Thinking of getting a bike; tips?

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SavingWithBabies
Posts: 882
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 2:50 pm
Location: Midwest, USA

Re: Thinking of getting a bike; tips?

Post by SavingWithBabies »

Start with a cheap hybrid or old road bike. Then you can figure out if you like gears, if you prefer faster or slower, want more off road or more faster on road, want to carry stuff, etc. Or you might turn out to be super happy with the cheap option. A bicycle coop is a good place to buy used. It's easier to figure out what you're lacking and then go towards an extreme (ie fixed gear, carbon fiber, brand new alu/steel road bike, cyclocross bike, tourer, etc).

Also nothing is a must until you find it is. In Chicago, I loved mud guards. Here in California, my cycling style (wear different cloths and shower at work) means getting dirty in the rare rain is annoying but not a big deal. So far, I've always cycled in swimming trunks and a t-shirt so no expensive cycle gear to stain. I prefer having lights on front and back even during the day but if you only ride during the day, maybe just a decent rear light is enough.

That said, it's worth looking into decent tires to try to avoid punctures. There are a bunch of options and all seem a little expensive but you can order online for less and going from regular flats to rare flats is wonderful. Even with good tires, you have to be careful. I was a bit inattentive today and hit some car part junk and had a pinch flat (even with my good tires -- they can't do much for a pinch flat). Patching a tire is a bit of a drag.

edit: I reread your post. Mud guards definitely make sense in your location.

Eureka
Posts: 340
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:03 am

Re: Thinking of getting a bike; tips?

Post by Eureka »

So you consider a 10-minute bike ride good exercise? I don't.

Bicycling can be very convenient as a means of transportation and a great substitute for sitting in a car, but your movements are repetitive and there is no weight bearing involved so you will still have to take care of getting proper movement done at a different time. Whereas the time you spend walking counts towards taking good care of yourself and maintaining a strong and healthy body. Thus, you may see it as a gift that you can get one hour of walking for 'free' every day.

http://katysays.libsyn.com/episode-33-cycling

JamesR
Posts: 947
Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2013 9:08 pm

Re: Thinking of getting a bike; tips?

Post by JamesR »

If you're biking in the city, you pretty much want a bike with narrow wheels, so avoid the huge mountain bike wheels with all that grippy bits, that stuff slows you way down.

Also "2 miles to mass transit to seattle", maybe you should just skip paying for that transit and bike all the way to seattle. For that you'd probably want a proper road bike with dropdown bars. The more gears you have the easier it is to deal with the transition between hills, flats, downhills, and get maximum speed.

SimpleLife
Posts: 771
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:23 pm

Re: Thinking of getting a bike; tips?

Post by SimpleLife »

JamesR wrote:If you're biking in the city, you pretty much want a bike with narrow wheels, so avoid the huge mountain bike wheels with all that grippy bits, that stuff slows you way down.

Also "2 miles to mass transit to seattle", maybe you should just skip paying for that transit and bike all the way to seattle. For that you'd probably want a proper road bike with dropdown bars. The more gears you have the easier it is to deal with the transition between hills, flats, downhills, and get maximum speed.

It would take me 3-4 hours to bike to Seattle and another 3-4 to bike back. The train station TO Seattle may be a short bike ride away but Seattle is not, that's why I would bike to the train station....

mfi
Posts: 93
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 10:27 pm

Re: Thinking of getting a bike; tips?

Post by mfi »

If you are planning to take your bike on the train, one of these folding commuter hybrids might work well for you. I bought one 3 months ago and I use it for my 6-mile round-trip daily commute and on weekends. I'm 5-8, 170lbs and it fits OK. No maintenance/performance issues so far after 1,500 miles. I like that it has 26-inch tires, it's versatile and I can fold it and stick it in the trunk of my car. I live in SoCal so rain is not an issue....

http://flash.newegg.com/Product/9SIA05V ... lsrc=aw.ds

BlueNote
Posts: 501
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 6:26 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: Thinking of getting a bike; tips?

Post by BlueNote »

Get a bike that nobody would want to steal relative to the other bikes locked to the bike rack.

See what you can get for free from free cycle in your area, my area is full of tight fisted Canadians so there was nothing but it doesn't hurt to try.

Next try used dealers (craigslist etc.) and see what's for sale. If you don't like the purchase you can always sell back to the market and get your money back unlike a new bike which will sell for used prices.

You'll definitely want fenders or mud flaps for that rainy Seattle weather.


Toska2
Posts: 420
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2015 8:51 pm

Re: Thinking of getting a bike; tips?

Post by Toska2 »

My opinion (for under 5 miles each way) is a mountain bike with smoother tires than an outright road bike. The wider tires provide a more comfortable ride if sidewalks or pea gravel trails are encountered.

Then again, we are talking about bikes cheaper than tires...

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