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I need a bike. Any bicyclists? - Page 2

post #16 of 106
10/5/07 at 9:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by unkle11 View Post
will you be taking the BART? will you be into cycling outside of work commutes? etc etc various factors 150 - 200 isn't very realistic maybe if you buy second hand but even then... if you're starved for space a folder would be a good idea, mountain bikes are very comfortable and easy to ride, single speeds are fun and road bikes are quick and nimble, depending on your budget giant, trek, gary fisher, cannondale make excellent commuter bikes, if you're looking for folders to carry on the BART dahon and swift make some highly acclaimed models, what i recommend is go a little over your budget and get something good, don't do what i did and try to pinch pennies, get addicted to cycling then waste a whole bunch of money in the end selling and upgrading

just my 2 cents
I will not be riding the BART.

I'm not sure if I'll be using the bike outside of work commutes. I imagine I'd prefer biking on roads as opposed to dirt paths, but I really can't say for sure. I don't need a folder. I think there are plenty of safe places to put the bike in my apartment building/at work.

What price gets me something good? Would $300 get me something worth keeping?
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post #17 of 106
10/5/07 at 9:30pm
Obtw, it's gonna start raining here (the East Bay) in a couple of months, so don't forget the fenders.
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post #18 of 106
10/5/07 at 9:39pm
i love biking and i also have a whole day of nothing going on lol lemme get to researching 300 bucks eh?
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post #19 of 106
10/5/07 at 9:52pm
bianchi has a couple of commuters http://www.bianchiusa.com/07_cross_terrain.html a couple here are within your budget

http://www.marinbikes.com/bicycles_2...at_street.html

here are trek's offerings cheapest is over 400 bucks though
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2008/urban/

here are giant's also 400+ to start.. and imo fugly lol
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/bikes/lifestyle/

i'm sure if you went to a dealer you could haggle the price down
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post #20 of 106
10/5/07 at 10:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pennylane View Post
What price gets me something good? Would $300 get me something worth keeping?
You could get a current model year Trek 820 for around $300 including accesories like lights and an U-lock. When you go to the local bike shop it's gonna be tempting to buy one of the 7000-series Trek models (they call them 'hybrid' bikes) because they're supposedly built for commuters with a mountain bike frame and road bike tires, but they're overpriced and in my opinion not very practical, so don't get those.

The Trek 820 is the bottom of the barrel bike from Trek and is the only Trek mountain bike with a steel frame, if you want an aluminium frame you'll have to go up to the 3500, but that's not necessary since steel frames are just as strong and durable as aluminium albeit a little heavier.

I cannot stress enough the importance of not skimping on bike locks, there are a lot of bike thiefs out there and it's important that you get yourself an U-lock and not a cable lock (cable locks are not secure, AT ALL). As a general rule, smaller U-locks are safer than bigger ones (less space for leverage attacks).
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post #21 of 106
10/5/07 at 10:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by unkle11 View Post
i'm sure if you went to a dealer you could haggle the price down
Oh yeah, bikes are like headphones... never pay retail! Bike shops make about 25~30% profit on whole bikes and a lot more on accessories, so haggle accordingly. Bike shops also are counting on you going back to them for tune-ups and your other bike needs (where they make even more money from you), so sometimes they'll give you a very competitive price on the initial bike sale hoping that you'll go back to them twice a year for their $40 tune-ups.

Also, like buying cars, don't let the bike shop talk you into buying a used bike if you don't know what you're doing. Most used bike 'deals' at bike shops are complete rip-offs.

I would also advise against buying your bike from big-box stores like Wal-mart if you're thinking about it. Sure, they have prices that bike shops can't beat, but their bikes are put together in the backroom by 16 year olds in 15 minutes and most of them will have problems (brakes not installed properly, loose bolts and screws here and there) and the hassle of dealing with the problems are just not worth it for normal people. So buy in a local bike shop from people who care about bikes is the way to go.
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post #22 of 106
10/5/07 at 10:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pennylane View Post
ueyteuor

That picture is huge. Could you put a smaller one in? It's screwing with my browsing. Thanks.
Not only that, it's a completely retarded suggestion.

You can definitely find a decent bike for $300. As mentioned, check out bike shops towards the end of the year (ie now) and pick up last year's model. I'm a casual mountainbiker, and the Marin I bought (for $250) serves me just fine. You won't need anything more for a 2.5 mile commute. Road bikes are more expensive though, if you decide you want one of those.
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post #23 of 106
10/5/07 at 10:28pm
those hybrid bikes are fun rides though comfortable and smoother than a regular mountain bike
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post #24 of 106
10/5/07 at 10:43pm
Do they have police auctions in your area where they sell the unclaimed stolen and abandoned bikes. That would probably be the cheapest.
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post #25 of 106
10/6/07 at 12:07am
Don't listen to all this trek BS...blah...it's all bunk.

go here:

Bikesdirect.com

Specifically:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/thehour.htm

You don't need all that fancy crap, just put a straight bar on there and call it a day.

That place has the absolute best components gruppo for the buck. I know that for a fact, cause I used to work for the owner of that company. Trust me, there is no better deals out there....
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post #26 of 106
10/6/07 at 1:10am
A fixed gear bike for the Bay Area. Have fun pushing it up lots of hills. You need gears buddy - that's one thing for sure.
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post #27 of 106
10/6/07 at 1:28am
Go to a bike shop (I use The Missing Link by the way) and try out some bikes. Look for something comfortable, without mountain bike tires, and at least a few gears in the rear.
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post #28 of 106
10/6/07 at 1:56am
yea i almost bought a bike over the net, then i went to a shop and was glad i did cos i was able to test some out cos the first few a tried were crap fits for me
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post #29 of 106
10/6/07 at 4:45am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by frozenice View Post
A fixed gear bike for the Bay Area. Have fun pushing it up lots of hills. You need gears buddy - that's one thing for sure.
Do commuter bikes only have one gear or something? I seriously have no idea how these things work. Bear with me.
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post #30 of 106
10/6/07 at 5:34am
well depends what you mean by "commuter" bikes, imo there's really no such thing as all bikes can be configured differently, you can get a bike with auto shifting already built in the hub and in that sense you won't have to shift gears, singlespeeds are fun bikes not really good for hilly places though i think they were originally made for velodromes (the bike arena things you sometimes see in the olympics) and then there are bikes you manually shift etc which is more flexible.. but i agree for your purposed i wouldn't get a singlespeed
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