Need a Bicycle Recommendation

[Chiropteran]

Going to be moving closer to DC at the end of August. Almost, but not quiet everyday walking distance from the metro (subway), 2 miles. I'd like to take the metro as much as possible, not for commuting reasons (the drive is shorter and I have free parking), but for health reasons.

So, my plan is to buy a bicycle and bike to the metro most days, chain it up and take metro to work, bike home in the evening. I'll also use the bike on weekends and after work some days just to ride around Arlington and possibly for small shopping trips. Since I am spending a lot of money on the move itself, and since I'll be leaving the bike out most of the day, I want something cheap. I'm assuming that I'll need to spend $500-$600 to get a decent bike. I'd love to pay less if possible, but not if it means I get a bike that will fail after 6 months.

Priorities:

Tough and durable.
Low maintenance, if it needs more than occasional cleaning or air added to the tires I'll probably be too lazy to take care of it.
Multiple speeds, don't need a lot but I know I don't want a fixed-gear bike because the option of coasting.

Don't care about:

Weight, heavier bike is fine I am not going to be doing any racing and as I see it if the bike is heavier I'll get more benefit out of riding it.
Brand, I could care less about names, as long as the bike is quality and handles my needs.

Semi-important:

Style, irrational as it may be I won't want to spend $500 if I think the bike looks bad, this is subjective.
Locally available, fully built. Big plus if I can just walk in a store and walk out with the bike ready to go. I don't really want to order something online that will require putting together.

Am I being picky enough?

Anyone have any specific or general advice?

 

[Demo24]

Many of the big name brands these days are making 'commuter' bikes. Basically road bikes in varying degrees of aggressiveness (such as sitting angle, bars, etc), with durable frames and wideish road tires for stability. I would recommend going to a local bike shop, see what they have, and take some test rides to see what fits you. Trek, Specialized, etc will all have bikes in that range. You might can get a nice used bike from the store as well.


Weight matters most when you are trying to accelerate, and you'd probably feel it on hills, but the best thing you could do in this case is to try and reduce rolling resistance with wheels and tires. Also if you have to carry it anywhere a heavier bike can be a pain. Depending on what your ride will be like (flat obviously easier to get away with here) this may or may not be terrible important.

 

[MiniDoom]

buy the cheapest working bike you can find on craigslist. chances are if you're parking it at metro it will be stolen in no time. even with a nice ulock.

 

[highland145]

My gary fisher wahoo is a P.O.S. Pedals went by 800 miles. Cables were cheap steel, rusted in the cable tube so it wouldn't shift. Had to drill one of the screws on the shifter because of corrosion. Rust on the derailleur bracket. Re spoked the entire rear wheel after the 4th broken one at 1100 miles. There's more but I've blocked them out of my mind. All road miles, no trails and the bike stays inside. Treated my old trek 920 the exact same way and it lasted 12 years with minimal maintenance.

I'm saying durability isn't cheap. Interested in some recommendations, also, for durability.

Edit:Agree, odds are it'll get stolen.

 

[Chiropteran]

I would recommend going to a local bike shop, see what they have, and take some test rides to see what fits you. Also if you have to carry it anywhere a heavier bike can be a pain. Depending on what your ride will be like (flat obviously easier to get away with here) this may or may not be terrible important.

Kinda what I planned on doing if I didn't get a specific model suggestion that looked go, going to the store and looking around.

The new place is a ground floor condo with easy access to the road, so I won't have to carry the bike much at all.

buy the cheapest working bike you can find on craigslist. chances are if you're parking it at metro it will be stolen in no time. even with a nice ulock.

Speaking from personal experience? I'd be parking it near Crystal City or Pentagon City metro. I had some fears about that possibility. Used might be the best option anyway.

 

[iluvdeal]

"chain it up and take metro to work"
"spend $500-$600"

I'd never leave a bike I care about chained in public for even more than a few minutes. Leaving it there all day? The question is when, not if, it will be stolen. I agree with the above, get the cheapest bike you can afford on craigslist or a garage sale, the worse looking the better, one you won't care if it gets stolen or takes a beating.

 

[Chiropteran]

"chain it up and take metro to work"
"spend $500-$600"

I'd never leave a bike I care about chained in public for even more than a few minutes. Leaving it there all day? The question is when, not if, it will be stolen. I agree with the above, get the cheapest bike you can afford on craigslist or a garage sale, the worse looking the better, one you won't care if it gets stolen or takes a beating.

Heh, third person saying the same thing, maybe I should take note.

Scratch that idea for now. I think I still want a halfway decent bike, at least for weekends if not to park at the metro. I might be able to just bike all the way to work once I get into it, apparently it's less than 5 miles if maps.google.com is to be trusted.

 

[MiniDoom]

Speaking from personal experience? I'd be parking it near Crystal City or Pentagon City metro. I had some fears about that possibility. Used might be the best option anyway.

yes, i have a friend who bikes to the metro everyday. he goes through a few bikes a year. you only have a two mile ride anyways, you should be able to ride a rusty unicycle 2 miles.

