need bike purchase advice...

Hi,

I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a 10 minute
bike ride). I didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my older sister's childhood
bike - it's a Panasonic women's road bike, color pink - from the 80's. Anyway,
I've just about ridden it to death by now and I'm in the market for a bike.

Does this sound like a good deal:

""
Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike.
64 cm, 21 gears, good condition.
$150.00
""

I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my purposes.
For now I only use the bike for getting around the city, but eventually I'd like
to branch out and go on short country day rides.

My price range is pretty narrow... I just graduated from college, have huge student
loans and work in a research lab.

Anyway, all advice is greatly appreciated!

Ben

In article ,
says...
Hi,

I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a 10 minute
bike ride). I didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my older sister's childhood
bike - it's a Panasonic women's road bike, color pink - from the 80's. Anyway,
I've just about ridden it to death by now and I'm in the market for a bike.

Does this sound like a good deal:

""
Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike.
64 cm, 21 gears, good condition.
$150.00
""

Are you real tall? 64cm is a big bike.

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

"Benjamin Snyder" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a
10 minute
bike ride). I didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my older
sister's childhood
bike - it's a Panasonic women's road bike, color pink - from the 80's.
Anyway,
I've just about ridden it to death by now and I'm in the market for a
bike.

Does this sound like a good deal:

""
Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike.
64 cm, 21 gears, good condition.
$150.00
""

How well does the Panasonic fit you. If it's at all close, this bike would
be much too big.

I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my
purposes.
For now I only use the bike for getting around the city, but eventually
I'd like
to branch out and go on short country day rides.

My price range is pretty narrow... I just graduated from college, have
huge student
loans and work in a research lab.

A hybrid will fit your budget and is probably a better bike for "getting
around the city" especially if traffic is heavy and the roads are in
disrepair. But for the "country day rides" a road bike is much preferable.
The road bike will work in the city as well especially since you are
accustomed to this type of bike. I would recommend a used road bike that
fits you properly. If you have a local cycling club they can help you with
sources for used bikes and with fitting.

Best of luck!
Matthew

"Benjamin Snyder" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's
only a 10 minute
bike ride). I didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my older
sister's childhood
bike - it's a Panasonic women's road bike, color pink - from the 80's.
Anyway,
I've just about ridden it to death by now and I'm in the market for a
bike.

Does this sound like a good deal:

""
Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike.
64 cm, 21 gears, good condition.
$150.00
""

I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my
purposes.
For now I only use the bike for getting around the city, but
eventually I'd like
to branch out and go on short country day rides.

My price range is pretty narrow... I just graduated from college, have
huge student
loans and work in a research lab.

Anyway, all advice is greatly appreciated!

Ben

I just bought a Finest-Al, the aluminum version, at the end of this
season. It's actually a 64-cm frame, also (yes, I'm a big guy). I'm
very, very happy with it so far.

Brendon

Does this sound like a good deal:

""
Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike.
64 cm, 21 gears, good condition.
$150.00

You may be able to get a great deal on a used bike, but take someone
who knows bikes with you when you look at it. Until you actually see
it, you don't know how much work it may take to make it safely
rideable, and you want to make sure it fits you properly. As someone
already pointed out, 64cm is a frame size for a very tall person.



I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my purposes.

You can get some fairly decent hybrids new for under $300, maybe less
than $250. They won't be high performance bikes, but you can get
adequate frames and components in that range.

For now I only use the bike for getting around the city, but eventually I'd like
to branch out and go on short country day rides.

How short is short? The longer the ride, the more you'll appreciate a
real road bike, but a decent hybrid might be fine for 20 - 30 mile
rides if you're not trying to set too fast a pace. I've seen people
complete centuries on hybrids, but that wouldn't be my choice.



My price range is pretty narrow... I just graduated from college, have huge student
loans and work in a research lab.

If you can budget $300, you should be able to get an okay
hybrid/comfort bike. Otherwise you'll probably have to go with a used
one.

"Benjamin Snyder" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a
10 minute
bike ride). I didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my older
sister's childhood
bike - it's a Panasonic women's road bike, color pink - from the 80's.
Anyway,
I've just about ridden it to death by now and I'm in the market for a
bike.

