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New bike advice.
I haven't bought a new bike in many years and am looking for one for my
wife. She will be riding it mostly around our neighborhood streets. I want something light enough and with narrow enough tires that it will be comfortable for riding longer distances if she wants. I went to a couple bicycle shops today and was disappointed in what I found. Everything seemed like it was either a pure touring bike in the $600+ price range or a so-called hybrid bike that looked more like an off-road bike than a road bike. All of the hybrids in the $350 price area were really heavy. Can anyone recommend a road bike with slightly wider than average tires, a fairly lightweight frame, and a price tag of between $300 and $400? Thanks! Joe Meyer |
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#2
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New bike advice.
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#3
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New bike advice.
To find a bike in your price range, you're either going to have to find a
used bike, or buy one online. http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/galaxy.htm http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...ane/super.html http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...ane/mirage.htm |
#4
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New bike advice.
On Sat, 29 May 2004 22:03:22 +0000, Joseph Meyer wrote:
I haven't bought a new bike in many years and am looking for one for my wife. She will be riding it mostly around our neighborhood streets. I want something light enough and with narrow enough tires that it will be comfortable for riding longer distances if she wants. I went to a couple bicycle shops today and was disappointed in what I found. Everything seemed like it was either a pure touring bike in the $600+ price range or a so-called hybrid bike that looked more like an off-road bike than a road bike. All of the hybrids in the $350 price area were really heavy. Can anyone recommend a road bike with slightly wider than average tires, a fairly lightweight frame, and a price tag of between $300 and $400? Thanks! Joe Meyer Try looking for a nice used ride from the eighties when "touring" type bikes were more popular--if you're fortunate, you might make a $15 dollar thrift store discovery--add $50 worth of fresh tape and tires, and you've got a bike for less than a 100 bucks that's closer to what you actually need/want than the 600 smacker alternative "modern" variant... |
#5
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New bike advice.
Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful advice. I did a little reading on the
Internet and decided that a steel-frame bike is the best thing for my wife. I want one sturdy enough for her to bang around with bikes she hauls around in the back of our van for our 4-year old and 6-year old kids. And, it needs to be sturdy enough to withstand a crash or two since she's a beginning rider. In other words, I would hate for her to total a $600 aluminum frame . But, I want a bike that is light enough and has thin enough tires for her to be able to joyfully ride it around for fun when she needs a break from the kids in the evening when I get home from work. I looked around a bit more today and found a place that sells the Fuji Finest, which another poster recommended, for $599. That's a little more than I wanted to pay, but it's the closest thing to what I've been trying to find for my wife. In fact, I like it about a billion times more than the 29-pound Giant hybrid bikes that I was looking at a couple of days ago and think it's the best steel-frame bike for the money that I've seen so far. I guess nobody makes bikes with lugged frames, like the Peugeot that I bought for $200 about 30 years ago. But, the components on the Fuji Finest are actually nicer that was my Peugeot had on it. What is the consensus today about the strength of the Fuji steel frames without lugs? Are they just as strong as the old lugged frames, or close at least? They aren't as pretty, I can tell you that for certain. The only other thing I don't like about the the Fuji Finest is the goofy looking decal on the rear forks that says "simply the finest". Maybe I can scrape that off! I guess the other option is buying a used bike as some have suggested. But, I'm a little nervous about buying a bike that may have a bent frame or rust on E-Bay. There's a Bianchi out there for a little over $100, but it's missing a couple of cable stays and is old enough (15 years+) to be rusty. If I can't find a used bike in excellent condition in my local area, I will probably go for the Fuji Finest. Thanks! Joe Meyer Austin, Texas (Kerry Democrat) p.s. Do they call those hybrid bikes Giant's because they weigh so much? "David Kerber" wrote in message ... In article . net, says... I haven't bought a new bike in many years and am looking for one for my wife. She will be riding it mostly around our neighborhood streets. I want something light enough and with narrow enough tires that it will be comfortable for riding longer distances if she wants. I went to a couple bicycle shops today and was disappointed in what I found. Everything seemed like it was either a pure touring bike in the $600+ price range or a so-called hybrid bike that looked more like an off-road bike than a road bike. All of the hybrids in the $350 price area were really heavy. Can anyone recommend a road bike with slightly wider than average tires, a fairly lightweight frame, and a price tag of between $300 and $400? There's not much in the way of new road bikes in quite that price range, though the Fuji Ace is close (about $450), and the Fuji Finest is only a little more. You would probably get better quality in that price range by buying used. -- Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying! REAL programmers write self-modifying code. |
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New bike advice.
Joseph Meyer wrote:
I guess nobody makes bikes with lugged frames, like the Peugeot that I bought for $200 about 30 years ago. They do, but they're not so common outside of the custom bike market. But, the components on the Fuji Finest are actually nicer that was my Peugeot had on it. What is the consensus today about the strength of the Fuji steel frames without lugs? Are they just as strong as the old lugged frames, or close at least? They aren't as pretty, I can tell you that for certain. I vastly prefer lugged frames from an aesthetic point of view, but I don't believe there is any significant strength or functional difference. -- Benjamin Lewis Gravity brings me down. |
#7
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New bike advice.
