Due to the rise of gas prices I am looking into buying a bicycle to take to school with me. I am completely clueless when it comes to bike types and brands. I am not looking for a high performance racing bike or anything, just something reliable that will get me around. I don't know how much a bike like this would cost but I need something relatively cheep. If any of you can provide any help at all as to stores, brands, prices, etc., it will be much appreciated.
Get a sledgehammer. Then you can take it for some sweet jumps. And all your friends will talk about how lucky you are.
I own a 2000 Specialized Rockhopper. I think it's great!! Maybe I should be riding it more so I can lose the spare tire around my waist
Normally I wouldn't recomment hybrid bikes but in your case you may want to look at a Trek hybrid (Bike Barn or Bikesport will have them). They give you the upright posture of a mountain bike with the (sometimes) wheels of a road bike (Trek 7500 is what I have). You can even attach paniers to them (make sure!) to carry stuff. Alternativly (and possible more practicle) would be to get a mountain bike (with just a fork suspension) and put road or touring tires on it. That way, if you really got into cycling you could put your mountain bike tires back on and have a sweet mountain bike.
I bought a bicycle a couple years ago for many of the same reasons. I saved a lot of money on gasoline, car maintenance, and parking fees, as well as getting some much needed exercise commuting to school. I hadn't ridden for like 15 years, but here's what I found out: Mountain bikes are generally cheaper than road bikes. I bought a Trek 820, it was $200 versus the $500 or so for the cheapest road bike. Mountain bikes usually have at least a front suspension for a softer ride, at the expense of pedaling efficiency. If you have a long commute you probably want the road bike. Get your bike from a good local bike shop and they should help you with choosing the right size frame and seat height. That's pretty important, and not really something you want to do over the internet. If you get the wrong size, it gets painful to ride. While you're at it get some flashing LED head and tail-lights. A helmet would be good too. Around here, you'll get a $110 fine if you're biking on public streets at night without lights on. I have retroreflective tape on my wheels too for better visibility at night. You can outfit the bike with a rack and removeable pannier bags, so you can carry stuff around. A rack will cost about $50, and cheap pannier bags about the same. I had a set of panniers for grocery shopping (each held a standard grocery size paper bag) and a waterproof pannier set for carrying my laptop/papers/books. If you need more storage, wear your backpack. Get a good bicycle U-lock, and lock the wheels to the frame and around something solid when it's out of your sight. Don't get one with the tubular key, those are easily picked with Bic pens. Bring disposeable wipes with you too, for when you get sweaty. Your classmates will appreciate it! Here are some keywords to look up (not all-inclusive), check ebay for the accessories too: Bikes: Trek, Giant, Specialized, Cannondale Racks: Blackburn, JandD Panniers: JandD, Arkel Lights: CatEye Locks: Kryptonite, Abus
Thanks for all the help guys. I take it Trek is the brand I want to search for. I'm probably going to hit up a few bike stores tomorrow and decide exactly what I need.
I, too, would suggest a hybrid. The wheels are not exactly as a road bike (not as thin and generally tougher for rough terrain) but ot as fat and rugged as a mountain so it is a faster, smoother ride. Also, you can get a good quality hybrid for a bit cheaper than a quality mountain. For a while I had a Trek hybrid as my secondary bike and loved it. I gave it away just because it was a hassle to lug around two bikes. My "real" bike is a Bianchi road bike and I love it...but you don't want to pay that much.
My 12 year old son and I are planning to ride the MS150 next year. He has a Trek hybrid (don't know the model), and I assumed I was going to have to buy him a (used) road bike for the event. Are there any guidelines about putting road or touring tires on hybrids? Other than a little extra weight, what is the difference between doing this and a road bike?
This whole post is good...but this bit is key. Once you know what you want to do with your bike (off-road / city driving) etc, the guys (or gal's) at the bike shop should set you up with a good ride. And they'll set it up to fit you. And they'll be there to adjust it later. A good shop will let you test ride a bike. The shop I bought from did unlimited adjustments for the first year. Don't get too uptight about the 'right' bike -- as long as the one you buy fits you. Unless you go high-end, bikes are very versatile. I have a front suspension mountain bike that I (used to ) use to commute to work. I took the same bike on a 400 mile back-country off-road trip. Switched the tires the next year, and used the same bike for a ride down the coast highway from Washington State to California. The bike now has a hookup to attach a trailer to haul about two kids! I've never owned a road bike....but am seriously jealous of Rimbaud. Happy peddlin'.
Is it possible to get one of these hybrids for 200 or less? If so for how much and where. I was also wondering about used bikes. Where would i go to look at used bikes and what kinds of things should I look for?
Just make sure the tires fit... My hybrid bike came with road bike rims so any road bike tires would fit. I got some touring tires for durability and they were fine. If you bring your bike to a good bikeshop they will sell you tires that fit and mount them for you. The main differences between a hybrid and a road bike are your position and (possibly) gearing. With a road bike you can get into a low, aero position plus the gearing is designed for speed rather than hills. A hybrid bike probably has mountain bike gearing so it's top speed won't be as high (not to mention you can't get out of the wind as easy as your sitting more upright). But having more low gears is probably better as it makes those hills a lot easier. I rode my first MS150 on a hybrid bike. It's not a problem. People ride all sorts of bikes on the MS150. I've even seen unicycles. The main thing is to get used to sitting on a bike for hours. So, do a lot of riding and get to where you can ride 25 - 30 miles in a day without issues (with occasional forays into 50 - 60 mile territory). It's not as hard as it sounds as long as you stay hydrated and have the time. There are a TON of training rides leading up to the MS150 and I would do as many of those as you can. Not only for the physical training but to learn how to ride your bike amongst thousands of idiots who don't know how to ride a bike properly.
How far do you guys commute on your bikes? I'm moving next week and the new house will be about 4.5 miles from my office. I'd love to be able to get a bike and ride it to work everyday, I'm just not sure how feasible that is. I havent' ridden on a bike in probably 10 years. Is that considered an average distance for a daily bike commute? I've even tossed around the idea of getting a cheap motorcycle for this commute.
My opinion is 4.5 miles shouldn't be difficult at all. In Houston, in the summer heat, you may get sweaty, but say you average 10 mph, which isn't fast at all...it would take you less than 30 minutes.
I was in the same situation as you a couple of years ago. My commute was 3 miles, and it took about 15-20 minutes to get to work. The first few rides were difficult because I was so out of shape, but it got to the point where I looked forward to biking in and away from work. One guy I worked with biked in from 8 miles away. I've heard of people doing 20 miles one way on road bikes. So I think 4.5 miles is easily doable, just work up to it on weekends if you aren't in shape. I've got motorcycles too. You can get good used cheap motorcycles between $1,000 to $2,000 pretty easily. They'll get between 40-80 mpg and be cheaper on insurance, but your main recurring expense will be tires. Motorcycle tires are more expensive than car tires and don't last as long, so you might not save much money. If you plan on getting a bicycle and a motorcycle, it might be a good idea to have the bicycle shop re-wire your right brake lever to control the front brake. For some reason the front brake lever is on the left on bicycles, but on the right on motorcycles.
