charliem13

GUYS!
Hell0, hope all of you are living a beautiful day.
About 6 months ago I moved to LA, my place of work is just under 6 miles away from my home and it takes me about 45 minutes to get there on average due to the traffic. Enough is a enough, I would rather be active on my way to work, relieve some stress, potentially enjoy my life now.

Enough of the sob story, my budget is not wild, around 400$, I owned a KILO once, very briefly, not much blossomed there. Regardless I would say about 99.9% of my commute is completely flat, nothing too rigorous other than the community I pass through. I just want something stable, enjoyable, somewhat sleek? Obviously would be used to just get around go from there..

Looking for suggestions on starting points, maybe something to focus on, make/ model/ gears, etc...

Open to any help I can receive..

Thanks!!
Charlie

10 Wheels

Hey Charlie,

Welcome to Bike Forums.

Try The Orange Bicycle Shop.

Good people there.

TheLibrarian

6 miles on the flats in LA, a low rider of course. Banana seat, ape bars, purple or gold.

RonH

If you want a good commuter bike that could double as a weekend bike try a Jamis Coda Sport. It's slightly over your budget but you may find a leftover 2015 that will be in your budget. Good luck.

TenSpeedV2

6 miles of flat commute? Single speed for sure. The Kilo TT seems to be a popular one to get.

rex615

#kilott

daf1009

Please don't...you might decide to take the bike out into some of the hills...get a versatile bike...not one that limits you to 6 miles of flat commuting.

TenSpeedV2

Gosh, you are absolutely right. If it doesn't have gears, you simply can't ride it anywhere. I guess that I shouldn't have ridden those 40, 50, 60 and 70 mile rides on a track geometry fixed gear that doesn't even have bottle cage bosses. And my buddy probably shouldn't have done that century ride on his. And I should stop doing a 16 mile round trip commute on mine. And my buddy and I should only ride short distances on perfectly flat ground.

daf1009

Nice being a smart aleck...the guy is NEW TO CYCLING...you obviously ride a lot...

BTW...YOUR logic said...6 miles of flat commute? Single speed for sure.

But...who am I?...you are OBVIOUSLY the great god of cycling...

TenSpeedV2

You have to start somewhere, why not start on something simple with almost no maintenance or worries? A flat 6 mile commute is ideal for a single speed. My logic is correct and I think that most people would agree with it. OP never said he wanted to start randonneuring or doing double centuries. Never even mentioned going on longer rides. For the commute that they posted, it is ideal.

daf1009

Oh yes...start with what is, essentially, a specialty bike...you are soo right!!!! I am glad that "most" people agree with you!!!

TenSpeedV2

A specialty bike? How is it special? It has one gear, no shifters, no derailleurs and very little to adjust. If the OP was going to enter races, or do the stuff I mentioned previously, I wouldn't be suggesting it. I still stand by my suggestion for a single speed.

fietsbob

I'm not living in LA, but i know the metro area includes more than just the County of ..., surrounding city Hall .
so just saying LA is over-broad, without being town with in the metro area .. Anaheim? Burbank? Compton?


You trying to get a job in "the Business" down there?

corrado33

Go to any of your local bike shops. There are generally plenty of "commuting" type bikes for around your price range. That's the least I would spend to get a "decent" bike. Don't listen when people tell you that you NEED to spend $1000+ to get a bike even worth buying. $400 will get you a perfectly reasonable, decently long lasting (providing decent maintenance) bike.

I would not suggest getting a single speed. Maybe a 3 speed, but definitely not a single speed. Not for a beginner.

TenSpeedV2

I am curious as to why a single speed wouldn't be a good idea for this person.

Garfield Cat

Charlie has 15 responses to his post and no word from Charlie. Whereabouts do you live, Charlie?

Elvo

LA county has varied terrain

diphthong

i am hoping for the op's sake that there is just really bad commuting
traffic in louisiana

TenSpeedV2

OP also said his/her commute was 6 miles of 99.9% flat terrain.

ColaJacket

Sometimes you don't realize slopes until you ride them, and for a beginner, even a 1% grade without multiple speeds could be frustrating.

GH

TenSpeedV2

As long as the pedals turn, I don't see the problem here. OP said "kind of new" to cycling. Not like he/she hasn't ridden a bike before kind of new. Sounds like they have ridden before.

fietsbob

I like my S-A 3 speed , but the OP can make up their own mind (?)

Agree go to bike shops, test ride bikes ..

A Brompton folding bike, by taking it inside with you , cures one big threat, Bike Theft.

charliem13

GUYS! Holy moly, thank you for all of your responses I sincerely appreciate it!! (even some witty banter)

So I currently live in Miracle Mile, in Los Angeles, very centrally located and I work right on the cusp of Culver City, pretty much can just take 1 road there if I so choose.

I am originally from the East Coast, I was living in Philly and wanted to get into cycling in a big way. I ended up attaining a KILO from a friend and was able to cruise around a bit for a short period of time before I relocated. I did enjoy this bike, it was actually great, but there was no sort of commute involved, it was more of a quick ride to the booze store if you will.

That was single speed and I was OK, but as I said the extent of where I traveled was extremely minimal and I ended up moving AGAIN back into Brooklyn where I was not cycling, mainly because I didnt want to die a harsh death by cab.

I honestly appreciate all of your responses sincerely, I am happy that budget is actually presenting me with so many options that I can be comfortable with.

For those wondering my commute it would essentially be Wilshire, to Fairfax to La Cienega (now I feel like that SNL skit the "Californians")


OK so now you know my route, it looks like most answers circle around a KILO TT for single speed but possibly a 3 speed?

May the conversation continue...I will also go check out some shops this weekend!

Once again thanks guys, I really do appreciate it!


-Charlie

Phil_gretz

Reading through this, I like the suggestion of a folding 3-speed. That would give him some options, plus a chance to get the bike off of the street when not being ridden.

OP said that the Kilo didn't work out for him, so something wasn't right...

DeltaFoxtrtZulu

So you might want to check out "I. Martin Bicycles" on Beverly between Fairfax and La Cienega. That's where I got my bike and they seem to be pretty good, and being part of the Helen's Cycles network doesn't hurt.