That bike is undoubtedly better than the cheapest x-mart bikes. Anyway, you can't find a road bike at x-mart for $80. You can find an mtb with suspension made from trampoline springs for about that cost, or kids bikes, or beach cruisers, but not road bikes.

I disagree. This bike is likely to have steel rims. Heavy & slow to accelerate. If he didn't already have a basic bike to ride, it might be a start, but I think he might be better to save his pennies and watch for the right deal to come along. This isn't going to be much improvement over his Roadmaster MTB. For $150 he could find a good 80's era road bike.

He said he can't afford a bike that expensive. I don't know how regularly you troll craigslist for bikes in the OPs price range, but there aren't tons of screaming deals out there. A bike, any bike, thats functional, for $40 is pretty good price. You are worried about the bike being heavy and slow to accelerate...well what do you expect for $40? I used to ride around a steel-rimmed Schwinn Varsity...it was still a lot faster on the road than my 22LB ti mountain bike.

I did understand that. He can't right now, but I also suggested he might be better off to save up until he can.

All the time, and I live in the same area as he does. I see good deals like that come up every week. Patience pays off. Haven't checked it yet this morning, though.
I also see you are on L.I. I grew up there in the 60's & 70's. Expensive place to live. That could be the difference in what kind of value the used market offers.

I agree a $40, 30 year old, steel rimmed mart bike is better than nothing, but he is desiring to keep up on club rides. I really don't think that bike will cut it. Even a casual, beginners oriented club ride is going to be 10-20 miles at a 12mph pace.

My main point, is that if he needs a bike now to go ahead, if the bike is functional and fits. No reason why you can't keep saving for a new bike and sell this one when the time is right and recover most if not all what you put into it. My own perspective on this is that its better to get on a bike now rather than sit around waiting for the perfect deal. Spending 40 now isn't necessarily money down the drain. Also I think this bike, properly tuned, is more than capable of 10-20 miles at a 12mph pace.
Also, keep in mind that older x-mart bikes tended to be higher quality then newer ones.

Right now my avg speed is 7.02 MPH

Yeah, I have time, I was just looking and ran across that one.
I don't NEED a road bike right now, I would like to do the short course at Goatneck next year (2013), I won't be anywhere ready physicaly this year.

Just looked on CL and ran across one of those nice deals. Looks like an 80's Miyata for $30. If the size is right, I suggest grabbing it before a flipper gets to it. https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/bik/3015963988.html


Here's another one that went up today. A Fuji for $60. https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/bik/3015875474.html

Looks good, I'll have to call at lunch. Is it just me or do the tires look out of round?

I just dropped him an e-mail asking if he knew what size it is.

I think its just the angle that the pic was taken from. That zip code appears to be on the East side of Dallas, near Fair Park. Shouldn't be too bad to try and get there from Carrollton after work.

That bike is a cheap X-Mart bike from the 80's. Cheap bike that hasn't been maintained for 25 years isn't going to be higher quality than a new cheap bike of the same ilk. I just don't see the sense in paying $40 for a bike that originally retailed for $79, and needs a whole bunch of stuff.

Particularly when the OP has an apparently serviceable MTB.

And you can get a fixed gear road bike from Wal Mart for less than $100.

That said, the cost effective answer to the OP's need is the second half of my answer; slicks for his MTB.

And then save for a decent used road bike.

You don't really need bibs, though, unless you moonlight as a professional rassler.

The Miyata looks about a 21" .... good for someone 5' 6" - 5' 9" -ish
The Fuji looks about a 23" .... good for someone 5' 10" - 6' -ish

Just eyeball guesses. Both bikes are WAY better than that Huffy

Many people may not know how to measure a bike size. A simpler number to ask for might be "standover height" .... the distance from the top tube to the ground. They can grab a tape measure or yardstick and easily measure that. You want a number that gives you an inch or 2 clearance in the crotch when standing over the bike..

With any used bike like these, expect to need tubes, tires and chain. Maybe you won't, but factor that in to the price if the tires look worn or chain is rusty.

If thats the case, then I would keep looking.

