Wilfred Laurier

Keep in mind that a bent axle is not generally considered a warranty problem. Yes freewheel hubs are a weaker design, but you still need to hit a big bump or pothole pretty hard to bend the axle. The fender on my Mazda will bend if I hit a telephone pole, but that isn't Mazda's fault.

ph0rk

Oh, I'm quite aware. I bomb over shattered pavement pretty often with freewheel hubs (enough to make pinch flats regular enough to go to 2" tires) - I think that's not the sort of thing to avoid a bike for at the $400 price point.

exmechanic89

Sounds good. Let us know how everything works out. You're on your way..

GamblerGORD53

So you got a 58.5 cm size ??? Nuts

vinnyvincent

Yeah their chart said 6'3"-6'5", I'm 6'4". Why do you say nuts? Think it's too big?

Wilfred Laurier

It will be the right size, don't worry. The number might throw some people off because different bikes are measured and sized differently. If this was a traditional road bike, 58 cm would be too small, but since it is a hybrid with a sloping top tube the numbers don't compare. Many bike companies just use a S - M - L - XL scale now instead of actual measurements. The 58.5 is the XL for that bike, and that is the right size for you.

vinnyvincent

Good to know, thanks. I appreciate everyone's advice and I wasn't ignoring the LBS advice it's just that this is a Christmas present and I leave town Friday so time was a factor a well. She wanted to get it over with today.

What sucks now is I have to wait until Christmas to open it

GamblerGORD53

Well Ok. It probably fits like a 61 cm. Hope you got the yellow.
It won't be much of a load bike.

ltxi

I'm, now, just under 6'2". I've always ridden a 58 cm top tube road frame. Can sit a 56, 60 is too big. You're most likely gonna be fine with the size.

ColaJacket

Here's a 2008 Trek at Bayou Cycles in Houston.

It would fit your budget, and with a 9 speed cassette, it will probably work for you for several years (if it fits).

Does your girlfriend have a bike, and, if so, what kind? This could make a difference, if you want to ride with her.

And Performance Bikes does have several bikes for $400 or less. There should be one in Houston.

GH

vinnyvincent

Actually all they had was silver in my size It's an ugly silver too...I would have actually found another model, but my GF ordered the silver one without asking first. Oh well, it's just a color.

What do you mean by "load bike"?

Wilfred Laurier

He probably meant 'road' bike, but he has a Korean accent.

vinnyvincent

That explains why he likes the yellow one.

BlazingPedals

Most bikes come with an assortment of components. For instance, a bike listed as "105" might have 105 level shifters, crank, and rear derailleur, but a lower level FD, a no-name headset, and a Mavic wheelset.

vinnyvincent

So after reading some reviews, apparently the headset is pretty bad, so is the crank set and the pedals are apparently one time use...oh and the tires also suck it says.

Since I essentially am 100 dollars under budget, would it be wise to go ahead and order some of this stuff ahead of time and if so, what should I upgrade with 100 dollars?

bakes1

Unless something breaks don't upgrade anything until you have put a lot of miles on the bike.
This includes the saddle btw no matter what the chronic soft-ass accessory lovers may tell you

Maelochs

No matter how good the bike, there will always be people who absolutely trash some or all of it. How is the headset bad? What is wrong with the crankset? Did those reviewers just get something that snuck by quality control? Are they comparing them to what they have on their more expensive bikes?

Plastic pedals can be replaced with reasonable metal ones for $10-$20---When needed. Otherwise, why? The headset might not last, or it might. Probably it "sucks" because it is a huge hunk of steel which will last forever, while for a mere $150 more you can get one which is much lighter.

I have a Dawes with a very off-brand crankset but it has served me well for well over 1000 miles, and I am no lightweight. It shifts fine, it spins fine. But I was told both the derailleur (which is working fine on my other bike) and the crankset were trash.

Tires? Wear 'em out no matter how good or bad. If they really suck they won't last, and if they last ... for the type of riding you are doing, what's "bad"? The might not be race-ready, but who's racing?

My suggestion (take it, it's free, and I have a million ) would be to shop online for tires and wait until you find a really sweet deal. You know you will need tires ... maybe in a few months, maybe in a couple years. Wait for a ridiculous sale on a closeout or returned, unused tires and snatch them up. Otherwise ... wait until you hear grinding or creaking or things stop spinning so smoothly.

When you buy an entry-level bike you can expect entry-level components ... which as people have pointed out, are on par with what were actually pretty good components a decade ago.

Enjoy your ride, find out what it does well and not so well, increase your riding ability .... have a ball.

vinnyvincent

I like the way you think, maeloch. I think I will keep it as is for a while.

Pretty much it does seem like what you describe. The headset is a big clunk of off brand steel, so is the crank set and the pedals are just super cheap flimsy plastic.
Like you say, I may as well wait until something breaks and by then I would know what I want and what is a good deal.

