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Um, I don't mean to sound like a lemming here but I believe most of what cig has writen. Nothing seems too embellished. He has a garmin gps system that tracks his speed as well as a bike computer. The gps system lets him link it to his pc and get accurate data from my understanding.
My own cheapo shwinn computer will tell me my top speed, average speed, time and so on for my current trip. But it would be nice to get data like cig does. But it's not that valuable to me to actually go spend the $$$. As for this bike, you dont' own one, you obviously are a lbs biased bicyclist who thinks you can't get anything good unless it comes from a LBS or it has a big name brand associated with it. Really you are a lemming in the grand scheme of things. No one here is saying go buy this bike and avoid lbs's, craigs list, yard sales or whatever. This is just one option. If I rode flat surfaces all the time instead of all the hill climbing i have to do I'm sure i'd average 20... and I'm 17 pounds over weight. This may blow your mind but some lbs out in cali actually have this very bike. It's about $50 more there. You can find em online. Real shops that have an online side that also sell these bikes. Amazing. I bought this bike before ever finding this thread. I researched it... it would do what i wanted without having to spend $500+ which is what they LBS here had for their lowest end bike (which wasn't even a road bike, it was some cruiser thing). The weight seemed comparable to the Shwinn Varsity that I was considering as well. The Denali seemed a bit more comfy. Overall I've adjusted the seat height, stem height, brake pads, front derailur and back cassette/deraileur thing, and I adjusted the brakes so they had a little more clamping power. Sure I could have paid the lbs a $100 or whatever to do the work... but it seemed like pretty simple work to me. The shifting is pretty buttery smooth now :) Anyone with a tiny amount of skill with a screwdriver, allan wrench and a crecent wrench could handle the adjustments I made. It doesn't take an lbs to adjust your seat height or anything else. So the bike weighs 26 pounds. Big deal. It's better than my 40 pound 18 speed mtb. It didnt' brake the bank & let me see if I'd enjoy riding a road bike. Infact it turned me on to road bikes in general. Oh and my roadie friend that I ride with on thursdays (who rides a super nice Cannondale road bike) said he was impressed by my bike. Even after 20 miles of riding if I hit a good slight downhill I'll push the pace up to 25... which makes for a good fun ride. I see no reason to steer someone clear of this bike. The obvious things that need adjusted are there... and hey even LBS's sometimes set the brake pads too low or too high or put a seat too high or low.. or whatever. It's nice being able to adjust without needing to first go somewhere to get someone else to turn the little wrench for you. I'm biased against spoiled people that don't do anything for themselves. |
Originally Posted by State
5. Claims that parking his bike in the front window of a video store dramatically increases its profits and people come by just to see it.
Whoa, whoa, whoa !!! Parking it in the window increased profits? Can I assume that parking it in the bedroom would increase something else? |
Originally Posted by nightc1
Um, I don't mean to sound like a lemming here but I believe most of what cig has writen. Nothing seems too embellished. He has a garmin gps system that tracks his speed as well as a bike computer. The gps system lets him link it to his pc and get accurate data from my understanding.