It's a good ballpark idea if you don't have an actual frame size, but is not always a direct comparison and may not apply to everyone. I have short legs and more height in my upper body, so if I chose my bike based on standover height, I would feel cramped like I was riding a kid's bike. I actually had one like that at one time. I hated it, but my daughter rode it when she was 12 and it was great for her.


It's hard to know what will fit best until you've used it for a while. For $30 he can't go wrong as long as he can swing a leg over it. If he later decides to buy another bike, he'll have a good idea of what size he needs.

Counterpoint: If you like to putter around with mechanical stuff, you can get older bikes for a decent price and fix them up and/or upgrade them over time. I got a pretty sweet Raleigh Super Course for $50 (kind of... it's a long story) at a pawn shop. Old technology, but putting a ramped freewheel on it greatly helped the shifting performance. Garage sales, pawn shops, Craigslist, and even the city dump and dumpsters can yield some decent bikes.

If you want the best of everything, this isn't a cheap hobby. If you're content with perfectly functional 20-30 year old technology, there are some great bargains to be had.

Some things to look for in a used bike:

If it's pre-1990s, looked for lugged frames, forged drop-outs, 3-piece cranks; stay away from stem-mounted shifters, stamped dropouts, one-piece cranks. You're an inch shorter than I am, so in sizing, look for a minimum of 24" or 60 cm frame sizes. If it's 1990s and up, there are some decent welded frames, especially on mountain bikes/hybrids.

This bike is a 25" frame; it fits me pretty well. It might work for you, or perhaps be just a bit too large:



This is a 24" frame; it would probably fit you well:



The distinguishing feature for me is the length of the head tube. You can see the proportions of the head tube relative to the rest of the bike. On the 25" frame, the head tube looks almost too large proportionally relative to the rest of the bike. The head tube on a 24" has a little more "normal" looking proportions. (The 24" framed bike was the one I got at the pawn shop for $50; I traded it straight up for the slightly larger 25" frame bike.)

For comparison, this is a 23" frame; it would probably be too small for you (but you might make it work):

Why? That bike is crap and would probably be dangerous on a group ride. Check out the cassette...I can only imagine what the cables are like. To get that bike in proper riding condition you would probably have to invest at least a couple hundred dollars in a new cassette, cables, brakes, tires, grease everything and who knows what else. That's assuming the frame is actually not rusted out or cracked. It's not like the owner has been taking care of it. It's fine for riding to the store maybe, but on a group ride of even a moderate pace I think that bike is an accident waiting to happen. Would you trust it on a bumpy downhill?

That was just an example of how expensive this sport can be. The OP stated that he wants to start joining group rides. I think he's going to find it difficult to find a group that's going to let him ride that POS in the middle of the pack. How long do you think that 30 year old chain is going to last on a hard climb? How about those ancient, rusty steel wheels on a fast decent? Cycling is expensive. Doing it on the super cheap could be dangerous.

Agree. If you have the time, mechanical experience, tools and disposable income to spend on new parts, sure you can make an old bike work. The point is the OP wants to put tires on the bike and ride it in a group. It would cost a lot of money to get that thing in serviceable condition, which would take him out of his $100 limit. Everything you said to watch out for is on this bike.

I have an appointment to look at the Fuji after work. I wish I knew more of what I was looking at. It is just a mile from work.

Cassette? A new freewheel would be less than $20, even one with ramps to get near indexed shifting performance. New cables? Wal-Mart sells a basic set for $5. There are several levels of group rides around here (near where Miles lives) that range from high speed racer wanna-be fitness rides to very casual social rides. I've seen worse than that bike on some of the rides.

I could name three or four groups that he can ride with that would be totally cool with that bike. Cycling is pretty wide open around here. It's in a growth mode and right now there is plenty of room for all, and surprisingly little sniping between the roadies, the MTBers, the fixed gear riders, etc. In fact, a lot of people ride several styles of bikes and do all kinds of rides.

Great, so who's putting the new cables on? A basic tune-up will run about $100. A full tune (which is what this bike needs) will run about $200. Just saying that bike needs A LOT of work.

No what I found pathetic was your elitist tone, suggesting that the OP was too poor for cycling.

That Fuji is a much better bike. Looks like the owner actually took care of it.