need advice please klein not wanted
 

know of any good tough bikes i could get with a $250 budget my parents are buying it and it's the highest i could get them to go up to please helppppppppp!!!!! hey joe think u could help

Go used, my friend just sold an older '97 gary fisher joshua X0 (Full suspension bike, full LX) for $250. The bike was sold for ~$1000 when new. You can find some great deals out there if you take the time to look, and dont rush anything.

If you have $150 dolars to buy a bike, and are planning on using it for off roaf riding, you cannot get anything that will have any real durability and longevity. Of course Joe's suggestion is your best bet. Going to a dept. store, or Toy's R' Us ill not do. Your parents need to be educated, as to the differences betweeb dept. store and a real bike. For another $100 to $150 more you can get a descent entry level hardtail that you can use for a few years.

If your parents happen to have an area where they're enthusiasts, make a comparison they understand. Someone mentioned golf clubs... ask them if they'd play golf with a set of clubs from KMart, if they're golf enthusiasts. Or suggest they get a Yugo to replace their BMW. Or a 13" black-and-white TV to replace their big-screen.

Bikes I'd actually call "tough" for off-road usage are going to be in the US$500-$700 area on up, and that's for a hardtail (new). If you can find a used hardtail that fits you (very important aspect) and is in good shape (take it to the LBS for an evaluation), then that is going to save you some money, but even then, $150 is not much to work with. Try talking them higher. The bike you're riding now is a hazard to your own saftey, and you can quote me on that as a former mechanic if you need some ammo :)

Ditto,

That Frankenstein bike of yours scares me. Not trying to be mean, but that bike with a 20" wheel would put you in a very forward position and would steer like jackrabbit on crack! Reminds me of some of the things I used to do at your age. Live and learn.

If your parents are willing to cough up the $150, suggest to them that you'll match their $150 with $150 worth of labor around the house (clean the car, mow the lawn, do the dishes, do some painting...etc), so maybe you can get a new $300 bike, or a decent used bike. Go to your LBS and ask if they would swap some labor for store credit. That's how I landed my first job as a shop rat/mechanic. Spent one whole summer doing nothing but rebuilding coaster brake hubs for the rental fleet bikes. At the end of the summer, the owner bought me the SE Quadangle w/Standing Gear forks I had been drooling over!

Remind them that of course you need a helmet too!

L8R

As a matter of fact, I think we took an older Cannondale M300 in a size small, in on trade a little while back. It doesn't have suspension, but it's in great shape and could easily be upgraded over time. I think we've got it on the showroom for $150.00. I'll try to get a digi pic and attach it sometime over the weekend. Of course, shipping is about $40.00, so that might not work for you, but it'll show you for comparison that there are a lot of great used bikes available if you look around!

L8R

are u gonna keep the bike u currently have? the one with mismatched wheels:rolleyes: ? if you are keeping that then $150 can get you a nice wheelset. if you are trashing that bike, then 150 can get you a used bike, but probably along the lines of a specialized hardrock or giant boulder unless you are really lucky and land on a better deal (ie, a $300 bike that originally was $1000+). also i would not take a specialized hardrock or a giant boulder biking in the mountains... see what you can do