So, it's been a couple years since I've ridden, pretty much since I started college, and I'm finding myself with time and a need to get some more exercise and to get away from things now. Back when I started riding, I made the mistake of buying a GMC Denali bike for just under $300 (if I remember right), mostly because I couldn't afford anything else.
I was decently satisfied with it until tonight, when I pulled it out of storage and began to clean and tune it up. It had some of the expected problems of a bike that hasn't been touched in a while, a slow leak in the back tire, and sticky bearings in the front wheel (which actually fixed itself when I went to pull the hub apart). When I was on the last step of working on the bike itself (leaving that leaky tire to last), I was just putting the finishing touches on the front brake when the rod that holds the brake assembly to the fork sheared in two (apparently caused by over-torquing by hand with a wrench which I wasn't even turning very hard). My only option was essentially to pull the entire front brake assembly off, so now I have no front brakes, and I'm afraid that with the obviously substandard parts used in the bike, that that's only the first of many problems to come.
Even though I can ride a bike without front brakes, it's certainly not ideal, and I don't want to sink too much money into fixing a bike of this caliber. I'm also really frustrated right now, so I wouldn't mind replacing it with something a little more fitting. I've started looking for a new (or used) bike, but I have no idea what I should be looking for for a good entry-level bike that will last me a good while (basically has to last me at least a year or two after graduation so I can get a good job and save up some money). To give you an idea, I'm an almost-broke college student, 19 years old, 5'11.5", 220 lbs (knowing my body though, that'll come down real quick once I start riding again; I used to be a cross-country runner at 154 lbs, and I'm working my way back there), and I'll probably be riding anywhere between 75 and a few hundred miles a week. I'm not terribly interested in racing right now, but I'd like to keep my options open. I'm the kind of person who once I find something I love doing (like cycling), I'm pretty much committed to it for life, even if I take a break from it for a while, so I don't mind a longer-term investment if I can find a way to pay for it (I don't know if it's normal for college students to finance a good bike like they would a car, or if you have any other ideas or suggestions).
Any advice you can give me either on finding a new bike or even on my current situation would be really helpful.
I was decently satisfied with it until tonight, when I pulled it out of storage and began to clean and tune it up. It had some of the expected problems of a bike that hasn't been touched in a while, a slow leak in the back tire, and sticky bearings in the front wheel (which actually fixed itself when I went to pull the hub apart). When I was on the last step of working on the bike itself (leaving that leaky tire to last), I was just putting the finishing touches on the front brake when the rod that holds the brake assembly to the fork sheared in two (apparently caused by over-torquing by hand with a wrench which I wasn't even turning very hard). My only option was essentially to pull the entire front brake assembly off, so now I have no front brakes, and I'm afraid that with the obviously substandard parts used in the bike, that that's only the first of many problems to come.
Even though I can ride a bike without front brakes, it's certainly not ideal, and I don't want to sink too much money into fixing a bike of this caliber. I'm also really frustrated right now, so I wouldn't mind replacing it with something a little more fitting. I've started looking for a new (or used) bike, but I have no idea what I should be looking for for a good entry-level bike that will last me a good while (basically has to last me at least a year or two after graduation so I can get a good job and save up some money). To give you an idea, I'm an almost-broke college student, 19 years old, 5'11.5", 220 lbs (knowing my body though, that'll come down real quick once I start riding again; I used to be a cross-country runner at 154 lbs, and I'm working my way back there), and I'll probably be riding anywhere between 75 and a few hundred miles a week. I'm not terribly interested in racing right now, but I'd like to keep my options open. I'm the kind of person who once I find something I love doing (like cycling), I'm pretty much committed to it for life, even if I take a break from it for a while, so I don't mind a longer-term investment if I can find a way to pay for it (I don't know if it's normal for college students to finance a good bike like they would a car, or if you have any other ideas or suggestions).
Any advice you can give me either on finding a new bike or even on my current situation would be really helpful.