Alt Bike Culture - I WANT TO BUY A BIKE - I don't know what brand should I buy!

Hi
I am new in the US, am I am student and I realized that I need a bike if I want to survive here.
I am living in a small town - Stillwater Oklahoma.
Can you help me with some pieces of advice regarding the brands I should look for? I can't spend too much but at the same time I want to buy a good bike, one I can rely on and it will be good for a long time.
Thank you!!

Hello and welcome,
I'll list this site to show you what's available, it's an easy site and good bikes. There are other good bike brands too with more complexity in their line-up. You need to narrow down your price and your style.
CLICK on the 2009 section first, it's easier, it's up-top www.jamisbikes.com (http://www.jamisbikes.com) you need to first have at least some ideas to help yourself or have others help guide.

www.trekbikes.com (http://www.trekbikes.com) www.giant-bicycles.com (http://www.giant-bicycles.com) better availabilty, complex sites

One thing that will simplify it is to visit the bike store(s) in town and see what they carry. For example, Jamis was on the list of bikes I was looking at, I visited the nearest dealer here in the Dallas area, and they did not have a single Jamis bike in stock that I saw. So unless you want to order it sight unseen off the internet or visit Oklahoma City or Tulsa, you need to see what is available locally.

Something else I will point out is that most of the bikes I see on college campuses are crappy bikes that serious cyclists wouldn't ride. The theory is that they're less likely to be stolen, and less of a loss if they are stolen. So you can ask for advice here, but we'll all recommend $1,000 bikes that you won't see often on a campus. A bike may have marginal brakes and gears that don't work right and still be good for riding a mile or two to campus and back.

It seems to me that older bikes tend to be under-valued in Oklahoma as compared to the Dallas area, if that helps any. They're viewed more as "old bikes" rather than "vintage bikes".

Rigid (no suspension) chromoly mountain bike. Chromoly, cro-mo, or cr-mo, it s a type of quality bicycle tubing, if you get a mountian bike with this tubing you'll be set for a long time. The thing is that even though these are solid city bikes, virtually no one mountain-bikes with them anymore, so you can find them super cheap. Outfit it with slick tires and you're good to go, fenders are good, and they'll accommodate them easily. Specialized and trek are good brands, and they made a ton of them so that's probably what you'll get. I my market at least, you should be able to get a bike and slick tires for under $120.

Welcome to America.

What kind of bike you need depends on the riding you will do. Living one state over in Arkansas, I'm afraid that I'm not familiar with Stillwater. But from the pics I looked at it appears fairly flat so you have a lot of options.

As far as brands, the best idea is to stay away from Walmart brands and see what your local bicycle stores like Coopers, carry. Stillwater is a college town, so it's very possible to find a good used bike at a reasonable cost. Check in the college paper or in the city paper or Craigslist if there is one for Stillwater. You may also want to check with some of the local bicycle clubs like the Red Dirt Pedalers or the Oklahoma Bicycle Society to see what they recommend, or even if members might have a bike they want to sell.

Thank you for advices. Actually Stillwater has pretty much hills and every time I come back from grouceries I have to walk pushing my roommate's bike ( it's a bike from Walmart and it is not good at all). ( Sorry Walmart, but this is the realty).
I will check thet store this week, and if you have some idea about stores in Tulsa, I can go there also.

Welcome Arrielle!

Save yourself some time and money and check out the site sponsors who advertise on this forum: :thumb:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/

Thank you. It's a great site. However, should I buy a bike without seeing it before?
What is it has flaws or it's just not good for me?

Thank you. It's a great site. However, should I buy a bike without seeing it before?
What is it has flaws or it's just not good for me?

Those are good questions. That's why you pay the Local Bike Shop a bit more. For the fitting, the care and just being able to talk straight to people if there is a problem.

You're never required to buy a bike, especially if it's not as advertised. If you haven't given them the money, just say that you're not interested and leave.

Hey there!

I personally like the brands Trek and Fuji - they are great for non bike experts, and offer models that are very user-friendly. Hope that helps!

Try this website and purchase a used bike.

http://stillwater.craigslist.org/bik/

Oklahoma State-I was in Stillwater for a few days in Jan 1973-hilly, kinda cold,kinda windy, a little bit barren in comparison to south Louisiana.-The folks were nice, but it was not a garden spot that winter!I was there to wrestle, so maybe that colored my impression of Stillwater.

Hunt your student union ,student center bulletin board for a bike.
The older treks 800,820,830 and 930,950, etc are nice bikes.They are nominally mountain bikes, but they are actually great city bikes with the wide 26" tires and sturdy, mostly chrome moly steel frames.
The 800 series are cheaper-maybe 75-150 used.The 930 and such have fancier steel frames, so they are $125-$200 maybe. If you get an 800 series, make sure you pay a little less-under $100- for one that has a sticker saying" chrome moly seat tube".It means the rest of the frame is cheaper(adequate) steel.
In general a bike with a Chrome Moly Frame sticker means it isn't a cheapo piece of junk-even if it is a bit worn, it is worth fixing if not dented etc. High tensile or high strength steel frame means cheapo bike.
Luck
Charlie

uh, wrong section of the forum?

Oklahoma State-I was in Stillwater for a few days in Jan 1973-hilly, kinda cold,kinda windy, a little bit barren in comparison to south Louisiana.-The folks were nice, but it was not a garden spot that winter!I was there to wrestle, so maybe that colored my impression of Stillwater.



That sounds like the beginning of a letter into Hustler.