Best places to shop used bike
 

Hi

Im new on the forums here and new to cycling. I'm trying to get my family into and shopping around for some used bikes on craigslist. I was wondering if there were any other places near the bay area that sells used bikes for a good price?

Thank you

Near Stanford univ. in PA there is a used bike shop. Stay clear of the guy in Campbell who sells out of a storage/warehouse.

You mean Cardinal Bikes, yes? (near Stanford)

Yes, could not think of it off the top of my head and was too lazy at the time to google it. Much like the OP could have done. :)

^ hehe yes. I did google a couple of stores and went to the Off Ramp on El Camino in Santa Clara. The guys there were very helpful and explained a lot.

I have one more question - this I already did google and found some answers

But is there some sites that list popular bike trails? I konw there is one on Google, but any others? There is a popular hiking trail site that people post pictures and reviews and stuff. Anything like that for bike trails?

Thanks again!

Re: Trails. Not sure about 'popular' as I don't live in the area, but here's a site in which you can search by type and location for trails. http://www.traillink.com/?gclid=CJLZ...FUKo4AodMVk-rw. Joining is free. It's by the rails to trails organization, but they list more than that.

Sherrill

Thats a great site. Thank you for that link!

All of the Bay Area bike coops sell donated bikes as a
part of what they do, to my knowledge.

Here in Sacramento, it's an important contributor to our
overall operating budget.

Well we ended up purchasing a couple of used bikes through craigslist. Just riding around the block for now but planning to check out some of the trails listed on that site posted by biglee above.

I have another question though - what are the state laws about cycling without lights? The bikes we purchased didnt have them so i'm shopping around for it. I know its definitely safer to have the lights rather than just reflectors, but is it actually law?

Also, I heard you can get traffic violations too for speeding or passing stop signs. Is this true?

Yes......if it's dark enough you are required to have a white light in front
and a red one to the rear.

Yes, you can get ticketed for these and other offenses, but
speeding violations are pretty rare. Stop sign and light violations
are some of the more common ticketed offenses.

I knew someone who had a speeding ticket or two attached to his bike, as trophies. They do issue tickets to cyclists. I've also seen a cop pull over a teenager for not having lights on the bike at dusk. It wasn't even fully dark at the time. All of the California vehicle code is online, by the way, so it's easy to find out what's legal.

A good rule of thumb is that while on a bike, you are a vehicle, not a pedestrian. The laws of driving a car/riding a motorcycle generally (of course, with exceptions and additions) apply to you while you're on the bicycle.

During the day a rear blinky will make you more visible if you are riding a road that goes from bright sunshine to heavy shade...you can bet the drivers behind you are wearing sunglasses. During the day, a front blinky might save you from being left hooked or doored in city-like riding. Nothing massive, those little Knogs are enough to catch the driver's attention. Under these condition, reflectors accomplish nothing.

Great, thanks for all the info

Some CA bike laws: http://www.sacbike.org/sacbiking/CVCLaws.htm.

Re: the light, see 21201.d