New Bike Purchase - Request Assistance - 15 yrs. Old

[Walter Cronkite]

I looked over the posts for the last few days so I hope that I am
doing this right. I checked the bike shops near me and not a one
offers a bike for under $225. I have asked friends to grandparents and
my absolute ceiling is $150 give or take only a few dollars. I can not
finance at this time so I need to purchase from the lcoal retailers.
The bike will be used only for street but I do not care if the bike's
purpose is mountain/ or street. If anyone can offer advice regarding
the models I have listed below it would be appreciated such as "not
this one" or "give this one a try" that would be great.

K-Mart

Honda Trail Pilot $100
Huffy Stone MT. II $80
Huffy Arlington $90

Target

Great Divide Magna $70
Huffy Falcon $99
Eddie Bauer EBS $159
Schwinn Ranger $126
Glacier Point Magna $54
Vertical PK7 $119
Magna Excitor $69

Walmart

Mongoose DXR $100
MT Fury RoadMaster $54
Roas Master MT. Sport $65
Schwinn Sidewinder $100
Schwinn Aluminum Comp $154

[Dan Brussee]

In article >, newbike101
@yahoo.com says...
> I looked over the posts for the last few days so I hope that I am
> doing this right. I checked the bike shops near me and not a one
> offers a bike for under $225. I have asked friends to grandparents and
> my absolute ceiling is $150 give or take only a few dollars. I can not
> finance at this time so I need to purchase from the lcoal retailers.
> The bike will be used only for street but I do not care if the bike's
> purpose is mountain/ or street. If anyone can offer advice regarding
> the models I have listed below it would be appreciated such as "not
> this one" or "give this one a try" that would be great.
>

Assuming you want to get a decent bike for your money, I would say that
none of the bikes you mention are going to be what you want. I would
suggest you look at eBay for an alternative. You can almost always find
a Trek 800 or similar quality bike for around $100 or less (remember to
add the cost of shipping).

If you cant get a payPal account, have a family member set one up for
you, or give them your cash and have them put it on their credit card.
All in all, eBay is often a good deal if you know what to look for. Stay
with a name brand (Trek, Specialized, etc) and you should be fine.

Oh, one more thought. I know around here (Raleigh, NC) there is a chain
of stores called Play it Again Sports that sometimes have used mountain
bikes for sale. At least you can look them over before laying down your
cash. No warantee, but I have seen bikes of the kind mentioned above for
well under 100... often less than 50.

Good luck,
Dan


--

Remove NOT from email address to reply. AntiSpam in action.

[Zoot Katz]

9 Aug 2003 14:33:37 -0700,
>,
(Walter Cronkite) wrote:

>I looked over the posts for the last few days so I hope that I am
>doing this right. I checked the bike shops near me and not a one
>offers a bike for under $225. I have asked friends to grandparents and
>my absolute ceiling is $150 give or take only a few dollars. I can not
>finance at this time so I need to purchase from the lcoal retailers.
>The bike will be used only for street but I do not care if the bike's
>purpose is mountain/ or street. If anyone can offer advice regarding
>the models I have listed below it would be appreciated such as "not
>this one" or "give this one a try" that would be great.

If at all possible, I'd look locally for a used bike. Otherwise the
main problem with *mart bikes is the assembly and preparation. The
*mart bike that fits and is the best suited for your riding could be
gone over by an experienced bicycle mechanic and made into a
servicable mount. The wheels are most crucial. Machine built wheels
need to be properly tensioned and stress relieved.

No steel rims or stamped steel brakes for safety's sake.

At that price point I'd avoid any bike with suspension components.
They're merely decorative and could be dangerous.

Good luck. Cycling is the greatest way to get around.
--
zk

[NS>]

I agree with the other 2 posters. You can get more than twice the bike
by choosing slightly used than new everytime. That is unless you have
the money to spend.


NS>

[Rick Onanian]

On 9 Aug 2003 14:33:37 -0700, Walter Cronkite > wrote:
> purpose is mountain/ or street. If anyone can offer advice regarding
> the models I have listed below it would be appreciated such as "not
> this one" or "give this one a try" that would be great.

It's unfortunate that you must get one of the bikes listed
below. For pavement use, at least get yourself a pair of
slicks to replace the knobbies you will find on all of
them.

That said, while I can't comment on individual models, I
can comment on brands.

