bike suggestions

[LtPage1]

So, I need to get a bicycle for the next school year, and I don't know anything about them. I'll be using it to commute ~3-5 miles daily, only traveling on paved roads. Someone recommended I get a hybrid, which I understand is a road bike, but with an upright position and straight handlebars like a mountain bike.

I don't really know how much I ought to spend, but as a starving college student, less is better. A friend of mine (who seemed to know what he was talking about) spent $1000 on a Specialized about a year ago, that had at least a few carbon fiber parts. I thought that seemed really nice/expensive, but looking at their website it looks like it really wasn't.

I'm comfortable buying used, and I'm willing to learn how to wrench around a little. Lots of gears also sounds good to me. Help!

edit: While searching, I found an old thread where people were suggesting individual components for building a bike. While that sounds like a lot of fun, it's also probably a little much for me right now- this is the first bike I've owned since I was something like 10 years old.

 

[S Freud]

check out the link in my sig.

 

[theeedude]

I just got a 2007 Specialized Allez Expert on closeout for $1300.
http://www.specialized.com/bc/...sp?arc=2006&spid=21585

 

[axelfox]

If your commute is flat, I suggest a single speed (freewheel) or fixed gear (pedals keep turning as long as wheel is moving). The maintenance is low and will weigh a lot less than a bike with components, generally. You can probably pick one up for about $350-$500.

 

[LtPage1]

Originally posted by: axelfox
If your commute is flat, I suggest a single speed (freewheel) or fixed gear (pedals keep turning as long as wheel is moving). The maintenance is low and will weigh a lot less than a bike with components, generally. You can probably pick one up for about $350-$500.

Unfortunately, there's a couple of pretty serious hills involved. Gears are a necessity, I think.
Freud, thanks for the tip. I'll check those out.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Just hit craigslist and see what decent older bike you can find for around a $100. Older mountain, hybrid, road whatever just skip the department store bikes. Chances are it will get stolen anyway so no point in blowing $1k on a bike and locking it up on campus. If you aren't actually going to take it off road you don' t need a front suspension and I see the older rigid mountian bikes on craigslist all the time cheap. I bought my old Iron Horse mountain bike off e-bay for $100 a few years ago just too find out if I was really going to stick with it. Its beat to hell but keeps going. I just replaced it with another used mountain bike off ebay but a much higher end one.

 

[ed21x]

I use to bike on a Marin Larkspur. Awesome bike that was, but I sold it after I moved away from the Bay Area. Really light aluminum frame, smooth shifting.

edit: http://www.marinbikes.com

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

I got a Specialized Crossroads for my birthday for my 1.5 miles commute to work. Works well enough for $350 from a local bike shop.

 

[OpenThirdEye]

I have a Giant FCR1 that I use for my commute and for fitness in general. An $850 bike may be overkill for you though...try looking at the FCR3...or the FCR2 if you don't mind spending some extra dough.

 

[Sentinel]

I wouldn't spend a boatload on it as stated above. You want to make it look ugly, e.g. uglify it. Check and see if there are any bicycle co-ops in your area. They will fit you with a bike of your choice, be it a hybrid or mountain with slicks on it. It will function properly and be in safe, usable condition and often they give you discounts on tune ups and other things.

 

[OpenThirdEye]

Originally posted by: S Freud
check out the link in my sig.

Never been to that forum before. Thanks for that link!

 

[bigrash]

Originally posted by: senseamp
I just got a 2007 Specialized Allez Expert on closeout for $1300.
http://www.specialized.com/bc/...sp?arc=2006&spid=21585

My bike is a 2005 Specialized Allez Triple. I love that thing. Specialized = :thumbsup:

 

[Bignate603]

The best would be to find a local bike shop. Not a Walmart, not a sporting goods shop that has a few bikes, a local independent bike shop. Different people like different bikes because of different body size and usage. The best is to sit on a bunch of them and pedal around. Also, local shops usually throw in a year or two of tuneups and things for free when you buy through them.

