JonathanS

I got a bike for xmas, but will probably end up trading it in for something else. I know next to nothing about bikes. I will be using it mainly just for transportation around boston, where there are lots of rough roads. Knowing myself, I will probably end up jumping curbs and beating it up a bit. I may even end up riding it in the mountains in the summer, but thats not all that crucial to me. My friend has one with dual shocks which I think is cool, but not necessary.

I got a trek SU100. Seems lightweight, sturdy, doesnt seem like too bad choice. I am not crazy about the silver color though. The SU 200 is blue, which I like better than what I got, but color obviously isnt the most important factor here. Seems like the only ones I really like after browsing around for a while are the higher end bikes, which are a little out of my range. So, I guess my question is, if you needed a bike for what I need it for, had about 400-600 bucks to spend, what would you go with??

J

ps Im 6'5" in case that makes any diff.

georgiaboy

Like most of us you want the many features a high-end quality bike offers. However, the $400-600 limit may cause you to have to make compromises. Its best to sit on your money for a little bit and ride your present bicycle maybe you can increase your spending limit.

To get the best value for the money is to purchase a bicycle off ebay or craigslist. This means sitting on your money and waiting for awhile continuing to check those websites.

At 6' 5" you will find less occurences of bikes being posted on those sites that fit you correctly. It is still best to continue to wait and shop.

Lastly, you will need to choose the bicycle you will buy new if after a certain period of time no bicycle surfaces.

Here is a thread on this forum that may be of some help to you.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...&highlight=700

JonathanS

I get the feeling that its pretty much a 'you get what you pay for' sort of industry'. This is what I would think given the nature of the sport. If thats the case you are probably right about waiting until I can spend some more.

Outside of that, I don't suppose there is any manufacturer I should stay away from, bikes that are possibly overpriced or maybe even underpriced in that range? Is it all just a matter of preference?

The place that I am going to to apparently trade this bike in (or maybe returning) advertises

trek
canondale
klein
gary fisher
cervelo

I assume all are pretty good depending on what you want to spend??

georgiaboy

You need to visit the site on a regular basis and educate yourself. A month from now your knowledge of bicycles will be increased. Learn how to search this forum for you answers.

All the major manufacturers build the same comparative bikes. There are some "underground" or lesser know brands that tend to give a great deal like the Iron Horse.

https://www.rscycle.com/s.nl/sc.7/category.56/.f

Or the Bikesdirect.com

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mountain_bikes.htm

Good Luck!

JonathanS

ok thanks for the help. I knew there wouldn't be an easy answer, nor should there be. I am going to try to just take this bike back and be patient about it.

the homealien

A singlespeed or fixed-gear mountain bike is a solid, fun ride that you can beat the hell out of and still have a lot of bike left. By not paying for all that shifting you can get a nice simple bike with a better frame and parts, a bike that will last a long time. Unless you plan on racing you really don't need all those gears. That's just my two cents. Google "singlespeed" or "fixed gear" and see what you think.

huhenio

x2 homealien

Cyclist0383

In your price range you might want to check out the Kona Smoke. It's a decent urban bike out of the box.

https://www.konaworld.com/shopping_ca...4&parentid=253

610

$400-$600:

Redline Monocog - a little slower by being a mountain bike, but the new version comes in a 21"-22'' size and takes 135mm hubs. This mean you can use single speed, fixed gear, or internal gear hubs. It's built like a TANK.

Redline 925 - a 700c single speed/fixed gear. The site doesn't show sizing unfortunately. To my knowledge, this is the only 700c single gear bike off the rack that is built with 36 spoke wheels which are important for strength. It also comes with fenders.

Also I would pick anything IRO (www.irocycle.com) all the offerings are under $600 and are built really well plus Tony (the owner) offers excellent customer service.

FarHorizon

Kona Smoke.

Nightshade

While this may fall on deaf ears of the young the best
"urban" utility bikes ever made were & are 3 speed hub
bikes designed for to be almost no manitance tough
trouble free rides.

Sure they lack any sort of "cool" factor but you can beat
the hell out of them , overload them , and in general
ignore taking care of them so all you do is....ride them.

100% of the "cool" bikes today have way more features that
are totally useless for urban use but sell the customer on the
"image" of what a "cool" bike looks like. Unless you live 10
miles out of town you don't need more than 3 gears anyway
and even at that 3 gears will get you there with no trouble.

So the basic choice is......... "cool" or "function" .

You decide.

MichaelW

If your primary use is urban jungle riding with an alt use of occasional easy trail riding, then any mass market, mid-range hardtail MTB will do. Make sure the frame has rack and fender eyelets and upgrade the tyres to narrow slick for speed.
A good bike shop can check the assembly and tune the machine-built wheels for extra strength and durability so pick your shop with care.

seely

For urban use, I'm a big fan of the Kona Dew/Dr. Dew... its much tougher than most of the "city" bikes on the market with a steel fork and overbuilt aluminum frame, and pure mountain bike componentry. You can fit a fairly healthy sized tire on there too, enough for occasional offroad riding.

Nightshade

Nah, mate. There is no such thing as an "overbuilt" aluminum frame.
There is only steel and everything else which is less than steel by a mile.

Roody

I agree. Ordinarily I would suggest second-hand to get more bike for less money, but you're going to have a problem with frame size, so you might have to buy a new bike.

Artkansas 

You live on flat land apparently. Where I live, a 3 speed would have to have about 20, 60, 100 gearing. I don't know of any 3 speed hubs like that. I realize that in places like Florida, where it's flat and rainy, a standard 3 speed hub may be ideal.