Advice needed on buying a bike

[Dough Man]

I currently have a cheap, busted up Huffy that I ride around my neighborhood. I want to get a little
more serious about biking, but I'm not sure if I want to go off-road or wanting to stay on road.
What would be a descent bike for both? I'd like to stay under $500 and then see if I get into it
more. I'm imagining that there might be a lot of these types of bikes for sale used, from people
like me who bought them and are now wanting to upgrade. Is this true and is it worth getting a
second hand bike?

In short, my questions are what is a good bike for both on and off-road, and is it generally worth
buying a used one?

Thanks, Doug H.

 

[Matt Gaffney]

If you're not sure if you want a mountain bike or a road bike, stick with a mountain bike. You can
always ride a mountain bike on the road, but you can't do the opposite! It sounds like any newer
bike would be a good upgrade for you, so I'd recommend a used bike down around the $100-$200 range.
Once you see if you're going to stick with it, you'll know a little more about what features would
be important to you. If you don't stick with it, you can probably sell the bike close to what you
paid for it.

Dough Man <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I currently have a cheap, busted up Huffy that I ride around my neighborhood. I want to get a
> little more serious about biking, but I'm not sure if I want to go off-road or wanting to stay on
> road. What would be a descent bike for both? I'd like to stay under $500 and then see if I get
> into it more. I'm imagining that there might be a lot of these types of bikes for sale used, from
> people like me who bought them and are now wanting to upgrade. Is this true and is it worth
> getting a second hand bike?
>
> In short, my questions are what is a good bike for both on and off-road, and is it generally worth
> buying a used one?
>
> Thanks, Doug H.

 

[Jon Isaacs]

>In short, my questions are what is a good bike for both on and off-road, and is it generally worth
>buying a used one?
>
>Thanks, Doug H.

In my experience, a mountain can do a decent job both on and off road, a road bike is best use
on the road.

Buying a bike used can be a good way to save money if you know how to evaluate a bicycle and if you
are reasonably handy with tools. It is also a good way to get taken if you are not aware of what
could be wrong.

Over the years I have bought many used bikes and gone over them and put them on the road. I have
written a few pages discussing some of the things I have learned about evaluating and purchasing
used bicycles, I can Email them to you if you are interested.

jon isaacs

 

[Dough Man]

That would be great. I am definitley interested in reading what you have learned. My e-mail is
[email protected].

Thanks!

Jon Isaacs <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> >
> >In short, my questions are what is a good bike for both on and off-road, and is it generally
> >worth buying a used one?
> >
> >Thanks, Doug H.
>
> In my experience, a mountain can do a decent job both on and off road, a
road
> bike is best use on the road.
>
> Buying a bike used can be a good way to save money if you know how to
evaluate
> a bicycle and if you are reasonably handy with tools. It is also a good
way to
> get taken if you are not aware of what could be wrong.
>
> Over the years I have bought many used bikes and gone over them and put
them on
> the road. I have written a few pages discussing some of the things I have learned about evaluating
> and purchasing used bicycles, I can Email them to
you
> if you are interested.
>
> jon isaacs

 

[Bernie]

Dough Man wrote:

> That would be great. I am definitley interested in reading what you have learned. My e-mail is
> [email protected].
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jon Isaacs <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > >
> > >In short, my questions are what is a good bike for both on and off-road, and is it generally
> > >worth buying a used one?
> > >
> > >Thanks, Doug H.
> >
> > In my experience, a mountain can do a decent job both on and off road, a
> road
> > bike is best use on the road.
> >
> > Buying a bike used can be a good way to save money if you know how to
> evaluate
> > a bicycle and if you are reasonably handy with tools. It is also a good
> way to
> > get taken if you are not aware of what could be wrong.
> >
> > Over the years I have bought many used bikes and gone over them and put
> them on
> > the road. I have written a few pages discussing some of the things I have learned about
> > evaluating and purchasing used bicycles, I can Email them to
> you
> > if you are interested.
> >
> > jon isaacs
> >
> >
> >

Hey Jon can you send it to me too? I'm <frugally> shopping for a used road/touring bike. Best
regards, Bernie

 

[Dough Man]

If I get a mountain bike and ride it with my friends that have road bikes, will I be able
to keep up?