My own cheapo shwinn computer will tell me my top speed, average speed, time and so on for my current trip. But it would be nice to get data like cig does. But it's not that valuable to me to actually go spend the $$$. As for this bike, you dont' own one, you obviously are a lbs biased bicyclist who thinks you can't get anything good unless it comes from a LBS or it has a big name brand associated with it. Really you are a lemming in the grand scheme of things. No one here is saying go buy this bike and avoid lbs's, craigs list, yard sales or whatever. This is just one option. If I rode flat surfaces all the time instead of all the hill climbing i have to do I'm sure i'd average 20... and I'm 17 pounds over weight. This may blow your mind but some lbs out in cali actually have this very bike. It's about $50 more there. You can find em online. Real shops that have an online side that also sell these bikes. Amazing. I bought this bike before ever finding this thread. I researched it... it would do what i wanted without having to spend $500+ which is what they LBS here had for their lowest end bike (which wasn't even a road bike, it was some cruiser thing). The weight seemed comparable to the Shwinn Varsity that I was considering as well. The Denali seemed a bit more comfy. Overall I've adjusted the seat height, stem height, brake pads, front derailur and back cassette/deraileur thing, and I adjusted the brakes so they had a little more clamping power. Sure I could have paid the lbs a $100 or whatever to do the work... but it seemed like pretty simple work to me. The shifting is pretty buttery smooth now :) Anyone with a tiny amount of skill with a screwdriver, allan wrench and a crecent wrench could handle the adjustments I made. It doesn't take an lbs to adjust your seat height or anything else. So the bike weighs 26 pounds. Big deal. It's better than my 40 pound 18 speed mtb. It didnt' brake the bank & let me see if I'd enjoy riding a road bike. Infact it turned me on to road bikes in general. Oh and my roadie friend that I ride with on thursdays (who rides a super nice Cannondale road bike) said he was impressed by my bike. Even after 20 miles of riding if I hit a good slight downhill I'll push the pace up to 25... which makes for a good fun ride. I see no reason to steer someone clear of this bike. The obvious things that need adjusted are there... and hey even LBS's sometimes set the brake pads too low or too high or put a seat too high or low.. or whatever. It's nice being able to adjust without needing to first go somewhere to get someone else to turn the little wrench for you. I'm biased against spoiled people that don't do anything for themselves. |
Originally Posted by dobber
Whoa, whoa, whoa !!!
Parking it in the window increased profits? Can I assume that parking it in the bedroom would increase something else? |
Originally Posted by State
1. Claims that Florida is high-rust area and that is why he can't find a good road bike
If you are near the ocean it can be. I lived in FL a couple years, there was a bike rack at a condo association a couple blocks from the beach, all the bikes on the rack were rusted bad. Or at least the parts that could rust, were rusted -a couple had decent looking frames still, maybe aluminum. This wasn't from a hurricane surge either. Which also makes me think. I would be wary buying a used bike in some areas (online especially, if you can't go test ride it) if they were possibly soaked in salt water during a hurricane. |
4. Hit a car at 25mph, slid across its hood and continued to ride! However, I have a friend who wiped out on his BMW motorcycle after hitting a patch of gravel going downhill at about 80 MPH. I **** you not. He passed another friend of mine who was going 70 MPH as he wiped. He slid on his ass for hundreds yards, he had leather pants on, it tore thru that and half the meat on his ass. Anyway, he dusted himself off, picked his bike up, and it still ran! (if you are familiar with BMW boxers - he had engine guards), bars were bent tho. They were on their way to a rally. They limped the bike into a nearby town, he bought a bunch of neosporin ointment and smeared it on his ass, they found some bars at a motorcycle shop, fixed it up then kept on going that same day. I saw a pic of him in a beemer mag at the rally walking around with his bloody ass hanging out of jeans he cut the seat out of, so it would be exposed to air and heal quicker, he kept smearing the neosporin on it too I guess. |
I see a lot of people here saying, “Buy used.” When I was just getting into bicycling I did just that; what I got was an over priced department store bike (Like I said, I didn’t know; I was just getting back into bicycling).
