Seijun

Hi, I'm new here (obviously). Was trying to find an all-terrain bike under $100 (I know, I'm cheap), and am being forced to go with a 24" due to my shortness. As far as 24"'s, the only bikes close to me in that size for that price are all labeled "boys". I am 21. Does it matter, or is there major build difference between a boys and mens bike? BTW, I am female, but playing around with the girls and boys bikes at Wal-Mart, I couldn't sense that any one was harder than the other. The boys bikes looked like they would last longer though.

And just an FYI, I was looking at a Mongoose XR-75. It doesn't need to be able to handle really tough terrain, just needs to be able to handle a gravel road at the most, and maybe a paved hill or two. It looked pretty good, considering my current bike has no shocks, no brakes, and had been in use for 10 years before the wheels stopped turning on it. It was a Roadmaster.

Retro Grouch 

If you have budget restrictions, spending part of it for suspension that doesn't do much and that you don't need anyway doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Seijun

What do you mean? (My apologies, having never driven a car before in my life and having had only two bikes before in my life--both when I was a kid--I can honestly say my knowledge of bike terminology is limited to: brakes, wheels, peddles, chain, handlebars). Do you have a better suggestion for an all-terrain under $100?

CaptainCool

Suspension is a gadget. Holding price constant, a bike with fewer gadgets should have better quality components.

Look for a used bike. Look on Craigslist, do a local Ebay search, try thrift stores and troll garage sales. Try to get a brand that you see in bike shops instead of Walmart. If you find a really cheap one, put the balance into a bike shop's tuneup.

Why do you want an all-terrain bike? Road bikes can handle gravel roads, especially with wider commuter tires.

apclassic9

You want to look for an XS frame for a 26" wheel, I guess - it's really hard to say, since you neglected to tell us your height. My son has been riding what you call a 'real' bike since he was 7, and was quite short. Look for a used bike, though - it will be a better bike than anything you could buy new at $100!

Seijun

I want an all-terrain for those instances when riding the bike over a small cliff looks too tempting Plus my road has MANY potholes. My height is 5'4" The 26" bikes really tore me up. I hated them. The 24" ones were much better on me.

I tried checking a few local searches, and only came up with a few vintage things, two mongooses, and some other bikes that looked as though they had been through a lot of use. I'm trying to go for something new, cheap, just needs to last a few years until we have the money and time for something better. I really don't want to have to do a lot of running around for tuneups, custumizations and everything, which is why the walmart bikes appealed to me. You just pay and walk out with a new bike. Nothing fancy.

East Hill

That's not something recommended with a Wal-mart bike. There are some threads around which deal with the professionalism of the Wal-mart bicycle 'wrenches'. Check carefully when you look at the bikes. There will be a small sticker on them proclaiming that they are not really meant for off road use.

East Hill

Mach42

Hey, looks like you're exactly as short as I am! I'm 5'4" with a 29 inch inseam. I had the same issue with finding a department store bike that fit me. I was relegated to a 24" bike that I had to ride for a few months.

But, I decided to get a bike shop quality bike. They come in a multitude of frame sizes that'll fit anyone from 5'2" to 6'plus. I'm on a small sized frame that takes 26 inch tires. Heck, I could've gone with a smaller frame with the XS, but that one was too small for me!

I suggest that you keep on looking. A high quality used bike will last much longer than a Walmart bike, saving you money in the long run as well as maintenance time. Of course, if the high quality used bike has been run to the ground, don't get it as you'll have to do a lot of replacement. Sometimes, a lightly used bike will pop up that fits your height and is of good quality. Jump on it.

chephy

All Wal-mart bikes are built to one specification: craptitude. They all suck. For under $100 you're much better off with a used bike if you can find one in decent condition and your size. But if you do insist on buying a department store "bike", buy the one that fits you best, regardless of the labels. But please don't think of those bikes as "all-terrain". They look "rugged" but they actually have stickers that say "not intended for off-road use" and damn right they aren't. They're of poor quality to start with but the worst part is the department-store assembly... And those shocks (suspension) that look so good to you are worthless - they'll just rob you of pedalling energy. In fact, department bikes with most gizmos are the worst - they add to weight and price, add nothing to functionality and make the whole bike much less reliable 'cause they're prone to braking. If you have to buy a dept. store bike, I'd recommend the cheapest and simplest model they sell: something with no suspension.

