iceicebaby

Hi so I've moved to a new city for work and so far I've just been taking the local transit, but I want to begin biking to work everyday in the summer. The route will be around 15km, which isn't too bad so I figure it would be a good exercise. I'm not completely new to biking, having biked 200km in 2 days while touring, but that is about the extent of my experience. I don't know too much about specific components and how to spot a good spec'd bike for a good deal. The local classifieds here don't really help too much, since I'm living in a smaller-ish town.

I've been lurking around the forums and just reading up on threads and I think that a cyclocross bike would be best for me here, since the "bike lanes" here aren't actual bike lanes, and the roads are not maintained at all. There is gravel and dirt everywhere and I don't think a road bike would be suitable, especially not in the winter (if i do decide to bike then).

The question is, with a budget of preferably less than $1000, what are some available options for me?

groovestew

Kona Jake. They used to be under $1000, but have crept up a bit, currently showing $1049 CAD MSRP.

himespau 

check out bikesdirect.com A lot of people have problems with them, and they do have incredibly high "manufacturer suggested retail prices" (even though they are the manufacturer, so they can suggest whatever price they want), but you do get a decent bang for your buck. Don't forget to set aside a third or so of your budget for accessories (rack, panniers, probably a new saddle, lights, rain gear, etc.).

iceicebaby

Looking at the bikesdirect bikes, my friend said it's best to go for a carbon fork, so would the fantom cross be a good choice? It seems that compared to lots of the other more brand name bikes like the Kona Jake, the fantom cross has much better components, I think. I'm just unsure about sizing, what would be a good way to find the proper fit?

scroca

Go to a reputable LBS and they can help you.

himespau 

bikes direct does have a sizing chart and a lot of people like the chart at competitivecyclist.com but if you don't know your size and/or aren't able to do most of the work yourself, you might be better off going through your local bike shop instead to get the pointers.

groovestew

iceicebaby - note that bikesdirect doesn't ship to Canada...you'll have to find another way to get it across the border. Check their shipping info for more details.

Surrealdeal

+1! based on your post I am assuming that you don't know exactly what size bike you need. If you got upwards of a grand to spend, go someplace where you'll be taken care of by real people who will actually take the time to make sure that you and the bike fit each other.

Step 1: Shop around for a good LBS staffed with people that you trust and have a good rapport with

Step 2: Then buy your bike.


Have fun and remember not to blow everything on the just the bike - there will be lots of accessories and extras that you might want if you're just starting out. Budget for your 'must-haves' to start out with (e.g., helmet) and plan for what you will want down the road.

lungdoc

There's a lot of options. Depends if you want drop handlebars or not, if any (and how much) non-pavement capability, budget etc. I'm no expert but did just go through this before deciding on a Trek 7.5 FX. Some categories to consider:
I'm sure there's more and those that fall between categories. Check the commuting bike pictures thread for a ton of different ideas.

iceicebaby

Thanks a lot guys, I will go to a couple stores around and see if the people there are knowledgeable and able to help me. Do I just go in and ask to be fitted for a bike? I know that buying a bike locally will be a lot easier since I'll be able to see the bike and ride it before buying it, but looking at the Motobecane bikes, they all seem like they are a great deal for the prices. Yes they don't ship to Canada but I could just drive down across the border at Niagara and pick up the package.

I don't think i want a flat bar road bike since I've done tours and climbed hills before and I think i personally prefer riding with drop handlebars. Ideally I'd also want something that I might be able to put panniers on, but if it isn't possible I think I'll survive with a backpack. Also, I'd like to be riding the bike for fun on weekends and perhaps maybe even with groups later on.

bluefoxicy

I'm not sure about cyclocross bikes, but you can drop some mountain tires on any sort of hybrid and get away with that; you'd probably like wider wheels, though, than what comes on road-setup hybrids, which of course then becomes expensive (wheels are expensive).

As an example, my GT Tachyon 3.0 can be had for $420 from BikesDirect.com but it definitely needs a tune-up out of the box, which costs like $50-$120 at a bike shop (it's labor intensive) or you can try to learn to do it yourself. It makes a big difference. The wheels are 700c x 32 with 700c x 35 tires, which you'd need to replace with mountain tires to run on your gravel and dirt; however, if you're just dealing with poor paved roads with gravel and dirt on them, rather than just dirt paths, the stock tires work well enough and you may want to stay with more road-like tires.

