My Turn: I Want A Bike

baffled · Post by **baffled** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 7:13 pm

I'm not about to start racing or anything like that, but mainly want the bike for outdoor activity, conditioning when running's not gonna work, and maybe commuting when I'm working close enough.

These folks have everything on sale at the moment: http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/To ... 2_10551_-1 Not sure if anything is actually a good deal, on sale or not.

I haven't ridden a bike regularly since college 7 years ago, and remember Alfred commenting in other threads that a lot of dudes just getting on a bike tend to end up with way too much. I'm not looking to spend $1000 on a bike. I'd probably go $500-$600 if I found a can't miss deal.

From past threads, I remember:
fenders
steel frame

Not sure what else applies, since the last thread I saw on this (Spells) covered a slightly different set of needs.

PS
I've got a couple of trails that are awesome to run and probably better to bike within one or two cities of where I live.

PPS
I went onto Sheldon Brown (dot) com, and didn't have a clue what the hell I was looking at.

Shafpocalypse Now · Post by **Shafpocalypse Now** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 7:31 pm

I was so close to pulling the trigger on a Karate Monkey, then the Krampus came along and pushed a whole new set of buttons.

baffled · Post by **baffled** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 7:53 pm

Yeah, those are both running $1000 and up.

Turdacious · Post by **Turdacious** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 8:08 pm

Spells had a pretty good approach IMO-- he started with a cheap mountain bike, then bought what he wanted later once he had a good idea what worked for him. Honestly, going to the bike ads on craigslist and putting 'commuter' as your search term gives you a place to start as well.

Blaidd Drwg · Post by **Blaidd Drwg** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 9:34 pm

How tall are you baff?

Cave Canem · Post by **Cave Canem** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:34 pm

Turdacious · Post by **Turdacious** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:37 pm

Blaidd Drwg wrote:How tall are you baff?

http://www.pinoythinking.com/2013/08/av ... -2013.html

baffled · Post by **baffled** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:48 pm

Blaidd Drwg wrote:How tall are you baff?

Far as I can tell, I'm a younger version of Mickey.

Shafpocalypse Now · Post by **Shafpocalypse Now** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:59 pm

Hahahha. Plenty of 6th graders want to sell their old bikes

baffled · Post by **baffled** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:02 pm

I really hate this place sometimes

Blaidd Drwg · Post by **Blaidd Drwg** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:06 pm

alright. I was going to suggest a Sulry 29'er but I dont think you'd enjoy it. I'm nudging too short for one as it is.

I'm kinda along the same thought process as Turd. Find a decent used MTB, and run the hell out of it, modern disc brakes and and even cheapo 8/9 speed drivetrains are really good. throw slicks on and you can ride a on road century, throw on knobs and ride trails. Too many potential optiosn to mention.

what's your likely ratio of street to trail use?
if you commuted would you be dragging clothes?
year round commute, good weather only?

baffled · Post by **baffled** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:14 pm

Blaidd Drwg wrote:alright. I was going to suggest a Sulry 29'er but I dont think you'd enjoy it. I'm nudging too short for one as it is.

I'm kinda along the same thought process as Turd. Find a decent used MTB, and run the hell out of it, modern disc brakes and and even cheapo 8/9 speed drivetrains are really good. throw slicks on and you can ride a on road century, throw on knobs and ride trails. Too many potential optiosn to mention.

what's your likely ratio of street to trail use?
if you commuted would you be dragging clothes?
year round commute, good weather only?

Summer 60:40 road to trail is my guess. Probably more like 80:20 fall and almost exclusive road in the winter. --- big time guessing here----

Backpack on the commute. Pretty light.

Mostly good weather on the commute. Our weather is pretty much always good though.

Turdacious · Post by **Turdacious** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:31 pm

Late fall is about the best time to buy a bike if you're going used and live in a college town-- students need money. Craigslist is great once you know what you're looking for.

Mickey O'neil · Post by **Mickey O'neil** » Wed Jun 11, 2014 12:03 am

baffled wrote:I really hate this place sometimes

Protobuilder · Post by **Protobuilder** » Wed Jun 11, 2014 4:17 am

I know that bike snobs will scoff but I saw this line and it looks good.

For a bit over $1k, this is nice for what you want to do as well.

Blaidd Drwg · Post by **Blaidd Drwg** » Wed Jun 11, 2014 4:29 am

A cheap cyclocross bike is a great all-rounder...and not so bad offroad in your neck of the woods.

