hanshun

I'm a college kid and have a fairly short ride to and from school, 8 miles, and live in walking distance to work. As of right now, I have a early 80 peugeot entry level bike. Its been fine for me since it was only 60$, but now that I've been riding it and learning more about bikes, I've noticed some problems. Its extremely heavy, the wheels are untrue, the crank isn't true, and no matter how much I fiddle with the derauillers, they still don't function well without chain rub(I think this has a lot to do with the crank being out of whack.)

As a college student with little money, my budget is extremely limited and I'm looking for a new bike. I notice this bike, https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...m_cross_cx.htm, and its in my price range and was wondering how a cyclecross bike would work as a daily commuter and an all around bike. I'm very tough on my stuff and I want something that can take a beating, I'm just afraid that the tires might bother me too much. I don't plan on doing an serious cyclecrossing, but I don't want to be afraid of ruining a road bike on bad road conditions or riding it year round as my main mode of transportation. Also given the geometry of the bike, what size would you recommend for a 6'4" male, I'm assuming a 64cm.

Also if you have any other ideas, please let me know, thanks for any and all suggestions and input

knobster

A cross bike is great for commuting and all around cycling. That cross bike? Not sure. The components aren't great, but not too bad. Should last a fair amount of time. Rack mounts, that's a good thing. Bet you could get a much better used bike for that price point though. Check your local craigslist.

thirdin77

If nothing else, we can be sure you'll want the 61cm size just because it's the biggest that they make.

I agree that you should try Craig's List, simply because you get to actually test ride the bike before buying.

hanshun

I'll start checking craigslist more often, but they offer the 64 cm in the gray color, that's the only reason I asked about size, not sure if 61 is too small or 64 is too big, but then again its only a couple of centimeters.

bsyptak

Methinks you will need a cable and a u-lock to keep your bike longer than a week on a college campus.