Brands that you should most likely not bother with:
Huffy, Magna, Roadmaster

Brands that are most likely made by the above manufacturers:
Honda, Eddie Bauer, Vertical

Brands that may be worth a second look:
Schwinn, Mongoose

You should look at the components on the bikes, and feel
the weight of the bikes. You should also look online to
learn about fitting the bike, as proper fit will make all
the difference. There's more to it than just if your
crotch clears the top tube.

For components, you will probably find all these bikes
to have mainly Shimano components, but Shimano makes a
wide range from garbage to very good.

I personally don't like grip shift systems; I like
indexed thumb shifting, whereby you push a small lever
until it clicks, resulting in a shift, and the lever
springs back to it's original position for your next
shift.

Anyway, look at the parts and write down which model
they are; for example, the rear derailleur is important
to get a good one, and you might find Shimano Altus, or
Shimano Acera, on these bikes. Look at Shimano's web
site, and you will see the whole lineup; try to avoid
bikes equipped with less than Acera; Altus and lower
tend to be heavy, fragile, and don't work so well (my
Altus rear derailleur broke when I least expected it!).
--
Rick Onanian

[Peter]

Dan Brussee wrote:

> In article >, newbike101
> @yahoo.com says...
>
>>I looked over the posts for the last few days so I hope that I am
>>doing this right. I checked the bike shops near me and not a one
>>offers a bike for under $225. I have asked friends to grandparents and
>>my absolute ceiling is $150 give or take only a few dollars. I can not
>>finance at this time so I need to purchase from the lcoal retailers.
>>The bike will be used only for street but I do not care if the bike's
>>purpose is mountain/ or street. If anyone can offer advice regarding
>>the models I have listed below it would be appreciated such as "not
>>this one" or "give this one a try" that would be great.
>>
>
>
> Assuming you want to get a decent bike for your money, I would say that
> none of the bikes you mention are going to be what you want. I would
> suggest you look at eBay for an alternative. You can almost always find
> a Trek 800 or similar quality bike for around $100 or less (remember to
> add the cost of shipping). ...
> Oh, one more thought. I know around here (Raleigh, NC) there is a chain
> of stores called Play it Again Sports that sometimes have used mountain
> bikes for sale. At least you can look them over before laying down your
> cash. No warantee, but I have seen bikes of the kind mentioned above for
> well under 100... often less than 50.

I agree with the idea to look for a better-quality used bike rather than a
poor-quality new one. A few more places to look:
1) Check with local bike clubs to see if there are any 'Swap Meets' of
other sales of used bikes in your area. Our club sponsors one annually and
it's where I bought my current bike at a fraction of the cost of a new one.
2) Read descriptions for yard/garage/classified sales in your area to see
if any list bicycles for sale.
3) In many places the police periodically sell off bicycles that they've
found - some are abandoned, some are stolen but where the owners are
unknown. If there's a college nearby check with their security department
- lots of students leave behind perfectly good bikes when they graduate.

Although bikes bought at these sources may need some repairs, you can
generally try them out, make sure they fit you properly and see in what
condition they are before deciding on a purchase. If possible bring along
a friend who knows something about bike maintenance - most problems can be
fixed simply, but some (like frame damage or misalignment) should be avoided.

[Fraggle]

Kevan Smith /\/\> wrote in
:

> On 9 Aug 2003 14:33:37 -0700, (Walter Cronkite)
> from http://groups.google.com/ wrote:
>
>>I have asked friends to grandparents and
>>my absolute ceiling is $150 give or take only a few dollars. I can not
>>finance at this time so I need to purchase from the lcoal retailers.
>>The bike will be used only for street but I do not care if the bike's
>>purpose is mountain/ or street.
>
> You would still probably get a better bike used at an LBS.
>
fyi LBS means "Local Bike Shop".
LBS can be a bit daunting, especially when you see in the cabinet some
shiny widget of uncertain use that costs more than your budget for a
whole bike!

HOWEVER if you explain what you are looking for they are often a good
source of info, many will have 2nd hand bikes for sale as well. Or at
least a notice board where other people are selling.

I second the idea of not getting a new bike, If you can find someone
(either at LBS, or in a local cycling club) to look over a bike then you
can be sure you are not getting a crappy one.

I would say that any 2nd hand named manufacturer bike would be better
than the list you gave before.

