Living Car Free - What kind of bike should I get?

I made the decision to live car free like... 2 days ago. I parked my car and cancelled my insurance. It was more of a financial issue than anything else.

I own a 1987 plymouth horizon and needless to say... its a piece. I have had three tires blow, my temperature guage doesnt work, my power steering drains the minute i fill it up and groans when I turn. The doors are messed up and when I try to open them I practically pull the car off the ground. Also I am a new driver and therefore my insurance is extremely high. I decided I can't afford to own a car at this point in my life. I am 19 btw. I am trying to save for college and recently discovered that my checking account was empty because of repairs and insurance and whatnot. That was unacceptable it meant I was losing money. I had to dip into my savings which sucked.

I have always been an avid biker but havent been able to for a while because my bike was stolen. It was kind of a piece but I still took it everywhere, just some huffy mountain bike thing. Now I am looking for a new bicycle and I want to get something good but affordable that I can use to cart me to work, girlfriends house, etc. On an average weekday I'll be riding about 18 miles/ 15 on weekends. But I need something that is decent and under like $800.

Also I am considering buying parts on ebay and in catologues if it is a cheaper solution and putting it together myself. I've assembled ~20 bikes so it wouldnt be very difficult. Basically I'm just really new to the whole bike thing but I am looking for any advice.

--edit--

failed to mention that I was recently diagnosed with CNS hypersomnia. I discovered this by falling asleep a few times in the car and having it checked out, nothing happened but it was very scary. It basically means that when I'm doing activities that are second nature I get tired so the car thing was no good, I enjoy living.

Do you plan only to stay on paved roads and the like? You could probably find a real nice road bike for under $800.

yep all paved roads. Just like a car but no gas needed.

I am biased, so I would definitely suggest a road bike. Go to all the bike shops and try all sorts of different rides to try to home in on something that suits you, and to find out the right size bike for you. Then take a look around and see if you can find anything that you like that costs less. If you do not care if it is used or not. If you have to worry about bike theft you can try to make your bike look cheap. There are lots of good road bikes out there for using around town that are basic, but will work very well.

Also consider things in your budget that you may want to go along with your bike. Maybe a helmet, cycling specific clothes, lock, water bottles, and a pump that you can carry on your bike. If you plan to do groceries you may want panniers and bags, or you may be happy with a backpack.

If you like the idea of a fixed gear. No gears no derailuers no cassetes no shifters Less stuff to break. id suggest an IRO or a redline 925. But like coma i am biased towards fixies.

I am looking for a road bike with gears. I can store it at work and I already have equipment for riding, all I need is a bike basically. I have no clue who makes good frames or what makes a good bike. I'm looking for something that is lightweight steel or carbon fiber. I dont really know how much carbon fiber is though or if there are any places that offer it for cheap. Also I don't want to find something cheap and discover it to be junk. I did some research on drivetrains and if i build one I am going to go with the shamino tiagra or find a bike with it. What companies make good frames? good tires? etc etc.

Your basic options in frame type are road (compact and traditional), cyclocross, and touring. Cyclocross and touring will be a little more upright. Touring has lower bottom bracket and long chain stays for more stability and comfort, and more tire clearance than road. Cyclocross has higher bb, for clearance, and probably more room for tire clearance than touring. Touring is built for loads - cyclocross can carry loads well. Both are usually strong and can handle rough stuff, but cyclocross is probably better at it (geometry). With a new bike, I'd go with cyclocross- but that's just my preference. I have an old touring bike.

It's probably going to be cheaper to buy a bike than buy parts and assemble. Some steel options at $900 are the surly cross-check and the bianchi volpe - both have eyelets for racks and fenders, and both have some tiagra components (others vary). If you build yourself, the soma smoothie and doublecross are popular, or you could respace the back of an older frame.

I don't think you will get super nice wheels at that price. I'd go for 36 spokes if possible, otherwise 32. Don't worry about good tires, until you ride and figure out what width you like. New ones will be a small expense later.

Harris Cyclery has the san jos8, which is basically the same frame as the volpe, but w/ an 8 speed internal geared hub. You could do the same with an IRO (rob roy is steel cyclocross), but you'd have to talk them into lacing the wheel w/ the nexus hub and get yourself a shifter and some cable. You'd have to have the redline 925 respaced to accomodate the nexus.