I had previously owned two Sears brand ten speeds that I liked; before that was the assortment of kids bikes. I then decided to get back into bicycling; motorcycles only were adding the pounds. As I said, I tried the used route. There was almost no selection (there remains almost no selection in the part of the US I live in) and I feel I was taken. I think a lot of people become very hesitant to purchase used bikes because there is no way for someone who does not make bicycling a passion to come out ahead on used bikes. The ones that are not department store, or total junk, are almost always priced at, or above, new price. Several years back my wife decided that she would go riding with me and I made the mistake of trying the used market. I spent so long waiting for something that was not junk, or overpriced, or both, that she lost interest in the idea. The next time she expressed interest I just put a suspension fork on my rockhopper and pointed her at it. No, it was not a perfect bike for her; but, it was a better solution that spending money on used junk or paying new price for old bikes. These rare, “smoking,” deals that so many of you boast are just that, rare. It is fine if you have all the bikes you want and are just looking to fill the garage. However, it is not a useful resource for new riders. People have good reason to avoid the used market and scorning them for doing so is just another elitist attitude. |
Actualy I did buy this bike because of this thread. I have a bit over 200 miles on it and I'm afraid it's not a POS. Yes the shifters/handle bars are odd, but hey it does work. Fall apart? Not really an issue. The rimtape is crap but that was a 5.99 fix, big deal. Actualy my tires say to fill them to 90psi, I have them at 90psi..so do I make that 99% of walmart bikes underinflated? I didn't want used, I didn't want a 500 dollar bike, I wanted something to comute on to and from work on a daily basis. This bike has filled the bill with zero issues and I would gladly recomend it to a new cyclist. Used will take just as much fix it knollege as this if not more and will run the same cost. To be honest this is a good solid bike for 150 bucks, maybe someday I'll upgrade but as of right now I can't think of one reason to get rid of this bike, it's done everything I can ask of it.
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Originally Posted by State
So you believe that he hit a car at 25mph, slid across its hood, and continued riding?
normally when I got to this intersection I would get off the bike and cross as a pedestrian. This time I was lazy and wanted to drive the bike rather than walk it well, even though I thought I checked for traffic, I got hit by a car... I got flipped over the length of the car and landed on my hands and knees in the other lane... good thing that there were no vehicles coming from the other lane so I was able to get up and there was already a cop with the lady that hit me... my injuries? two bruised and scratched up knees, scratch on my left arm... oh and thats when you didn't wear helmets to ride a bike... the car speed was 50 based on the womans word... so there you have it... can you not get injured in an accident? yes, just don't count on it though... |
Originally Posted by Robert C
I see a lot of people here saying, “Buy used.” When I was just getting into bicycling I did just that; what I got was an over priced department store bike (Like I said, I didn’t know; I was just getting back into bicycling).
Originally Posted by Robert C
I had previously owned two Sears brand ten speeds that I liked; before that was the assortment of kids bikes. I then decided to get back into bicycling; motorcycles only were adding the pounds. As I said, I tried the used route. There was almost no selection (there remains almost no selection in the part of the US I live in) and I feel I was taken. I think a lot of people become very hesitant to purchase used bikes because there is no way for someone who does not make bicycling a passion to come out ahead on used bikes. The ones that are not department store, or total junk, are almost always priced at, or above, new price.
Originally Posted by Robert C
Several years back my wife decided that she would go riding with me and I made the mistake of trying the used market. I spent so long waiting for something that was not junk, or overpriced, or both, that she lost interest in the idea. The next time she expressed interest I just put a suspension fork on my rockhopper and pointed her at it. No, it was not a perfect bike for her; but, it was a better solution that spending money on used junk or paying new price for old bikes.
Originally Posted by Robert C
These rare, “smoking,” deals that so many of you boast are just that, rare. It is fine if you have all the bikes you want and are just looking to fill the garage. However, it is not a useful resource for new riders. People have good reason to avoid the used market and scorning them for doing so is just another elitist attitude. |
Originally Posted by State
. You will never see a 5 year old denali because it will never last that long.
. I have a huffy thats gotta be pushing 25+ years. Oh yea, and a Free Spirit thats even older. |
All you need to do is lurk in the classic and vinatge forum here or *gasp* ask a question. That is what I did. Oh and by the way. I picked up a 1981 Miyayta 610 w/ an indoor trainer today on my lunch hour. Total cost? $35. Geography does play a role in availibilty (I live near Philadelphia) but most of the time it is more a matter of effort. Get a cheap bike get, and education (here on BF) than get a great bike cheap.:D
Anyone who doubts me, check my ebay seller id bylar13. Most everything there is stuff I picked up locally and resold to fund my own bike stuff. Also I am 40, have white collar job, a wife two kids and a very busy life. Geography not withstanding, it is a matter of effort. It is not easy by any strech but I now own 3 bikes for commuting: 1972 Schwinn Paramount chrome P15 touring Model 1981 Trek 710 1973 Schwinn World Voyageur retro-fitted with a Nexus 8 speed hub I got all of my information from this forum, Sheldon Brown and a Park repair manual. It is fine to not WANT to do any of the stuff I metioned, but because I DO does not make me ellitist. It may not work for you but is does work.
