle Heaven
My girlfriends father has started his third 2500 mile trip on his. (That's 5000 miles round trip, SoCal to NE Ohio; SoCal to Whitehorse Canadia; SoCal to Anchorage Alaska!)
You can add risers in the stem post to make the handle bars feel more upright and a seat post with a shock takes care of the rest. He packs about 70lbs onto the bike and has no problem.
The tires are slim, but not like a 10speed, they are about 1 1/4" wide and that provides plenty of cushion. (when combined with a seat post shock)

A trailer will definitely lessen the load and stress on the bike, but makes the bike a little (a lot) longer and may not be suitable for city commuting. I would recommend two sets of grocery pannier baskets, one front one rear.

 

That's a good touring bike, Mr Devil, Sir, but 70 pounds is way too much to go travelling with. A decent single-occupancy tent is around a kilogram, and a warmish weather down sleeping bag is about half that. What the heck is he carrying?

 

HiYo;
Yeah its a lot, but that includes food and water for almost a week, clothes, spare parts (tires, tubes, spokes) and miscellaneous utensils, tools and cooking stuff.

He is going from Huntington Beach to Anchorage Alaska and there are times where he will be in the middle of nowhere, and then some.

The 70 lbs drops to about 40 after all food and water are removed.

The sad part is with all his gear and his weight it is only about 220 lbs of load on the bike. I'm 270 on my Trek Madone 5.5 with out my pack for the gym or changing at work.

 

You can get somewhat wider tires for your current bike, but you need to watch out for clearance between the tires and brakes so they don't rub. Also, you can easily fit a seatpost with a shock and they aren't very expensive ($30 - 50).

Tire width is a trade off of efficiency vs. comfort/resistance to flats, so you may want to try out some different widths (1 in vs. 1.5 vs. 2.0). My GF's comfort bike and my comfort bike both came with 2.0 in wide tires, but I changed them to 1.5 wide to lose a little rotating weight and make the bike more responsive.

I ditched the seat post shock on my bike cause it was annoying (the distance between pedals and seat changes constantly and I didn't like it) and went back to a solid seatpost. The front shock absorbs enough to give it a smooth ride IMO.

 

Godiva,

I have a pannier on the back of my bike and would recommend ensuring that the panniers don't interfere with the bike wheels (or anything else) before purchasing. Keeping in mind all the bumping and knocking around they'll encounter when doing so.

I purchased a pannier and after a couple rides the corners of them would shift and knock into my spokes. Then one day the bungee came loose and got stuck up in my chain. I cut the bungees off and used heavy gauge wire to secure the pannier in such a manner that it won't shift into my wheels and it's done the trick. Depending on the size of your bike frame, your selection may cause you the same problem.

 

I don't recall if this has been mentioned before, but not all bikes will readily accept panniers. 'Touring' bikes are built with a longer wheelbase, partly for comfort, and partly so you can put bags on the rear without kicking them as you pedal. A 'mountain' or 'city' bike may or may not have enough clearance, or the proper fittings to attach racks.

 

OK guys... for my sanity at least - can we stop calling bikes "10 speeds?" I think I know what you are talking about - the first road bikes in the early 60's? Schwinn Varsity like? Five rear cogs and two chain rings to make ten speeds? There is no "10 speed" classification of bike! Today you can get bikes that LOOK like the 10-speeds of years past but have tons of comfort features and way more gears. Or you can get something that looks NOTHING like a road bike, and yet has ten speeds. Go figure.

My guess is that you'd call my current road bike a "10 speed" though, of course, it has 30 gear combinations. The rear cluster has 10 all on it's own. I believe that "road bike" is the term you're after. 10 speed just doesn't mean much in the modern world of bikes.

Now I sound all prissy, don't I?

 

Any bike that can accept a rack can accept some sort of panniers. And I certainly see no reason why or how panniers would eliminate the use of a trailer. Should be no worries there. The hardest part is going to be finding a good bike shop staffed with folks who know what they're talking about... and that has stock of stuff that you want.

 

Theres a bike shop up in my area. Black Mountain Bicycles. Thats who does all the service on my Schwinn and Trek. I dont know if they carry comfort bikes, but i can sure ask tomorrow when i am there. They are on the Northwest corner of Black Mountain Road and Mira Mesa Blvd. by the Autozone.

 

You can easily modify the handlebars of your current bike to make the bike more comfortable. All you need to do is buy a new stem and handlebar both of which are inexpensive. You could do this for $50.

Here is an article about how to modify your bike handlebars and the different types of stems: Hands Up! Adjusting Handlebar Stem Height on Your Bicycle

Here is a link to Electra bicycles parts page: Electrabike Store: Cruiser Handlebars

As you can see you can get an old-school 50's pull-back bar for $25. You can't get more comfortable that that.

If you are set on getting a new bike, I highly recommend Electra's Townie 3. It is a reasonably light aluminum framed bike with a 3-speed shimano hub. I've ridden one and it is a great bike for around town. I've been looking at the Electra Deluxe 3 Cruiser. Both the Townie and Cruiser can be had for $250 to $400 depending on options and style.