buying a bicycle - recomendations? (1 Viewer)

[Tony_Woods]

I decided to start riding my bike to work lately. It's about a 14 mile round trip. I've been using an old Huffy Iron Man which is on it's last leg. I want to buy locally, so brand selection is somewhat limited. The store I visited mainly deals in Trek and Giant (except for real highend stuff, which I cannot afford). I had it narrowed down between the Trek 4500 and Giant Yukon. However, the salesmen also showed my a Trek 7300FX which is a hybrid(?) bike. The tires were quite a bit skinnier, but it rode real nice. The majority of my riding is on paved streets and graveled trails, so it would work fine, but I guess it would still be nice to have the ability to go off trail if I ever wanted to. Can anyone give me some insite?

 

[MikeSerrano]

You might check out this recent thread on the subject: Looking for an inexpensive, sturdy bicycle.

-Mike

 

[Tony_Woods]

Yeah I saw that, but I don't think any of those brands mentioned are available around here.

 

[Leo Hinze]

You probably want hybrid/comfort with 26 in tires.

REI is having a great bike sale now (and until the 31st) - 20% off on most bikes. That includes their Novara brand, K2, Marin, and Cannondale. For example, a Cannondale Comfort 400 (with 26 in mountiain bike-ish tires) can be had for ~$425, where it normally sells for ~$530. Hybrid bikes also come in 700c flavor, with 700mm road bike tires (larger and skinier than 26-in mountain bike tires, and not so good for offroading).

During the REI sale, the Novara Metro (their base hybrid bike with 26 in tires) which is normally $299 can be had for $240. That would leave plenty of money for accessories - a helmet, rear light, bike lock, rack, pump, bell, fenders (nice on a commuting bike), trip computer, etc.

Your post doesn't say where you are located, so it's tough to know what to recommend that would be local.

 

[Shane Martin]

While I can't help you with specifics as I haven't been in the market for a bike in a long time I will say that I've had excellent luck with a Trek and they are indeed bullet proof(to me). The model I had was the y22 with carbon fiber frame and it felt nearly indestructable.

 

[Jay H]

Yay, another would-be commuter.

Comparing the two, if you plan on doing any winter commuting, assuming you do have winter conditions, I'd recommend the Giant. The Giant has a slighly cheaper front der, fork, but has disc brakes. Disc Brakes are good for winter commuting, because water can and will freeze to your rims so braking can be iffy in winter. Discs are obviously farther away from the road and puddles so they are a bit more effective in muddy conditions and in winter. However, for other times, I would rather have the simplicity of linear pulls personally. You have to be ready to fix stuff when things break so simple is important. Know how to fix your brakes in a pinch, know how to convert the bike to a single speed (say when your der. fails), carry the right equipment, and you can get home very reliably.

Anyway, standard linear pull v-brakes are adequate for commuting, even in the rain unless you are a serious clydesdale. So it appears that the Trek has better components overall while the Giant puts some of that money in the disc brakes. I also noticed the giant has an integrated headset, which mean the bearing cups are pressed directly into the headtube... In non bike speak, it's not as flexible as a traditional headset but does allow for a lower stack height. (in non-bike speak again, it allows for one to lower the stem more than a traditional headset). The integrated headset was kind of poo-pooed a bit before cause they had a lot of kinks to work out... Should hopefully be better now but I would stick to a tried and true traditional headset for now..

I'd look to see if either has fender and rack eyelets, as I've mentioned in the other thread, I'll mention again here.

Obviously go for a test ride to see if they fit, but looking at those two, I would go with the Trek and get skinnier and more road-orientated tires. 2.2" is going to be loud and heavier than a skinnier road tire or semislick.

A hybrid would be fine for what you say for commuting, it'll generally be faster than your MTB would, while still allowing for the flat handlebars, but a MTB with slick tires is also quite noticeable faster than a MTB with the stock knobbie tires... But most hybrids come with a better road tire than most MTBs so people don't have a real good comparison. If you have a great LBS to work with, compare the hybrid with a mtb with slicks and see which one is more comfy.

Of course, if you ever plan to do any real MTB'ing then get the MTB.

I would get the Trek, out of your choice IF it is a good fit for you and get semislicks for your road riding.

Jay

 

[Tony_Woods]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I'm located in Lincoln, NE, which is a big enough town to probably have a few bike shops, but I'm not familiar with them yet. So far I just know of the one on my way to work and Scheels (kind of a sporting goods superstore, going there after work) The REI deal certainly sounds good, but according to their website, there aren't any stores around here.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Read my thread linked above. I haven't ridden my new Giant long enough to really have an opinion about it yet. First impression is good. Here's a great link I found:

http://www.bikesrnottoys.com/

Unless you're really riding on dirt a hybrid/comfort bike is a much better choice than a mountain bike.