Another Bike Thread

[PG]

What's wrong with this bike? It seems too cheap for an 8 speed, disc brake bike.
Anyone ever bought from them before?http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/02fuji/fuji_thrill.htm

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: PG
What's wrong with this bike? It seems too cheap for an 8 speed, disc brake bike.
Anyone ever bought from them before?http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/02fuji/fuji_thrill.htm

You fixed it.

It's cheap because it's 8-speed bottom shelf components.

 

[PG]

So how does that compare to a decent brand like a Trek or others that I've seen recommended here?

 

[boyRacer]

I think disc brakes around that price range arent worth it... they cut corners to have those discs on there... and those are crappy ones at that. You're better off spending $300 on a trek, giant, or specialized with regular v-brakes

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: PG
So how does that compare to a decent brand like a Trek or others that I've seen recommended here?

a lot crappier

 

[PG]

What do you guys think of Raleigh? A local bike shop here carries those and they have a M50 for about $299. It has the 8 speeds and seems like a decent bike.
Another place carries Trek and the 4300 sure looks nice. It has the 8 speeds too where the lower end Treks all have 7.
Is it worth it to get the 8 speed vs. 7? What's the big difference?

edit: Here's the Raleigh M50 page: http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=3&itemid=155&va=0

Trek 4300: http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/mountain/4300.jsp

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: PG
So how does that compare to a decent brand like a Trek or others that I've seen recommended here?

a lot crappier

Actually, that's really not true. Fuji's stuff is pretty no-frills, but the quality is fine. You generally get a lot for your $ with them.

 

[ScoobMaster]

Originally posted by: PG
What do you guys think of Raleigh? A local bike shop here carries those and they have a M50 for about $299. It has the 8 speeds and seems like a decent bike.
Another place carries Trek and the 4300 sure looks nice. It has the 8 speeds too where the lower end Treks all have 7.
Is it worth it to get the 8 speed vs. 7? What's the big difference?

edit: Here's the Raleigh M50 page: http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=3&itemid=155&va=0

Trek 4300: http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/mountain/4300.jsp

Well, I am not a bike Guru like Fausto or Brutuskend, but I recently bought a Raleigh SC40 and I LOVE it!!!! Not EXACTLY the same as the M50 (the SCs are "sport comfort" or comfort bikes) but I believe the frame is the same.

 

[notfred]

Just FYI, judging a bike by number of speeds is like judging a computer by Ghz speed.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

my guess is that is a fair price, maybe a bit low, but not by much.

 

[brtspears2]

Acera, Alvino, and ProMax brakes. Plenty of low end, low cost parts. I bet it was the disc brakes that got you to look.

 

[Thegonagle]

8-speed

I can tell you without looking that it will have low-end components when I see that.

But I'll look anyway: Suntour, Alivio, Acera, EZ-Fire, Pro-Max, Well-Go. Yup, it's low-end. That price seems about right to me.

I second (and third) the recommendations that you trade the discs away for something with a better fork, derailleurs, and shifters.

To help figure out what components are better than others, go to the individual component makers' web sites (especially Shimano!) and figure out the hierarchy of their product lines.

Raleigh is still fine stuff for low-mid range, IMO. (They haven't gone the way of Mongoose, GT, and Schwinn yet. The second you see Raleigh at Wal-Mart, Toys-R-Us, or Target, etc., stay far, far away!)

 

[PG]

Well I went out and bought a bike. I got a Specialized Hardrock Sport in Dream color.
http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=5970
I just rode around the parking lot and it's pretty nice, but the front shifter is horrible. It's just has Acera front and rear, but I expected better. The rear shifts fine, it's just the front. It has a really hard time going up from 2 to 3. The chain doesn't want to go all the way up and I have to hit the lever a second time and hold it sometimes. In the meantime it makes horrible grinding noises.
Is this my technique problem, poor low end parts, or does it just need adjustments? I hope it just needs adjusted, but what would upgrades cost?

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: PG
Well I went out and bought a bike. I got a Specialized Hardrock Sport in Dream color.
http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=5970
I just rode around the parking lot and it's pretty nice, but the front shifter is horrible. It's just has Acera front and rear, but I expected better. The rear shifts fine, it's just the front. It has a really hard time going up from 2 to 3. The chain doesn't want to go all the way up and I have to hit the lever a second time and hold it sometimes. In the meantime it makes horrible grinding noises.
Is this my technique problem, poor low end parts, or does it just need adjustments? I hope it just needs adjusted, but what would upgrades cost?

Take it back to the shop and have them fix it. They shouldn't have given it to you if it wasn't adjusted properly.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: PG
Well I went out and bought a bike. I got a Specialized Hardrock Sport in Dream color.
http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=5970
I just rode around the parking lot and it's pretty nice, but the front shifter is horrible. It's just has Acera front and rear, but I expected better. The rear shifts fine, it's just the front. It has a really hard time going up from 2 to 3. The chain doesn't want to go all the way up and I have to hit the lever a second time and hold it sometimes. In the meantime it makes horrible grinding noises.
Is this my technique problem, poor low end parts, or does it just need adjustments? I hope it just needs adjusted, but what would upgrades cost?

It just needs to be adjusted.

 

[PG]

Thanks guys, I'll take it back in as soon as I can.