If you can afford it at all, I'd recommend spending at least $300 on a new bike from a good bike shop. The difference will be enormous: the bike will be properly assembled, selected and adjusted to fit you well, and the bike shop will actually offer you a free tune-up program for a while. You don't even need a mountain bike - pretty much any bike will handle a gravel road...

chephy

You mean "just pay and walk out with a new shiny piece of crap". Nothing fancy indeed.

Tune-ups are part of routine bike maintenance. They don't have to be frequent but they should be done once in a while. The first one should be done after a couple hundred km of the bike because cables tend to stretch and need adjustment. After that once a year and/or whenever there is a problem with shifting, braking etc. If you buy a bike from a bike store, they'll do all this for you for free. And if gears stop shifting on a Walmart bike, where do you go? Is Walmart going to fix it for you? I don't think so.

M_S

Wanting a new bike for under 100 dollars is like wanting a new car for under 3,000 dollars. If you can find one, it will most likely be a waste of money. Simply put: bikes cost more than 100 dollars. Department store bikes are not worth the money. They will break. I would urge you enormously to consider buying a Kona Smoke for 300 dollars. Or any hybrid, really, that comes from a real bike shop. The Kona is appealing to me because it does not have suspension. Any suspension you get at a price point below 500 dollars (possibly this number should be higher) is not worth it. And for your trype of riding, no suspension is necessary or even ideal.

Seijun

Thanks guys for the advice. Are there any bikes areound $200 that are any good? $300 just isn't worth it for a bike that will only be used once or twice a week, IMHO. My b/f and I are each getting a bike, but he is paying for each (his b-day present to me), and he only makes $150-$180 a week. He can't afford to pay $600 on a pair of bikes. $400 for a pair of bikes will take a month's pay for him or more! It's really stretching it for us, especially for something that will be used so infrequently and just for fun.

I never thought Wal-mart bikes were THAT bad. Like I said, my w-m bike lasted 10 years. No tuneups or anything. Handlebars and frame got a little bent, and the brakes eventually stopped working, and the chain fell off sometimes, but as long as the peddles still turned the wheels, and the tires were full, I considered it rideable. I put that bike through everything! I was off-road with it just as much as I was on-road. I had no clue how to use the speeds on it, but would just set them low for regular riding, high for going up hills. I probably tore the gears to shreds, but as a vehicle for small distance travel, and carrying buckets of water and fish home from the creek, it still worked.

What type of riding needs a suspension, just out of curiousity?

M_S

I would consider it bad if the brakes didn't work. But that's just me.

Wouldn't you rather have a bike that shifts reliably and doesn't bend at the handlebars?

Seijun

Most people would consider it bad if the brakes didn't work. But hey, I was a kid, it was a bike, and the fact that the seat was squishy and there were no training wheels was all the luxury I needed at the time!

The whole concept of "different speeds" on a bike and of "shifting" while riding is still very new to me, but I guess I'll firgure it out eventually.

Stacey

Men's bikes have hair, boy's don't.

chephy

I would say once or twice a week is not "infrequently" but I guess that depends on the length of the trips as well.

Well, if that's your idea of rideable, a Walmart bike might be fine for you. Get whichever one fits well, men's or boys' no matter, and ride it into the ground. Just go over it with a wrench before riding to make sure nothing (like the front wheel ) falls off as you're riding it.

Honestly though, if I were on that tight of a budget, I'd go with used. Yes, you might have to do some work on it, but you gotta pay the price for a good ride somewhere... But since you know so little about bikes in general, I wouldn't recommend getting used unless you shop with someone knowledgeable.. you might end up with a worse deal than a department store bike. If you can find a bike store that sells used bikes, that'd be great. You might find something for a hundred bucks that's at least been looked over by a bike mechanic.

You might want to learn how to use gears -- they can make riding much more enjoyable. Except on most Walmart bikes I've dealt with gears don't work properly and trying to shift them is just too much trouble, so maybe just forget about it.

Technical off-road riding.