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#8
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New bike advice.
On Mon, 31 May 2004 19:50:29 GMT, "Joseph Meyer"
wrote: Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful advice. I did a little reading on the Internet and decided that a steel-frame bike is the best thing for my wife. I want one sturdy enough for her to bang around with bikes she hauls around in the back of our van for our 4-year old and 6-year old kids. And, it needs to be sturdy enough to withstand a crash or two since she's a beginning rider. In other words, I would hate for her to total a $600 aluminum frame . Aluminum frames are fine. Some people claim to have experienced more long-term, high-mileage (tens of thousands) issues with al frames than with steel; and any idiot with any old welder can fix steel. I handle my aluminum-framed road bike roughly, it seems to survive. I've crashed my aluminum-framed mountain bike a million times, it remains unbroken. But, I want a bike that is light enough and has thin enough tires for her to be able to joyfully ride it around for fun when she needs a break from the kids in the evening when I get home from work. Similar aluminum and steel frames weigh similarly. Thin tires, while more aerodynamic, have more rolling resistance than thicker tires at the same pressure. Better priorities would be finding a bike shop that will fit her _properly_, and offer good service. I guess nobody makes bikes with lugged frames, like the Peugeot that I bought for $200 about 30 years ago. But, the components on the Fuji Finest Rivendell does. There are probably others around too. Inflation-adjusted, that $200 is worth some $850 now; you can probably find a lugged steel bike for $850 -- although your reduced variety of choices will mean that you probably won't get as much bike for the money. I guess the other option is buying a used bike as some have suggested. But, I'm a little nervous about buying a bike that may have a bent frame or rust on E-Bay. There's a Bianchi out there for a little over $100, but it's I'd probably only buy used bikes locally, preferably from a knowledgable bike shop. p.s. Do they call those hybrid bikes Giant's because they weigh so much? Giant is a huge company that manufactures many other companies' frames, as well as a hue variety of their own. I suspect their sheer size is why they call themselves Giant. I have a Giant TCR2 racing bike that weighed under 20 pounds when I bought it. Since they are really into compact frames, they name their sizes rather than numbering them; so you could have a "small Giant". -- Rick Onanian |
#9
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New bike advice.
"Rick Onanian" wrote in message ... On Mon, 31 May 2004 19:50:29 GMT, "Joseph Meyer" wrote: I want one sturdy enough for her to bang around with bikes she hauls around in the back of our van for our 4-year old and 6-year old kids. And, it needs to be sturdy enough to withstand a crash or two since she's a beginning rider. In other words, I would hate for her to total a $600 aluminum frame . Aluminum frames are fine. Some people claim to have experienced more long-term, high-mileage (tens of thousands) issues with al frames than with steel; and any idiot with any old welder can fix steel. I handle my aluminum-framed road bike roughly, it seems to survive. I've crashed my aluminum-framed mountain bike a million times, it remains unbroken. I've crashed my Al frame road bike, too, a few times in my life. I've also had it rammed into the garage while on top of the station wagon (= new carbon fork), had it fall over from being leaned against a tree/curb/sign etc. about 50,000 times, had it face horrible weather while on the bus bike rack week after week in the winter, and I hate to think what happens to it at the community rack at work when other people are fetching/parking their bikes and I'm not around. The frame has, golly, at least 16K on it, and I see no signs of any problems. I tend to be hard on my bikes (and cars, and clothing, and...) in general. In fact, part of the reason why I went aluminum was because I felt like I didn't have to sweat the dings in the paint job as much as with a steel frame -- no rust worries. -- Warm Regards, Claire Petersky Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com Home of the meditative cyclist: http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky |
#10
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New bike advice.
Joseph Meyer wrote:
I haven't bought a new bike in many years and am looking for one for my wife. She will be riding it mostly around our neighborhood streets. I want something light enough and with narrow enough tires that it will be comfortable for riding longer distances if she wants. I went to a couple bicycle shops today and was disappointed in what I found. Everything seemed like it was either a pure touring bike in the $600+ price range or a so-called hybrid bike that looked more like an off-road bike than a road bike. All of the hybrids in the $350 price area were really heavy. Can anyone recommend a road bike with slightly wider than average tires, a fairly lightweight frame, and a price tag of between $300 and $400? Thanks! Joe Meyer I really enjoy my Gary Fisher hybrid which is 24#, aluminum, w/ rack bar ends. It has 35c tires w/ little tread, and I toss it in the va with my daughter's bike ... it goes pretty well ... the longest I'v ridden it is about 2 hrs and short of 30 miles. I like being able t look all around easily when riding with kids. My saddle and handlebar are at about equal ht. The one overlooked question in this discussio seems to be what does your wife want and what does she find comfortable There are alot of "city bikes" around that are road bikes w/ fla handlebars. Prices seem to range from $300 to $800 on the regula configurations of these Good Luck and let us know what you find - |
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