The plan was to get the "thruster fixie" they had with the aluminum frame since the frame felt the most sturdy. leave it on the freewheel side.

removing the stickers, removing the neon tires and riding it until a part died, then replace it with a used part from Craigslist since single speed parts are plentiful in the area.

there are alot of wheel sets, hubs, bars, brakes, and frames up for sale

but the frames start at $100-200 used and the wheel sets hover around $175.

but im starting to just ignore the bike solution s its not viable. i mentioned the idea to some people around me and they had mentioned that commuting on a bicycle is not only dangerous, you would not be presentable anywhere you had arrived since you'd be sweaty and smelly.

one also noted that people who ride bikes on the street in full race gear also don't respect the rules of the road.

I've got to agree with this.

You mentioned it to "some people", presumably not cyclists, then tell us in the cycling commuting forum that bicycle commuting is not viable?

Ok ... but on the chance that you're serious, you should probably realize that all of us have faced and solved those particular issues.

The Thruster isn't aluminum, it's Hi-ten steel.

I got no prob staying non-stanked on my commutes. Shower daily, use pit sauce and pedal mellowly when it's warm out. If you only have a few months of school left then you'll be done before the real heat of the summer.

Sounds like yer talking to people that see bike commuting as something totally alien. Try talking to people who actually do it, you can get clothing, locking and route advice.

As for people in full race gear breaking laws, everybody breaks laws. I saw a bunch of speeding cars, a bunch of California stops, couple of cell phone uses and an illegal U-turn by drivers on my commute this morn. Several J-walking peds too. Didn't see anyone in race gear cuz local ride doesn't start 'til 10.

And yep, total troll but I'm gonna keep answering like it's not anyway.

My morning commute is in weather that rarely gets over 70F in the summertime @ 5:00 A.M. I sweat on the ride home, but there is a shower on that end.

One thing that one also needs to consider when buying a bike from a BBS vs. buying a bike from a LBS is that does one really think that they're going to get to take the bike out into the parking lot and take it for a test ride? Given (hopefully) how much time one is going to spend riding their bike, does it really make sense to buy something without test riding it?

When one purchases a bike through their LBS they're encouraged to take the bike out for a test ride to make sure that it fits and comfortable.

Or look at it like this, when one buys a car they take it for a test drive, so why would they buy a bike without taking it for a test ride?

Riding a bicycle in and of itself is not dangerous. It's the braindead, JAMs who don't have respect for anyone not in a cage that make it "dangerous." There are thousands of people who commute by bike everyday and they have no problems with arriving at work in presentable condition. Some work for businesses that provide shower/locker facilities, some are lucky enough to have a gym near their work that they can shower and change in.

I regularly ride 20 - 30 miles a day and other than a very small percentage of drivers who do not know how to share the road I am not in danger while riding my bike.

Also keep in mind that motorists kill and maim more motorists each year then they probably do pedestrians/bicyclists.

How many motorists respect the road rules? I've lost count of the number of motorists that I see who fail to signal lane changes, fail to signal when they're making a turn, who speed, who fail to stop before making a right on red.

You don't have to be one of those who "don't respect the rules of the road." You can set the example by obeying the rules of the road.

If he is a troll, at least he's active in the thread that he started.

Also agreeing this looks like trolling but.... find out what size you think you might need and sort through these links. I dont know much about CA but it looks like these should be reasonably near your area?

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/2890138868.html

offer $100 because DIY paint jobs usually mean less value - http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/2890120266.html

this isnt a road bike as stated and without pix, who knows but - http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/2882960123.html

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/2889881097.html

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/2871199557.html

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/2871194901.html

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/2889695164.html

So what is the most you want to spend on this bike?

Here is another place you can look if you want something cheap, but solid. They have bikes direct bikes except they are the scratched up ones. bikeisland.com Some of them have additional amounts (look at the dropdown options for the bikes) off so check them out. Some of the cheap but reasonably good road bikes are $175 to $180 if they have your size.

I have ordered 3 different damaged bikes and have been pretty happy with all of them. The Windsor Tourist I got a couple months ago was a killer deal.
The other 2 bikes I bought were singlespeeds that have gone to new homes because singlespeeds aren't for me.

Why do I suddenly get the feeling that I need to go up river to spawn?

Yep, the seagulls are the worst.

im not a troll just bike stupid

are older bianchi pistas the same thing?

i found a bianchi pista frame from the 80's with beat up paint no wheels
no handlebars and no crank buts its significantly cheaper because the paint is scuffed and its in a 1980's light green color

No. Let's stay on topic. We're all trying to help you, here!

1) How much are you willing to spend?...In other words...What's the upper limit of your budget?

2) Upon what type of terrain will you be traversing?

3) Will there be any hills?

Let's discuss that frame, after you've answered the above questions.