Seijun

That's what I was worried about. I honestly wouldn't mind a good used bike, if I knew anything about bikes! I barely know where to start on new bikes--I am beyond lost when it comes to used bikes. And nobody I know really knows a lot about bikes either. I would have to be completely dependant on the person selling, which isn't always a good thing

jbarros

ok

I've been riding for about 2 months now. I am not the sharpest marble in the bag. If I can do it, you can do it.

1.) When getting a bike, the more "stuff" it has, the more there is to break. try to get one where no parts of the frame move (no suspension)

2.) All bikes, new or otherwise need tuneups. the cables will stretch even just minimally, and it will throw things off. You can get away with never maintaining a bike at all, but really, if you take the time to keep your derailers, brakes, and tire preasure set right (I have a once a week 15 minute ritual where I check and adjust all of this) it will make your life easier, and your riding a pleasure instead of a pain. (and you'll go faster too.)

3.) proper bike fit will make everything suck less. At first it will feel really wierd, like you're sitting WAY to high, because you're adjusted for where your feet go when you're pedaling as opposed to when you're standing. But if you plan on pedaling your bike, instead of just standing with it, it will make a world of difference.

2.) you can do your own tuneups. I do mine with nothing more than a leatherman, a rag, and some degreaser and lube. (and I'm both stupid AND new to this)
https://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html

That article looks REALLY complicated the first few times you read through it, but read through it with your bicycle nearby, and look at your bike while you read it, and try the adjustments and see what they do, and it'll all start to make sense.

Beyond that, it's just adjusting the brakes so that they don't rub when you ride, but are as close to rubbing as could possibly be, so that when you grab the brake, they brake quickly.


Now, that's routine maintenance. One of the big advantages of going to a bike shop instead of wally world is that a good bike shop will set all of this stuff up right initially so that you only have to maintain it, instead of fixing what the guy at wallmart did when he had to assemble 20 of these in an hour for $4.25. That being said, even starting from completely out of whack and adjusting everything in isn't too hard.

When you first get it,

1.) I'd start by making sure all the bits are bolted down right. Nothing says love like turning the bars but not having the wheel turn (or rather, having the wheel only marginally turn), or grabbing your brake lever and having it come off (the first I saw first hand, the second I heard of on department store bikes)

2.) tweak with the brake pads to make sure they line up right and are against the rim, not the tire itself, and alligned properly. it's pretty self explanatory.

3.) check your tire preasure.

4.) raise the seat to a proper height. Your body will thank you ( https://sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html#height )

The annoying thing, or rather what will annoy you in a few hundred miles is finding out how much SMOOTHER your bike runs once you learn all the little tweaks and get it adjusted just right for you, and you realize how long you've been riding a bike that worked against you instead of for you.

Anyway, I'm not sure why random person selling a used bike is any less reliable than random person working at walmart, but whatever you want to do.

Either way, I hope you enjoy what you get. Let us know how it goes.

- James

Seijun

Wow, great post James, thank you!!

jbarros

Thanks

One other thing. Read over in the post about if tuneups are really necessary. Really, for what you want to do, a walmart bike will probably be fine, BUT, a properly set up bike that fits you will just be so much MORE enjoyable to ride, it may (did for me) make the difference between wanting to ride or not.

When you mention riding off a cliff, there are people here that actually do that, intentionally, and land properly at the bottom. I presume you meant riding on dirt fireroads or regular trails. Provided you plan accordingly and don't outride your brakes on the downhills, it will most likeley work well enough.

I put 100 miles on my bicycle last month. I ride far less than most people here.
If you're looking at putting 3 or 4 miles on a bike 2 or 3 times a week, I understand where you're coming from. I'd still prefer a better bike, but I do understand.

-- James

mattface 

I would recommend doing your homework (we'll help. Most here want to see you enjoy cycling), and picking up a couple good quality used bikes. A new $300 bike will sell a couple years later for $100, and will be much better than a brand new department store bike. A lot of people buy new bikes and never ride them, so the chances of finding a like new used bike are quite good.

Tuneups are a necessary part of safely riding a bike, but as someone already pointed out working on bikes is really not that difficult. If you can find a local Bike Coop, they can help you learn to work on your bike, and may even have a decent used bike to sell you.