At the end of the day, you have to like it and that's all that matters. Also, congrats, enjoy it in good health. My carbon fiber bikes hang in the garage collecting dust. I WISH I had time to ride them. It's an additive sport.

 

I would gladly test them for you on a regular basis to make sure they're still working

But thanks Can't wait to get out there and start riding!

 

well...
1. thanks Raj for the vouch
2. esp, your bike has a "friction shifter". It likely even has "index shifting", there's a little ring to switch to that mode.
3. get out and ride!

 

Sorry I didn't take your advice.. I'm sure you know what you're talking about... but spending $250 on a bike now, and learning about them, rather than hoping at some point I could possibly spend $500 all at once is less likely to happen .

What's the difference between the two?

 

It does have that "ring" to switch.. what's the difference?

 

Friction shifting: Originally, gear control levers consisted of a simple lever. Changing gears required pushing or pulling the lever so that the derailleur would move the chain to a different sprocket on the rear hub. The cyclist would need to adjust the lever to center the chain on the sprocket.

Index shifting: Index shifting is a system where the control has discrete stops. Hub gears by design are indexed, but for derailleur systems, indexing was an innovation. Each stop corresponds to one position of the derailleur. This allows the cyclist to change gear without having to adjust each time, as in friction shifting.

Index is more modern kind of sort of like a car paddle shift where one movement causes a change in one gear rather than friction which is a pull without a click.

 

thanks!

 

LOL.

Rule of thumb; any roady under 1,000 used is going to cost you that much to make reliable. There is a lot of cheap shit out there thesedays that every asshat I know seems to buy and I spent my evenings tuning.

I still daily ride my 1992 Merlin Ti Roady with modern upgrades (DuraAce/triple/older Rolf wheels etc); a good frame is a solid investment. Spend the money upfront.

 

Easier to say when you have the money to spend

That's like saying "Why buy an S2000.. might as well do it right and just get a ferrari"

Everyone has to start somewhere.

 

SV650 is good beginners bike, might pick one up in the near furture