steakman49

I have a cheap half broken mongoose ledge 2.1, the gears slip often and the brakes are useless when a drop of water falls on them. I'm looking for a new bike, but I'm fairly new to biking and could use some help. I'm looking to spend NO MORE than $500, less is better. I'm going to be riding about 4 miles a day over some decent hills, smooth and rough pavement, occasionally dirt trails. I'm looking for from suspention, brakes that are reliable in the rain, and a drive train that doesn't slip every 5 minutes. I'm 6' with a 35" inseam. Thanks for any help.

fietsbob

#1, find a Bike Shop you like.. mongoose has become a BSO, bicycle shaped object,
sold in places that are without bike service after the sale.*

Quality went down to be profitable to the Big Box monster chain stores.

*Its the lack of service and replacing worn parts in a timely manner that is your problem..

there are very low service needing bikes, but they are not cheap, new these days..

an old 3 speed IGH with drum brake hubs is pretty low maintenance.






....

VegasTriker

If your budget is $500 and you prefer to spend less, forget the front suspension on the bike and get a better quality rigid fork bike. You are in the budget bike category at under $500. Money spent on suspension in this category could be better spent on getting better parts in the drive train or brakes.

jefnvk

Yep, skip the suspension at that price point. Nothing wrong with a rigid front fork.

Something like a Trek FX2 should fit right into your budget and be more than suitable. Also, at least near me, quite a few of the bike shops are starting to closeout the 2017 bikes, you may be able to get something on a discount.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b.../1323010-2017/

steakman49

Thanks, I looked and there is a trek fx for a good price neat me, what size should I get?

alcjphil

The Trek dealer will assist you in choosing the correct size

jefnvk

Determining that is part of what you pay the bike shop for

But generally speaking, at 6', you're probably going to be in a 20" in that bike, maybe 22.5" depending on how you are proportioned: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/s...bikes_fx-verve

steakman49

Hey, thanks for the help but I posted this while I was busy and I got to thinking, I don't think I'm comfortable spending $500 on a bike, when.all it's going to be for me is just a VERY basic mode of transportation. I'm sorry, but can you think of any recommendations around the $350 range? I know I'm wandering dangerously close to department store territory, but I just don't want to spend that much money on a bike.

csport

Giant Escape 3 ($340), Raleigh Cadent 1 ($350). They are similar to Trek FX. These particular models have some downsides like 7 speed freewheel instead of a cassette. I would spend $50-100 more and get an 8 speed one.