Shafpocalypse Now · Post by **Shafpocalypse Now** » Wed Jun 11, 2014 4:43 am

true. i'd like to swap out my Specialized Roubaix for a cyclocross bike

Turdacious · Post by **Turdacious** » Wed Jun 11, 2014 4:44 am

BD, you familiar with the Thule Pack N Pedal? Nice rear rack for commuters that fits on a lot of bikes that won't accept traditional racks.
http://www.thule.com/en-us/us/products/ ... acks/racks

Dunn · Post by **Dunn** » Wed Jun 11, 2014 1:31 pm

Blaidd Drwg wrote:A cheap cyclocross bike is a great all-rounder...and not so bad offroad in your neck of the woods.

Bingo. I used my Specialized cross bike for commuting, road rides, and hitting the trail. It was great. Definitely a way decent way to go and there are options within your price range.

nafod · Post by **nafod** » Wed Jun 11, 2014 1:49 pm

Dunn wrote:
Blaidd Drwg wrote:A cheap cyclocross bike is a great all-rounder...and not so bad offroad in your neck of the woods.
Bingo. I used my Specialized cross bike for commuting, road rides, and hitting the trail. It was great. Definitely a way decent way to go and there are options within your price range.

I have a Specialized cross bike too. Geared a little lower, wider tires, sturdier frame, little more upright ergonomics. I use it for road riding, urban riding, and for gravel road/double track riding. All but technical trails. Got a rack on it for commuting. Good piece of kit.

Blaidd Drwg · Post by **Blaidd Drwg** » Wed Jun 11, 2014 4:44 pm

Turdacious wrote:BD, you familiar with the Thule Pack N Pedal? Nice rear rack for commuters that fits on a lot of bikes that won't accept traditional racks.
http://www.thule.com/en-us/us/products/ ... acks/racks

Never seen it but it looks clever. After building several all rounder bikes over the years with various wayss of holding gear, I settled on a backpack and a seatpack from carradice. For a bike that will get used recreationally, being able to take off the extr stuff quickly like the thule is a smart way to go. have no idea how well it holds up.

Blaidd Drwg · Post by **Blaidd Drwg** » Wed Jun 11, 2014 4:47 pm

nafod wrote:
Dunn wrote:
Blaidd Drwg wrote:A cheap cyclocross bike is a great all-rounder...and not so bad offroad in your neck of the woods.
Bingo. I used my Specialized cross bike for commuting, road rides, and hitting the trail. It was great. Definitely a way decent way to go and there are options within your price range.
I have a Specialized cross bike too. Geared a little lower, wider tires, sturdier frame, little more upright ergonomics. I use it for road riding, urban riding, and for gravel road/double track riding. All but technical trails. Got a rack on it for commuting. Good piece of kit.

ANNNNNDDDDD...with most modern ones carrying discs, you can get away with a lot in the way of tires for offroad. I know I steered you awy form 29" wheels but that's because MTB geometry makes the bikes feel awkward in small frame sizes. Road geometry that's just stretched a bit can accommodate a lot of different sized people more easily. If you coudl get it in 650B you'd have the ne plus ultra compromise bike.

baffled · Post by **baffled** » Wed Jun 11, 2014 10:43 pm

Got a feeler out on this ride. It's going for pretty freaking cheap, so I wouldn't have a problem beating the shit out of it.

Turdacious · Post by **Turdacious** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 1:09 am

Blaidd Drwg wrote:
Turdacious wrote:BD, you familiar with the Thule Pack N Pedal? Nice rear rack for commuters that fits on a lot of bikes that won't accept traditional racks.
http://www.thule.com/en-us/us/products/ ... acks/racks
Never seen it but it looks clever. After building several all rounder bikes over the years with various wayss of holding gear, I settled on a backpack and a seatpack from carradice. For a bike that will get used recreationally, being able to take off the extr stuff quickly like the thule is a smart way to go. have no idea how well it holds up.

Thanks, I was wondering. Mine seems to work well for commuting on days I don't want to use a backpack. Not sure how much of a beating it'll take though.

Bedlam 0-0-0 · Post by **Bedlam 0-0-0** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 2:02 am

I dig it. That thing will take all the beating you give it.

baffled wrote:Got a feeler out on this ride. It's going for pretty freaking cheap, so I wouldn't have a problem beating the shit out of it.

This is probably overkill for your situation but I picked up a Yak trailer on the cheap from craigslist. It is pretty slick for carrying larger loads. Most of the time I don't need to carry too much so a messenger bag does the job. That Thule rack looks pretty slick. This site has a lot of info on different rack systems and may be of assistance. http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=148050

IGX

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