jamesdoezie

Hey guys!

Between the ages of 10 and 20 I literally road the wheels off a mountain bike. I loved it, but now I'm 26 and find myself in a new stage of my life and am ready to start riding again. I need some advuice on what to buy. Here are some factors...

-My bike will primarily be used to commute to my job about 5-7 miles from my house. (Partially uphill.)

-Being an ex-mountain bike fan, I love the look of a hybrid body/thicker wheels versus a road bike, but I am ready and willing to get used to a road bike.

-I like the drop handlebars a lot. (I don't know... just sayin...)

-I will usually have some cargo with me. (Backpack with a laptop/a couple of books.)

-Don't have a huge budget ($100-$300) and I'm not ready to jump into a huge investment. It's really a first step allowing me to get back into riding, until I can convince my wife that spending $1000+ dollars would be wise. :-)

Any insight/advice would be great!

james

jamesdoezie

Would something like this (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Genesis-70...ndingMethod=rr)

or this (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schwinn-70...ndingMethod=rr)

be a bad idea?

Seattle Forrest

Just say no to Wally World bikes. They're put together by trained monkeys who are allotted about 15 minutes to do the whole assembly. You can get something that ought to be decent there for a good price, but the quality is really a lot lower than you think. Mostly this comes down to shoddy componentry, heavy massive everything, and things wearing more quickly than they should.

You're better off getting a used Craigslist bike. Especially if you have a bike-savvy friend who can come with you. Like cars, bikes depreciate somewhat, and your money tends to go further this way, although you need more patience. Ideally you'll find something that's been well taken care of, and has a few upgrades that won't really affect the price. For example, I crashed my alu bike this spring, paid $400 for a new frame, and about $200 between tax and labor putting everything back on to it. Later, I saw my bike on CL for the same $600, with a rack, fenders, and all kinds of other stuff.

How steep are the hills you plan to commute up? Road bikes are better at transforming muscle power into forward motion, for reasons like how they position you over the pedals. But mountain bikes tend to have lower gearing, which is a trump card if your hill is really steep. You could give a road bike lower gears, but it will cost you about $35. Go to mapmyride.com, enter your route, then click "show elevation" (checkbox) on the right, and you'll be given a chart, which will show the steepest grade you'll need to climb. With some amount of accuracy.

You'll want panniers for the laptop and books. Again, if you're both lucky and patient, you might find a bike with them, or at least with the rack to attach them to, on CL at a reasonable price.

Finally, you should get a cyclocross bike if you like drop handlebars. The gearing will probably be somewhere in the middle, it'll be faster than a mountain bike, and stronger than a road bike. It'll also be slower than a road bike and take thicker tires.

musicmaster

Those links don't work, but yes, it would be a bad idea. Department store bikes are utter crap. Buy them to ride around a college campus if you don't have a local craig's list. That way when it's stolen, you won't care. But to actually ride.... ouch

Sirrus Rider

if I could do it all over again and avoid the N+1 syndrome I would go for cross bike like the surly crosscheck or a flat barred road bike like the Specialized Sirrus and convert it to a drop bar. In other words I try to get out bike that was a jack of all trades. As it is, I am halfway there is I already have a Specialized Sirrus in the stable, but I love having multiple bikes as each one has a different personality.

As for the wife: be a man and wear the pants! Don't nickel and dime yourself with cheap Walmart bikes. You only pay for quality once. If you have to go cheap then look for quality used bike on craigslist. It might take you a while to find one in your size, but on the whole a lot of the older bikes are built better anyway.

tsl

The budget really restricts you here to old bikes second-hand, or brand new junk bikes. I'd avoid the latter.

Since it's the budget that's restricting you, I wouldn't worry at this point about the type of bike. Lots of people commute on MTBs, hybrids, road or cross bikes. Anything in the price range that fits, works reasonably well, and has the potential for a rack and fenders, should get serious consideration. You may have to wait for the right bike to come along, depending on the second-hand bike market where you live.

Where I live, the $100-$300 range is dominated by 10-15 year old entry-level mountain bikes, with 20-30 year old road bikes coming in a close second. Scanning Craigslist a couple of times a day, it was still over six months before I found a decent contemporary road bike in that price range. I bought it the very afternoon it was first listed. It was mid-January, BTW, and the guy said he had a dozen emails after he'd commuted to my no-questions-asked commitment to buy immediately. He pulled the ad within two hours of posting it because he had so many offers.

In other words, at least where I live, it's not casual browsing, but an active, yet patient search that will yield success.

Back to the Wal-bikes, you might be able to make one work if you can fix any assembly mistakes when you get home. And you understand it's designed for the type of person who will ride it a couple of miles a half-dozen times before permanently garaging it. Therefore, the components don't need to be very durable, so they aren't.

The guy who really inspired me to return to cycling was a huge fan of Wal-bikes. But he also knew their limits and was prepared to replace them two or three times a year, at the first sign of trouble. Which he did. He always seemed to have new bike, and never paid more than $79 for one (ten years ago). It made him happy, so no harm, I guess. It's just not the kind of choice most of us make around BikeForums.

Commodus

Well, to get a decent bike you need either money, or lots of time and some knowledge.

You don't have any money - 1-300$ is about what I budget just for small changes to the bikes I buy. So you'll have to haunt the second-hand resources, and be able to understand what you're looking at, condition and quality-wise.

But then again, if you keep at it you will probably kill the Mart bike in short order...this will give you a really good argument for a better bike with your spouse. Plus the fact that by the end of the first month it will probably be horribly unsafe. If it's safe on the first day that is.

puppypilgrim

At that price point, buy a used generic Japanese style road bike, learn to tune up yourself and enjoy it. If the bug really hits and stays, then consider a larger investment. Make up your mind not to even consider getting a "better" bike until you've had at least one season of commuting so you can better dial in your needs and wants.