You probably want a different kind of bike though. The Tachyon comes with 30-42-52 chain rings and a 13-32 8 speed in the back. For reference, a mountain bike's crank set comes with 22-32-42 chain rings or 26-38-48 sometimes; 28-38-48 is a good hybrid set too. This means the gears on a mountain bike are MUCH lower; if your ground conditions add a lot of rolling resistance--you said ill-maintained roads, gravel, dirt... every little bump robs you of momentum--you will quite prefer lower gearing. Changing out components on a bike is entirely doable, to a ridiculous degree; but why don't you find a bike that suits you in the first place? You'll spend less that way. If you find a bike you really like except for some component or another, buy it and swap that; but find the closest thing you can get to perfection.

My point is that a $1000 budget is quite nice. Even if you find yourself a $500 bike--hybrid, cyclocross, whatever your fancy--that's very nice for your needs, you'll want to swap the saddle out ($50-$120; a $120 Brooks leather saddle is the gold standard around here I think, and for good reason), and you may want to add a seat suspension to a stiff road-type hybrid if you go that route (though, swap the saddle for one with springs and you get a similar effect). Plan on buying more than just a bike.

At the same time, aiming for the higher end is usually a good thing; don't buy a decent $250 brand new bike "because you can" if the $1000 bike is far nicer, has nicer parts, better bearings, better wheels, disc brakes, and most importantly just feels better to ride. This is the most important thing: you must enjoy the bike you get, it must be a good bike that you really like. Makes all the difference in the world.

Finally, if you buy from a good bike shop, the bike might be more expensive than when you order online or buy from a discount shop. The quality of mechanics at the shop will often be higher; and usually you can come back and they'll adjust your bike for free. The shop I bought for sells their bikes cheap; their mechanics also do about as good a job at adjusting a bike as a monkey with a wrench. I could have paid $100 more for the same bike elsewhere and had competent mechanics to nudge my cables and derailleurs this way or that properly every once in a while, for free. Obviously they'd still charge $80 for a major tune-up, but eh.

Also, "Carbon fork." Right. Ignore that. Carbon is a buzzword. It has specific properties but it isn't magic; it happens to be very light. Carbon fiber is epoxy (the goopy stuff that turns into plastic) molded into bike parts; they use sheets of woven graphite cloth to build the shape, and solidify it in epoxy for structure. It does not fatigue under cyclic stress, but has other failure modes, notably direct sun is bad for it (this is not catastrophic; carbon fiber reenforced plastic is used for fighter jets exposed to high heat and lots of sun, as well as car bodies). The rest of your bike frame is put under a ton of stress (especially along the line of the seat tube), and you can replace the fork separate from everything else, so again ... not magic.

Don't get hung up on materials. If you get a steel bike, it will rust if you don't treat it properly (that means if you scratch it all up and leave it in the rain, it will rust). Aluminum bikes are stiff and tend to break under repeated or sudden excess stress, rather than flexing; steel bikes flex more, but eventually do permanently deform if put under too much stress. Titanium is stronger than aluminum and lighter than steel, and has different material properties from either. Carbon fiber is very nice, of course; it's not a metal and I know very little about its strengths and weaknesses, which are dependent on how the fibers are lain out, how long they are, what kind of epoxy polymer bonds them, etc.

iceicebaby

Wow thank you for all the information.

iceicebaby

So I went around to a few LBS and honestly, the prices for a decent entry level bike was quite surprising. Being in Canada I already know to expect that the prices won't be the same, but looking at crosschecks and redline conquests, they are going for above $1k, and although I found a crosscheck with rivals on it, the price tag was $2k. Which really brings me back to the dilemma of whether or not it is worth it to just buy a crosscheck from the LBS for $1.5k with tiagra, or get a motobecane fantom cross pro with rival for $1k, and then just drive down across the border and pick it up.

blakcloud

If you know your size the Motobecane is great value and you are not that far from the border to go pick it up. Lots of those mailbox places you can have it shipped to. I think it is a great idea. I like to support the local bike shops but when everything is up to 60% more than the US or even the U.K. (PBK, Wiggle and Chain Reaction) then it is time to shop elsewhere.