Originally Posted by Robert C
I see a lot of people here saying, “Buy used.” When I was just getting into bicycling I did just that; what I got was an over priced department store bike (Like I said, I didn’t know; I was just getting back into bicycling).
I had previously owned two Sears brand ten speeds that I liked; before that was the assortment of kids bikes. I then decided to get back into bicycling; motorcycles only were adding the pounds. As I said, I tried the used route. There was almost no selection (there remains almost no selection in the part of the US I live in) and I feel I was taken. I think a lot of people become very hesitant to purchase used bikes because there is no way for someone who does not make bicycling a passion to come out ahead on used bikes. The ones that are not department store, or total junk, are almost always priced at, or above, new price. Several years back my wife decided that she would go riding with me and I made the mistake of trying the used market. I spent so long waiting for something that was not junk, or overpriced, or both, that she lost interest in the idea. The next time she expressed interest I just put a suspension fork on my rockhopper and pointed her at it. No, it was not a perfect bike for her; but, it was a better solution that spending money on used junk or paying new price for old bikes. These rare, “smoking,” deals that so many of you boast are just that, rare. It is fine if you have all the bikes you want and are just looking to fill the garage. However, it is not a useful resource for new riders. People have good reason to avoid the used market and scorning them for doing so is just another elitist attitude. |
Yeah for the longevity of the Denali, I don't see why I wouldn't last 5 years. I have a cheap MTB I bought reduced at K-Mart about 6 years ago that still rides perfectly fine.
Cig has over... what... 3000 miles on his denali already and it's still running like a champ. There were a lot of people early on in this thread that never imagined this bike would hold up. I read the whole thread... there was everything from the handle bars snapping to the pedals breaking... and so on. It seems this bike holds up just fine. But some people just can't stand the fact that others ride (and ride well) such an inexpensive bike. It's like they must work at a LBS or something and this threatens their lively hood or something. I checked out the used market here. First off there's no craigslist covered city for 60 miles of my home. The nearest are Huntsville & Birmingham and I checked them and there wasn't jack on there except some NEXT or whatever they are called cheap MTB's. The Denali I actually bought locally at Walmart (Amazon has it and other bike stores online have it). There really wasn't a better option for me without scouring the flea markets and yardsales and who knows if I'd ever find anything let alone be able to identify a good bike from a bad one. I feel that now I could probably do a good job buying a used bike on my own. I may do that sometime in the near future as a second bike since I love road bikes :D ... but to start out not even knowing a dang thing about road bikes I feel the Denali was a wise purchase. I may never see a $ out of it... but I never plan to sell it anyway. |
See you can't please all the people all the time. I have a "what you call" higher end bike. I got this one so I would have something to ride while rebuilding the other. I seen the Denali and was looking at the reviews. But the reviews for the Denali just said that the bike was a POS. So I wanted to get a full review that give all the good and bad on this bike. So take it for what it is.
And if you could run down and somke roadies, then you would brag about it too. To day on the way home I cought a MTB commuter. Did I run him into the ground ? NO! I slowed down and start a condersation with him. I have done that with road bike commuters and MTB commuters. But when I see a want to be roadie out there running down commuters and all, well then it's on. Now as for the parking it in the shop window. I do that every day. And yes it has pulled in about 6 commuters that have became regulars. And when bike commuters are going by the shop they do come in knowing that it's a bike friendly place. So yes it has increased profits. Because by regulars, I mean that they come in every 2 to 3 days. So that's like 6 X 10 = 60 extra transactions per month. So they you have it. Yes people have and do, all day long, ask's about the bike while at the shop. |
cigtech, long may you-- and the Denali-- run!
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Originally Posted by State
I'm sorry that you got ripped off. This does not mean every used bike is a scam.
