General Cycling Discussion - Bike stolen, looking for cheap replacement bike, advice?

Hi, I hate to be the guy that knows nothing about bikes and just asks others for their opinion, but here I am. (sorry!)

I bought a pretty decent bike off Craigslist a year ago, and I loved it to death, but it just recently got stolen from my apartment complex.. I've scoured Craigslist for the past week or two looking for both my bike, and a good deal to replace it. I've found neither. So I've given up on that, and I think I just want to buy a cheap/simple mass sold replacement bike off of Amazon/Ebay.

I've narrowed it down to these three, but honestly (like I said, I know nothing about bikes), I have no idea which one to pick out of these. Any input would be appreciated. If you'd rather shake your head at me and ignore the post, or yell at me and tell me to use the search (I did), that's fine as well.

Thanks!

http://www.amazon.com/TRACK-FIXED-FIXIE-SINGLE-SPEED/dp/B004WC2QBS
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007R6RRR4/ref=sc_pgp__m_A3NQWVU8FEFG7_2?ie=UTF8&m=A3NQWVU8FEFG7&n=&s=&v=glance
http://www.amazon.com/Giordano-Rapido-Single-Speed-Road/dp/B004V36JR0/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header

Offhand, Dawes is the name that is familiar to me. I guess you are set on a single speed? Have you looked at bikesdirect.com? I've heard mostly positive from folsk that have bought from them.

of your 3 choices
I would order them from best to worst: Dawes, No Brand, Giordano

I'd probably choose the Dawes, it is the only one with a chromoly frame (better grade steel), also has double walled rims, threadless fork.
Giordano has none of these things, so I'd outright reject that one.
No Brand is somewhat inbetween, but looks like it'd be heavier than the Dawes to me.....

Yeah just get the Dawes, in black and pick the right frame size. (black is more innocuous, less flashy to theives)

People are asking a lot more now for used bikes than they were a few years ago. With the harder times it seems there is more of an appreciation for them.

I don't look for bikes in craigslist but imagine single speed bikes would be very rare. Or are you ordering one because they are cheaper?

I tend to keep a lookout for bikes. I often go through the alleys while running errands on my days off. If I see a bike in a shed or that looks like it hasn't been used for some time, I'll ask about it. When there is a rummage sale in my area, I check it out for bikes.

It's more difficult to do that sort of stuff when you don't have one in the first place. Also, you might not have room for a second bike, but so far that part hasn't been a problem for me.

Welcome To Bike Forums, DevinCA!

I'll vote for the Dawes single speed in chromoly steel. The others are of hi tensile steel, which is lower in quality and durability.

Good Luck, my friend! :thumb:

Thanks a bunch you guys! This forum has been really helpful. I'll check out bikesdirect, and if I don't find anything there I'll grab the Dawes. I live in Fresno, CA.. 90% of the bikes on craigslist are lowriders and BMX bikes, and the other 10% are people complaining about their lost bikes (haha). I have seen a couple "good deals" (from my limited knowledge they seemed like good deals!) but they are just a bit out of my price range. It will just be a commuter bike for work mostly, and riding around for fun, so I'm ok with it not being top-notch.

Thanks again!
Devin

Thanks a bunch you guys! This forum has been really helpful. I'll check out bikesdirect, and if I don't find anything there I'll grab the Dawes. I live in Fresno, CA.. 90% of the bikes on craigslist are lowriders and BMX bikes, and the other 10% are people complaining about their lost bikes (haha). I have seen a couple "good deals" (from my limited knowledge they seemed like good deals!) but they are just a bit out of my price range. It will just be a commuter bike for work mostly, and riding around for fun, so I'm ok with it not being top-notch.

Thanks again!
Devin

Devin,
Here is the link to the single speed bikes at BikesDirect:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/trackbikes.htm?gclid=COyZ8tmb1KUCFQpvbAodwSqKkQ

I would suggest taking a look at the following:

2012 Dawes SST CroMoly Steel $249
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/sst_steel.htm
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/images/sst_steel_blue_500.jpg

Dawes SST CroMoly Steel & BullHorn Bars $269
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/sst.htm
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/images/sst_blu_600.jpg

2012 Windsor TimeLine CrMo Steel & Wide Tires $299
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/timeline.htm
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/images/timeline_blu_500.jpg