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  1. #1
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    Bicycle buying tips?

    Did a search for bicycle and didn't see a thread on this. I've been putting off buying a bike and just had a last minute urge to buy one for Black Friday. I don't really know much about bikes and haven't rode one since I was probably a kid/teenager. I saw this on Walmart. Would you guys recommend a style for cardio/commuting?

    https://www.walmart.com/ip/26-Roadma...-Bike/48520136

    If it matters:
    Male
    25
    180~190 lbs fit
    5"10

  2. #2
    I'm more gentle than I look.
    Mr. Feathers AKA Mr. Striations
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    Never get a bike from Walmart, ever.

    They're not built to last. They all break down. All of them. It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when (depending on how much you ride it).

    For commutting a hybrid (mountain/road) will be your comfort/efficiency; a standard road bike would be purely efficiency (If you aren't trying to lollygag around, this will get you from point A to point B the fastest, at the expense of comfort. They don't have things like shock absorbers, which add to comfort, but also absorb your power, so you go slower)

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cream Soda View Post
    Never get a bike from Walmart, ever.

    They're not built to last. They all break down. All of them. It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when (depending on how much you ride it).

    For commutting a hybrid (mountain/road) will be your comfort/efficiency; a standard road bike would be purely efficiency (If you aren't trying to lollygag around, this will get you from point A to point B the fastest, at the expense of comfort. They don't have things like shock absorbers, which add to comfort, but also absorb your power, so you go slower)
    Thanks. Do you have a site of bikes that aren't so expensive? I see most are around $400-1k+.

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    oh! something I can actually answer.
    Your going to need a 56cm road bike or medium / large mountain bike. 27.5 wheel base for a mountain bike. I suggest avoiding comfort bikes, (they're slow and heavy) and single gear bikes (a.k.a fixies) only because getting the right gear ratio is tricky.

    Now the question is: how much are you willing to spend? anything under 200.00 is shit, you're getting cheap components and probably a shitty weld on the frame, as well as someone assembling the bike in under 10 minutes, all of these are no-no's when your life is on the line.

    If you want New bike then: http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bi.../1311010-2017/ ($350.00) OR https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/escape-2-2016 ($450.00)
    these bikes are mostly paved road only and won't do well on gravel or dirt, but if you want something more off-road / trail ready then https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/talon-27dot5-4-2016.

    Another suggestion: find a local bicycle shop and see if they have rentals for sale (they always do), but you'll probably end up spending closer to $500.00-1000.00.

    You might want to browse craigslist but thats up to you, bikes there under $500.00 are usually poorly maintained, stolen, or have been in a crash.

    edit: fixies are okay, your just going to pedal harder in certain areas
    edit 2: the local bike shops are your best bet, they might have something cheaper than what I listed.

  5. #5
    I'm more gentle than I look.
    Mr. Feathers AKA Mr. Striations
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    As long as the bike has been taken care of (Main thing to look out for is when you test ride it, make sure it shifts properly. If it's skipping gears or not shifting fluidly, then it's a dud), you can get a lot of used road bikes, and assuming people take care of them, they're in pretty good shape, off of craigslist. Otherwise you're going to be paying a pretty penny.

    CL can get you the 200-400 price range on some decent starter bikes. Or you can commit and go to a bike shop; though this is purely for roadbikes. (hybrids you can probably get cheaper)

    The 350 dollar hybrid he just posted is a great option for a starter bike.

    My experience with CL is a $1200 Marin Road bike, one owner (old dude who never rode the thing) for $350, two canondales (300-350 each; one being BG bike), and a $2,200 Pinarello FP2 for $800 (Coming w/ orig paperwork, me being second owner, and the first owner only putting 65 miles on it. The guy had the next model up and bought that one for his wife. She went on 2-3 rides, fell a few times, and said fuck biking. Then it sat in their garage for 3 years until they decided to get rid of it).

    Don't underestimate CL

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    Fair point on craigslist, i actually got my cervélo on CL, but it took awhile to find it through all the trash.

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    The Shitlord
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    watch out for buses

  8. #8
    I'm more gentle than I look.
    Mr. Feathers AKA Mr. Striations
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bumbles View Post
    Fair point on craigslist, i actually got my cervélo on CL, but it took awhile to find it through all the trash.
    Yeah, it's definitely a game of patience.

    This day and age, like to keep 2 bikes on hand, so in case one gets stolen I'm not screwed. So when I had my one good bike, I decided to find a cheaper bike. I'd just look through the bikes 3-4 times a week and eventually found something. Then my uncle lost his license and commandeered my secondary bike (which he brought w/ him to Kuwait, where he works), so I had to find yet another secondary, lol

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    Yeah i know that feeling, I look through my CL a few times a week and whenever I visit my bike shop I'm always looking at whats available.

