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Looking To Buy A Used Bicycle
milehigh
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Due to a series of unfortunate events (and speeding tickets), I've lost my driver's license for a bit. Fortunately the summer is coming up, and we here in Denver have a decent public transit system that is convenient to just about everything I need. With that said I'll still have some distances to go, and thought a bike might be just the ticket.
I'd be using it on streets and paved/hard trails exclusively. However I really have no idea where to start. I was told by several people it's best to just get a used bike and have it checked out/fixed up, but I'm open to the idea of new if this is not sound advice. Budget is somewhere between $500 and $1000, depending on what features I'm looking at (which again, I don't even know what they'd be...) I guess I'm looking for a basic primer on street bikes (solid brands, good maintainence procedures, what to look for if I buy used, etc).
I'd be using it on streets and paved/hard trails exclusively. However I really have no idea where to start. I was told by several people it's best to just get a used bike and have it checked out/fixed up, but I'm open to the idea of new if this is not sound advice. Budget is somewhere between $500 and $1000, depending on what features I'm looking at (which again, I don't even know what they'd be...) I guess I'm looking for a basic primer on street bikes (solid brands, good maintainence procedures, what to look for if I buy used, etc).
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Buying used from some guy when you don't know what to look for? Bad idea.
You can get a nice enough hybrid for ~600, so you may want to just go new.
Do you know, or have any preferences regarding, what style of bike you're looking for? If you really have no idea what you're looking for, the best advice is probably to find a decent bike shop and get them to show you some options.
If you're sticking to paved roads, then avoid MTBs, particularly anything with suspension. It provides no benefit, is another part to service, and is extra weight to lug around. Really you're looking at either a road bike:
or a hybrid:
The basic differences between the two are that a road bike will typically be lighter and have drop bars, a hybrid will likely be built a bit tougher and have flat bars. There's a spread of purposes, though. Road bikes range from sturdy and practical, to featherweight race machines. Similarly hybrids range from essentially MTBs with no suspension, through to full on road bikes that happen to have flat bars.
The bars are more or less a matter of preference, although flat bars will generally have you sitting more upright, and drop bars lower. There is a questionable difference in performance, since the drop bar position can be more aerodynamic, but it depends a lot on the set up and how you use them.
It's a good idea to decide how you're going to carry stuff as well. Backpacks can be uncomfortable and sweaty if you're riding any reasonable distance. Courier bags a bit better if you get one with a waist strap and sit it on your hips. Panniers mounted on a rack are the most comfortable because the weight is on the bike rather than your back. Frames generally need to be designed to take a rack - i.e. have eyelets to attach the mounts to - unless you get very creative with p-clips, so bear that in mind when deciding.
In terms of maintenance, the Park Tool website is a fantastic resource. In the short term you really just need to worry about making sure you know how to check your brakes are in decent shape, and how to fix a puncture. Everything else you can kind of pick up as it comes up. There aren't many problems a bike can have that won't have become obvious long before they immobilise the bike.
Buy a decent lock. The rule of thumb is 10% of the value of the bike. Don't rely on cable locks and make sure that anything attached with a quick release is appropriately secured when you lock the bike.
(I hope I'm not spouting bullshit. I went with a Hybrid because I'm used to a mountain bike and am used to running over some things)
I wouldn't go hucking it off drops or anything, but it's certainly up to most things that would reasonably be expected to be encountered on a road. If durability is a concern, cyclocross bikes tend to be sturdier without sacrificing road bike efficiency.
Something like $50-100 should get you a functioning used bike and it will give you and idea what you like and what you don't which will save you from buying the wrong bike. Also when you after a little while do go for the nicer bike then the cheap one can be a good reserve to have (and a man can not have to many bikes).
If you'd rather take the plunge then I suggest getting what the others are calling a hybrid (to me it's a rigid MTB with street tires). The bigger tires are better for city streets as they will puncture less and handle bad roads better, and the riding position plus brakes at the fingertips is also better for city use. Also a "rigid" is just as fast as a road bike unless you go really fast or on very long trips.
PS. Remember to buy a helmet and something to stop your pants getting into the oily bits. Gloves can also be nice both for comfort and for safety (grind down a pair of gloves on the asphalt is much better than grinding down skin)
As far as brands, buy those carried by a bike shop and you're fine. As far as type, japan covered it well. Ride several bikes before you buy. You'll be amazed by how different bikes can be! Think pickup vs sports car vs Jeep Wrangler vs SUV. Make sure to have the salesperson help you set the seat height on each bike you try, too. I don't think you'll need to spend more than $400-600 OTD to get a fine bike. As japan said you don't need suspension, and you don't need disc brakes either. Something like a Specialized Sirrus would be fine.
That said, in a place like Denver (or Seattle, where I live) there are a lot of people with more money than sense buying nice bikes and not using them. They then sell them in near-new condition for 1/3-1/2 the new price. I'd feel more than comfortable buying a bike like that used, but I wouldn't pay more than $100 to maybe $200 tops for a used bike in the category you are looking for.
Assuming you have some idea that you'll be using this bike a lot and aren't totally new, I would go ahead and spend a couple hundred on an at least reasonably nice used road bike (good bearings, light frame, etc.), or maybe on a new one if you find a good deal. Fifty to a hundred bucks will buy you a rebuilt probably, and the quality of those varies pretty wildly.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
If you are a heavy guy, you absolutely can destroy your rims from hitting potholes at high speeds. I broke my less than a month old rear wheel on my road bike from hitting a particularly nasty pothole going around 30 mph. This was a 32 steel-spoke wheel (Mavick Open Pro) and I weigh 230 lbs. I actually didn't break any spokes, but the rim has a permanent 1/4 inch low/flat spot that can't be trued out as well as a small tear in the sidewall of the rim.