Fragg

[Chris]

"Walter Cronkite" > wrote in message
om...
> I looked over the posts for the last few days so I hope that I am
> doing this right. I checked the bike shops near me and not a one
> offers a bike for under $225. I have asked friends to grandparents and
> my absolute ceiling is $150 give or take only a few dollars. I can not
> finance at this time so I need to purchase from the lcoal retailers.
> The bike will be used only for street but I do not care if the bike's
> purpose is mountain/ or street. If anyone can offer advice regarding
> the models I have listed below it would be appreciated such as "not
> this one" or "give this one a try" that would be great.

There are bicycles, and there are bicycle-shaped toys. Bikes at K-mart,
Wal*Mart, Target, and toy stores are not modes of transportation and, almost
universally, are poorly assembled from already inferior components.

Go back to all your local bike shops and look at hybrids...they claim to toe
the line between road and street, but in reality, are just plain comfortable
means of biking around. See if there are any Marin dealers near you - they
make great bikes that are an excellent value, even at around $200. Also,
any decent bike shop gives a period - often lifetime - of free adjustments,
something no -Mart will. Note this does not include repair, but brake and
drivetrain adjustment, headset manipulation, etc.

Convince your parents it's worth the extra $50 - because you plan on riding
it. Buy a -Mart bike and hate it; buy a real bike and ride it.

Chris

[David Kerber]

In article >,
says...
> In article >, newbike101
> @yahoo.com says...
> > I looked over the posts for the last few days so I hope that I am
> > doing this right. I checked the bike shops near me and not a one
> > offers a bike for under $225. I have asked friends to grandparents and
> > my absolute ceiling is $150 give or take only a few dollars. I can not
> > finance at this time so I need to purchase from the lcoal retailers.
> > The bike will be used only for street but I do not care if the bike's
> > purpose is mountain/ or street. If anyone can offer advice regarding
> > the models I have listed below it would be appreciated such as "not
> > this one" or "give this one a try" that would be great.
> >
>
> Assuming you want to get a decent bike for your money, I would say that
> none of the bikes you mention are going to be what you want. I would
> suggest you look at eBay for an alternative. You can almost always find
> a Trek 800 or similar quality bike for around $100 or less (remember to
> add the cost of shipping).
>
> If you cant get a payPal account, have a family member set one up for
> you, or give them your cash and have them put it on their credit card.
> All in all, eBay is often a good deal if you know what to look for. Stay
> with a name brand (Trek, Specialized, etc) and you should be fine.
>
> Oh, one more thought. I know around here (Raleigh, NC) there is a chain
> of stores called Play it Again Sports that sometimes have used mountain
> bikes for sale. At least you can look them over before laying down your
> cash. No warantee, but I have seen bikes of the kind mentioned above for
> well under 100... often less than 50.

Local bike shops will often have used bikes for $150 or less, which have
been inspected and adjusted by pros.

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

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

[Tim McNamara]

In article >,
(Walter Cronkite) wrote:

> I looked over the posts for the last few days so I hope that I am
> doing this right. I checked the bike shops near me and not a one
> offers a bike for under $225. I have asked friends to grandparents
> and my absolute ceiling is $150 give or take only a few dollars. I
> can not finance at this time so I need to purchase from the lcoal
> retailers.

The simple truth is that a new bike worth riding is going to cost much
more than $150. I'm sorry to say it, but all that's available in that
price range is crap. If you're only going to ride it two blocks to
your buddy's house, that may be adequate. If you live in a high risk
neighborhood where bike theft is prevalent and you have to keep it
outside (e.g., Manhattan), then a crap bike makes sense.

My cheapest bike, a single speed old track bike that I've converted to
road use, cost me about $250 all told. It's a great bike and every
bit as much fun to ride as my $2000 "good" bikes. I bought it used
from a friend to use for track racing, but now it's my commuting bike
because it isn't likely to attract the interest of thieves.

I'll echo what almost every other poster said: look for a used bike.
Bikes do not hold much resale value and are such simple machines that
used bikes are normally every bit as reliable as new bikes, unless
they've been abused.

Time for your financers to step into the 21st century as far as bike
prices go. You may want to look at finding some way to earn money and
to match the $150- that'd give you $300 and a much better chance at
getting a bike that won't be horrible to ride and will last longer
than a year. Plus your demonstration of personal responsibility will
impress them.

If you tell us where you live, we might even be able to make a
specific recommendation. People in this newsgroup are from all over
the place.

Maybe you should print out the entire thread and show it to 'em!

