Bike advice needed!!!

[Dole]

I know a lot about flashlights... I know nothing about bikes... I'm looking for someone to help me in this field so I figured this would be the place to start.

So if someone asked me to pick them out a nice flashlight without spending a ton of money I would be able to tell them how much they would need to spend and give them a couple of choices of lights and maybe tell them what I think would be best...

This is where someone tells me all this about bikes... I'm a college student looking for something mountain bikish... I'm trying to avoid the m@g of the bike world

 

[Dole]

and I realize this has nothing to do with flashlights... I'm just looking for direction... maybe to another forum

admins feel free to oust me if you deem necessary

 

[zen bicycle]

Try MTBR, regional forums as well as some good resources.

www.mtbr.com

 

[Linger]

If you're in college, using it for urban transport, don't get a mountain bike. Fat tires (anything not a road bike) are just extra friction, and if you're using it for regular commutes it literally is just an drain.

I just discovered road bikes 3 years ago. I still have a mountain bike in the shed for bush riding, and an old school made in UK raliegh (1971!) that's closer to a hybrid for trail riding, but every day to work I ride a road bike.
(I leave my car parked if I can avoid it)

 

[bulbmogul]

Trek is the one for me..

I myself prefer trek bikes to include Mountain and Rode types.. Just like everyhting else, it comes down to how much you want to spend on a bike.
Here is a picture of several of my Mountain and Road bikes by trek.

Madone7.JPG photo - bulbmogul photos at pbase.com

Madone9.JPG photo - bulbmogul photos at pbase.com



Jerry

 

[Rexlion]

This might have been better placed in the cafe section, but anyway...

I agree that a mountain bike may not be your best choice. Yeah I wanted one too, got one in fact. And hardly rode it because it was a pain in the tushie... literally. Sore sit-bones in minutes even with an upgraded saddle. And pain in the hands from weight forward on the palms. And hard to pedal, sore legs. A great looking bike, after about 5 years it's still like new. Shiny red... wanna buy it? :laughing:

But a month ago, on vacation, I rented a bike. Turned out to be a Trek Pure 7 speed. Wow what a difference! It moved so much easier. So when I got home I bought a Pure Sport (21 speed). The crank is set a little farther forward (some refer to it as semi-recumbent), which makes for a better pedaling motion for me, plus you can stop and have feet flat on the ground while still in the saddle. The riding position is upright, so no more sore palms. The seat is pretty good too, no more pain in the, um, gluteals. I'm riding every chance I get now. From now on, it's semi-recumbents or recumbents for me (if I had the money I could be tempted by a Rans bike).

 

[hit4six]

Lost my message so I retype it in brief

I use an entry level road bike from a one of the big manufacturers, Giant. I commute into the city centre, 8 miles each way, on 3 lane road, I do rural commute, 13 miles each way, and I do training rides, which is my 13 mile commute as a single 26 mile round trip.

If you don't do any long rides, a dedicated commuter is better than a road bike. They are the same but have flat handlebars which mean brakes are easier to reach and control is better and they have more powerful brakes too. On a long ride you will miss the effiency that comes from more aerodynamic road handlebars and you will miss being able to change your upper body position for comfort.

If you have traffic lights and roundabouts maybe go fixed gear single speed. Gears are there to help you modify your effort to suit your elevation/how tired you are, however when your speed is determined by the traffic and you are forced to stop at lights and rest your legs, gears have little advantage and can be a distraction when you often stop and start. Hills will be more work, but so what? Easier to maintain, more enjoyable to ride.

Mountain bikes are not good for sitting down for a long time, but if have stretches where you stand to accelearate to keep up with traffic, stand to accelerate from lights, and you ride for under 45 minutes, you should have no problem from discomfort. Their handling is the best, they can cope with road surfaces too bad for road bike. With Brooks B17 saddle, road tyres and rigid fork, efficiency is less bad. And do you need the high efficiency of a road based design? Less efficient means you get a better physical work-out.

Make sure you have correct stem length of you will get neck/back pain. Avoid heavily padded 'comfort saddles.' Expect slightly sore sit bones for a while but it passes.

there are many other opinions out there, I visit commuter forum at www.roadcyclinguk.com

good luck

 

[TJx]

Good place to go here:

http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=20

 

[Dole]

Thanks for all the advice peeps... Keep in mind that I'll only be riding it a couple miles every day tops... I live really close to campus so the commute will be like 5 minutes...

I'll keep looking

 

[spyderknut]

just get a fixed gear beach cruiser. low budget bike few will want to steal. put a rack on the back and you are good to go. shouldn't cost more than $200 or so including lock, lights and rack.

 

[herulach]

just get a fixed gear beach cruiser. low budget bike few will want to steal. put a rack on the back and you are good to go. shouldn't cost more than $200 or so including lock, lights and rack.

+1, even get one second hand. Its fairly hard to buy decent cheap new bikes for a low price point over here. Shonky heavy mountain bikes from asda (walmart) are easy to get, but something a bit decent is pretty hard.

 

[Hack On Wheels]

If I was in your situation with only a very short commute, I would be getting myself a 24" BMX. It would be a ton of fun to rip around on and it would be nice and simple and not too expensive. The great thing with BMXs is that you get a solid bike with not much too go wrong on it, and because they are simple and fairly common, they don't cost too much. You could probably also get one with slick tires to make it roll fairly fast.

 

[Rexlion]

Thanks for all the advice peeps... Keep in mind that I'll only be riding it a couple miles every day tops... I live really close to campus so the commute will be like 5 minutes...

I'll keep looking

Ok, in that case comfort isn't much of an issue. Buy whatever style appeals to you, and keep it inexpensive & lock it up so it won't be a theft target. When I was college age I made the mistake of having a slightly too-nice yellow racing-style bike, got in the habit of not locking it overnight, and one morning it was gone.

 

[jankj]

Oh, and do lock the bike. Always. Even if it is a cheap bike that no one will bother to steal.

Some people will still borrow your bike just so they won't miss their bus, their class or their whatever. They may have an intent to deliver the bike back, but since they don't have any clue of who you are that bike is effectively lost... Or a friend of yours will loan your bike, but forget about it. It will rust quietly somewhere, or someone re-steals it. Trust me, the inconvenience of having to get another set of "cheap wheels that works" is almost as bad as having to buy a brand new expensive bike (your expensive bike was probably insured anyway). A cheap lock will prevent unauthorized loaning...

That being said, some people steal ANYTHING. Even a cheap bike. A good, solid lock on a cheap bike is what I recommend.