Buying Bikes
 

For A First Time Mountain Bike Buyer Here Is My Problem. Can A 350 Pound Person Just Go To Walmart And Buy A 100$dollar Bike And Get The Same Results As A 150 Pound Person Or Do I Need To Go To A Special Bike Shop.

Hey poppabig, try posting your question in "Clydesdales/Athenas". Probably get better responses from someone your size.

Personally I wouldn't recommend a $100 mt bike to anyone. You don't need a special bike shop, just a good one. Any decent local bike shop (LBS) should be able to help you. Just tell them your budget and how you want to use it and they'll be able to show you some bikes that will work for you. Good luck.

Moved to Clydesdales/Athenas. :)

Poppabig, I bought a trek 800 from craigslist for $125 and I am your size. My bike doesn't have suspension which you would want if you are trail riding. I wanted to make sure I liked riding before investing 400+ dollars. So far, I LOVE IT!

Hey Pappabig, I just did exactly what you are talking about. Decided to get into riding and went to Wal-mart and bought there "Mongoose" $100 bike. I went for my first ride 2 days later and about 1-2 miles in I broke the chain. I walked it back in the rain and promptly loaded it back into my Jeep and took it back to wal-mart. After that I was telling a friend about it and he showed me his giant and told me to take it for a spin. Well turns out his 10 year old bike road better after blowing the dust off it and bringin it out of his basement, than that $100 bike did brand new. Moral of the story, you get what you pay for. Now having said that, I think you can get into a good bike for a beginner for around $300 maybe even a little less. I haven't bought a bike since then because I am researching the hell out of it to make sure whatever I get is the most bang for my buck. I have road some good bikes I found on Craigslist just didn't fit me but they were like $200 used. If I don't find a good used one this week I am just going to go out and buy a new one.

I started out around your size, and picked up a then-new Specialized Hardrock Sport for $350-ish. Almost 1000 miles later, no problems to speak of. I've seen closeouts for $279-ish locally, and that's a heck of a deal. I'd recommend researching that, or the Trek 820's.

Whatever you do, avoid Wal-Mart bikes like the plague.

Can't agree more at avoiding the Walmart bikes. Weigh a ton and have very bad components. I would locate a good local bike shop, do your research and if you are not sure if you want to really get into cycling, pick up a used bike off Craig's List. Can usually find good used bikes for a fraction of new, but I stress, do your research first. Know what you like and dislike, go to the LBS and ride as many different bikes as you can, read Sheldon's site http://www.sheldonbrown.com/home.html he is just a wealth of info. Read the Clyde FAQ http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=318168. I started out at 375 15 months ago and now down to 295. It's been a great time.

And welcome aboard.

I would agree with bdinger, et al. I started on a Next bike. I originally bought it to ride around the neighborhood as the kids were learning to ride. It was fine for that kind of 5 mph, 5 block ride.

When I wanted to start riding longer and faster, the bike started to show its problems. Brakes were not safe enough to stop my weight and would constantly rub the wheels. It started creaking and making noise. Shifters would not stay adjusted, wheels got untrue, etc. This stuff started to show around 100 miles. I was 275 pounds at the time and I didn't feel real safe on it.

I bought a HardRock Sport at that point and have put over 400 miles and lost 25 lbs since June. The bike has given me zero problems. Shifts great, stops great, wheels are true, bike is quiet, etc. The difference in ride and enjoyment is amazing.

I also have a 1982 Schwinn road bike that I recently re-did. And even it with all its 25 year old stock parts, generic tires and brake pads, etc is a better ride than the Walmart bike was.

Just my perspective. I would go new at an local bike store if you can swing $350 to $400. They will make sure you get a bike that fits and is in tune. If not, try used. Look for the major brands...Trek, Fuji, Kona, Specialized, Giant, etc. I am sure I am missing a number of them.

Full disclosure prior to opinion: I am a mechanic at a bike shop. So if you want you can take my advice with a grain of seasoning of your choice.


In my opinion bikes from wal-mart are ****. Being dangerous, poorly put together, cheap, heavy, no support from a professional service from the location you bought it (translation: wal-mart has no mechanics only sales-droids), no warrantee to speak of and they drive legitimate (and helpful) bike shops out of business (not to mention any other business). In fact, I would say that avoiding ALL department store bought bicycles should be the norm.

I agree with most of this post. Stay away from these bikes entirely if at all possible. You should go and ask you LBS to see what they have in the closeouts or last years model or something else that they would get rid of cheaper. Some of the frames haven't changed in 5 years, but you can get the bike for $200 instead of $495. That is how I bought one of mine. My LBS has my business for a few years now and they are over 45 minutes away, so it really isn't a Local Bike Shop.

List of bikes to avoid.
1 "honda" sold at places like dicks
2 next made by kent aka dyna corp (same manufacture as honda) sold kmart and walkmart
3 mongoose also a dyna corp sold at walmart (note mongoose does have a bike shop quality bike line sold at bike shops).

Honds bike is a death trap on 2 wheels. They sell as a full suspension mtb but fact is it is just springs with no suppression or dampening. The rear triangle (swing arm) is held on by a large pressed in piece of tin. The swing arm becomes very wobbly after a few short miles.

All dept store mtbs have this warning in common on the frame. "not intended for off road or stunting use" They market these bikes as full suspension mtb with names like downhill certified or catapult or other names that scream this bike is a full blown mtb.

Bikes i recommend for mup use are
jamis explorer 2.0 citizen 2.0 or jamis ranger series of mtb. Price range is from 299 for the ranger to 425 for the citizen 2.0.

trek specialized and giant also have similar offerings.

Hear! Hear! Sevarian is right on. If you buy a bike as a piece of exercise equipment, you'll end up hanging your shirts on it. A bicycle has to be three things: it's gotta fit, it's gotta be comfortable, and it's gotta be fun. Get the first two and the third will take care of itself.