[David Kunz]

Walter Cronkite wrote:

> I looked over the posts for the last few days so I hope that I am
> doing this right. I checked the bike shops near me and not a one
> offers a bike for under $225. I have asked friends to grandparents and
> my absolute ceiling is $150 give or take only a few dollars. I can not
> finance at this time so I need to purchase from the lcoal retailers.
> The bike will be used only for street but I do not care if the bike's
> purpose is mountain/ or street. If anyone can offer advice regarding
> the models I have listed below it would be appreciated such as "not
> this one" or "give this one a try" that would be great.
>
> K-Mart
>
> Honda Trail Pilot $100
> Huffy Stone MT. II $80
> Huffy Arlington $90
>
> Target
>
> Great Divide Magna $70
> Huffy Falcon $99
> Eddie Bauer EBS $159
> Schwinn Ranger $126
> Glacier Point Magna $54
> Vertical PK7 $119
> Magna Excitor $69
>
> Walmart
>
> Mongoose DXR $100
> MT Fury RoadMaster $54
> Roas Master MT. Sport $65
> Schwinn Sidewinder $100
> Schwinn Aluminum Comp $154

My son (a bit older than you) bought himself a $300 Mongoose full susp
from Toy 'r Us. I was out there a couple of weeks ago and that was all
that was available for me to ride -- so I did :) (after giving a good
tune-up). It's not my Cannondale Jekyll, but it's also not *that* bad bike.

One thing -- it may come assembled wrong and adjusted wrong unless
you're very lucky. Go to Sheldon Brown's web site
(http://sheldonbrown.com) and the Park Tools web site
(http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/index.shtml) and read-up on
adjusting deraileurs, levers, and truing wheels. If you need more
depth, get Barnet's Manual (I don't have the link for that one handy --
check Google's news search engine). Go over all of the nuts and bolts
and make sure they're snugged (don't overtighten them either) and make
sure that it shifts correctly (avoiding cross gears).

David

[Raymo853]

since you have such a limited budget try to find a Dick's Sporting goods or
the like around you. The one near me actually assembles the bikes
correctly, unlike the K-Mart, Wal Mart and Target. You should be able to
get a good quality bike at Dick's for $150.


"Walter Cronkite" > wrote in message
om...
> I looked over the posts for the last few days so I hope that I am
> doing this right. I checked the bike shops near me and not a one
> offers a bike for under $225. I have asked friends to grandparents and
> my absolute ceiling is $150 give or take only a few dollars. I can not
> finance at this time so I need to purchase from the lcoal retailers.
> The bike will be used only for street but I do not care if the bike's
> purpose is mountain/ or street. If anyone can offer advice regarding
> the models I have listed below it would be appreciated such as "not
> this one" or "give this one a try" that would be great.
>
> K-Mart
>
> Honda Trail Pilot $100
> Huffy Stone MT. II $80
> Huffy Arlington $90
>
> Target
>
> Great Divide Magna $70
> Huffy Falcon $99
> Eddie Bauer EBS $159
> Schwinn Ranger $126
> Glacier Point Magna $54
> Vertical PK7 $119
> Magna Excitor $69
>
> Walmart
>
> Mongoose DXR $100
> MT Fury RoadMaster $54
> Roas Master MT. Sport $65
> Schwinn Sidewinder $100
> Schwinn Aluminum Comp $154

[Claire Petersky]

(Walter Cronkite) wrote in message >...

Another source for a good used bike for you might be something like
Bike Works, which we have here in Seattle. Check out the URL below:

http://www.scn.org/bikeworks/about.htm

This program gets bikes into the hands of kids (age 9 - 17) who learn
also a bit about bike repair and maintenance. Maybe your community has
a similar program?

Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky )

Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Singing with you at: http://www.tiferet.net/
Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at:
http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky

[Pat]

x-no-archive:yes

> Another source for a good used bike for you might be something like
> Bike Works, which we have here in Seattle. Check out the URL below:
>
> http://www.scn.org/bikeworks/about.htm
>
> This program gets bikes into the hands of kids (age 9 - 17) who learn
> also a bit about bike repair and maintenance. Maybe your community has
> a similar program?
>
> Warm Regards,
>
> Claire Petersky )


Great idea, Claire. Both Dallas and Fort Worth have these type of
organizations--the Dallas one is called Bikes for Folks, I think and the
Fort Worth one is called Bikes for Tykes.

Pat in TX

[ant]

David Kunz > wrote in message news:<I8pZa.2986>

> My son (a bit older than you) bought himself a $300 Mongoose full susp
> from Toy 'r Us. I was out there a couple of weeks ago and that was all
> that was available for me to ride -- so I did :) (after giving a good
> tune-up). It's not my Cannondale Jekyll, but it's also not *that* bad bike.