Yeah, this is pretty much bullshit. It takes A LOT to fuck up a frame (unless it was otherwise compromised/defective already), like high-speed into rock/car lots. You will fuck up wheels if you're heavy, but they can either be retrued, or you can opt for heavier duty rims with more spokes (sturdier). Generally though, just be smart about what you buy. If you're 220 on a good day, don't buy a 16 lb bike that has lots of parts with SL affixed (generally means super-light).
This is true, but really a bad enough pothole at speed will knacker anything short of a DH rim with some travel behind it. The point I'm getting at is that there is no reason to assume that, barring accident (and I am including smacking a really bad pothole at high speed in my definition of "an accident"), there's no reason to assume that a road bike isn't up to use as a daily commuter.
MTBs will handle the unexpected stuff better, but there is a fairly severe trade-off in terms of efficiency. I tend to think that most people will benefit more from the ability to go faster, or use less effort, than from crash survivability.
It's another good reason to hit up a decent bike shop, because they'll steer commuters towards sportive/audax/tour type road bikes and away from the bikes designed around the assumption that there's a team car following with a spare bike.
Just ride around on them. Brake hard a couple times, shift up and down through the gears.
remember:
The thinner the tire, the more easily they burst. Road bike tires pop very easily, I can't ride them because I go a little savage up gutters and the like, so I got something very close with slightly larger tires. You won't damage your frame unless you are going nutso fast, but it's a pain in the ass being 30 minutes out and busting a tire
Also, the smoother the tire, the faster it is, this makes a HUGE difference. But also the more dangerous it is in the wet or across grass
The more suspension, the more power you lose while pedalling. Firm front suspension with no rear suspension is best I'd say. I go totally suspension free.
-Road bikes are fine for all weather except snow/ice as long as you don't zoom around wet corners. Mountain bikes will still skid on snow/ice, there's just more chance of recovery.
-If you're planning on doing dirt roads, a hybrid is probably the way to go. Road bikes are kind of iffy on packed dirt.
Safety tips:
-Please please please please get and wear a helmet at all times. Head injuries are so very not cool.
-Get one of those ankle straps for your right ankle if you're wearing long pants.
-Get lights if you're biking around at night. Front and back.
-There are some really neat mirrors for seeing behind you, so you don't need to turn your head to check on traffic. You can attach them to glasses, your helmet, or your bike handles.
Responses to comments above:
-I don't like messenger bags at all. The weight is off-center (baaaaad idea on a bike) and is terribly supported even with a hip strap. A backpack with a stiff back and a hip strap is far superior in both of those areas. The advantage of the messenger bag is (1) you'll look cool, maybe? and (2) less back sweat, maybe?
-30mph into a pothole of any real size qualifies as a major accident, so breaking the bike is no surprise. It shouldn't be hard to avoid them or just not go that fast. You'll probably go no faster than 15-20mph on a flat surface most of the time.
-Your tires should not be popping often at all. I've had one in the past four years on my road bike. It really depends on the conditions - good paved roads should not cause problems.
I've got one of these:
People piss and moan about 'jounce' making it harder to ride.
Guess what? Normally, we're about even - but when I swap bikes with Sherry, my mate that has a commuter bike and he rides my DH bike, I fucking murder him pretty much anywhere anytime. I'm fitter and stronger, even though he does at least three times as much riding as me.
I can ride up small to medium sets of paved steps, I can ride down pretty much anything. Only my nerve stops me from hucking my bike off the side of footbridges and what have you.
If you can find something like this for a good price second-hand, you will love it like it was your baby. Get one that has been well taken care of, then you can treat it like shit, ride it hard and put it away wet, and it will keep coming back for more.
I think you being in better shape explains that. Normal bicycle commuting isn't exactly physically strenuous, there's no reason that your friend would be in great shape.
My commute is about nine miles on flat ground, I don't need knobbies and suspension sucking my speed. I'm slow enough on my big steel boat anchor with upright bars.
I haven't ridden a bike in 12 years, didn't ride much in my first 10 years alive and want to get into it. My plan is to first ride just for fun and eventually moving into a "bike commuting in the summer" end game (though I live in an incredibly bike-unfriendly city, so we'll see). My budget is minuscule compared to Mr. OP - $100 on the outside for the bike right now. Is it worth saving up to buy something better/newer? What do you all think of this bike?
To be helpful to the OP: Check out your local college/university campuses for cycling student groups. A lot of them will offer free advice to any cyclist regardless of enrollment status and many go as far as providing free basic maintenance lessons and access to their spare part bin.
You'd be better off with that than with anything you could buy new for the same money.
Only potential problem is with spares and maintenance parts. There tend to be two types of bike shop. Those that will turn their noses up at anything more than two seasons old, and those that that will still have five-speed shimano freehubs circa 1985 in stock.
My cyclist friends tell me we have a pretty awesome old bike dump for any maintenance/parts issues. Thanks for your opinion.
If I was willing to save up a bit, what kind of number would I need to get to to buy a serviceable hybrid (possibly a few year old model, maybe used but from an established bike shop)?