When it becomes winter, throw some studded tires on the bike and ride away. Good luck on your choice.

iceicebaby

After much thought and reading lots of reviews, I think I want to get a Surly cross check. Locally the LBS that i've seen carrying them sells them for 1300 or so with the tiagra set up. There was a Rival one for $1,999 which I think isn't too great of a deal, but I guess those are the Canadian prices? I'm pretty much a complete newbie so how difficult would it be to build a cross check from the frame up? Or should I just try to find a LBS across the border and just pick up from there?

scroca

The most expensive way to get a new bike is to buy it piece by piece. On the other hand, if you know what you are doing or have someone who does to help you, you get exactly what you want.

Being a newbie and trying to do build it yourself will likely become an expensive education.

iceicebaby

Oh, I just thought it would be cheaper to buy all the parts on ebay or something and attempt to build it. But since I don't have much experience I guess my best bet is to just buy the cross check complete and then slowly upgrade when I feel like I need to?

scroca

If you get a bike from a low-cost online site like bikesdirect, you will have gobs of money left over for tweaking and accessories. It will ride just fine until you figure out what you want to upgrade.

Don't get me wrong, I like Surly -- I have the LHT.

chipcom 

Get the Crosscheck from your LBS. Tiagra is a perfectly fine groupset for your purposes (you're not racing) and the LBS can not only ensure you get the proper size frame and fit the bike to you, they may also work with you to swap out some components, if you desire.

BD bikes are fine, but based on your OP I am not sure you are experienced enough to know what size you need or how to properly put the bike together (and indeed ensure what is already put together was done properly). Your LBS can be your friend...and a good relationship with an LBS (and wrench) can be priceless.

iceicebaby

A really big issue is the price, I'll go in to check out the prices of the other bikes like Conquest redlines, but damn crosschecks are pricey up here

SouthFLpix

I recently bought from bikesdirect, and had the following observations:

-Front wheel was not true.
-Front and rear derailers were not adjusted.
-the stock stem didn't work for me.
-the stock saddle didn't work for me.
-the stock pedals were absolutely unusable.

I didn't have much trouble making those few adjustments, but if you buy at a LBS you can pretty much ride away with a perfectly adjusted bike with a good fit. I actually tried to buy at the LBS but they didn't carry touring bikes and would not budge below MSRP.

canyoneagle

If you are close to a MEC, they also offer some tremendous value for money.

Based on your riding conditions and experience, a "performance hybrid" might fit the bill - these offer a more stable and upright position than road bikes, and will typically allow for wider tires, fenders and racks (if desired). All this without sacrificing much of the sportiness of road bikes.
In this domain, there are many, many options.

I purchased the "hold steady" for my wife last summer, and she absolutely loves it. It is a truly impressive bike and is a great value for money. The "desire" model is quite similar, without the disc brakes and a slightly lower spec (but by no means low quality) at a more reasonable price.

Either of these bikes would suit your needs quite well, and would offer the benefit of being very low maintenance, and super easy operation.

Equivalent bikes would be the Brodie Ocho and the Rocky Mountain Metropolis or Sherpa are nice options


Outside of performance hybrids, the cyclocross options (as mentioned in other posts) might work as well, if not better, for you. MEC has a number of very nice CX bikes at very reasonable prices.

The previously mentioned Konas and Surly's are also very nice options, but you'll pay a bit of a premium in Canada for those compared to equivalent Canadian bikes.

iceicebaby

I'm not too close to a Mec, but I guess I could drive into Toronto to check out their bike selection. With regards to winter commuting, how difficult or easy is it to bike in the snow? Ideally I want to bike as much as I can, but I've never tried in the snow since I'm from Vancouver and it's just rain and slush out there

Derelict

FYI, MEC in Burlington carries bicycles too, and is a bit closer to Kitchener.

blakcloud

I cycle year round here in Toronto, so I am no stranger to cycling in the snow. For winter, I prefer a dedicated bike just for this season. The most important component for me is disk brakes. For the last 2 winters I had them and they made life infinitely better. I also use single speed because snow and ice make derailleurs useless. With that said buy a bike for what your most pressing needs are and if it works in winter great.

CanyonEagle made a good suggestion of MEC. I took the Hold Steady for a test ride and really liked it. Disk brakes, IGH, makes a great commuter and work wonderfully in the winter. I also test rode their cycle cross bike the Cote. I also liked this bike. Disk brakes good for the rain and winter and room for fenders and racks with the appropriate braze ons. Not a bike fan of triples on cross type bikes but not a deal breaker. I would buy a MEC bike before I would pay more than I should for a Surly. Canadian prices on bikes can be crazy.