Are you seriously telling me that there are places selling used bikes at prices higher than equivelent new bikes? Can you give me an example? The shame of it is that it keeps him from getting a good bike. After all, it is a good bike, it had cost him $200:rolleyes: "all I need to do is fix it up." He would have been better off avoiding the used market entirely. A rockhopper is a solid entry level mountainbike. I would take a 5 year old rockhopper over a new denali any day. So now pointing people towards used bikes is "elitist?" are you kidding me? The reason I point out that walmart bikes are garbage is not because it makes me feel better than people that ride them, it's because they actually are garbage. Unfortunately, they look pretty nice and most people don't know enough about bikes to tell the difference. I just checked the Medford OR craigs list (which, as I said, did not exist when I was looking at used bikes) and saw no great deals in the local area. Giving specific advise is very useful; however, most if what I see is a form of "don't buy that crap, just wait for a great deal," without specifying just what a great deal is. This thread is about identifying one of the (admittedly few) good low end bikes that a rider can start with. If my frend with the Granite had started with a Denali (understanding that I have not seen one of them in person) or something similar, rather than getting riped on a used bike he might be a rider today. |
Myself, I paid $30 for my bike at Goodwill.
However, I think I searched for a good month, AND I knew what I wanted - I was posting on the cycling forum on VWvortex, and looking on Craigslist. Damn near bought a used Mt. Fury because I was getting impatient, and was having trouble finding anything in my price range. :eek: (Eventually decided... why pay $30 for a used one when I can pay $50 for a new one, but decided to look at Goodwill one last time, before I went to Wall-of-China-Mart. Got lucky. :)) |
I had a dept store bike back in the 80's and it worked for over 5 years before selling it at a yard sale... (boy I wish I hadn't now... ) it was some no-name brand k-mart bike. I loved that bike. Unfortunately, I wasn't too mechanical and when the spokes started to break on the rear wheel, I didn't know what else to do... (now I would just buy some spokes and try re-lacing it... )
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Yesterday I had my first flat. I wasn't even riding. I had the bike sitting next to my desk and about 20min before the end of the work day... "Pop... whizzzzzzz" and that was it. After breaking down the wheel I found the spot easy enough on the tube, but the tape on the wheel itself wasn't moved or anything. I'm going to get some new tape and fix up both wheels. It seems though that some kind of rubber nub or something in each of the spoke holes would keep this from happening. But I'll just get the new rim tape and be done with it.
I wondered when this would happen. I knew from all the advice here to get new rim tape... but just hadn't got around to it. I'll probably just order online and go ahead and get that crank tool while I'm at it. I want to beable to do just about anything I want to this bike. |
hey fender, I have a question... so what exactly do you mean when you say the denali is a POS...
if I remember, cig basically bought the thing for the frame and decided to write it up here... now don't get me wrong the bike is harder to push than my other high end bike but other than that it does seem to work and seems pretty sturdy... (im fairly hefty)... however, I myself have decided not to use it as a commuter because it is hard to push... Im going to use it as a recreational backup when my preferred bike is in the shop for something... I found that going used was a problem if you didn't already have something you could ride now... you have to search for a prospective bike, you have to travel to the person to take a look. and I found that I didn't know bikes as well as I thought I did... but there are better bikes on ebay if you can afford it (its not much higher but it is higher...). |
Where to buy tubes for Denali online.
Where did you order tehse from?
Greg
Originally Posted by CigTech
I just order the tubes from Kent Bicycle. They are only $3.00 a piece. And Nashbar had the Michelin Dynamic Road Tire 700 x 23 or 25 on sale so I got a set of them for $8.99 a piece. So when the Knada tires ware out I'll have a set to replace them.
