DarkVader

Hi i live in Socal, After work today I went my girlfriends House ( which is about a half mile from my work) and a neighbor was throwing away this bike, he had it by the thrash, I asked to take it since it looked good and it seemed like a shame to throw away a good working bike. Its aprox. 7-7.5 miles from my girl friend house to mine so i grabbed my running shorts, my headphones, a backpack, some water and i rode it home in 34 mins, theres a good amount of lights and stop signs. I dont know if thats good or bad ive never rode a bike for any length of distance before. But anyways i get home, look through my garage and find two more bikes both in good working shape,( except for one which just needs tubes). I really enjoyed the ride and im seriously considering commuting to work everyday starting tomorrow!. Since i have no experience or knowledge in the sport can anyone give some advice as to which of these 3 bikes would best suit my needs. Thanks in advance!

1. Nishiki blazer
2. Univega Rover t2.3
3.Mongoose Crossway 250

nishiki

univega

mongoose

rms13

You just found 2 bikes at your house? Anyway, they all look similar. 15 year old steel hybrids. I would say all are equally good/bad. Probably whichever one fits you best and is most comfortable

majwell

If you can ride them all, take them out and see which one is the most comfortable, then you can grab that rack if you want.

urbanescapee

For commuting, the mongoose is probably the best choice being that it has larger wheels and narrower tires (these attributes generally grant higher riding speeds). Though, just for bad-assery, the Univega would be my first choice after putting some slicks on. But like others have already said, go with the one that fits best and is most comfortable.

gitarzan

Ride a different one every day.

RubeRad

Wait, so which one was rescued from the trash?

And how did you not realize there were two bikes already in your garage?

Personally I would stay away from the Univega because I hate thumbshifters even more than grip-shifters (which it looks like are on the other two bikes).

As stated above, it looks like as-is, the Mongoose would probably give you the fastest, funnest street ride. If you're lucky, the tires will hold air as-is, but if it's been sitting around a really long time you might need a new tube or two.

For commuting, however, you'll probably want the rack, and it might be tricky to mount the rack on the mongoose.

Really (as stated above) it does all come down to fit. Try them all, and whichever feels most comfortable, try to get the rack onto that one, maybe look for at least one pannier to carry stuff, or a "rack trunk" (rectangular bag that sits on of the rack). Or there's always a backpack, in which case you wouldn't need a rack at all.

BTW urban mentions putting slicks on the Univega; this would be my recommendation. Very cheap, and very well reviewed. And very very slick. Bald as a pornstar. Put them on a mountain bike and they will turn heads.

DarkVader

The Nishiki is the one i found for free and rode home today, when i arrived i showed it to my dad and he told me about the other two he apparently got in some Craigslist trade somebody threw in or something, my dad doesnt ride bikes or cared about them but took them anyways. Right on, well the moongoose needs tubes on both wheels, so ill be trying out the univega tomorrow. Starting my ride at 4:45am.

chucky

+1

Since DarkVader owns all 3 I think he would be the best judge as to which one is best.

Glynis27

Is the fork on the 'goose a bit bent, or is the photo playing tricks on me?

DarkVader

No i dont think so i checked it right now it doesnt look bent

cooker

You'll need to find out if the mongoose seat can be raised high enough to be comfortable. If you might carry stuff, the one that already has a rack is a good choice. A bike store could tell you which is in best repair.

mirandaspits

The Mongoose would be the quickest, but you'd run into a problem mounting the rear rack on it unless you would get a seat post rack. The Univega would probably be your best bet, but getting the other bike from the garbage is a good save. I'd put some new tubes in the Mongoose to have a speedy ride and some slim commuter tires on the Univega. Happy riding!

RubeRad

So how was your ride?

I've got a new idea: try out all three, rotate for a while (use a backpack if you need to), and whichever bike you like most, sell the other two on CL for $75-100 each, and use the cash to outfit your chosen steed with commutey stuff like lights, lock, different rack if you need it, panniers or trunk rack, etc.

cooker

Yes, and it's been my observation that used bikes usually need a minimum of $100 or so in repairs/maintenance, like new brake pads, new tires and tubes, maybe even new pedals, a new front or rear hub, or a even a bottom bracket (the central rotating part that both pedal cranks connect to).

PatrickGSR94

whatever you do please, fix the seat angle on that Nishiki.

lostarchitect 

You should ride whichever one fits you best. If it has knobby tires, I'd get some street tires for it. That'll make the ride more comfortable.

DarkVader

It was great, thanks for asking. Im getting pretty excited about biking to work everyday/most days and now im kinda wishing my work was a little farther. Still its a start. Thanks for all the advice, im definitely getting those slicks for the univega and im probably going to sell the nishiki to buy a rack and tubes for the mongoose. Or maybe ill keep all 3 and keep one purely as a mountain bike, there is a lot of dirt hills and mountains next to where I live. Thanks again!

cooker

Think about moving the rear rack from the Nishiki to the Univega before you sell. You'll need a different, seat-post mounted rack for the Mongoose due to the different frame shape, with the sloping top tube. Also I hope the seat on the mongoose can be raised quite a bit to give you almost full leg extension at the bottom of the pedal stroke. If you ride it as is, you may kill your knees.

cooker

Also - any reason why the Nishiki is your reject?