Buying a bike unseen

I've been looking for a bike for daily commuting and light touring (see
older post "Buying old vs. new"). I'm leaning torwards a new bike simply
because I have had no luck finding anything old, either locally, or on
eBay - at least it seems overpriced there.

I'm considering: the Bianchi Volpe, a Trek 720, Surly CrossCheck, and (ahem)
a Rivendell. However, I can't find these bikes, or any "touring/commuter"
type bikes to test ride. Stores that carry the brands say "we can order
one", but I am reluctant to plunk down $1,000 for a bike without
seeing/riding one first. To compound this I have to drive anywhere from 100
to 300 miles for a decent bike shop (and then they don't stock them, etc.)

Am I just living in a black hole area for this kind of bike? Have you folks
that own these bikes bought them sight unseen or do you have really good
LBS's? What about buying old stuff off of eBay? Do you just "know" it's
going to be a good ride?

How do you buy a bike if you can't even see it first!?

Cheers!
Duke

Dukester wrote:
:: I've been looking for a bike for daily commuting and light touring
:: (see older post "Buying old vs. new"). I'm leaning torwards a new
:: bike simply because I have had no luck finding anything old, either
:: locally, or on
:: eBay - at least it seems overpriced there.
::
:: I'm considering: the Bianchi Volpe, a Trek 720, Surly CrossCheck,
:: and (ahem) a Rivendell. However, I can't find these bikes, or any
:: "touring/commuter" type bikes to test ride. Stores that carry the
:: brands say "we can order one", but I am reluctant to plunk down
:: $1,000 for a bike without seeing/riding one first. To compound this
:: I have to drive anywhere from 100 to 300 miles for a decent bike
:: shop (and then they don't stock them, etc.)
::
:: Am I just living in a black hole area for this kind of bike? Have
:: you folks that own these bikes bought them sight unseen or do you
:: have really good LBS's? What about buying old stuff off of eBay?
:: Do you just "know" it's going to be a good ride?
::
:: How do you buy a bike if you can't even see it first!?


Personally, I'd never buy a bike without riding it first. I don't see how
they can expect you to. Of course, you could settle for one of the bike
they stock. I'm not sure why you only have to pick between those, BTW.
Several commonly available bikes will serve your stated purpose, IMO.

OTHO, Let them order if and if you don't like it, don't buy it. Just tell
them up front what you're doing. Make sure they get the proper frame size,
too. Odds are, they can sell it to someone else, especially if its a
popular brand and not something odd.

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...
Dukester wrote:
Personally, I'd never buy a bike without riding it first. I don't see how
they can expect you to. Of course, you could settle for one of the bike
they stock. I'm not sure why you only have to pick between those, BTW.
Several commonly available bikes will serve your stated purpose, IMO.

What other bikes do you recommend? I want a steel frame with lugs and room
for fat tires & fenders, BTW.

OTHO, Let them order if and if you don't like it, don't buy it. Just tell
them up front what you're doing. Make sure they get the proper frame
size,
too. Odds are, they can sell it to someone else, especially if its a
popular brand and not something odd.

This hasn't been my experience in the shops I visited. None were willing to
order a bike they didn't normally carry just for me to try and not
necessarily buy (even if they carried the "brand" - Trek, Surly, etc).

Cheers!
Duke

"Dukester" wrote in message
...

What other bikes do you recommend? I want a steel frame with lugs and
room
for fat tires & fenders, BTW.

I meant eyelets, not lugs. I've been reading the Rivendell page too many
times. ;-p

On Mon, 25 Jul 2005 09:03:23 -0500, Dukester wrote:

What about buying old stuff off of eBay? Do you just "know"
it's going to be a good ride?

Well, there's the option of buying new bikes from ebay. I've bought a
vintage ride and got burned hard--but the person was not in the business
of selling bikes, so I should have been more careful. Only out $75

If you're handy with bikes AND pretty much know your exact size--or you
have a bike that fits great, a measuring tape, and a protractor (optional)
you should be able to easily get one that fits.

I wouldn't scare me in the least as long as I knew how the bike was
specced from stem to stern, but if you're not comfortable putting a boxed
bike together then beware. Usually you have to install the pedals,
handlebars, and often tweak the brakes and drivetrain of boxed bikes.

All the bikes you mentioned are ones I'd recommend myself, but
unfortunately ones that could be difficult to find new on Ebay.

I'd be really wary of buying used off the net unless the seller has a LOT
of positive feedback and good bike experience, like a bike shop.

On Mon, 25 Jul 2005 09:59:02 -0500, Dukester wrote:


"Dukester" wrote in message
...

What other bikes do you recommend? I want a steel frame with lugs and
room
for fat tires & fenders, BTW.

