Originally Posted by
dk85
Hi everyone,
I want to start biking to work, both to save some money and to get myself fitter. I have not ridden a bike (for any significant duration) since highschool. Hence I am a complete novice to biking.
I live in Philadelphia and have a ~6mile ride each way. The terrain is fairly flat except for a hill near my home (about 1/2 a mile).
Since I have no idea if I will stick with this in the long run and due to monetary concerns, my budget is just $300-350.
Reading through the forum, it's clear I cannot get anything fancy for this price. So I thought of buying online from amazon/bikesdirect, but most forum members do not recommend it.
So with more time on the internet, I found some bikes at Performace Bikes (there's a store in Philly and I can ship site to store), which fit my budget.
The comparison page is here :
Performance Bike - Road Bikes - Product Comparison
What would you guys recommend, considering my budget and requirements? I would appreciate any and all feedback.
Thanks alot!!
Dan
You can buy a decent straight bar "hybrid" bike for around $400 from a bike shop. That's what I recommend for my friends who want to try bike commuting. You might also spend a little more to have them put higher quality flat resistant tires on it as well. It's not quite as fast as a road bike, but it's a lot cheaper, and it's also more comfortable for a lot of people as well. Be sure the tires you get are smooth - tread is not useful for road riding plus it's a lot slower.
The biggest mistake people do when buying a bike is buying the wrong size bike. It's like buying the wrong size of pants - it doesn't matter what a great deal you got on it, it's not going to fit you. That's why it's difficult to suggest to people to buy something online or on craigslist, if they end up with the wrong size bike it's not going to work for them no matter how good of a deal it is.