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Another former lurker who's here with questions

Old 05-26-08, 12:27 PM
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Another former lurker who's here with questions

Hi everyone,

I've been driving my self a little crazy reading old threads and doing research, so I figured it's time I consolidate and just start my own.

I'm in Los Angeles, looking to start commuting to work (a little under 12 mi round trip, with the return slightly uphill). Do I need multiple gears because of the hills? When I rode my mountain bike around campus in college, I remember sticking to one gear most of the time, but that was a flat campus.

I've been checking Craigslist religiously, but I'm tall (6-4 w/ long legs) and haven't found much -- where are all the hybrids? I want something more efficient than a mountain bike, but am not comfortable w/ drop handle bars that I've found on most road bikes. I want to keep the cost down, DEFINITELY under $500, but preferably much less. In my investigations, I've ridden a cool '84 Centurion Comp TA for $200, a Giant FCR 3 for $450, a Fuji Absolute 3.0 for $400, and a Schwinn World Avenue for $450 that was a size too small (they didn't have the XL in the shop).

The Comp TA felt like it could really move, but if I got it, I would want to swap out the drop handle bars for a flat one. This would add, what, $140 with labor? Kind of defeats the purpose of buying an old bike if I end up paying that much.

I liked the Fuji, but I don't know if the components and everything are worth it. Shifting was easy because you just turn the grips like on my old Trek mtb.

The Schwinn is cool, but I wasn't crazy about the shifting mechanism, and I worry that I would be paying a bunch extra just for the plastic stuff they put on it to make it seems Euro.

The Giant was nice, but again, I'm not used to the new shifting mechanism.

Please give me tips as to what a good bike would be, and don't limit yourselves to those I've ridden. Think outside the box, or inside if you like. Thank you in advance for all your help. This is a very cool group.
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Old 05-26-08, 12:33 PM
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Hi,
and welcome. You will prob need to post the question in one of the forums.
Not many bikes will fit someone your size, but if there's one out there at that price, hopefully we can help you find it.
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Old 05-26-08, 01:36 PM
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First, why do you want to change the handlebars out from drops to a flat bar?

Check out the Clydesdales/Athenas forum for bike for tall guys, and take a look in the Classic & Vintage forum in the eBay & CL finds sticky too. There are new bikes made for tall people, and some of the vintage bikes come in whopping big sizes too!

Welcome to BF, and feel free to PM me with any questions !

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Old 05-26-08, 02:34 PM
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Originally Posted by East Hill
First, why do you want to change the handlebars out from drops to a flat bar?

Check out the Clydesdales/Athenas forum for bike for tall guys, and take a look in the Classic & Vintage forum in the eBay & CL finds sticky too. There are new bikes made for tall people, and some of the vintage bikes come in whopping big sizes too!

Welcome to BF, and feel free to PM me with any questions !

East Hill

I'd want to change just because I'm not comfortable w/ drops, and I think a flat bar would be better for my particular commute.

Thanks for the tip about the big bike section!
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Old 05-26-08, 02:58 PM
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Oh, all right. I know that not everyone is comfortable in drops, although they offer a multitude of hand positions which flat bars do not.

Yeah, the big bikes is a very useful guide. I have the opposite problem--I am always looking for the tiny bikes .

East Hill
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