"Matt Gaffney" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> If you're not sure if you want a mountain bike or a road bike, stick with a mountain bike. You can
> always ride a mountain bike on the road, but you can't do the opposite! It sounds like any newer
> bike would be a good upgrade for you, so I'd recommend a used bike down around the $100-$200
> range. Once you see if you're going to stick with it, you'll know a little more about what
> features would be important to you. If you don't stick with it, you can probably sell the bike
> close to what you paid for it.
>
> Dough Man <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I currently have a cheap, busted up Huffy that I ride around my neighborhood. I want to get a
> > little more serious about biking, but I'm not sure if I want to go off-road or wanting to stay
> > on road. What would be a descent bike for both? I'd like to stay under $500 and then see if I
> > get into it more. I'm imagining that there might be a lot of these types of bikes for sale used,
> > from people like me who bought them and are now wanting to upgrade. Is this true and is it worth
> > getting a second hand bike?
> >
> > In short, my questions are what is a good bike for both on and off-road, and is it generally
> > worth buying a used one?
> >
> > Thanks, Doug H.

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Dough
Man) wrote:

> If I get a mountain bike and ride it with my friends that have road bikes, will I be able to
> keep up?

Maybe. It depends on two things: how strong a rider you are, and whether you have put slicks on your
bike. The latter is probably more important.

With some decent slick tires inflated to a decent pressure on your MTB, you've made up most of the
difference between road and mountain bikes on the road. The rest comes down to lesser but important
aerodynamic and weight advantages for the road bike. At that point it's more a question of "I don't
know; can _you_ keep up with your friends that have road bikes?"

If you expect to switch between on and off-road a lot, consider buying a second set of rims, which
will allow you to make the change in about a minute.

> "Matt Gaffney" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > If you're not sure if you want a mountain bike or a road bike, stick with a mountain bike.

> > Dough Man <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...

> > > In short, my questions are what is a good bike for both on and off-road, and is it generally
> > > worth buying a used one?

If I were in your shoes, I would look for a good-quality used mountain bike. If you're willing to
settle for a rigid-fork MTB that's all passe now, you can get an excellent do-everything bike for
$100, and I'm talking you'll probably end up with something nice like a Gary Fisher or other name
brand bike.

What such a bike will be able to teach you is which (if either) you prefer. At some point in the
next few months you'll probably find that this rigid MTB is limiting your performance both on and
off road, but by then you'll know what you want to do, and you will be ready to buy a nicer mountain
bike and a nicer road bike, and you'll know what to look for, because you're going to keep hanging
around here.

You'll probably get one of each, because that's what every other bike nut does eventually, then they
get the third bike, and that's when the madness really starts.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

 

[Rich Clark]

"Dough Man" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> If I get a mountain bike and ride it with my friends that have road bikes, will I be able to
> keep up?

Do you know that you would be able to keep up with them anyway? If the answer is yes, then put road
tires on the MTB and unless your friends are competetive cyclists you'll probably be OK. You will
have to work a little harder than they do, mostly due to your increased wind resistance from the
more upright seating position. Bike weight is not as important as some people think, at least not
for amateur/recreational riders.

RichC

 

[Dough Man]

Do you think it would be easier to sell a beginner's mountain bike if I went with it and later
decided to get a road bike over going with a beginner's road bike and later deciding to sell it
to get a MB?

"Rich Clark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Dough Man" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > If I get a mountain bike and ride it with my friends that have road bikes, will I be able to
> > keep up?
>
> Do you know that you would be able to keep up with them anyway? If the answer is yes, then put
> road tires on the MTB and unless your friends are competetive cyclists you'll probably be OK. You
> will have to work a little harder than they do, mostly due to your increased wind resistance from
> the more upright seating position. Bike weight is not as important as some people think, at least
> not for amateur/recreational riders.
>
> RichC
>
>

 

[Dough Man]

You're right, I don't think I'd be able to keep up with them even with a bike of their caliber.

"Rich Clark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Dough Man" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > If I get a mountain bike and ride it with my friends that have road bikes, will I be able to
> > keep up?
>
> Do you know that you would be able to keep up with them anyway? If the answer is yes, then put
> road tires on the MTB and unless your friends are competetive cyclists you'll probably be OK. You
> will have to work a little harder than they do, mostly due to your increased wind resistance from
> the more upright seating position. Bike weight is not as important as some people think, at least
> not for amateur/recreational riders.
>
> RichC
>
>

 

[Rich Clark]

"Dough Man" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Do you think it would be easier to sell a beginner's mountain bike if I
went
> with it and later decided to get a road bike over going with a beginner's road bike and later
> deciding to sell it to get a MB?

You can always sell a brand-name bike in good condition. Selling used mass-market bikes (Huffy,
Pacific, et al) is less certain, because of the likelihood of their being broken in some unfixable
way even when they're nearly new. Since there aren't any road bikes in this category any more, it's
not an issue.

But anyone who's riding a lot should have two bikes anyway. So that's another argument in favor of
buying a quality bike from the get-go. It can be sold if you need to sell it, but it will last for
years as a backup/beater bike.

RichC