Does this sound like a good deal:

""
Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike.
64 cm, 21 gears, good condition.
$150.00
""

I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my
purposes.
For now I only use the bike for getting around the city, but eventually
I'd like
to branch out and go on short country day rides.

My price range is pretty narrow... I just graduated from college, have
huge student
loans and work in a research lab.

How tall are you? 64 cm sounds like a bike for someone 6'5" or so.
Does your sister play for the WNBA?

A road bike would be fine for short country day rides, on the road. In
fact, it would be ideal for such. It would should work OK on something like
the Delaware tow paths; they did fine with my 1.5 inch tires, and these are
probably 1.25.

Key question: do you need to replace anything on this bike?
If you need to replace the seat, that's $40 (all prices approximate).
If the tires are currently shot, that's $40.
Are the wheels stainless steel ($120 to replace); if they are aluminum, are
they true ($10 each to true).
Do all the cables work? Are brakes solid?

I'm not familiar with this model, but if it looks like the bike can be
happily ridden as-is, $150 is OK.

As for the hybrid, I personally would get a mountain bike instead, and put
on slicks (high pressure tires with little or no tread). That's sort of a
"fake hybrid", which gives you the option to put on knobbies if you want to
go off-road.

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 19:10:17 +0000, Benjamin Snyder wrote:

Hi,

I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a
10 minute bike ride). I didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my
older sister's childhood bike - it's a Panasonic women's road bike, color
pink - from the 80's. Anyway, I've just about ridden it to death by now
and I'm in the market for a bike.

Does this sound like a good deal:

""
Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike. 64 cm, 21 gears, good
condition.
$150.00

If it fits, maybe so. $150 is a good price. But 64cm is a BIG bike.
Like for someone over 6 feet, 6 inches. How tall are you? Fit is more
important than anything else. As a comparison, I*am 5 feet 11 inches and
ride a 56cm bike. 8 cm taller means that much more in leg length alone.

I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my
purposes. For now I only use the bike for getting around the city, but
eventually I'd like to branch out and go on short country day rides.

If you are riding on roads, then really a road bike offers the best
options. Hybrids, in my opinion, are not the "best" bike for any specific
use. They can be used on roads, though they will be less comfortable for
any ride over 20 miles than a decent road bike (if it fits). They can be
used off-road, but a mountain bike will be more robust.

If your idea of "off-road" is Forbidden Drive, then a hybrid is OK for
that. But if you ride on roads longer distances, you will have more
trouble on a hybrid than a road bike.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | The lottery is a tax on those who fail to understand
_`\(,_ | mathematics.
(_)/ (_) |

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 13:10:55 +0000, Matthew wrote:

If you have a local cycling club they can help you with
sources for used bikes and with fitting.

BTW, to the OP, yes, there is a "local cycling club", in fact there are
several. Contact me for information about the Bicycle Club of
Philadelphia (BCP), or go to http://www.phillybikeclub.org . Sources for
used bikes are always iffy, but maybe we could help out.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored
_`\(,_ | by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. --Ralph Waldo
(_)/ (_) | Emerson

I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a
10 minute
bike ride).


A road bike would be fine for short country day rides, on the road. In
fact, it would be ideal for such. It would should work OK on something like
the Delaware tow paths; they did fine with my 1.5 inch tires, and these are
probably 1.25.


A road bike is fine for day rides on good paved roads, but don't expect to
feel fine on unpaved paths. Typical 23C road tires are less that 1 inch
wide.

For a daily urban commute, I would recommend a straight handlebar, which
gives you better agility and more braking power in traffic.

As for the hybrid, I personally would get a mountain bike instead, and put
on slicks (high pressure tires with little or no tread). That's sort of a
"fake hybrid", which gives you the option to put on knobbies if you want to
go off-road.

But as you intend to continue commuting daily, your best bike is not a
pure mountain bike either. Your best bike for this mix is probably a kind of
hybrid (what does this exaclty mean ?) with fenders (you go to work even
if it rains), lights, rack, 24 gear, a mountain bike-like position (not a
so-called "comfort" or fully upright position), 28C or 32C slick tires.