 

[Oyeve]

I personally like Trek mountain bikes. Built mine from scratch. Cost loads of $$$$ but with the parts I use I can actually do some BMX type of stunts. Carbon FTW! Animal pedals FTW!

 

[Capt Caveman]

For school, I would look into an inexpensive used bike. Weather and the potential of it getting stolen are so high on a college campus.

 

[Gibson486]

my gf had a $600 bike during college. She got it used off of craigslist. You have no idea how many times she would get outside the library and find some dude trying to take stuff off her bike. I had a dept. store trek bike that was cheaper, but I still got stuff stolen from it (all my lights). Just get a cheap one from craigslist.

Also, when i had my bike, I wanted to ride to school, but couldn't because I did not want to ride it in the rain and leave out in the rain. I look back and I wish i had a cheap pos during college.

 

[Dirigible]

For commuting that distance with hills you have a lot of options.

Cost:

I wouldn't spend much. I'd look to spend somewhere between $100 and $350 or so. $100 if you get a cheap used one, $350 for a new one. A $1k bike is awfully nice. Even though you can spend MUCH more (and the bike companies want you to) your first impression that your buddy's bike is really nice is correct.

Type of bike:

Pretty much any type is functional at that distance. A mountain bike (get slick tires) or hybrid will give you a more upright riding position and their lower pressure bigger tires will soak up small bumps a bit more. A road bike will probably be a bit faster but you'll feel the road bumps more and the position may be less comfortable at first.

If you're buying used, I'd consider mountain, hybrid, or road (i.e. grab a good deal). For new, I'd look at hybrid or road (since they're a bit more appropriate for commuting). I would have a preference to avoid any type of suspension - you don't need it and it adds weight, cost, complexity, and possible requires maintenance in the future.

Will you want to use a bike rack? If so, make sure the bike you get has attachment points for it. Not all bikes do.

Yes, get one with gears. It sounds appropriate in your case. If buying used, make sure the gears have some life left. Some help, with pictures, can be found here: http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#wear (Sheldon, RIP, had lots of good advice.)

Rotate every moving part (wheels, crankset, handlebars) to make sure the bearings move smoothly without "crunchiness" or "notchiness" and that nothing's loose.

For repair info http://www.parktool.com/repair/byregion.asp will tell you pretty much all you need to know.

Finally, get and wear a helmet. Get a frame pump, tire levers, patch kit and possibly a spare tube. Know how to use them so that when you get a flat on the way to work it's a minor inconvenience rather than a disaster. Over time pick up additional tools and learn - it's really easy to fix everything on a bike.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: Dirigible
For commuting that distance with hills you have a lot of options.

Cost:

I wouldn't spend much. I'd look to spend somewhere between $100 and $350 or so. $100 if you get a cheap used one, $350 for a new one. A $1k bike is awfully nice. Even though you can spend MUCH more (and the bike companies want you to) your first impression that your buddy's bike is really nice is correct.

Type of bike:

Pretty much any type is functional at that distance. A mountain bike (get slick tires) or hybrid will give you a more upright riding position and their lower pressure bigger tires will soak up small bumps a bit more. A road bike will probably be a bit faster but you'll feel the road bumps more and the position may be less comfortable at first.

If you're buying used, I'd consider mountain, hybrid, or road (i.e. grab a good deal). For new, I'd look at hybrid or road (since they're a bit more appropriate for commuting). I would have a preference to avoid any type of suspension - you don't need it and it adds weight, cost, complexity, and possible requires maintenance in the future.

Will you want to use a bike rack? If so, make sure the bike you get has attachment points for it. Not all bikes do.

Yes, get one with gears. It sounds appropriate in your case. If buying used, make sure the gears have some life left. Some help, with pictures, can be found here: http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#wear (Sheldon, RIP, had lots of good advice.)

Rotate every moving part (wheels, crankset, handlebars) to make sure the bearings move smoothly without "crunchiness" or "notchiness" and that nothing's loose.