ColaJacket

If your helmet is older than 5 years old, you'll probably want to get a new one.
Does the bike come with bottles/bottle cages? No, you'll probably want 1 or 2 (or a camelbak).
Pumps? If you don't have any, you'll probably want a floor pump for home and either a hand pump or CO2 pump for on the road. And you'll want some tools (levers and a multi-tool) to fix a flat and a spare tube and patches, and a seat bag to put them in.
Riding in the winter, you may need a front/tail lights if there is even a chance you'll get caught in the dark.
Not to mention if you ride in the rain, you may want a fender (or the small one called Azz Saver)
Cycling clothes, gloves and some shorts would be helpful.

Things that come with the bikes, you can ride for a while until they wear out. Pedals and the Saddle/Seat will probably be the first things on the bike that you will want to change. But I'd wait on the pedals until the plastic ones wear out, or you want clipless pedals. Ride the bike for a week or two slowly increasing mileage to get your butt used to the saddle. It should get more comfortable for a while. Then you'll get to mileage where it start becoming uncomfortable, again. That's the time to get a new saddle.

In the meantime, start looking at YouTube for bicycle maintenance videos. GCN, Art's Cyclery, and Peformance Bikes videos are pretty good. They each give a slightly different viewpoint. So, if you want to know how to change a tire, I'd look at all 3 of those, and any other similar videos, as sometimes you pick-up different hints from different videos. Same for FD and RD adjustments.

GH

Seattle Forrest

"Happy wife, happy life." The concept applies even if she's your girlfriend.

A lot of bikes come with mediocre tires. You can spend $3,500 on a road bike and get crappy tires with it. Most people ride them until they wear out and replace them with better tires. I mean you could go out and replace them now, but tires wear out, you might as well use them before you throw them out. Maybe you'll get the best tires ever made next time, you'll have an upgrade to look forward to.

Pedals are wildly personal. A lot of people really like clipless ones; I used mountain pedals on my road bike for years because they're good in a way that matters more to me than to most people with road bikes. Sounds like you need some time with your bike to figure out what your riding personality is like, then you'll be in a better place to think about upgrades. The stuff you've got will probably hold up fine until then.

dksix

The Gravity bikes you linked only come in sizes up to 58.5, have you done any research into sizing and fit? Fit isn't everything and bikes have some range that can be created with stem, bars and seat posts but if you're taller than me at 6'4" a 58.5 is way too small.

vinnyvincent

On the sizing chart for that model it explains that due to the frame of that bike, they run bigger in size. It says 58.5 for 6'3"-6'5"

wphamilton

Oh yeah! I put some tires in my cart on Nashbar, logged in about 6 months later and they were half price. Same thing happens with Amazon. Or someone on BF posts a heads-up about a clearance deal. You can get great prices when you're not in a hurry.

dksix

I looked at the geometry chart and that does have a long top tube for that seat tube (59.9 cm top tube). That just seems like a lot of seat post for someone your height but the head tube is pretty tall so it might not be too much bar drop. It's still well below what most other bike charts I've seen list for someone in our height range (I'm 6'3" in case I hadn't already posted it).

I'm just trying to help with a perspective in recently renewing my cycling interest and going through the challenges of shopping on a budget, wanting to get the most for my money and trying to understand it all. Here is some good basic information to look at https://simplybike.wordpress.com/201...ght-size-bike/

As far a using a geared bike vs a SS/FG. It sounds like the problems you had in the past were worn parts and less than great LBS. My "local" LBS is less than impressive and unless it's just something I need right then I'm not going to do business with them On the other hand a not so local shop offers $45 basic tune ups (true wheels, inspect and adjust everything). After not being able to get my used from eBay bike shifting right I took it to them for a tune. Guy checked it quick and said everything looks good and he could adjust my shifting for $15 and do it while I wait. It ended up over an hour and he recommended a new chain (~$15). An hour and a half later I left with a usable shifting bike with a new chain and for less than I'd planned to spend. In my opinion it is a great shop but with driving and waiting it trip took over 4 hours I guess.

My bike has Claris 8 speed, next to the bottom in Shimano's road groups. And although it has it's issues once I finally learned when and how to shift I have virtually no issues with it. From what most say all Shimano is pretty good, don't cut yourself short by passing on a geared bike from what should be the exception rather than the rule on shifting not working well.


With your budget this is the bike I'd get in size 62CM for $50 over the budget, surely you can get a woman to spend $50 more. Save Up to 60% Off Carbon Fork Shimano Road Bikes - Motobecane Mirage S

exmechanic89

^Totally agree with this. Dont get too caught up in reviews OP, lot's of people trash everything, or dont know squat about bikes and feel the need to inform everyone of their uneducated opinions, or think that whatever they happen to prefer is the only way to go and everything else is terrible. You've gotten some good advice in this thread, and you should be good to go.

I'm sure your bike will be fine. Just get out there and ride it.