Buying a bike

firewaterword

Hi H/A! I need to buy a bike!

I'm moving to Venice, LA in short order, and need to get myself a bike. Was just down there last week looking for apartments with my partner, and we had a blast riding all over the damn place on hotel rentals. I need to start shopping for one, and would love some tips and feedback from you bike folks.

I'm looking for an upright beach cruiser style 3 speed bike with hand brakes. The bikes we rented were fixies, and it's a gosh darn miracle I didn't kill myself during the trip. Loved the ride, absolutely hated the fixie style, particularly the pedal brakes. Budget is ideally not more than a few hundred bucks, but would go as high as $500 or so if there was a compelling reason to.

Thanks!

djmitchella

https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/200040/bicycle-thread-is-coming-your-way is probably your best bet for this sort of question.

(side note: yeah, it definitely seems like a dirty trick renting people fixed-gear bikes if they're not expecting it. They're fun, but not if it's not what you want, yikes).

BlindZenDriver

Since you're stating out look for a used one. Loads of people buy bikes, find out they never used them and then eventually sell them on - many of even those that look a little tired just need some lube and tires inflated.
Going with a used bike lets you get some experience on the cheap and since you might find you actually like more gears, special cargo features or what not it is better not to invest to much. Should you then later decide to get a new bike the 1st one will come in handy as backup/spare/lender one.

PS. I you get bitten by the biking bug be prepared to want special bikes for special purpose. I have 6½ bikes currently, one is a uni-cycle hence the ½

Simpsonia

I recently bought my fiancee a Breezer Downtown EX on sale at Performance for $300, and she loves it. Performance, while on the mass market side, typically has a good selection of price-conscious bikes, I'd start my search there and see if you see anything you like https://www.performancebike.com/shop/bikes-frames/road-bikes/city-bikes#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&facetLimit:&orderBy:5&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&

Other option is to head to your friendly local bike shop (FLBS), but a lot of dedicated bike shops only carry higher-end brands so you might be priced out at one of those.

firewaterword

Thanks all. I'll definitely check into the bike thread and see what kind of info I can find, much appreciated. I knew I was renting/borrowing fixies, since they're pretty much the most popular bike types in the area. I just didn't know how much I'd hate those dang cruiser brakes!

I'm not against buying something used if it ends up making sense. That Breezer Downtown is actually on my shortlist, as it looks like a pretty popular bike. Thanks folks.

Doodmann

Get on Craigslist and watch it for a couple weeks, buy a couple 3-speed ladies bikes with the nice drop top bar. They're perfect for Venice as there aren't any real hills.

Like this: https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/bik/d/700c-roadmaster-adventures/6699719564.html

Pacificstar

firewaterword wrote: »

Hi H/A! I need to buy a bike!

I'm moving to Venice, LA in short order, and need to get myself a bike. Was just down there last week looking for apartments with my partner, and we had a blast riding all over the damn place on hotel rentals. I need to start shopping for one, and would love some tips and feedback from you bike folks.

I'm looking for an upright beach cruiser style 3 speed bike with hand brakes. The bikes we rented were fixies, and it's a gosh darn miracle I didn't kill myself during the trip. Loved the ride, absolutely hated the fixie style, particularly the pedal brakes. Budget is ideally not more than a few hundred bucks, but would go as high as $500 or so if there was a compelling reason to.

Thanks!

Dude I live in Venice too! There are a lot of cool bike shops in the neighborhood though they’re sometimes on the pricy side.

Linus bicycles has a bunch of cruiser types. Helens cycles also has a decent selection. Finally Veloworx seems cool but I’ve never been. I bought a commuter bike at “the bike shop” in Santa Monica.

There’s a used bike shop called “ the recyclist” on Venice Blvd as well. Lots of bikes in a variety of styles.

I recommend riding a ton of bikes to see what feel right.

firewaterword

Pacificstar wrote: »

firewaterword wrote: »

Hi H/A! I need to buy a bike!

I'm moving to Venice, LA in short order, and need to get myself a bike. Was just down there last week looking for apartments with my partner, and we had a blast riding all over the damn place on hotel rentals. I need to start shopping for one, and would love some tips and feedback from you bike folks.

I'm looking for an upright beach cruiser style 3 speed bike with hand brakes. The bikes we rented were fixies, and it's a gosh darn miracle I didn't kill myself during the trip. Loved the ride, absolutely hated the fixie style, particularly the pedal brakes. Budget is ideally not more than a few hundred bucks, but would go as high as $500 or so if there was a compelling reason to.

Thanks!

Dude I live in Venice too! There are a lot of cool bike shops in the neighborhood though they’re sometimes on the pricy side.

Linus bicycles has a bunch of cruiser types. Helens cycles also has a decent selection. Finally Veloworx seems cool but I’ve never been. I bought a commuter bike at “the bike shop” in Santa Monica.

There’s a used bike shop called “ the recyclist” on Venice Blvd as well. Lots of bikes in a variety of styles.

I recommend riding a ton of bikes to see what feel right.

@Pacificstar

We ended up going to Veloworx - the guy that runs the place was super helpful over the phone and in person. Helped us pick out bikes and got us all setup. Both of us ended up going with Tuesday June 7ths, which I'm super happy with so far.



Bulky and pretty heavy, but super comfortable to ride, and they get going pretty fast eventually. The upright riding position is great though for sure. Now the trick is to avoid spending a fortune buying accessories for the damn thing!

Anyway, biking around the Venice area has been super fun so far. Lots of trips down to Rose Ave to eat. Lincoln sucks to bike on but we're learning the side streets and alleys fast enough.

BlindZenDriver

firewaterword wrote: »

Pacificstar wrote: »

firewaterword wrote: »

Hi H/A! I need to buy a bike!

I'm moving to Venice, LA in short order, and need to get myself a bike. Was just down there last week looking for apartments with my partner, and we had a blast riding all over the damn place on hotel rentals. I need to start shopping for one, and would love some tips and feedback from you bike folks.

I'm looking for an upright beach cruiser style 3 speed bike with hand brakes. The bikes we rented were fixies, and it's a gosh darn miracle I didn't kill myself during the trip. Loved the ride, absolutely hated the fixie style, particularly the pedal brakes. Budget is ideally not more than a few hundred bucks, but would go as high as $500 or so if there was a compelling reason to.

Thanks!

Dude I live in Venice too! There are a lot of cool bike shops in the neighborhood though they’re sometimes on the pricy side.

Linus bicycles has a bunch of cruiser types. Helens cycles also has a decent selection. Finally Veloworx seems cool but I’ve never been. I bought a commuter bike at “the bike shop” in Santa Monica.

There’s a used bike shop called “ the recyclist” on Venice Blvd as well. Lots of bikes in a variety of styles.

I recommend riding a ton of bikes to see what feel right.

@Pacificstar

We ended up going to Veloworx - the guy that runs the place was super helpful over the phone and in person. Helped us pick out bikes and got us all setup. Both of us ended up going with Tuesday June 7ths, which I'm super happy with so far.



Bulky and pretty heavy, but super comfortable to ride, and they get going pretty fast eventually. The upright riding position is great though for sure. Now the trick is to avoid spending a fortune buying accessories for the damn thing!

Anyway, biking around the Venice area has been super fun so far. Lots of trips down to Rose Ave to eat. Lincoln sucks to bike on but we're learning the side streets and alleys fast enough.

Congrats on getting wheels.

First accessory should be a bell if one isn't present. And a handlebar basket thing for shopping is also a good thing.