I meant eyelets, not lugs. I've been reading the Rivendell page too many
times. ;-p

Check these guys out, they're in Canada, but seem to be really groovy bike
people, they might just be the friends you never knew:


http://ucycle.com/bikes/item.php?nam...r&cat=urbanite

Mainly they sell frames, but their built up bikes are fairly priced. I
love the simplicity of the frames and the chrome forks. Single butted
tubes unlike Surly and Rivs fancier name brand butted tubing, but
they cost way way less.

Lots of options, they can even hook you up with a frame suitable for an
internal transmission like a Nexus or a Rohloff.

Me, I'm still contemplating that REI Fusion bike, even though it's
aluminum, for my all-rounder. $700 with fenders, integrated lights, rack,
etc. Steel fork. If you order one and don't like it, you can get your
money back as it's REI. Might be worth a look if you just want a good city
bike. The swept back handlebars certainly aren't as good as drops for a
big mile bike.

Dukester wrote:
I've been looking for a bike for daily commuting and light touring (see
older post "Buying old vs. new"). I'm leaning torwards a new bike simply
because I have had no luck finding anything old, either locally, or on
eBay - at least it seems overpriced there.

I'm considering: the Bianchi Volpe, a Trek 720, Surly CrossCheck, and (ahem)
a Rivendell. However, I can't find these bikes, or any "touring/commuter"
type bikes to test ride. Stores that carry the brands say "we can order
one", but I am reluctant to plunk down $1,000 for a bike without
seeing/riding one first. To compound this I have to drive anywhere from 100
to 300 miles for a decent bike shop (and then they don't stock them, etc.)

Am I just living in a black hole area for this kind of bike? Have you folks
that own these bikes bought them sight unseen or do you have really good
LBS's? What about buying old stuff off of eBay? Do you just "know" it's
going to be a good ride?

Even in major bicycling areas for commuting these bicycles are rarely
stocked. They are often taken off the market due to poor sales, but they
never really had a chance because the dealer didn't want to take a
chance, and the manufacturer wasn't creative enough to have some sort of
a marketing program that solved this chicken and egg issue.

I couldn't find the Trek 720 on the Trek site (horrible web site!), but
the other three you listed are fine. All are steel, not aluminum, which
is important, though the Bianchi is a lower grade of tubing. My nephew
in Minneapolis is looking for a similar bicycle, and is in the same
boat. There are Bianchi dealers, but since Bianchi is one of the few
companies still selling sub-$1000 chromolloy road bikes, the shops
cannot keep them in stock.

Dukester wrote:
:: "Roger Zoul" wrote in message
:: ...
::: Dukester wrote:
::: Personally, I'd never buy a bike without riding it first. I don't
::: see how they can expect you to. Of course, you could settle for
::: one of the bike they stock. I'm not sure why you only have to pick
::: between those, BTW. Several commonly available bikes will serve
::: your stated purpose, IMO.
::
:: What other bikes do you recommend? I want a steel frame with lugs
:: and room for fat tires & fenders, BTW.

Well, I personally won't require a steel frame. Also, You can likely get by
with a bike that
comes with 700c x 26 tires and check to see how much extra clearance they
have. Lots of bike will come equiped to handle fenders.

::
::: OTHO, Let them order if and if you don't like it, don't buy it.
::: Just tell them up front what you're doing. Make sure they get the
::: proper frame size, too. Odds are, they can sell it to someone
::: else, especially if its a popular brand and not something odd.
::
:: This hasn't been my experience in the shops I visited. None were
:: willing to order a bike they didn't normally carry just for me to
:: try and not necessarily buy (even if they carried the "brand" -
:: Trek, Surly, etc).

I think it all depends on how serious they preceive you to be about your
purchase. If you only show up once or twice they aren't likely to go out of
the way to help you on this. Have you ridden any of the other models they
carry that also make for good commuting bikes, or are you hard over on a
steel frame? I'm not suggesting you ought not to be, mind you. After all,
it's your money so you should get what you want. But when faced with the
problem of not being able to ride it, that's something I'd have to consider.
Perhaps riding a similar bike (size & brand, with similar components) would
help you decide to order blind with confidence. In other words, do
everything you can to get the info you need and my guess is a good LBS will
take a chance on you, so that you'd be very likely to buy unless something
totally expected resulted when the bike came in.

"SMS" wrote in message
...
Dukester wrote:

I couldn't find the Trek 720 on the Trek site (horrible web site!), but

I meant the Trek 520. Typo.

On Mon, 25 Jul 2005 15:05:10 GMT, maxo wrote:

On Mon, 25 Jul 2005 09:03:23 -0500, Dukester wrote:

What about buying old stuff off of eBay? Do you just "know"
it's going to be a good ride?

Well, there's the option of buying new bikes from ebay. I've bought a
vintage ride and got burned hard--but the person was not in the business
of selling bikes, so I should have been more careful. Only out $75

Sorry to hear that. Care to elaborate?

jj