  10. #10
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    https://orlando.craigslist.org/bik/5863158242.html

    Would this be better if I could get him to lower the price & swap out the seating?

    Haven't really thought about how much I want to spend. I just don't want to buy something expensive then not want to bike. My traveling will only consist of about 2 or 4 mile trips.

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    $300.00 isn't a bad price for that bike, but see if you can get down to 200-250 it's a little dinged up here and there, (looks like someone tried to do downhills on a hardtail) you have to replace the seat and handlebar grips.

    For the seat it's a little tricky everyone's butt is different so finding one that fits you might be a challenge.

    edit: if you do end up looking at it, make sure it shifts through all the gears, then lift both wheels up and spin them off the ground, if the wheels wobble while spinning then it's a problem. Check the brakes, and the front shock (while on the bike lean forward and push down) just make sure there's some resistance. I'm just worried about that front wheel with all those dings on the brakes and the shock.

  12. #12
    I'm more gentle than I look.
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    Oh, shit you're in FL? If you don't mind a couple hour drive (I'm in Tampa/St. Pete area), I can keep a lookout for some local bikes that may be worth the commute

    And the bike you're looking at is definitely meant for off roading/recreation. That looks like it'd be a nightmare to commute in

  13. #13
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    To piggy back on this I'm actually looking into getting a new bike.

    Already got a pretty decent hybrid (2012 or 2013 Specialized Crosstrail Sport Disc). It's been a good bike these last few years commuting to/from work and about town usually around 5-10 miles at a time but been wanting to go farther and talking to CS has shamed me into wanting to go faster. And it being a hybrid and not really being built for that and noticed as the years have gone by riding it doesn't quite ride like it did (probably partly my fault. Didn't exactly abuse it but never real did much more than take care of tires/chain and well been riding it almost a decent amount for about 4 years now) and well as CS says always good to have an extra (people around here will even just steal parts like the seat if they can't get the whole thing lol) so looking to get a new one

    Since trying to faster/farther I figured would probably want a road bike... but part of what drew me to the hybrid in the first place the roads are kind of shitty around here and was going to be dealing with a bit of traffic and well hadn't ridden in years so figured something that kept me in a more comfortable position and able to see traffic and something better equipped for meh roads would be better. But now significantly more in shape and used to riding and have figured out how to avoid the worst roads (though still deal with a fair amount of gravel and glass because street sweepers specifically sweep it into the bike lane even when it's to the left of the turn lane <.<) and some light reading has me discovering there are sub types within the road bike category that can address those concerns but left me feeling somewhat overwhelmed before even getting to specific models so some advice/suggestions on that end and possibly models would be great. Like I have a lot of local bike shops catering from bottom to some actually sponsor races so can always get some in there but really would like to know a bit more going in. Also one last thing drew me to the specialize was it was one of the few I was looking at that had hydraulic disc brakes and I've just loved them ever since even if it's a little more expensive. It's no exaggeration to say they probably were the difference in some near accidents and not really needing adjusting/replacing is nice. I've read touring bikes sometimes come with them but not sure about other types of road bikes.

    Lastly what do you guys think of REI? Someone suggested them once to me since they run higher end stuff and do seem to have an okish selection of bikes and have an amazing return policy and I'd imagine they more likely to do sales but not really sure that's worth it/they would have what I'd really want

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    I would rent a road bike with 28c wheels and take it to a quiet road and see if you like it then slim down to 25c the next time around. After that pick which ever is more comfortable.

    As far as shitty roads get puncture resistant tires - gatorskins or four seasons (there's a few others, those are just examples).

    For brakes its all preference, some people love disc, some love calipers. My mtb has discs and my road has calipers and the only difference I notice is the discs grab a lot quicker. Price wise, discs might be cheaper in the long run as calipers will eventually wear your tire's rims down (or so people say). There's a lot of road bikes with discs just have to shop around, aim for something with shimano 105 or ultegra components. Specialized makes solid bikes, Roubaix is a bit pricey but good. As always it depends on your budget, just check your bike shops and you can probably get a deal on a decent bike.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cream Soda View Post
    Oh, shit you're in FL? If you don't mind a couple hour drive (I'm in Tampa/St. Pete area), I can keep a lookout for some local bikes that may be worth the commute

    And the bike you're looking at is definitely meant for off roading/recreation. That looks like it'd be a nightmare to commute in
    I just moved over here. And sadly I don't drive. That's why I was buying a bike

  16. #16

    well..when I'm buying anything I usually google it and check out reviews..also you can check out some bike communities

  17. #17
    2600klub
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    Scour craigslist, find a good deal, the bikes bumbles linked would be good starter bikes.

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    I think searching in google would be better option. You can find some good communities there.

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