What bike to get?

bakemaster
Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:23:16 +0000

littlecollegegrl":

I’d like to know:


Which bikes last the longest?
Which bikes run fairly cheap
The difference between fixies, road bikes, hybrids, comforts, cruisers, etc.
Oh and I’d also like to put a basket on a bike so what bikes are compatible with that?

The main factors in how long your bike lasts are the quality of the bike itself, how hard you ride, and how well you care for the bike. As far as the quality of the bike itself, if you buy your bicycle from a bike shop with a good reputation you should be all set. Avoid buying bicycles at the mall, in department stores, at Wal-Mart, etc. if you want them to last longer than the warranty period. How hard you ride has to do with the speed, whether you hop up onto curbs or down off of curbs, the weather you ride in, etc. How well you care for the bike could mean tuning it up yourself or bringing it into the shop regularly for your 30-day tune (which means 30 riding days, not 30 days of your bike sitting in the garage). Most likely some middle ground.


Define “cheap”. The first new bike I bought with my own money was a hybrid made by Trek. I think it was in the 7000 series, maybe a 7200, and I bought it at a very good local bike shop for about $280, plus the cost of accessories (lock, lights, helmet, bottle cage). This is definitely an affordable bike, and if you’re serious about bikes, it qualifies as cheap. If you know nothing about bikes you might say hey, but I can get this other bike at Sears for only $180, that’s a cheap bike! Yes, it’s cheap, but the difference in quality is well worth the extra money if you’ll be using this bike for the next 4 years. If you want a decent quality bike at a Wal-Mart price, look for a lightly used bike on Craigslist. The rules for buying a bike on Craigslist are: always test ride before you buy; don’t spend any money you wouldn’t be comfortable throwing away entirely if there is ANYTHING not functioning on the bike, because if the seller was riding a broken bike it may have been damaged even further or be just waiting to break down; make sure you know how to tell whether a bike is the right size for you (use Google); and look for sellers who give a good vibe. In this case a good vibe means not just a friendly person who doesn’t seem like they’re cheating you, it also means a person who looks as though they know something about bikes and have taken good care of this one.

Fixies are for hipsters with health insurance. You need special shoes to ride one and you will get injured while you’re learning to handle yourself, because your shoes are physically fastened to the pedals and coasting is impossible (hence “fixed” gear; the wheels and pedals always move together—even in reverse!). No-one should ever buy a fixed-gear bike unless they know exactly what they’re getting into. Cruisers, as you’ve heard, are heavy and almost always single-speed (though not fixed, so you can coast) which is what makes them “slow”—they are best for leisure riding and short commutes in flat areas. They often have baskets but some are incompatible with rear racks or panniers, which limits storage capacity. Mountain bikes are popular and thus tend to be a bit less expensive, but it’s just silly to ride a mountain bike for campus commuting. Hybrids have some of the durability and more aggressive tread of mountain bikes, but are made for urban and light trail riding; basically a compromise between road and mountain bikes. Many manufacturers are selling “street” bikes as well, or some other type of bike using their own terminology, which are still hybrids but closer to a road bike than to a mountain bike. Think of these as road bikes with straight handlebars and more traction; they may stay upright when riding over gravelly roads where a road bike would not. Finally, road bikes are made for going fast on good surfaces. They are the closest to true racing bikes, the lightest category, and if you put skinny racing tires on they’ll be very zippy but low traction; pretty risky for a novice riding through areas with other bike or auto traffic.

You can put a basket on most bikes. There are different ways the basket can be attached, and not all bikes will work with all baskets, but you should be able to find something that works without too much trouble. Many bikes also can accept front and/or rear racks.

I would recommend a hybrid bicycle to start with. They are popular with casual riders, students and short commuters, so there are many inexpensive models around like the Trek I mentioned earlier. After riding a hybrid for a while you may decide you want something a little zippier or that you want something a little more aggressive, and you can upgrade with the benefit of experience and make a more informed decision about what you want. Keep in mind that “hybrid” means anything in-between a strict mountain bike or road bike, so if you shop around and look in different brands in different stores you will find a range of places to start. Remember also that you will have to add the price of accessories, so figure on $100-150 additional for helmet, lights and lock (you are legally required to have lights equipped and in-use if you ride at night in Davis). A further $10 gets you your bike license (also legally required), good for three years. Buy a U-lock! I own a pair of bolt cutters from Home Depot that I guarantee can easily cut ANY chain or cable lock you can buy. Chain or cable locks are only good for locking your tires when you’ve already locked your frame with a U-lock, or keeping drunk people from grabbing an unlocked bike.

There are a whole bunch of bike shops in the middle of Davis so it should be easy to look around and get a whole bunch of opinions from the employees. You will get a feel for who knows their stuff and who is just a salesperson. I bought a new helmet a couple weeks ago from Freewheeler on 2nd Street, much better venting than my old helmet and well worth the $65 since I’m planning to commute 20 miles to campus from my house in Sacramento. On the topic of helmets, if you ever do take a spill and hit your head at all seriously while wearing a helmet, you must replace the helmet. They are only good for one impact. A good rule of thumb, if the helmet doesn’t appear cracked, is that if the impact was hard enough that you would have had stitches or a concussion without the helmet, you should get a new helmet. Better safe than sorry.

Speaking of sorry, I apologize for how long this got while I was rambling on. Good luck with your purchase, and let us know if you have a particularly good or bad experience with any bike shop(s) in Davis!