You guys are awesome! Thanks again so much for holding my hand and offering sound advice throughout this process.
I barely know my sister's boyfriend. In all honesty, I know you guys more and I trust that you guys are giving very good advice. The mountain bike is an idea. But I just wanted to know if it's possible to get a good mountain bike at the $600 price range? I would imagine that they have to be more rugged and durable which would factor into the cost.
Chances are, I'm not even going to delve into that. I suppose, as i get more into cycling. If I feel the need to go mountain biking (which looks like a lot of fun) or off-road I will just opt to get another bike (N+1) dedicated for that.
So yeah, I'll just focus on on urban bike for now.
I went back to REI today and yeah, I was a bit confused but the basic rundown is that the cost of switching things will be free given that the replacement part is the same or lesser value than the stock part. The cost of labor is free (basically it is included as 30 minutes of free labor). I will call back again this week to speak to their master tech and find out the actual prices of the stock parts I will be replacing so I know what my options are (in terms of price) for the replacement parts.
They had flat mountain bike type handlebars
One handlebar that they had was from a company called Easton. It is the EA30 Monkey low rise handlebar.
Another handlebar option they had was the Titec Mountain handlebar.
I see, it's not that complicated but, how much do these parts matter? Is it more a matter of choose what looks good (from the flat mountain type handlebar)? Or should I look into the different materials and stuff that are used for the handlebars they have at REI?
What about grips?
I think I also might replace the grips. I don't know exactly what type of material or texture the stock grips are called. They feel comfy but not that grippy. I'm thinking I should probably go with rubber grips. Is it just pick what feels and looks nice?
I was thinking about replacing the saddle. But it's very likely that I won't find a saddle that costs equal or less than the value of the stock saddle.
And yeah, they said that painting the bike does not void the satisfaction guaranteed policy. However, it does void the Novara product warranty.
Nevertheless, I think I might take it into a detailing shop and just get the frame professionally repainted black. Does that mean I have to take everything apart and just give the shop the bike frame to repaint?
So yeah, I guess I will take the Felt Brougham out (still considering it) and the Novara Buzz One becomes my top pick.
To make matters a bit more complicated,
I stopped by EMS as well. They had a Jamis Coda that I will test ride this week (it was freezing cold and started snowing today, so I couldn't really test it out).
The employee there was explaining to me, that it would be better to get a geared bike like the Jamis Coda.
They had a steel version ($550) and an aluminum version ($525). They are the 2011 models. No Coda Sports
They have the least desirable policy when it comes to tune-ups and adjustments. I get one free tune-up but brake and gear adjustments are not free. He said after the initial tune-up I shouldn't need any adjustments at least for a year. And after that, I will only need tune-ups and adjustments about once a year. Is that true for geared bikes? I thought it was important to get tune-ups and adjustments a couple times a year.
He did say that the 2012 Coda Sports should be coming in, in about 4-6 weeks. They will be priced at about $560.
With that said, the current Codas are not expect to come down in price, even when the new Jamis Coda Bikes come in.
For the most part it seems like all the stores sell their bikes at MSRP (so it's not very consumer friendly I guess).