Originally Posted by
Programen
Hello everyone. I'm looking into buying a bike.
Its main purpose will be commuting through the city. Considering the condition of the roads here, it should be able to handle some uneven terrain, but nothing more than a slightly bumpy road.
I am a beginner and don't want to spend a fortune on the bike. There is also a slight chance of it getting stolen - all the more reason to not spend too much money.
I was hoping someone here could help me pick a bike, or at least point me in the right direction. I'm thinking a mountain bike with little or no suspension and road tires.
Any and all advice is much appreciated.
You are on the right track in your thinking. If you have the skill and experience to work on bikes yourself, you can pick up a good 1990's MTB on Craigslist pretty cheap and if you do the overhaul yourself and buy new street tires, you can have a great bike for a very reasonable price. The major brands you'll see are Trek & Specialized but from that era, Schwinn, Giant, Raleigh, and a few others are out there as well. Just use this board as a resource.
In the Trek line-up, the 900 series are the top bikes and the 800 series are more entry level. Any of them would work well.
In the Specialized line-up, the Stumpjumpers art at the top, followed by Rockhoppers and finally the Hard Rocks. I think the Rockhoppers are the sweet spot.
If you aren't able to do the work, it will add substantially to the cost and a new, entry level bike shop bike might be more appropriate. You would probably pay $400-500 for a new bike and maybe $300-400 for an older bike than a bike shop overhauls for you.
You might get lucky and find a good, older MTB that is in good working condition for a good price but that hasn't been my experience. Most have needed at least $50-100 worth of work from an LBS and sometimes much more (ie, complete overahaul with new cables, housing, brake pads, tubes, bearings, etc..).