Hey, Rochelle and I want to get bicycles! Neither of us know anything about 'em. I just found this post on Craigslist. Can anyone offer any advice
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Very different bikes: the first one is faster/more aggressive. Both are old. I wouldn't sign up for a used bike this old unless you want to get real comfortable with working on it. A simple problem like brake lever adjustment can leave you stuck, and many of the older systems are harder to find parts for, or to find tools to work on them. $50 is cheap, and the reason is because these aren't great bikes. Noe that both of them need professional service before they're rideable.
Yeah- that'a very good point. I know zero about working on bikes, and my thought was that I'd just take it to a shop and get it worked on, and then hope it didn't need much more work, since I probably wouldn't be riding it that often. But you're right, it's probably best not to get something that's hard to repair.
Takara: a decent bike should NOT fit anyone 5'6-5'11. That's like half a foot of difference. I won't even get into the nitty gritty of top tube and bottom tube length, but suffice it to say, a bike can't fit that kind of a range.
Huffy: Really crappy. i'd venture one of those new retro bikes, really heavy white wall tires, really heavy frame. coaster brakes...dicey in the rain. and again, no bike can really accurately fit a range of heights from 5'1 to 5'11.
I'd avoid this one like the plague, buddy. expect to spend at least $100 for a decent used bike.
look for a giant, trek, specialized, gary fisher, or cannondale (bit more $$). and get the frame sizes. keep me posted, i'd be happy to check them out for you.
Yeah, I was hoping to spend $100 or less. I'm sort of intimidated by all this- I'm hoping Rochelle can ask some of her friends at grad school for bike expertise. I figure amongst all those hippies there's gotta be at least one bike guru like yourself who can go bike shopping with us.
ditto on the sizing. bikes can fit a range of people, because it depends on your inseam length, but one bike will not fit 10inches of height difference.
i would go to a used bike store (there's a good one in portsmouth, south of downtown on islington) and ask them what size you are and look at what they have to get an idea of what's out there. and their bikes will all be functional at least. I buy fixer-uppers because I love fixing bikes, but for your first bike it'll probably just make you frustrated and not able to enjoy riding.
All the brands mentioned above are mountain bikes, which are probably a good idea for offroad or snowy riding. I like cruisers and road bikes for around-town, 70's road bikes are my favorite. Popular brands are Bianchi, Raleigh, Peugeot, Motobecane, Nishiki/Miyata and there are a lot more.
I love bicycles and i could really go on at length here, but I won't. email me with more questions!
Re: yay bicycles!100kbDecember 9 2008, 19:26:04 UTC
oh, right. i forgot those exist, they are so expensive. my bicycle frame of reference is cheap old bikes from clist/bicycle co-ops, of which 95% of specialized bikes, for example, are mountain. i also call hybrids mountain bikes, which is not exactly accurate, i admit.
Re: yay bicycles!cislocativeDecember 9 2008, 16:19:55 UTC
Thanks for all your advice! That's a great thought about going to a store. I've just been doing random searches on craigslist, which probably isn't that productive given my lack of knowledge. I'm sure I'll be emailing you for more advice in the future.
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Takara: a decent bike should NOT fit anyone 5'6-5'11. That's like half a foot of difference. I won't even get into the nitty gritty of top tube and bottom tube length, but suffice it to say, a bike can't fit that kind of a range.
Huffy: Really crappy. i'd venture one of those new retro bikes, really heavy white wall tires, really heavy frame. coaster brakes...dicey in the rain. and again, no bike can really accurately fit a range of heights from 5'1 to 5'11.
I'd avoid this one like the plague, buddy. expect to spend at least $100 for a decent used bike.
look for a giant, trek, specialized, gary fisher, or cannondale (bit more $$). and get the frame sizes. keep me posted, i'd be happy to check them out for you.
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i would go to a used bike store (there's a good one in portsmouth, south of downtown on islington) and ask them what size you are and look at what they have to get an idea of what's out there. and their bikes will all be functional at least. I buy fixer-uppers because I love fixing bikes, but for your first bike it'll probably just make you frustrated and not able to enjoy riding.
All the brands mentioned above are mountain bikes, which are probably a good idea for offroad or snowy riding. I like cruisers and road bikes for around-town, 70's road bikes are my favorite. Popular brands are Bianchi, Raleigh, Peugeot, Motobecane, Nishiki/Miyata and there are a lot more.
I love bicycles and i could really go on at length here, but I won't. email me with more questions!
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