- Slim :)

$125 + up to $20 a week on parts and maintenance or else its cheaper for me to drive

cement, asphalt, avoid dirt

no major hills

i thought the bianchi was a good deal because he wants $200 for the frame and i know that a new bianchi ranges from $800-1200 depending on something i dunno what but one is more expensive than the other.

only thing that kills me is that its blue green rather than the olive green one i was looking at

Alright, with that amount of cash, your options are extremely limited.

However, if there is a bicycle co-op nearby, you can volunteer your services and become a member. Once you've become a member, you can locate a frame at the co-op. You can then, gradually obtain free parts that have been donated, or you can purchase parts and assemble your bicycle while there on the co-op premises. In time, you will have a very serviceable commuter, upon which anyone would feel safe to ride. Since, there will be seasoned bicycle mechanics there, any mechanical problems will be competently resolved.

So the first thing to be concerned about when one receives a frame, is its condition. I would suggest searching for a chromoly steel frame, as that's the type of frame that will most likely be the most durable. My next choice would be aluminum. Once you've confirmed that your frame is in good condition and has no weld or rust issues, then your next concern will be size. Usually, you can quickly eyeball a frame and rule it out of the competition based upon these two factors, alone.

So if there are many frames from which to choose, mentally you'll say, "That one's too small...That one's too rusty... That one's too large.... That one's made of aluminum, but it looks like the right size hmmm, maybe.... Hey! That one looks like the right size maybe... and it's chromoly steel too... BINGO!"

You'll then separate them according to each category and select the best matching frame for your needs, after a more precise measurement from the bottom shell center along the axis of the seat tube, till you reach its top. This will give you the correct frame size in road bikes. It will only cost you either some volunteer time, or a small amount of cash. It's definitey well worth the sacrifice of a few hours of your volunteering time.

It might seem a bit trivial to say, but color is important when it comes to just about anything we ride. I personally, don't like the color green unless it's on vegetation. I absolutely detest pink and purple. I only tolerate red and yellow. If a bike of mine is any color, other than black, silver, gold, or blue (metallic), I'd just have it repainted. So color is important, but not nearly as important as owning a bicycle.

Therefore, never mind colors at first. That's why we have spray paint!

- Slim :)

Sounds like you are trying to make this way more difficult than it is. Look at the links I posted. No seriously, click on them. Other than the fact that we know nothing about the size you require, all of those bikes I posted will serve your needs and most of them will fit into your budget. For the mountain bikes you'll want to eventually spring for slick tires but you can get them from nashbar or performance bike less than 15 bucks each.

Either that or just buy the stupid walmart thruster and after a couple weeks use the extra $25 you set aside plus the $20 a week you budgeted to take it to a bike shop for a tune up that includes retensioning at least the rear wheel and then eventually you can spring for kool stop brake pads if you find the low quality brakes dont stop you well enough on the steel rims. I suspect you will be happy enough with the Thruster, though you'll get more bike for your money if you go the used mountain bike route - they are often undervalued commuter gems.

Again, how many miles a day, and how many miles total do you plan on riding this bike?

If it's going to be a very low number in mileage, both per day and total, I wouldn't worry about fancy build ups and just get the Wally bike of your choice.

i don't know probably less than 10 miles but id like to bike more and more as i got better.

went to wal-mart the other day
the bikes don't look as good as they do in person

there is a lot of small issues that bother me
fit and finish wasn't all too great

i asked if they had any bikes that were not assembled (the free assembly tags hanging off of the handle bars lead me to believe they did) and a sales associate informed me that they do not.


so if i had went with the walmart route i would most likely pull the bike apart and rebuild it right cleaning the metal shavings out of the head tube and grinding down some of the welds that didn't go through

i have a Tig welder back at home (parents house) , but i haven't laid any GTAW welds in awhile since my 6g cert expired back when i was in community college

hopefully my little miller dynasty dx can do it, if not oh well.
only time i've welded chrome moly was for a roll cage in an older GC model subaru with an ej207 in it, and it bugged me how it kept getting spots of non fusion and little bits of slag floating in me weld pool. it managed to pass an SCCA inspection, but barely and it was replaced a few races later (was a favor for a friend)

any body have tips dealing with this ****?

what is a bicycle co-op?
is it like a thrift store that only deals with bikes?

$125 + $20 (10 week quarters) is a low number, but i can raise it if i sell or trade my ar-15 for a bike...but i don't really want to do that since i like shooting better than biking. but i haven't been able to do it as much as i hoped( i've literally traded ammo for a text book before)

Is less than 10 miles equal to per day or total miles?

This is where you lost me, are you planning to commute with the bike or race it?

10 miles round trip a day

maybe more if i stop by the grocery store but 99.9% of the time less than 15 miles a day

i don't want the bike to fall apart on me,
i have a torque wrench, a welder, couple hundred sockets and some other random tools that costs me $0 to use on the bike so why not do it i it leads to a better bike?

Ayup. Some people get off on that, I guess. Either that, or some people don't appreciate good advice.

what advice have you given me? besides attacking me for not driving 150 miles to go pick up a 10 year old bike that's out of my price range, from an ad that was posted 2 months ago? or calling me a troll?