For repair info http://www.parktool.com/repair/byregion.asp will tell you pretty much all you need to know.

Finally, get and wear a helmet. Get a frame pump, tire levers, patch kit and possibly a spare tube. Know how to use them so that when you get a flat on the way to work it's a minor inconvenience rather than a disaster. Over time pick up additional tools and learn - it's really easy to fix everything on a bike.

meh...you cannot get a good new $350 anymore. They are jacking up the prices left and right.

 

[yours truly]

if yoy wanna save some money, try to get last year's model, or the year before that

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: Gibson486
meh...you cannot get a good new $350 anymore. They are jacking up the prices left and right.

Quite possibly true. I've heard all kinds of rumors that all bike and bike component prices are going up by a significant amount. Sucks.

Still, some time in the last week or two someone posted links to bikes in that price range that would work perfectly fine as commuters. So I've got some hope for the OP if he wants new. Then again, if he has any confidence in his ability to tell a functional bike from a POS about to fall apart, and has the time to look, used is probably a better way to go.

 

[OpenThirdEye]

Like it's already been stated in this thread: try and steer clear of dept. stores and sports stores in regards to bikes. Local bike shops are the best way to go. They'll make sure the bike truly fits you and they'll let you take them out and about for a real test drive as well!

The last bike I bought (Jamis Xenith Comp) came with a 30% off discount on a helmet and 20% off all accessories. Plus, I got 2 years-worth of free tune-ups (I do most of the work myself, but it's nice to have if I'm feeling lazy ).

If you want to add anything later on...nashbar is your friend!

 

[imported_Imp]

I was going to say just get a Schwinn from Costco or any other department store, but other people said it: retards put these together. If you're competent in maintaining bikes (from the sounds of it, that's a no), you can give that a go. Otherwise, go to a bike store and get one of their cheaper ones. If you actually commute in it, it will probably get stolen so you may as well minimize the eventual blow. There's a pretty good budget selection from $400 CAN down ($300 US-ish). Just remember to get the right frame size for you.

And wear a helmet along with gloves. I tipped over last week going about 3 Kmh on a really tight bend on an incline, sliding on some sand (thanks to the sandbox nearby in a school yard); in retrospect, I should have dismounted. Landed on my right hand, but since I was using my leather motorcycle gloves, not a single scratch or even pain.

 

[Brainonska511]

I actually bought a hybrid bike 2 weekends ago - you should consider going to a local bike shop in July/August - apparently that's the time that the new models role in and they put the '08 models on sale.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
I actually bought a hybrid bike 2 weekends ago - you should consider going to a local bike shop in July/August - apparently that's the time that the new models role in and they put the '08 models on sale.

Go now. Bikes are selling like hot cakes now and a few manufactures have already "exhausted" their "08" supply. Trek has already brought the 09 bikes in and Specialized is gonna follow in a few weeks. Wait to long and all you will be greeted with is a $90 price increase for 09 models. My gf waited on her bike and she ended up paying $50 more than she would have if she bought it weeks ago.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
I actually bought a hybrid bike 2 weekends ago - you should consider going to a local bike shop in July/August - apparently that's the time that the new models role in and they put the '08 models on sale.

Go now. Bikes are selling like hot cakes now and a few manufactures have already "exhausted" their "08" supply. Trek has already brought the 09 bikes in and Specialized is gonna follow in a few weeks. Wait to long and all you will be greeted with is a $90 price increase for 09 models. My gf waited on her bike and she ended up paying $50 more than she would have if she bought it weeks ago.

I'm just relaying what I was told when I had asked about older models (which I had seen on the shop's website). Of course, you should buy it when you need it.

Of course, by going with an '08 model, I got some free stuff to go with it - 2 years for an anual check-up, a 30 hour tune up, a water bottle + holder, strap-on air pump, seat bag, and basic helmet (which I upgraded for a few bucks more to something more comfortable).