Buying a bike, okay "bicycle", anyone here familiar with what's new?

G

GN One Day...

Senior Member
Joined
May 28, 2001
My wife and I need some friggin' exercise. I used to ride a road bike a lot in college, but not for years. Can't stand the idea of getting on another one with paper thin tires and vibration going straight through my bones. Are there any good sites that sell mountain bikes online? Need something good for non-hardcore out of shape 30 something's like us. :D I figure I'll get ripped off locally, any places I should check online? Suggestions? Gotta buy 2, so there is a limit on what I can spend.
 
I work in a bike shop so here we go...

First things first here buying a cheap bike from Wally World is a waste of time if you are even considering that route. If you already weren’t good for you. I have to fix these hunks of crap all day so just don’t do it. The minimum that you want to consider spending on a bike if you are even semi serious about it is 300~400 dollars.

Second do your research. I highly suggest that you check out www.mtbr.com. They have reviews from hundreds of people who have actually gone out and ridden the equipment, an invaluable resource. Further they have links to most of the major online retailers. Next go out to the local bike shops and see what they have. Even if you choose not to buy the bike from a local retailer even seeing the bikes in person will help you make up your mind. Test ride as many as you can then you will begin to develop a feel for what fits YOU right, take the wife with you make her do the same. The employees at a bike shop can be a gold mine of useful tips and advice, listen.

I don’t know if you can even find bikes without suspension forks these days but in this price rage steer clear of them. They may seem like a good idea but what happens is that the manufacture engineers bikes to a price level and when a shock is added to the equation the rest of the bike suffers tremendously. Also any shock you will end up with will be a boat anchor, with two springs in it, no actual shock absorber, and absolutely no adjustability.

A side note if using a water bottle for “other” beverages have another one on hand just for water. Almost anything besides water will leave an aftertaste that you will never be able to get out of the bottle. One more thing, I can tell you from personal experience and I have the scars to prove it, be careful how many 12 oz curls you do before going on a ride. A couple of weeks ago I wrecked hard coming home from my friends 21st birthday for no apparent reason, but at 30 something I hope you have the common sense not to drink as much as I do (I’m only 21).

Happy trails and I hope you enjoy your experience,
Black Sabbath
 
Hey I am selling my mountain bike. It is a 2002 Turner Burner. Handcrafted in Cali from easton alm tubing then powdercoated. One of the finest frames you can buy. Has disc brakes,full sus ,carbon fiber,the works. got pics. I am selling it for $2500, cost $4000 new.
thanks,
Ralph
I know, you probably think I am crazy
 
I'm thinking 300-400, no Huffy's but no top of the line by any means. I haven't ridden in years, but I can't get into a road bike anymore, but I'm doing this with my wife so it's also not like we'll be jumping off cliff either. Roads then we'll see what we want to do next. I was looking at some low end Treks, but I just started catching up on what's what today. May get my wife one of these "comfort" bikes(?), but the more I look at it I don't like it. I want something I can take offroad if I decide to do so, with a longer wheelbase.
Is a trigger shifter preferable to a grip shifter and which is more problematic?
Off a link from the mtb.com site, how's this setup for the price range?
http://www.ibexbikes.com/bikes_03Alpine350.html

Seriously, I'm open for bike suggestions.

That $4000 bike isn't quite what I had in mind, but thanks gnfanatic. That's what my Dad does, he's nuts about it. Got a Lemond last year, but I don't know more than that about it.
 
Lemond is a NICE Italian road bike, he has expensive taste! Cannondale bikes are great for the $400 range. All aluminum,made in CT and great paintwork. I woiuld get that for the money. The company wont be shutting its doors, people like to over exxagerate.
good luck,

Ralph
and please dont be cheap when it comes to buying a helmet.
 
Yeah, helmets are in the plans. Dad says he knows the local shop guys and might be able to get some thrown in if we're getting 2. We'll probably need to get one of those kid trailer deals for my 3 y/o too. He's getting a bike in a few months too, so we want to get him interested. This stuff adds up quick!
 
