[Start back story here - skip if you don't want to read it]
Hello everyone. I am brand new to posting. I have read a few posts on here over the past 6 months. I have just recently started cycling at all. Of course I have biked when I was younger but only lately have I really gotten into it.
It started because I have started working out and trying to get into shape and when I took a buddies road bike for a spin I was amazed at how easy and smooth the ride was (this was a 70's Schwinn). Immediately I started looking for a bike of my own at a decent price. In the mean time I started mountain biking to sate my desire for biking.
About 2 months ago I acquired a 70's era Schwinn road bike and started fixing it up. I am very limited on funds (3rd year in college) so I have been trying to do it as cheap as possible. I put new pads and tires on from fleet. I recabled everything with walmart supplies. I pulled it apart and replaced a few bearings and cleaned and repacked the rest. I tried truing the wheels with little success. I spent about 30 hours sanding it to repaint it (invest in a sandblaster guys - it is worth it). Anyway, I transferred a few weeks ago and it has been treating me okay. The chain has a lot of slack, especially on the smaller cogs. The chain also skips (part is from the slack I think and much is from the worn cogs and chain I think). The freewheel is kind of sticky. The brake pads are almost worn off already and I am starting to lose my stopping ability which is what brought me to where I am right now. I have a mountain bike to ride while I get this bike fixed but I need to do something.
[End back story]
Here is where you guys come in. I really want to pick up a cheap road bike and want some advice on where I should go. I am in Madison, WI and am always on the lookout for a solid used one at a good price but haven't seen anything yet. I have looked at Walmart at two models:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4698938
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3663046
I also looked at this model on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/2007-NEW-ROAD-RACING-BIKE-SHIMANO-X-SMALL-w-Warranty_W0QQitemZ150161005727QQihZ005QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Now I know you guys are going to tell me it isn’t worth it to spend that money on a crappy bike and I will agree. But right now I simply do not have the money so it is crappy or nothing. Can you recommend any of those models as being better than the others?
Also, would I be better to spend money on fixing the old Schwinn. It’s just that the frame is steel and everything is old and crappy and I’m not sure it would be worth fixing it up. It would cost me at least 100-150 to get everything in working condition. And after that I would still be wanting to put on new wheel frames and even after all of that I would still be riding around a shoddily painted hunk of rusting steel.
Sorry this post is so long and thanks in advance for the feed back – if you have any questions go ahead and ask and I’ll try to respond ASAP. Thanks a lot!
Hello everyone. I am brand new to posting. I have read a few posts on here over the past 6 months. I have just recently started cycling at all. Of course I have biked when I was younger but only lately have I really gotten into it.
It started because I have started working out and trying to get into shape and when I took a buddies road bike for a spin I was amazed at how easy and smooth the ride was (this was a 70's Schwinn). Immediately I started looking for a bike of my own at a decent price. In the mean time I started mountain biking to sate my desire for biking.
About 2 months ago I acquired a 70's era Schwinn road bike and started fixing it up. I am very limited on funds (3rd year in college) so I have been trying to do it as cheap as possible. I put new pads and tires on from fleet. I recabled everything with walmart supplies. I pulled it apart and replaced a few bearings and cleaned and repacked the rest. I tried truing the wheels with little success. I spent about 30 hours sanding it to repaint it (invest in a sandblaster guys - it is worth it). Anyway, I transferred a few weeks ago and it has been treating me okay. The chain has a lot of slack, especially on the smaller cogs. The chain also skips (part is from the slack I think and much is from the worn cogs and chain I think). The freewheel is kind of sticky. The brake pads are almost worn off already and I am starting to lose my stopping ability which is what brought me to where I am right now. I have a mountain bike to ride while I get this bike fixed but I need to do something.
[End back story]
Here is where you guys come in. I really want to pick up a cheap road bike and want some advice on where I should go. I am in Madison, WI and am always on the lookout for a solid used one at a good price but haven't seen anything yet. I have looked at Walmart at two models:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4698938
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3663046
I also looked at this model on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/2007-NEW-ROAD-RACING-BIKE-SHIMANO-X-SMALL-w-Warranty_W0QQitemZ150161005727QQihZ005QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Now I know you guys are going to tell me it isn’t worth it to spend that money on a crappy bike and I will agree. But right now I simply do not have the money so it is crappy or nothing. Can you recommend any of those models as being better than the others?
Also, would I be better to spend money on fixing the old Schwinn. It’s just that the frame is steel and everything is old and crappy and I’m not sure it would be worth fixing it up. It would cost me at least 100-150 to get everything in working condition. And after that I would still be wanting to put on new wheel frames and even after all of that I would still be riding around a shoddily painted hunk of rusting steel.
Sorry this post is so long and thanks in advance for the feed back – if you have any questions go ahead and ask and I’ll try to respond ASAP. Thanks a lot!