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Bicycle help

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ricardo08

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 14, 2008
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1,204
Hello!

Basically I'm looking to buy a push bike, but I know next to nothing about the things. I need it to get around as I'm too broke for a car at the moment. Will be using it mainly on roads as I live in a city.

Can anyone recommend what type of bike would be best? I'm preferably after something lightweight (not like those hefty mountain bikes with all the gears etc).

My budget is around £300/$500

Thanks.
 
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Look into getting a hybrid type bike probably. Check out bikeforums.net, look around and do some research. $500 is at the very bottom of decent bikes, but if you look around for deals you can get a decent one for that. I know here in Germany bikes are noticeably more expensive than in the US, and I would say about 400 euro is the very bottom of decent bikes here. A new older model can also save some money...I bought my bike for almost half the retail price because it was a 2008 (but this much off is rare). Be ready to chunk out some money for other stuff too (lock, fenders, lights)...how much depending on when and where you will be riding. Anyways, check out that forum and spend some time using the search engine to do your research.

Also, if you know nothing about bikes it may be a good idea to go shopping around locally to find a good shop that can take care of you. Bikes can be a little finicky to keep perfectly running, and if you don't know how you will need a shop.
 
my bike snob girlfriend says hybrids are for people who cant decide between road bikes and cruisers.

My personal vote would be for a road bike-- light weight would be most important for me. You can get a decent used one for no more than 250 USD.
 
similar thread.

i for one HATE hybrid bikes with a passion -- too weighty, ugly as hell, and to me, basically useless. get a cruiser if you want to be a weekend warrior, or get a roadbike if you are actually going to do any riding. hybrids also tend to be made out of aluminum, which won't survive any sort of accident (steel is real!) and they make you look like a ninny.

just my two cents.
 
Pander Bear said:
my bike snob girlfriend says hybrids are for people who cant decide between road bikes and cruisers.

My personal vote would be for a road bike-- light weight would be most important for me. You can get a decent used one for no more than 250 USD.
Click to expand...

Your bike snob girlfriend is full of it man. Different people use different bikes for different reasons. If the OP is not going to be racing or group riding then a road bike is a stupid decision. The prices will be higher due to road bike components shaving a few grams of for an advantage, 23mm tires can be quite uncomfortable on streets that are less than perfect, and there are often no braze-ons for things like racks and fenders. A mountain bike on the other hand often also has many unnecessary additions like full suspension, heavier frame, and wide knobby tires. Therefore, for what the OP wants, a bike to replace a car, is a hybrid bike the best option. The definition of a hybrid covers a broad spectrum of almost road bike to almost mountain bike.

Here is my weighty, ugly as hell hybrid..:p Eat your hearts out hybrid haters..

IMG_0590.jpg


IMG_0588.jpg
 
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Um....why not stop in a local bike shop and ask them? For one, they know what's used in your local area. For two, they can probably point you to several used bikes which will lower your initial investment (in case you decide to change to something else later), and lower the value of what you leave lying around with a 'steal me' sign on it.

First bike? Go cheap, go used, try it and see how you'd like to upgrade later. And use the knowledge of those biking around your area as to what works best :\
 
my hatred of hybrids mainly comes from the people who ride them. In the years, states, cities where I've been active riding, hybrids are on the sidewalk, not obeying common sense biker rules, etc etc. OP is in London, which I *assume* has traffic to contend with and no cycling on sidewalks. OP, it will be really easy for you to find a used (steel) road bike, on the cheap. My steel road bike I got in Oregon was 60usd, and only needed new tubes. There also might be co-ops where you can build a bike for free.


full of shit or not, I stand by my opinion that hybrids are for Freds.
 
Kenickie said:
my hatred of hybrids mainly comes from the people who ride them. In the years, states, cities where I've been active riding, hybrids are on the sidewalk, not obeying common sense biker rules, etc etc. OP is in London, which I *assume* has traffic to contend with and no cycling on sidewalks. OP, it will be really easy for you to find a used (steel) road bike, on the cheap. My steel road bike I got in Oregon was 60usd, and only needed new tubes. There also might be co-ops where you can build a bike for free.


full of shit or not, I stand by my opinion that hybrids are for Freds.
Click to expand...

Lol..typical US attitude. Pay a premium for a bike that lacks important features like braze-ons for racks and fenders and tires that are skinnier than comfortable on most European city streets. The OP said he knows nothing about bikes, and I think for him to build his own is a rrreally bad idea, considering all the things that could go wrong leading to injury. Even getting a used steel road bike is probably a bad idea, because they almost always need a bit of work and parts replacement.

As I said earlier, the OP should really go by a good LBS and let them provide him with a bit of advice based on what he really wants.

I stand by my argument that a road bike on the streets on London is slightly retarded. The streets where I am are very well taken care of, with bike paths everywhere, but there are still tons of rough spots where I really appreciate 32mm tires over 23mm.

I hate it when people recommend road bikes to every person under the sun because road bikes are 'the best'. I ride between 100-150 miles per week depending on my schedule. I'm still just a 'fred' though, so what do I know.
 
how is building your own bike a bad idea? You work with someone and learn how your bike works, how to fix problems, etc. I didn't say, go buy tools and try it yourself, I said go to a co-op and build one. I don't recommend roadbikes because they are "the best", but because hybrid bikes are not the best. Fuck, if he lives in a quiet, low traffic area and needs to haul shit, get a cruiser with baskets.
 
Man you are stubborn..hybrid bikes can be the best at what they do because a hybrid is simply a bike that has been modified from a traditional road or mountain bike to fulfill a specific role. I would never ride a cruiser when I can haul everything I want to with a quick, well handling bike. I can't haul everything I want on a road bike. Commuting or exercising with a cruiser would be a joke, and the roads where I exercise would not be comfortable for a distance over 20km with anything skinnier than 32mm tires. I hold a pace with my hybrid about 3 km per hour lower than on a road bike...man what a huge loss..

Moreover, you never address the weaknesses of a road bike...NO PLACE TO PUT FENDERS OR RACK. This is extremely important if you commute every day, and are using a bike to replace a car. I'm pretty sure from your attitude and ignorance that you own a car, and do not commute regularly.
 
I can promise you, she has never owner a car, and gas even moved every article she owns while on a bike-- in a town with shit roads (new orleans). You are both stubborn and presumptuous... "typical european" 8(
 
I stand by my opinion that riding day in day out on rougher roads on a road bike is stupid. But to each his or her own. I guess some people might enjoy feeling every little bump traveling through their bodies and other people don't enjoy it. Anyways, I'm sure the OP will find plenty of information from the bike forums, where people have a much more objective view about customizing a bike to perfectly fit its purpose.
 
lets keep the conversation civil, please. this is a thread about bikes after all, not politics, religion, or even sports. shouldn't be that difficult

in more light-hearted news someone left an old Dyno bike at my house when I had a little get-together

dyno-black-mags.jpg


looks like this but it has pegs. it brought me back to the old days, I've been trying to ride down the street with a perpetual wheelie the last couple of days. I cringe to think of the day someone reclaims it
 
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