You can't afford carbon fiber, and even if you could it isn't suitable for the kind of riding you want to do. Since you have an aptitude for building bikes, maybe you should get a decent older bike, probably a steel frame, and rebuild it to your liking. It sounds like you really want a road bike, but first consider a couple options:


1. Mountain bike--great for riding rough in the city. You don't need a suspension for street riding, and you'll probably put slick tires on it. You might end up with something like the Marin navaro (http://www.marinbikes.com/bicycles_2006/html/bikes/bike_series/bikes_ser_urban.html) when you're all done, or just buy a new novaro and save yourself the trouble.

2. Cyclocross bikes like the Surly Crosscheck (http://www.surlybikes.com/bikes.html) are getting to be pretty popular. Cross bikes are configured similarly to a road bike, but have tougher frames and fatter tires for off-road use too.

3. Touring bike. This is a road bike, but with a more comfortable riding stance, heavier, with the ability to add panniers and fenders.

PhilF,

I applaud your financial acumen! It seems to me that there are 2 kinds of people in this world - those that intrinsically grasp the concepts of money and those that don't.

Keep making the kinds of decisions you are making.

hmm I was looking at bike shops close to my area and found this.

http://gorhambike.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&id=2035

Is it a good deal or could I do better?

another possibility

http://cgi.ebay.com/2006-ALUMINUM-CARBON-ROAD-RACING-BIKE-SHIMANO-TIAGRA_W0QQitemZ7243429216QQcategoryZ98084QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Another thing you might want to think about is room for fenders. Depending on your local climate, you'll probably end up riding in the rain (or at least on wet roads) at some point and full fenders will be a blessing. If so, you should stay away from racing style road bikes with little frame/tire clearance.

I have a Bianchi Volpe and I love it. It's steel, but still really light and fast and rides great. The MSRP is $900, but my LBS was selling it for $800. You might be able to find a used one for cheaper. If you want to go even cheaper, you can find some good used road bikes from the 80's and 90's for pretty cheap with enough clearance for bigger tires and fenders. Check Cragslist and eBay.

P.S. Congratulations on going car-free and good luck with the bike search!

The prices you found look good. I'm a little leery of buying a bike online, but lots of people do it so it's probably OK. This forum might not be the best place to find out about particular models of road bikes, but we'll see what happens. You might want to try some other resources for information.

The first stop would be your LBS (local bicycle shop). They can help you narrow it down. You might pay a little more but you'll get a fitting and a test ride, also the opportunity to switch tires, saddles, pedals, etc. at a lower cost. They'll give you free service for a couple months, and they'll always be happy to see you if you buy a bike there. A lot of us like to support local businesses when we can.

Everybody rags on Bicycling magazine, but they do have reviews of less expensive bikes once in a while. Look at the past year's issues in the library.

Once you get it narrowed down a bit, try posting here and on some of the other subforums. I think the Commuting forum would be good. There's some good people there. Road Cycling would be good too, but most of them like to talk about the more expensive models, it seems. Of course we're just as bad here:)--we want to talk about cheap bikes and used bikes, while it sounds like you really want a new bike.

Here's a couple in your price range to get you started, popular brands that would be available at many LBSs:

Raleigh Sport (http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=5&itemid=289)

Giant FCR2 (fitness bike) (http://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/030.000.000/030.000.006.asp?model=11328)

I attached the photo of my last bike purchase as a car substitute. It was in your price range with no need to buy any extra attachments, comes with mud guards, lights, luggage rack, elastic holders, chain case. My LBS didn't carry it but they agreed to order it for me.

Stay away from carbon fiber for carrying cargo loads. The manufacturers themselves will tell you that. Mine did. Yes, you want eyelets for attaching fenders, racks, water bottle cages. I agree, a road-ish bike is better, curved or flat handlebars your choice. I had flat on my town bike, curved on my recreational bike.

If you are going cheaper aluminum, also look at the ibex cyclocross (xray) (sport is $550). The wheels look much nicer than the mercier (i'm kind of guessing, b/c I don't know what kind of formula hubs are used, and the mercier is just non-branded). The fork is cromo rather than fiber. For $900, you get 105 components w/ carbon fork. They also have a classic road bike (aluminum/fiber fork) w/ tiagra for $700. I hear that the customer service is top notch, and you will get responses to any pre-purchase questions re: rack, fender, tire swaps, etc.

http://www.ibexbikes.com/Stacks/Series_X-Ray.html

i found one! :-D 420 aluminum/fiber fork tiagra. Should be good for getting me around. Unlike a lot of people I dont need to carry stuff when I ride. All I have is the clothes on me and I like to go fast.