I like my Trek

I'm with Black Sabbath, Definately check out your local shop, even if you don't plan on bying from them. You will get a good idea of what style bike you will be looking for, and also what size frame fits you best. If you do change your mind and buy from them, sometimes they will throw if a free service plan or some other bonus that can make it worth the extra few bucks. Personally I ride an 830 Trek, Cro-moly steel frame solid fork hard tail. It's noithing fancy, but I'm about 200 pounds and have beat he living snot out of that poor bike and it keeps coming back for more. I've had it for almost 8 years and have only had to replace and upgradeing the little things as I break or wear them out. Overall I would highly reccomend a Trek.
 
cannondale is bu-bye.. no exaggerating.. buyers are already placing bids for the line. polaris and ktm have dibs on the powersports division.... powersports broke the company,
 
Hey Ralph send me the pics. of the Turner bike.

We got lots of nuts here with $5K bikes might be able to help sell it.

Thanks!
 
thanks man! whats your email addy? I appreicate it . I got to pay off my cisco school tutition :(
 
Another way to save money is to see if they have any of last years models. It may be too late to find any, but you can usually save a lot that way.

David
87GN
 
Good point, I'll ask about that. I think one of the local shops sold used bikes too, there might be a good new/used one they rebuilt. Or would that be a bad idea?
 
Trek 4300

My GF and I both bought Trek 4300's two years ago.

Hers is like new........mine a little beat from rocks, sticks, mud, ect., but still functions perfectly.

My forks seem to work......but I'm no expert on bikes. It is a little heavier than my brothers non-fork Gary Fisher.

I agree and understand looking for a better deal online, but after looking at the above Trek link I paid $300.00 otd at my local bike shop and got a year free tune-ups included. Trek's sugg $ is $379.

Riding is a good way to cruz around the neighborhood scoping anyones open garage for your next progect.:D
 
Ralph just click on the little red box under my post that says profile and the email addy. is listed.

Otherwise just use boss06518@aol.com :)

A list of parts buildup on it specifically would help in as much detail as you have including condition.

Thanks
 
First I would like to thank gnfanatic for bringing up the helmet issue. I should have mentioned it in my first post. GN One Day, good to hear that you had already made that a part of your plan. I don’t always wear mine (yeah yeah I know) but I have the scratches in mine to prove that I have needed it a time or two.

For your needs I would recommend the 4300. From the type of ridding that it sounds like you will be doing full suspension will be a waste. All it will do for you is add weight and suck up energy. Rear suspension on bikes can be a tricky issue. There are all sorts of funny things that can happen with how it acts. Often you just end up wasting a whole lot of energy that could be used to push you forward. If not properly designed the bike bobs up and down whenever you pedal, not too much fun. In this price range I can guarantee you that the Y26 does not have a suspension system that will eliminate these problems. Plus you can end up will all sorts of slop and rough motion in the bearing areas preventing smooth operation. Component wise they are almost identical with the only real differences being that the 4300 has a better fork and has 24 gears instead of 21, so that should not be too major of a concern. Over all I would have to recommend a Trek cause that is what I ride, but don’t narrow your choices too far based on what people say. You may also want to look into Giant, Klein, Raleigh, or any other brands that you local shops may carry.

As a side bar:
Bike designers have attempted to push look alike crap onto the market a bit too far in hopes that potential bike buyers will not know the difference. When you can go out and buy an entire full suspension bike at a shop for less then the suspension fork that they have hanging on the wall next to it you should being to question the quality of that bike. This is not to say that you can’t spend excessive amounts of money on bike parts that the majority of the populous would never even begin to test the limits of. I know that in recent years advances in design and materials have allowed the bicycle manufactures to offer things beyond their wildest dreams at a reasonable price to the market, but some times they push it too far. When bikes are designed to look like a high dollar equivalents but cost less then a tenth of the price you should ask yourself where did they save all of this money. The manufactures are often guilty of trying to make a pos look good in hopes that buyers will buy the full suspension bike cause it is, “what all the pros are ridding”. I understand their position on the issue cause they are in it to make money and most people will never really know the difference between a $5000 bike and a $500 dollar bike. I don’t want to come of sounding like a bike snob saying that only the newest and shiniest thing out there will do. I just don’t want to see people get sucked into the trap of thinking that you can have it all for cheap. Keith Bontrager one of the forefathers of modern mountain biking one said, “strong, light, and inexpensive, choose any two.”

Think about it
Black Sabbath
 
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