Originally Posted by
sk8rdi16
I am trying to decide on a bike for my needs. I will be commuting for the next 2 months on Guam. It's really rainy now, but should be drying up soon. The hills are much steeper than I'm used to as well. I commuted to school for 4.5 years in MS on a Diamandback Hardtail mountain bike, but I'd really like to get something more efficient now (bike is still in MS). My plan is to do some loaded touring as well when back on the mainland. The problems I'm having are the only two bike shops on island have either mountain or road bikes. One deals Giant/Cannondale the other Trek and Gary Fisher. They don't have much in stock and takes a month to special order bikes! My options are an '07 Giant OCR or some higher end Treks (not sure) I'd like to keep the price under $1k, but cheaper is always better. There's not much in the way of used which would be ideal. I've fallen in love with the Surly LHT and of course the Trek 520, should I just try to get one shipped from the states, used? I can't really wait a month for delivery. Thanks for any help!
Let me be the first to welcome you to the Island “Were America’s day begins”. Guam is the first US Territory that the sun hit’s on any given day.
There is a really good bike scene there and most people are surprised at the amount of riding you can do on such a “tiny island”. You can talk to "Niko" at Hornet sporting goods he owns one of the two Bike shops on the island, he is really busy so it is sometimes hard to get a hold of him. The other shop is owned by “Mark” if I’m not mistaken I’m not sure as to what he sales at his place but I heard it’s mostly MT. Bike stuff. Most of our “upper end” stuff is ordered via the internet, I’m talking Zipp Wheels, Colnago’s, De –Rosa’s, and other one of bike items. You can always get it from the shops on the island but comparing the prices is very similar to what you find between a LBS and the internet. Places like Performance, Colorado Cyclist, and Excell sports etc all ship to Guam. As a matter of fact a lot of the racers here know the Colorado cyclist operators by first name because we order so much from them. Any Asian made bike will be cheaper on Guam because Asia is much closer to Guam and the coast associated with importing them are usually passed onto the consumer. With 80% of the bikes on the market nowadays being made in Asia you can get almost any make or brand offered.
Insofar as commuting I would suggest in the best lighting system that you can afford. The street lights are decent in the city but in many parts of the island they are nominal at best. PM if you have any questions or hit the link below and get a hold of the members on the attached link.
http://guamcycling.com/