Newbie questions
 

First off sorry for the longwinded post, thanks in advance for reading through....

Soo, im a new member. been perusing this forum for a bit, trying to do some research. And have some questions. A little about me: I currently have a roadbike, that i love, and really want to get a second bike for getting around town, (a singlespeed, or 3 speed, not fixed) to the gym, what have you, so i dont have to take my nice roadbike and worry about it. I have come across a bunch of different bikes on here which are killer but not sure its what im looking for. The closest "new" bike i have found that I think would fit what im looking for is the Swobo Otis. However, the price tag is a little much for my taste.

So I am almost 6'4" and just under 210 lbs. Not to say these bikes look wimpy or fragile, (im sure there not, i just can't think of a better word for it) I am looking for a bike that i can really beat on with no worries. Like hopping on an off curbs, going over railroad tracks, and potholes (boston is not known for nice streets).

I'm assuming most would say just get a mountain bike and put slicks on it, or a cyclecross bike. I guess im just not knowledgeable enough about all of it. I was hoping, any of you knowledgeable people out there could give me some insight into what would be best. Best starter frame? best complete? best tires, parts?

any and all opinions are welcome, and thanks in advance for the input!

Accept it as a "town bike" and I think this would work perfectly for you.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/.../messenger.htm

steamroller complete comes with flipflop hub and drilling for rear brake. throw some fat tires on and you'll be able to take it anywhere.

Yea, I saw that one BMonei, do you know off hand if it can take wider tires? Like the Swobo comes with 1.5" tires. I checked on the motobecane site, but couldn't find anything.... I probably should have included that in my post.....

yea i saw that one too, I'm just hoping i can either find something, or frankenstein something together for less $$ than that

Just get an old 80's road bike and run the usual 27x1.25 tires, you will be fine. If you want a single/fixed, any of the off the peg completes will be strong enough for you, just run a 700cx25 or 28 tire. 28's you will need to keep pumped up a little more, a really low 28 on a narrow road rim can be kind of squirrelly.

If you want the motobecane I know it can take 25's, someone on here will know about 28's

Off Topic, I hate the term 'Frankenstein'. What does that even mean? Because a bike has a different group/parts than the ones it was sold with? Those parts were picked with the manufacturer considering which brands and parts were the most appealing to the general public and getting the most $return$ for accessorizing with said parts. IE, no King headset, No Phil hubs, no Fun, damnit!

You'll never need anything above a 25c for city riding. Be real.

If you're truly concerned with durability, just get a BMX bike...

If you just want a beater for getting around town i'd go with landgoliers suggestion.If you want it to be singlespeed just replace the cluster with a single freewheel and use the inner chainring.It will most likely be a 40.That will give you a 67.5 inch gear with a 16 T freewheel wich is not bad for stop and go in the city.Chainline should be pretty close with the inner chainring and if not flipping the spindle might help.If you don't like wrenching on bikes get the motobecane.

Yeah if you want cheapo... I would have to suggest the conversion bike.

Find an old 80's or 90's frame with horizontal or semi-horizontal dropouts and do the work from there.

Im running an old Sekai 400 (Im surprised it hasn't made it into the jackass thread yet) and I put some 700c wheels on it (should be running 27" stock) with the 700's Im currently running 38's and have room to spare. Obv I run slicks when there no snow or ice... but I don't mind beating on it. When the frame crumbles... I'll find another one.

Oh come on! he the op is 6'4 why the hell would he want a BMX?

As far as frames being weak, I'm 6'3 and like 250#s and ride a generic aluminum road frame on 700x23's, I bunny hop and jump off curbs and **** and my frame is just fine

Not to sound completely oblivious, but what does a "700c" wheel mean, size wise i guess. what does the c stand for? can't be centimeters, i know, but how is that converted to inches?


EDIT* what i should have done in the first place, just googled my own question on the 700c, still would like to know what the c stands for though....

Also, in doing some looking, I know for sure that i want a much wider tire than a 25 or 28, so that 38 idea sounds pretty good...

A good place to search for any kind of info on bikes is sheldonbrown.com.

I'd say a singlespeed 29er mountain bike would be your #1 fun option.