For commuting, you need to consider if you have safe storage for your bike at your destination. If you don't, having an older, less desirable bike can be an advantage versus a theft bait of a bike.

Loose Chain

You are not allotting a reasonable amount of money for a durable purchase.

531phile 

At that price range, you are looking at mountain bikes. Check this out: https://www.sportsauthority.com/produ...entPage=family

$229 on sale. That leaves about $80 for a rack and a pannier. Has eyelets for a rear rack. You can make it more of a hybrid by putting road slicks on them later when you got the cash.

531phile 

Also check out a hybrid called a K2 Astra 1.0. It normally sells for $300, but you can sometimes find them on sale for $199. Also at the sports authority. About 5 pounds lighter than the Outlook and with 700c wheels. A true hybrid. has eyelets for racks.

Wanderer

Check Performance - they have a bike sale going on, with additional coupon for another $50 off - you can find decent bikes in that range - also check the Hybrid forum, for a couple related strings.

https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...7_20000_400306

$300, + 30 back if you join their Performance club first!

fietsbob

$300 is reasonable to get a UJB from the 80's and refurbish it..
If it's gotta sit out in the weather at school
or the sidewalk outside the job , shiny objects attract people who take things..
Old is better than new , then.

Seattle Forrest

But then you'd have to buy the bar, brifters, and tape, at a minimum, and probably more than that. Or, you might not, if you've got some spare parts from other projects ... but converting between flat and drop bars tends to be an expensive proposition, and best avoided.

jr59

I don't get it?

For that $$$... Get a used MTB, put slicks, and a rack and ride.

1-300 isn't enough money to be looking at any other ideas.
What about locks, lights, and other stuff that he will need.

Besides he already knows something about MTB.

dedhed

On your budget look used. Learn how to work on your own bike. Figure on $100 minimum for accessories, lights, rack, fenders etc
Plenty of good quality used road, Mt. bikes, and hybrids out there in that price range.
Did I say learn how to work on your own bikes? It really opens up a whole nother world of options.

If you look used this guys site has some good info.

https://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/

Loose Chain

Not really, unless it comes completely overhauled with true wheels, new tires, racks, lights, bells etc. For 100 dollars or even 300 that is a down payment on a nice bike or about the amount of money it will take to outfit a bicycle. Yes, there are some nice used bikes around and with luck , who knows, but at 100-300 dollars, that is not realistic entry price.

martianone

A bike similar to Surly Pacer/CrossCheck or Soma Smoothie ES built up from a frameset as a 1x9 with 105/slx level components, good wheels and handlebars level to or slightly above the seat for a comfortable relaxed position. most bikes come with steerer tube cut shorter than desired for the relaxed position. probably about $1500.
Realize that is above your suggested budget. Otherwise I'd get a used mountain bike with LX/XT level components, replace the suspension fork with a solid one, get some touring tires like schwalbe marathon or conti contacts in 47-50 mm size. Was at LBS this morning getting some chain lube and a tube- recall going by a used Trek 6500, it was $150- it had an XT RD. Tires and fork about $150 more - ride that for a year. then get the new bike; keep both.

tjspiel

I think a cross bike would be ideal for you but unfortunately you won't find new or used ones in your price range. If you're not in a big hurry and live in a cooler climate, the prices on used bikes (craigslist) are going to start dropping soon. I got a two year old $850 road bike for $350 at the end of November a couple of years back. It had all of 300 miles on it. Bought it on a Friday, we got 6 inches of snow on Sunday and that was it for that bike until spring. Barely had a chance to ride it.

Used road bikes in your price range aren't that hard to find, but a lot of them are really old so you need to know what to look for. You could look for a flat-bar road bike at places like REI, Dick's or Sports Authority. I know you want drops, but the shifters you get on drop bars adds a lot to the price.

Bike-Coops often have better choices in used bikes than you'll find at typical bike shop.

The bike rental places here are starting to sell of their stock of bikes too. They have a variety of styles and sizes in bikes that are often only a couple of years old. Look one up in your area and ask if they're selling anything.

gerv 

I would shoot for a used MTB and replace any knobby tires with slicks. I would also shoot for a better quality used bike, perhaps in the 150-200 range (depending on where you live...). You'll also need to spend some on fenders/racks/lights... some of which will be transferable to future bikes you might buy.

Look at some place that refurbishes the bikes it sells. Bike co-ops. LBSes who sell used. Some Craigslist vendors also make sure the bike you get is ridable.

However... understand that this bike will need money pumped into it if you remain serious about commuting. Plan to spend $50 a month or so.

When you get the bike, devote some thought to the bike you might actually prefer to ride. Myself, I would prefer a sports touring (like my Bianchi Volpe) or a cross bike like the Cross Check... However, your preference is something you need to acquire....

z90

I salvaged an outlook frame and fork and built it up with old parts for a beater bike. I commuted on it once. Climbing a hill out of the saddle was kind of like riding a pogo stick because of the suspension fork. I don't have enough experience with suspension forks to judge whether this was because of the crappiness of the fork or because all suspension forks do that, but I wouldn't want it as a commuter.

Lieren

Are you anywhere near a large university? If so, find out when they hold their auctions/deaccession sales. The auctions might be held by the police department, the deaccession sales by the physical plant/facilities people. These are a great way to get decent (not great, but certainly rideable) bikes for cheap, after they've been abandoned by fickle students. If cheap enough, you can get a variety of bike styles and find out what works for you!

alan s 

My county "recycling center" has a 50' x 50' fenced in area full of bikes people are throwing away. Literally hundreds of bikes, and most look in OK condition. If you have a recycling center in your area, check it out. A free bike plus $100 in replacing trashed parts, and you have a commuter bike for cheap.