 

[Demo24]

Heh, third person saying the same thing, maybe I should take note.

Scratch that idea for now. I think I still want a halfway decent bike, at least for weekends if not to park at the metro. I might be able to just bike all the way to work once I get into it, apparently it's less than 5 miles if maps.google.com is to be trusted.

If you have a decent route to bike to work that would be the safest. Just remember when you chain it not to just loop through the front wheel. I see this a lot and then quite often see a lot of front wheels hanging out in the bike stand.

 

[Chiropteran]

Interesting, you can rent a locker at the Pentagon City metro.
http://www.wmata.com/rail/station_detail.cfm?station_id=44

$200/year is a little steep, but if I get into the habit of riding my bike every day I think It'd be worth it. I don't think I'd have to worry about theft too much if the bike is inside a locker.

 

[highland145]

Interesting, you can rent a locker at the Pentagon City metro.
http://www.wmata.com/rail/station_detail.cfm?station_id=44

$200/year is a little steep, but if I get into the habit of riding my bike every day I think It'd be worth it. I don't think I'd have to worry about theft too much if the bike is inside a locker.

A buck a day. Not bad.

 

[NAC]

I lived in Berlin 10 years ago. I bought the cheapest new bike they made – about $60 if I recall correctly. I bought the most expensive lock they sold – also about $60 if I recall correctly. I rode it like mad for 8 months – 7.5 miles each way to work, and sometimes I’d go home if I had a break in the middle of the day. I replaced the inner tubes, and the chain derailed a few times – just had to put it back on. No other problems. It was outside 24*7. I loved riding it. I became a crazy maniac which you see in Europe who speeds from light to light as fast as possible for no apparent reason. Endorphins perhaps.

I still have the bike and love it. A little rusty, the shifter and brakes either need adjusting or replacing. And the rear bearing needs replacing think. But basically runs ok.

So my advice – buy cheap. Avoid features like shocks and bazillion gears which only add complexity and therefore are skimped to keep costs down. I never understood the reason for huge disparity for bike prices.

And my second advice – overspend on the lock big time. I still have my old lock, still works great. A heavy chain, duct taped to avoid scratches, and a padlock or two might be the most effective and cheap lock.

And lastly – 5 miles is not far - I’d definitely try going the whole way. Hopefully there is a decent route for a bike.

 

[Sid59]

folding bike?

 

[MegaVovaN]

If you lock it up outside, DO NOT spend $500 on it. Spend under $100, chances it will get stolen before it fails.

Buy a quality Kryptonite U-lock (mine was $80) and learn how to lock bike properly.

Go with STEEL frame.

Another option is to buy 2 bikes, one shit bike to park, other nicer one $500+ for rides where you will not leave bike unattended.
Again, go with Steel frame for durability/ comfort.

 

[edcarman]

Multiple speeds, don't need a lot but I know I don't want a fixed-gear bike because the option of coasting.

If this is your only reason to get multiple gears, consider looking at a single speed bike. As the name says it's only got one speed so it's durable and low maintenance. Unlike a fixed gear, though, it has a freehub so you can coast when you need to.

 

[adlep]

buy one from bikesdirect.com
Awesome value!

 

[ZOOYUKA]

How about a nice pair of roller skates?

 

[joutlaw]

buy one from bikesdirect.com
Awesome value!

Agreed. I got a Windsor Cliff 4900. Only thing I had issues with were the tires. I got 4 flats in the rear in a short amount of time. Replaced with a puncture resistent set off amazon.

 

[MegaVovaN]

buy one from bikesdirect.com
Awesome value!

Locally available, fully built. Big plus if I can just walk in a store and walk out with the bike ready to go. I don't really want to order something online that will require putting together.

?

 

[Cstefan]

Find an REI and look at the Marin Muriwoods 29er. It is close to your price, and it's a fantastic commuter bike for the urban jungle.

 

[PrayForDeath]

Multiple speeds, don't need a lot but I know I don't want a fixed-gear bike because the option of coasting.

I'm not familiar with this term. What does coasting mean when it comes to bikes?

 

[edcarman]

I'm not familiar with this term. What does coasting mean when it comes to bikes?

Coasting is freewheeling: you keep on rolling when you're not pedalling.

On a fixed gear bike, the chain is connected directly to the solid rear hub: if you stop pedalling, the rear wheel locks up and you can't keep on rolling.

 

[Ns1]

Find an REI and look at the Marin Muriwoods 29er. It is close to your price, and it's a fantastic commuter bike for the urban jungle.

I believe this model has been discontinued.

 

[Cstefan]

That would suck, but might get a deal on one!

 

[FleshLight]

Dahon Folding Bike. Any bike worth over $200 locked up in a publicly accessible American area will be stolen within 2 weeks.