After aikido class, I decided to hit some thrift shops to look for used bikes. I wasn’t sure what I would find. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot. I wasn’t expecting to find any cutting edge Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, etc bikes. But who knows. Maybe I would find an older Trek or something. Becides bikes, I would look for books. I managed to hit 4 thrift stores (a 5th one that I visited had closed). What I managed to find were a Huffy, a Murray, and a few Free Spirits. And those were the good ones. I guess that thrift stores are not a great place to shop for bikes. I am sure a good one gets in there sometimes. I did see a few bike racks. One of the bike racks was a 3 bike rack made by Rhode Gear, and it looked like it was pretty good quality. But I already have a bike rack. I also found some stepper machines, including one made by Everlast that looked better than my Precor, and was only $39. But I don’t need another stepper machine.
I guess I will stick to scouting out eBay, Craigs List, and the local classified ads looking for a road bike, and a bike for my wife.
I have always wanted to try aerobars. I remember when they first started appearing in bike racing, I thought they were a great idea. I recently looked around, and saw that they are quite expensive for some reason. Not sure why as there isn’t much to them. So I have been watching eBay for aerobars. Even on there, they can be expensive. But I found some that looked good, and were not going for a lot. I did a snipe nid, and managed to win the auction for only $15.50. And the shipping is only $6. They say Profile, so I assume that is the brand. A search for Profile aerobars brings up a ton of pricey models. I didn’t find a model of Profile aerobars that looked exactly like these though. I think these aerobars might be an older style. One of the close up pics showed a could small scratches, and they looked like they might be aluminum. Not sure. I will find out I guess. It looks like many of the high end models are made from carbon-fiber. So for a total cost of $21.50 I will get to play with the aerobars. I can always buy better ones later if I find that it is important. The aero bars even come with a computer mount if I want to use it. I think having aerobars would have been great for the long flat steady sections that I rode during the duathlon. I hope they work on my mountain bike. If not, I will try them eventually when I get a road bike.
