It has been a long time (like 25 years) since I have been in the bicycling world. I used to ride a lot. As a kid I had a Schwinn 24" 18-speed bike. Then when I went to college I sold it because I won a raffle for a free Trek mountain bike (which subsequently got stolen) I bought a cheapy Kmart mountain bike to replace it which later was given to my nephew.
I need a bike. Primary use will be for things like when I drop off a car for repair and need to ride a few miles home, riding for fitness around the neighborhood, and general quick runs to the store for bread or meth. (that's a joke) I'm thinking a mountain bike would suit the need, but maybe with less aggressive tires to cut down on some of the pedal effort. I'll likely be 90% street, but I'm sure I'll beat the crap out of it on curbs, potholes, and stairs. I want something bulletproof-ish. My wife owned a WalMart Schwinn granny bike that always needed something. The shift cable was made of unicorn hair and seemed to stretch an inch every time you used it and the brake hub never worked right. The seat pole was also thin wall steel and every time you tightened it, it crushed a little and wouldn't stay tight. I want something that I can drag out in the spring, lube the chain, air up the tires, and go.
What should I get? I anticipate riding it a couple times a week for utility and exercise, so it doesn't need to be some $4000 carbon fiber thing. Budget is more like $100-150 used.
In reply to Curtis :
You can find a quality brand name mtb in your price range, but keep in mind that if it needs tires & tubes that’ll add another $100 to the total cost.
In that price range I would do Craigslist searches for the big brands. Trek, specialized, giant, etc
MazdaFace said:
In that price range I would do Craigslist searches for the big brands. Trek, specialized, giant, etc
This. STAY AWAY from with anything that is plastic in the derailers/chainrings.
Look for 26" mtn bikes - Cannondale, specialized, Trek. Everyone is buying 27.5" or 29" wheelsets with disk brakes. You don't need them.
Schwinn has been junk for 20 years now. Huffy/Next are garbage as well.
About the tires- don't worry about what is on the bike when you get it. So if you find that a super off road bike is the best fit for you, go for it. You can get really nice road tires for mountain bikes- we've done that, and they are totally awesome! For my wife, it was both less effort and far more durable than what came with the bike, and for me, it was just less effort.
Good luck with the search!
I hope you enjoy it enough that you end up getting fenders and pannier bags so that you can use it a lot more often. It's amazing how much you can fit into those bags. I need to start doing that to the close stores....
The big thing is to get the right size frame. You want your leg to be slightly cocked at the seat height you find comfy. Also, +1 on name brand.
What wheelsmithy said about the importance of sizing, though it should also be noted that the length of the frame is what you need to get right, because you can get the right seat height on two or three different frame sizes by adjusting the seat post, but it's much harder to adapt for having the wrong reach to the bars.
And agreed with the general notion of finding a name brand bike.
I got an xl frame rockhopper for $100 a few years ago. I’d go for one of those if you find it.
I was thinking 26". I'm 6'1" and 205. No strange proportions like super long legs or torso or arms.
Go to goodwill and other similar places. Sometimes they have really good bikes for well under $50.
How about a Raleigh M40. I know they were good stuff back in the day, but I wonder if this vintage had already sold out to a cheaper manufacturer.
CL linky
Take a look at this local Bridgestone MB5.
The color scheme proves it to be a 1991 model. The top model from Bridgestone was the MB0 or later MB1 so as a 5 it is a mid to low model for the time but mid to low for a company that made legendary bikes. I still have my 1993 MB4.
If this is tuned and the tires are new, $100 is reasonable. Offer less if condition is less. This was a $500 bike in 1991. The internet says $500 in 1991 is like $900 today.
This is an old school ride that will likely align with your expectations for a bike. Being a steel frame, it will be heavy but the plus side is it will be strong.
The history of Bridgestone Bikes
As noted, the right size is key.
This was a cutting edge bike of the '90s. Pro Flex full suspension
I'm not sure how well they age. Those are red elastomer bushings in the front fork. Super cool though.
From pics, the frame looks maybe small for your size, maybe.
Curtis said:
I was thinking 26". I'm 6'1" and 205. No strange proportions like super long legs or torso or arms.
26" is a wheel size; you're concerned with frame size; for a mountain bike, I'd be guessing at 20"-ish (this is center of bottom bracket to center or top of seat tube as if the top tube were horizontal), but bikes have largely gone to a S, M, L, XL-ish arrangement. I suspect you'd be safe with a Large where they're doing that sort of sizing, but test ride and see whether it feels good once you've got the seat height adjusted. If you stumble into a 27.5" or 29" wheel size bike, the frame size bit still pretty much applies, though the sweet spot in that price range is going to be unfashionable but perfectly awesome 26" wheel bikes.
I'm pretty sure that Raleigh M40 is too small for you.
Also, Raleigh, as their own mfr, made everything from bargain-basement but serviceable occasional-use bikes to rather nice stuff by the time I was working in a shop in '98.
I'm about your same height, with a 32" inseam. I typically ride a Large frame when they're sized that way, or a 19-19.5" in that sizing schema, or a 58cm if you're talking a full-on road bike. I second all the advice above, but I'll also add that there are a lot of 29" wheel mtb bikes that are old enough to show up on CL for reasonable money. Street tires are widely available for them too, so don't rule them out if you see one you like the look/$ of. I would stay away from dual suspension bikes. Adds complexity, prices, and decreases efficiency for road riding.
The mongoose dolomite fat bike from Walmart is actually a decent bike if set up properly. It's like $250 new. It's not complete garbage and there is a decent ish community of people upgrading them.
Ian F
MegaDork
5/21/18 8:19 a.m.
For general puttering around a dept store bike will probably be fine - especially with today's disc brakes which are a bit more idiot-proof to set up than older rim brakes. 1x drive trains are also a bit easier to deal with. For the most part, it's the assembly that really hurts cheap bikes. I'll walk past them in the store and wonder if the person who assembled it had ever seen a bike before.
I'm 5' 10" with a 34" inseam and usually ride Medium/17" mtn bike frames and a 56-57 road frame. Coming from a BMX background, I tend to like a smaller frame. My DH bike is a large, but that bike is a monster truck that is designed to roll over anything in it's path, so stability at MX speeds is what it's designed for.
For urban riding full suspension is not likely to keep you happy. Lots of energy wasted bobbing the frame up and down instead of making forward progress.
I know above your budget but these always interested me for $400: http://www.republicbike.com/build_aristotle.asp
(Maybe I just like fooling around with all the component colors in the configurator...)
Not sure how the hills are in your area. Some thoughts that might ease ownership/maintenance.
Internal 3 speed gearing?
Flat foot cruiser?
Belt drive?
Marin and Electra are hot. Also Amazon and Performance Bike have their semi internal brands that have some ok setups. Also look for the used Ikea bikes they seem to show up on craigslist fast.
travellering said:
For urban riding full suspension is not likely to keep you happy. Lots of energy wasted bobbing the frame up and down instead of making forward progress.
This is something I learned the hard way. I went back to a hardtail for street riding. The full suspension was good for stairs and curb hopping though. I really like 90s era trek for street riding, although I have a short inseam so alot of used bikes are too tall for me comfortably when it comes to modern bikes.
