Work-Life Balance

[monkat]

I HAVE TOMORROW OFF!

I had a day off on September 5th. 27 long, laborous, annoying days later, on October 2nd, I get a second day off! So happy!

And, because my bike is ...ehm...how to say this...."shit", if you will, I'm getting a new one tomorrow since I have some savings, and there's no way this bike will last me through winter. It's rusty all over, the breaks are non-responsive (if I had more days off I could fix that, pretty cheaply depending on the problem), the only gear that works is 6 (it only has 6....biking uphill on a windy day on the highest gear is a pain in the ass...literally), and, although pretty cheaply fixed again, the chain feels like it'll break at any second. Not to mention the thing weighs a ton....but that's just nitpicking. (old wal-mart Huffy from when I was 12 or so....7-8 years ago)

I went to the bike shop with my girlfriend a few days ago between classes, and found a cheap hybrid bike that I might get - steel frame, 21 gears, pretty typical. Only about $250, so not too bad - the guy seems pretty cool, too. I'll be taking it for a test ride (it was raining that day) tomorrow, and see how I like it. I might go up one to the $500 - aluminium (lol brit) frame, and shocks.

If I do go up to the $500 one, I'll have to borrow some cash, but it might be worth it - you get what you pay for, right? If anyone leaves a comment, let me know what you think.


Later, mates!

 

[narutofan777]

do whatever you think is right. im a cheap ass so i'd go for the 250$ but hey if the 500$ one is on the tops for ya go for it. i aint good with bikes so idk.

 

[monkat]

i aint good with bikes so idk.

Eh. I'll probably go with the cheaper one.

Aluminum is lighter, but the cheaper ones (not thousands of dollars) tend to be shaky, and shocks...well, you know. They're shocks. They absorb shocks. Ironically named, I guess.

I'm fine with steel, and I'm not doing any mountain riding (hence why I'm not getting a mountain bike), so shocks aren't really needed.

 

[scrtmstr]

well I'm from a really biky country, and also got a new bike recently.

My new bike is aluminium, and doesn't way anything. I tried on with a aluminium frame and shocks, and one without, and if you're not used to shocks, don't buy them. They tend to break very quick, and need quite some maintenance.

21 gears will do just fine, I did it with a lot less for quite some time, and I've now got 49 gears.

Hopefully my advise was usefull...

 

[Nickel]

What do you do for a living that only allows you to have one day off in 27 days! That surely isn't good for your mind, health and spirit. You need to unwind after work and if you work 27 days straight with only one day off then you'll be heading for a breakdown. Do you suffer from stress? because long working hours without time for yourself would be a major contributory factor to stress and depression and may explain your indecisiveness.

As for the bike, treat yourself and buy the expensive one. You only live once, so why sell yourself short. And make sure you make time for your girlfriend to, as I'm sure she wants some loving - if you get my drift.

 

[monkat]

@Nickel

I work in retail. Of course I have stress, everyone does, and everyone suffers from depression from time-to-time - it's nothing important, and I'm not really feeling that way for the moment anyway, so that's not affecting my decisiveness. Thanks for the concern, though!

I think I'm going to be responsible and go for the one I can afford - borrowing money from (probably) my parents isn't fun. My girlfriend, while we do need some alone-time, isn't very....responsive to that whole scene. So many risk factors for a low libido (anti-depression medication, hypothyroidism, hypothyroid medication, iron deficiency anemia, birth control pill, anxiety), her libido is essentially non-existent, thus making bedroom activities....yeah.

@The Netherlandish guy
Shocks require a lot of maintenance? I don't really have the time or money to deal with that

 

[scrtmstr]

@The Netherlandish guy
Shocks require a lot of maintenance? I don't really have the time or money to deal with that

Most do, almost all the shocks you find on bikes use oil, which needs to be changed overtime. Also some shocks tend to leak, oil and air, so you'll need to look after that. If you set it to a certain setting, like really stiff, you'll need to adjust that every couple of weeks, because they don't stay as stiff. So shocks is a no-go if I were you.