br0nc

Hey guys!

I'm looking to buy a new bike that will be suitable for riding in the city (commuting from time to time) and touring on somewhat short distances (not more than 30-50 miles a day). I'm from Bulgaria (which is in Europe ) so most of the brands you're discussing here are not available in my country. My budget is also a bit tight (~$400). There are a couple of companies that make bikes in my country and they are pretty much what we have in Bulgaria except for some imported but quite expensive ones. So far that's what I've decided to buy:

https://www.dragbicycles.com/?menu=pr...#specification

Do you think it will be suitable for my needs? Also do you think it can handle dirt paths/fire trails? Thanks!

sonatageek

What about the Marathon model from the same company?

fietsbob

It's evident here all summer , you can tour on any bike
you can stand riding on daily for a couple weeks.

just make sure you load doesn't get in the way or loose while you are pedaling.

LeeG

Looks like the Hacker model would be less expensive. I'd rather go with a solid fork than inexpensive suspension fork for touring.

Cyclebum

Asking one bike to be a commuter, a tourer, and a trail bike is an exercise in compromise. The shocked hybid would be better for rough trails, a solid fork for commuting and touring. Decide what's most important to you and pick your compromise. And remember, Fit is First.

MichaelW

$400 should get you something better than a hi tensile steel frame with Shimano Tourney (the Marathon)

Cross do a range of Euro style Trekking bike with front suspension, fully equipped with luggage rack etc. This is what most people tour on.

Non suspension fork is a good idea but its really hard to find in higher grade bikes.

br0nc

Thanks for the advice, guys! The Marathon is in a lower price range and like @MichaelW noted it's a low end bike. The Hacker is more like a MTB so I don't know what it's in the "comfort" section. I also think that a bike without a suspension fork would be better but most people here look for bikes with suspension forks so the companies but cheap ones on most of the bikes. Can I change it with a non-suspension later on? I've looked at the Cross bikes but most of them are too expensive for me.

br0nc

Hey guys! It's me again. A couple of days ago I visited my local bike mechanic who also sells second hand bikes. I mentioned to him that I was looking for a commuter/touring bike and he offered me a Hercules Nepal 700c bike. It's 50$ cheaper than the Drag Cruiser and has hub gears, hub dynamo, Shimano breaks and (most of?) the components are from the Shimano Nexave series. It looks like this one but with hub gears - . Its front fender is broken and so is the headlight. I'm gonna go for a test ride tomorrow and I hope I'll be able to take a few pictures. What do you think? I haven't been able to find much information about this bike and most of what I've found is in German. There a couple of variants of the bike e.g. some are with hub gears, some are with derailleur gears. What should I look for when riding it? I mean what problems should I try to detect? I expected to get a some money from a scholarship today but my GPA is 3 hundredths lower than needed and I wanted to buy the bike with that money so know I have to use almost all my savings. I want to get the best bike for the money I have but still I don't want to spend a lot of money on repairs.. Thanks!