Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 19, 1993 TAG: 9311190294
SECTION: HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE PAGE: HGG-42 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BECKY HEPLER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Remember the thrill of that first bike you got for Christmas, shiny and red and full of chrome? You can relive that excitement by checking out the latest at the bike shop, which is the mountain bike. They look like a refuge from the '60 with the upright handlebars and fat tires, but that's what makes them so comfortable to ride, said Dave Abraham of Hokie Spokes, in Blacksburg and Radford.
The knobby tires insist that you take these bikes off road, into the woods and onto trails, where you are finally not the lowest link of the food chain, unlike roads where you're competing with cars and trucks. The additional gears (most mountain bikes have at least 18 to 21 gears) make it easier to climb hills and some of the advanced bikes even have shock absorbers for those truly rocky trails.
All of this adds to the cost of a mountain bike, making even a low-end bike around $300. Abraham thinks this is a shame because it closes some people off to the biking experience. He suggested people look at the hybrid, which combines the larger wheels of the road bike to give a faster ride, with the additional gears and knobbier tires of the mountain bike, increasing the ease of riding.
A hybrid will do well in places like the New River Trail and on dirt roads. It won't handle rocky trails, streams and logs. On the other hand, mountain bikes on paved streets aren't nearly as efficient, and with the smaller wheels, you'll be working harder to go as fast as the road bikes.
Abraham has two analogies ("Do you want the shoe or the car version?") to answer customers when they ask, "Which is the best bike?" "Mountain bikes are the jeep, hybrids are the Mercedes and racing road bikes are the Ferrari," he said. "Or to put it another way, mountain bikes are the hiking boots, hybrids are the walking shoe and racing bikes are the running shoes. All of these things will get you where you want to go, you just have to decide HOW you want to go."
No matter how you go, DON'T go unless you have a helmet. While there is no Virginia law mandating helmets on non-motorized bikes, it only makes sense to protect those gray cells. Abraham pointed out that merely falling the distance of your height on a bicycle to the pavement can cause considerable damage, and that's not even counting the effects of your speed and collision with any object. This is your mother talking: Wear your helmet.
Were skates another item that brightened a long-ago Christmas for you? That's another memory you can recreate in an entirely updated fashion with the new in-line skates. Rollerblades is fast becoming the generic name for these babies but Bauer, a hockey skate maker and Roces are some of the other manufacturers. The industry is a good example of the free-market system, because competition has been fierce with the result that quality is climbing while the price is going down.
As the name suggest, the skates have a line of wheels in the middle of the shoe, demanding an ice-skate type of balancing act on a pair of stiff ski-boot-like shoes. The forward cant of these boots helps to get you in the proper position, knees bent, upper body leaning forward and most of the weight over the wheels. Crouching down not only gives you more stability, but it means less distance to fall when you lose your balance.
Completing the ensemble is the protective equipment, including helmet, wrist guards, elbow and knee pads. Gloves are optional. You'll feel like Darth Vader, but it's worth it. Remember, you do not have the rubber joints and the ability to heal instantly that kids do.
There are several ways to enjoy the skates. Parking lot hockey has growing appeal, especially as the manufacturers adapt the skates to the game. Trick skating down steps and ramps also has fans, as does racing. But there's a lot of fun in just covering distance in neighborhoods and less traveled streets. The Huckleberry Trail is a great place to learn blading because it's mostly level and there's usually plenty of grass on both sides if you need to make a sudden stop, plus it's a pleasant place to spend time.
In the New River Valley area, Back Country Ski and Sports and Blue Ridge Outdoors, both in Blacksburg, sell the skates and equipment, plus Blue Ridge Outdoors keeps rental equipment on hand. Expect to pay around $150 for the skates and up to $300 for the high-end skates.
Since it's winter, another fun toy to find under the tree would be skis. There has been a revolution lately in the ski industry and it's called cap skis. The technology is not the traditional torsion-box construction, but a unified, one-piece design that translates to a ski that is easier for the intermediate skier to manuever.
"It's called the `All-Mountain' ski," said Hal Cansler, manager at Back Country. "The emphasis is away from racing and more on going all over the mountain. These skis give you the stability to handle any speed without the chattering." With an extreme side cut, the skis respond almost effortlessly to turning.
Cansler said that the leaders in this technology are Elan and Volant. But its popularity makes it ripe for rip-offs. "There's a lot of stuff on the market that's called cap skis, but it's only cosmetic."
The skis will accept any binding and boots. At $400 to $600 a pair, they are only slightly higher than most intermediate-range skis.
Here's hoping your Christmas is full of toys.
by CNB