CrystalBay
Platinum Member
- Apr 2, 2002
- 2,175
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Zap
Elite Member
- Oct 13, 1999
- 22,377
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QFT. I loaned my bike to a college roommate once and after he rode it he was like "OMG it's totally different, so much easier to ride and faster." I'm a ½ bike snob. I like to have something better than a department store bike, but don't want to spend more than my car's worth. Point of diminishing returns and such. For a reasonably priced GOOD bike, be prepared to spend aroudn $400-800 at a real bike shop. These aren't ones you want to ride somewhere and leave locked up because it'll disappear, but that price range gets you good trail worthy bikes - especially if you have any discounters near you. San Diego and LA have a few places that seriously discount bikes at the end of the year. One place in LA had a deal on a Specialized metal matrix M2 framed bike with XTR grouppo and some Manatou forks with carbon fiber legs - this bike had all the good stuff and was worth about $3000, they were blowing them out at about $1200 - still too rich for me though.
I bought a bike for my dad a while back. Aluminum frame Giant brand with Alivio parts and gripshift - not that high end but only cost about $300 at a local bike shop. I had a good rappor with them and asked the owner to keep an eye out for end of year deals. A good friend of mine also got in on a deal like that, a GT with Deore parts and aluminum frame and Rock Shox Judy's for about $500. These are about 1/3 off the typical bike shop price during the rest of the year.
OMG, were those the aluminum moto mags??? Those were the best!
Actually I've had both department store bikes (when much younger) and more expensive bikes, and I've never had a department store bike break - probably because they were all overbuilt with thick and soft metals. They will bend, however...
I have had two "good" bikes break. One was a Schwinn Black Shadow BMX bike (highest end model in the mid-80s). The chro-mo frame cracked right around the seat tube area. The other bike was also a Schwinn (that's all I bought for a while). It was a Cimarron, the highest end mountain bike back around 1986 except for the Paramountain (that was a trip with the Browning automatic front deraillure - anyone remember those?). Yeah, I've been mountain biking before most people knew mountain bikes existed. My Cimarron first had the forks bend out like chopper forks. Got those replaced and a few years later the bottom tube cracked a few inches behind the head tube, right where the tube butting ended.
Hey, those posers have a name you know... freeride, LOL.
Are they still using those monoshock forks? Those are too wierd and you can't just toss on your favorite forks, but yeah otherwise they are nice.
Now that's a decent bike.
The good thing about cheap bikes is if you are buying for a kid who may leave it out somewhere to get stolen.
The bad thing about cheap bikes is that they usually don't last longer than a couple of years - they just start to fall apart. Good bikes can easily last a decade with just really minor maintenance for most casual riders (trueing the rims, bit 'o lube) and still be like new.
I got rid of my last two BMX bikes when I moved in July - just gave them away to a friend. One was a Schwinn Sting and the other was a Free Agent cruiser. I used to race BMX from 1984 to 1998. Stopped racing 20" as a 17 Expert but kept racing Cruiser until the end.
Currently my only bike is a 11 year old GT Corrado. True Temper chro-moly, XT parts, rigid (NO SUSPENSION WHATSOEVER) and very lightweight. Rode the Noble Canyon trail near Pine Valley (San Diego) twice with it.
Road bikes, which are 700c, are coming down in price, but still not really cheap. I suggest EBay for a used road bike. Often times they are insane cheap if you get one from the mid to late 90s. For a new road bike, the Trek 1000 is a decent bike at about the lowest price you will find right now.
What kind of bike would you guys recommend for commuting? I'm looking for a decent bike that's <$150 and plan on mostly riding it on pavement and sidewalk. I've tried looking at various bike shops but even their lowest end range is out of my price range. I saw one of the bike shops selling a trek 800 used but for like around 130'ish something and it looked pretty worn out. Any suggestions is appreciated.
Thanks
Thanks
He doesn't know what he's talking about. First, people still ride steal for cross country (XC), which is what he's pretty much describing. Steal is a bit more forgiving than aluminum and the weight difference really isn't all that much. Any real downhill rider is going to be riding on something that retails for at least $1500, upwards to $4000. But what do I know, I'm just a poser anyways...my fork alone retails for $750...
The simplest thing would probably be to find a used bike in good condition, either a cruiser or a mountain bike with slick style tires.
watdahel
Golden Member
Bike manufacturers have gotten very market savvy over the years. One use to be able to look for subtle evidence of quality bike building and sort out the crap, but take a close look at some of the low end stuff out there today in the just under $200 range. Alloy framesets are brazed with forged ends instead of tack-welded stamped metal. They are using alloy rims and ss spokes. Tubing may be double butted or single butted depending on which tube are subject to shock strain. Where you'll still see a difference is in the quality of the components being used, as always was the case anyways.
The weight differential between alloy and alum framesets is not that much unless you're looking at the exotics with partial composite materials. But every part added to the frame adds weight. High end components weigh less. Compaired to Road bikes, MTB's have be heavier just to be durable
The 1" OD Cro-Moly main tubes with FULLY-LUGGED frame are very rare in the US. Even those in the $300 to $400 range use aluminum tubes that are mig welded. Dia-Comp cantilever brakes are also non-existant in the sub $500 range.
A quality older bikes will have components made in Belgium, France, Italy, and/or Japan.
A quality older bikes will have components made in Belgium, France, Italy, and/or Japan.
I made the mistake of buying one of those sub $200 bikes about 2 maybe 3 years ago. I think I put maybe 10 miles on that thing in total. It weighed about 40lbs, I bent both rims without trying, and I destroyed the cheap rear cassette. I tossed it out and bought a real bike.
2001 Schwinn Homegrown Limited. ~3lb frame ~25lb bike. Everything was new on it but the frame. I paid around $750 shipped. I've put about 300 miles on it this year without any problems.
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2001 Schwinn Homegrown Limited. ~3lb frame ~25lb bike. Everything was new on it but the frame. I paid around $750 shipped. I've put about 300 miles on it this year without any problems.
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I've gone off roading with slick tires even.TRENDING THREADS
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