As far as weight goes. This bike is 26.5 lbs. The 32 lbs is the bike boxed ready to ship. The chain is a good chain. Not the best but it works well. The bike fits a 5' 8' to 6' 2" person quite well. If your shorter then that then look at the 20" red frame. The bike has two eye lets on the rear for rack and fenders and one on the front for fenders. |
I don't think I ever called the Denali a POS. My issue with the bike is one of value for money spent. I don't think the bike is a good value. The bike has mostly low end components, more than likely will need a fair amount of adjusting new, as the assembly can be spotty and you can't go back to wal mart or amazon for mechanical service if there is a problem. Where I live most LBS's won't repiar/service this kind of bike because a $65 tune up on a bike that cost $150 new is more than many folks are willing to swallow. Cig is good at doing his maintinece and wanted the frame. I have no issue with that.
I am all for people ridng in general and if the Denali gets them going, great!:D My issue is that if you use this forum like i have, you can learn a lot about bikes if you want to. Having that knowledge allows you to make better decisions when it comes to buying a bike that is right for you. New or used. I have purchased and re-sold a lot of very nice older bikes. Bought cheap and re sold for a profit to fund my own bike addiction. :p I am no wizard. I learned everthing on this forum pertaining to the value of older bikes. There are bikes are out there and it takes work to find them. Knowing what you want, appoximately what it is worth and general mechanical knowledge are the first steps. Also I like older bikes so I enjoy the additional work of finding, selling etc. Some people don't. No big deal. I also find that servicing an older high end bike is relatively easy with a manual and some basic tools. I have not ever serviced a Denali so I can't compare the two. QUOTE=e0richt]hey fender, I have a question... so what exactly do you mean when you say the denali is a POS... if I remember, cig basically bought the thing for the frame and decided to write it up here... now don't get me wrong the bike is harder to push than my other high end bike but other than that it does seem to work and seems pretty sturdy... (im fairly hefty)... however, I myself have decided not to use it as a commuter because it is hard to push... Im going to use it as a recreational backup when my preferred bike is in the shop for something... I found that going used was a problem if you didn't already have something you could ride now... you have to search for a prospective bike, you have to travel to the person to take a look. and I found that I didn't know bikes as well as I thought I did... but there are better bikes on ebay if you can afford it (its not much higher but it is higher...).[/QUOTE] |
Originally Posted by fender1
My issue is that if you use this forum like i have, you can learn a lot about bikes if you want to.
I'm no bike mechanic. I don't see why it's crazy for someone to learn about the positives and negatives about this bike and decide for themselves if they want to buy it. No one who has one seems to hide any little facts about it. No one has hidden the obvious adjustmenst that would need to be made and for a used bike you'd need to check everything out, lube most parts and so on... expecially a really old bike. I think there's just a lot of bias out there. You don't need an LBS to tighten a bolt or determine your seat height. I learned a lot on these forums, sheldon whatever his name is's website, and other sites. And hey if you buy a used bike for $25.. or $50 or even $100... are you going to want to spend $65+ for an LBS to work on it anyway? Nah, that's part of being cheap in the first place. Buy something, fix it yourself, have a blast riding it :D I now know enough thanks to the denali in what to look for in a second bike. I haven't had to re-adjust anything that I've adjusted so I'm not as fixated on parts as features. What I'd like is maybe a bike with some higher gears for speed. And if I had a 3rd bike... maybe a SS or a multi-speed bike converted to SS. Of course I could eventually change up the gears on the denali... but I do like the lower gears for mountain climbing (talking 10% grading and maybe more!). Atleast, until I get strong enough to not need them. |
I was at Target the other day and saw a bike which I think was a better deal than the Denali.
I had a Denali and rode it a few times. I ended up giving it away on FreeCycle when I got a my Fuji Roubaix. There was nothing wrong with the Denali (except for the brakes which were crap and I had to adjust for quite a while). :) The bike I saw was a Schwinn Prelude: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B000KZ1GHQ It's a double and a 14 speed. It has some downtube shifters but they are not the traditional old schoold shifters, they have some different molded shifters. I picked it up and I could tell that it was quite a bit lighter than the Denali (the frame and fork alone were much thiner than the Denali). If you get a chance check this out. It is $200 and I was really taken by it. |
I saw a Schwinn Varsity at Wal-Mart today, similar deal.
HOWEVER, the Denali has rack and fender braze-ons. The Varsity, anyway, only has front fender braze-ons. |
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