Originally Posted by
PStephens
I've read articles of guys that have done this stuff with the cheapest of bikes and either made their stuff, sold stuff from thrift stores and used the money to buy stuff, or they just found what they needed at a thrift store. I'm not looking to race to Kansas. If my butt hurts, then my butt hurts. I'm really just looking to get from point A to point B. I'd probably walk if I thought I could afford to sustain myself for that amount of time. Heck, all of this stuff could get stolen. I remember once in a documentary a guy saying how the adventure starts when everything screws up.
So I don't think I can afford ideal. I just want to know what will work. Also I don't really weigh too much (I think I'm just above an underweight BMI) and I don't imagine I'd be carrying that much weight. I think the most weight would be the bivy tent and sleeping bag.
right, those guys knew what they were doing. So will you after a year of riding/fixing. Ideal includes what you can afford. $1500 isn't ideal, sounds like $500 or less is. What is ideal is a good posture and a butt and body that aren't killing you and you are taking care of it.
Your $450 budget is bottom end good enough quality new stuff. The real value you're getting is the shop ensuring it's right out the door, education and follow up service. Once you take your really nice $445 28yr old Trek 520 into the shop for BASIC tuneup servicing it's going to be a $500 28yr old bike. If the headset is notched and needs replacing or the stem is just a bit too long and you want to replace it your $445 28 yr old Trek 520 is a $600 bike. That's what I mean when someone thinks of getting a bike like that ebay Trek 520, it's because they want THAT bike.
Ideal would be if that 28yr old Trek was in your town and you could ride it and give it a look over. If you pick up a bike by the top tube so the front wheel is barely off the ground so the front wheel can swing slightly from left to right and you don't see the wheel/handlebar center itself into a notch you've got an undamaged headset. If you lock the front brake and rock the bike back and forth and feel a knocking sound you know the headset is loose and needs tightening. If in tightening you discover it's notched you've got a bike that won't ride hands off well.
That Trek is better than 80% of the bikes I saw while touring in '84 and probably half of the bikes I saw in the shop and on the road had some damage I couldn't tolerate as a mechanic/rider but they didn't know the difference.
Yeah, I'd want to know what works too. If you know what works you can ask, if you don't you won't and it may not matter. Ask the seller about the headset, does it turn smoothly without notching. Do the chainrings/crank run true or does it rub the front derailleur with each rotation.
btw, I understand your trepidation going into a shop with a low ball budget when the ideal bike they sell is $1000+. Where your goal is a trip, not necessarily a bike whereas the folks working there are about The Bike. That's ok, if you find a helpful person they know you'll come back to get a tire,tube,patchkit,floor pump,frame pump,racks, etc. More importantly though it's what they're there for, they want you to get the ideal bike, even if it's $450. Just be straight up, if you aren't planning on buying for a few weeks, say that, if you can't afford more than $500 say that, if you want to set the bike up for touring say that. Just be reasonable and don't expect undivided attention with open ended questions on a busy day. Pick a time when they aren't busy and be clear about what you're doing as you are here. That experience will get you closer to ideal with a $500 budget than picking stuff out of ebay.