When i was just getting into bikes, i decided my 80's sport tourer
piece-'o-crap needed a burlier cousin to handle the stairs i was
rolling down and the curbs i was rolling up. i boguht a 120 dollar
Ames mongoose, and spent two years adjusting it. constantly.

i knew it was going to be a POS, but i never really understood how bad
a bicycle could actually be. it was unbelievably bad. my abused 80s
bike, a bike that was given away with TVs or some such, was a better
and more reliable ride than the inferior-everything of the mongoose.

>
> One thing -- it may come assembled wrong and adjusted wrong unless
> you're very lucky. Go to Sheldon Brown's web site
> (http://sheldonbrown.com) and the Park Tools web site
> (http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/index.shtml) and read-up on
> adjusting deraileurs, levers, and truing wheels. If you need more
> depth, get Barnet's Manual (I don't have the link for that one handy --
> check Google's news search engine). Go over all of the nuts and bolts
> and make sure they're snugged (don't overtighten them either) and make
> sure that it shifts correctly (avoiding cross gears).


barnett's manual would be a little overkill, i think. a great manual
for a new biker is the bicycling magazine (jim langley, IIRC)
'complete' manual. its cheap, its comprehensive among the basic
repairs across a range of types of bicycles. It is nicely illustrated,
etc. I cant say i use it anymore, but it was an invaluable reference
when i was bike-naieve, and prevented me from doing silly things like
trying to unscrew left-handed threads the wrong way, stuff like that.
having a broad refernce like this was very helpful to me. even though
i often use the specialized web resources of sheldon and park and so
on, having it all layed out in one book all together made a world of
difference to me when i was starting out.

like every other poster said.. Used! absolutely. i just had to
reaffirm it.

perhaps theyve already been mentioned, but there are a few other
places to look for used bicycles. pawn shops can work, althoguh they
are sketchy at best. college campuses are good, but security staff are
generally not too willing to hook you up because of all the red tape.
yard sales are perfect, although you must make sure you dont make the
insult-upon-injury mistake of buying a used department store bicycle.
best of all, but only for the few and the lucky who have 'em- thrift
stores which get a lot of bicycles. i used to live near three
excellent thrift stores in CT, and for a time i coudl expect to find a
good salvage for 20 bucks. add 40 bucks of bits and pieces to that,
and you have a respectable road machine. add 100 bucks of bits and
pieces, and you have a dependable, perhaps even good looking, ride.

where i live now, there seem to be no thrift stores. people seem to
leave their bikes on the side of the road and they get re-assigned new
homes for free. so keep an eye out. finally- some bike stores see a
lot of old bikes come and go. it seems to be an intuitive thing for
some customers to drop off their old bike at the bike shop when they
no longer want it. ive seen a lot of bikes get thrown away. bike shop
might get you on the right track here.

g'luck,

anthony

[Arpit]

Buying those bikes will give you valuable experience in fixing stuff.

On 9 Aug 2003 14:33:37 -0700, (Walter Cronkite)
wrote:

>I looked over the posts for the last few days so I hope that I am
>doing this right. I checked the bike shops near me and not a one
>offers a bike for under $225. I have asked friends to grandparents and
>my absolute ceiling is $150 give or take only a few dollars. I can not
>finance at this time so I need to purchase from the lcoal retailers.
>The bike will be used only for street but I do not care if the bike's
>purpose is mountain/ or street. If anyone can offer advice regarding
>the models I have listed below it would be appreciated such as "not
>this one" or "give this one a try" that would be great.
>
>K-Mart
>
>Honda Trail Pilot $100
>Huffy Stone MT. II $80
>Huffy Arlington $90
>
>Target
>
>Great Divide Magna $70
>Huffy Falcon $99
>Eddie Bauer EBS $159
>Schwinn Ranger $126
>Glacier Point Magna $54
>Vertical PK7 $119
>Magna Excitor $69
>
>Walmart
>
>Mongoose DXR $100
>MT Fury RoadMaster $54
>Roas Master MT. Sport $65
>Schwinn Sidewinder $100
>Schwinn Aluminum Comp $154

[SDC]

"Walter Cronkite" > wrote in message
om...>

Cool name for a 15 year old

[Mr. E. Mann]

"SDC" > wrote in
:

> "Walter Cronkite" > wrote in message
> om...>
>
> Cool name for a 15 year old
>
>
>

I think he meant 150???