need bike purchase advice...

[Benjamin Snyder]

Hi,

I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a 10 minute bike ride). I
didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my older sister's childhood bike - it's a Panasonic
women's road bike, color pink - from the 80's. Anyway, I've just about ridden it to death by now and
I'm in the market for a bike.

Does this sound like a good deal:

"" Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike. 64 cm, 21 gears, good condition. $150.00 ""

I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my purposes. For now I only use
the bike for getting around the city, but eventually I'd like to branch out and go on short country
day rides.

My price range is pretty narrow... I just graduated from college, have huge student loans and work
in a research lab.

Anyway, all advice is greatly appreciated!

Ben

 

[David Kerber]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> Hi,
>
> I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a 10 minute bike ride). I
> didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my older sister's childhood bike - it's a Panasonic
> women's road bike, color pink - from the 80's. Anyway, I've just about ridden it to death by now
> and I'm in the market for a bike.
>
> Does this sound like a good deal:
>
> "" Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike. 64 cm, 21 gears, good condition. $150.00 ""

Are you real tall? 64cm is a big bike.

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

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

[Matthew]

"Benjamin Snyder" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a
10 minute
> bike ride). I didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my older
sister's childhood
> bike - it's a Panasonic women's road bike, color pink - from the 80's.
Anyway,
> I've just about ridden it to death by now and I'm in the market for a
bike.
>
> Does this sound like a good deal:
>
> "" Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike. 64 cm, 21 gears, good condition. $150.00 ""
>
How well does the Panasonic fit you. If it's at all close, this bike would be much too big.

> I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my
purposes.
> For now I only use the bike for getting around the city, but eventually
I'd like
> to branch out and go on short country day rides.
>
> My price range is pretty narrow... I just graduated from college, have
huge student
> loans and work in a research lab.
>
A hybrid will fit your budget and is probably a better bike for "getting around the city" especially
if traffic is heavy and the roads are in disrepair. But for the "country day rides" a road bike is
much preferable. The road bike will work in the city as well especially since you are accustomed to
this type of bike. I would recommend a used road bike that fits you properly. If you have a local
cycling club they can help you with sources for used bikes and with fitting.

Best of luck! Matthew

 

[Brendon M. Troy]

"Benjamin Snyder" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's
only a 10 minute
> bike ride). I didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my older
sister's childhood
> bike - it's a Panasonic women's road bike, color pink - from the 80's.
Anyway,
> I've just about ridden it to death by now and I'm in the market for a
bike.
>
> Does this sound like a good deal:
>
> "" Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike. 64 cm, 21 gears, good condition. $150.00 ""
>
> I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my
purposes.
> For now I only use the bike for getting around the city, but
eventually I'd like
> to branch out and go on short country day rides.
>
> My price range is pretty narrow... I just graduated from college, have
huge student
> loans and work in a research lab.
>
> Anyway, all advice is greatly appreciated!
>
> Ben

I just bought a Finest-Al, the aluminum version, at the end of this season. It's actually a 64-cm
frame, also (yes, I'm a big guy). I'm very, very happy with it so far.

Brendon

 

[Kaputnik]

> Does this sound like a good deal:
>
> "" Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike. 64 cm, 21 gears, good condition. $150.00

You may be able to get a great deal on a used bike, but take someone who knows bikes with you when
you look at it. Until you actually see it, you don't know how much work it may take to make it
safely rideable, and you want to make sure it fits you properly. As someone already pointed out,
64cm is a frame size for a very tall person.

>
> I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my purposes.

You can get some fairly decent hybrids new for under $300, maybe less than $250. They won't be high
performance bikes, but you can get adequate frames and components in that range.

> For now I only use the bike for getting around the city, but eventually I'd like to branch out and
> go on short country day rides.

How short is short? The longer the ride, the more you'll appreciate a real road bike, but a decent
hybrid might be fine for 20 - 30 mile rides if you're not trying to set too fast a pace. I've seen
people complete centuries on hybrids, but that wouldn't be my choice.

>
> My price range is pretty narrow... I just graduated from college, have huge student loans and work
> in a research lab.

If you can budget $300, you should be able to get an okay hybrid/comfort bike. Otherwise you'll
probably have to go with a used one.

 

[Mike Kruger]

"Benjamin Snyder" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a
10 minute
> bike ride). I didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my older
sister's childhood
> bike - it's a Panasonic women's road bike, color pink - from the 80's.
Anyway,
> I've just about ridden it to death by now and I'm in the market for a
bike.
>
> Does this sound like a good deal:
>
> "" Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike. 64 cm, 21 gears, good condition. $150.00 ""
>
> I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my
purposes.
> For now I only use the bike for getting around the city, but eventually
I'd like
> to branch out and go on short country day rides.
>
> My price range is pretty narrow... I just graduated from college, have
huge student
> loans and work in a research lab.
>
How tall are you? 64 cm sounds like a bike for someone 6'5" or so. Does your sister play
for the WNBA?

A road bike would be fine for short country day rides, on the road. In fact, it would be ideal for
such. It would should work OK on something like the Delaware tow paths; they did fine with my 1.5
inch tires, and these are probably 1.25.

Key question: do you need to replace anything on this bike? If you need to replace the seat, that's
$40 (all prices approximate). If the tires are currently shot, that's $40. Are the wheels stainless
steel ($120 to replace); if they are aluminum, are they true ($10 each to true). Do all the cables
work? Are brakes solid?

I'm not familiar with this model, but if it looks like the bike can be happily ridden as-is,
$150 is OK.

As for the hybrid, I personally would get a mountain bike instead, and put on slicks (high pressure
tires with little or no tread). That's sort of a "fake hybrid", which gives you the option to put on
knobbies if you want to go off-road.

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 19:10:17 +0000, Benjamin Snyder wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a 10 minute bike ride). I
> didn't have a bike of my own, so I grabbed my older sister's childhood bike - it's a Panasonic
> women's road bike, color pink - from the 80's. Anyway, I've just about ridden it to death by now
> and I'm in the market for a bike.
>
> Does this sound like a good deal:
>
> "" Fuji Finest True Tempest AVR men's road bike. 64 cm, 21 gears, good condition. $150.00

If it fits, maybe so. $150 is a good price. But 64cm is a BIG bike. Like for someone over 6 feet, 6
inches. How tall are you? Fit is more important than anything else. As a comparison, I am 5 feet 11
inches and ride a 56cm bike. 8 cm taller means that much more in leg length alone.

> I'm also wondering if a hybrid bike would be more appropriate for my purposes. For now I only use
> the bike for getting around the city, but eventually I'd like to branch out and go on short
> country day rides.

If you are riding on roads, then really a road bike offers the best options. Hybrids, in my opinion,
are not the "best" bike for any specific use. They can be used on roads, though they will be less
comfortable for any ride over 20 miles than a decent road bike (if it fits). They can be used
off-road, but a mountain bike will be more robust.

If your idea of "off-road" is Forbidden Drive, then a hybrid is OK for that. But if you ride on
roads longer distances, you will have more trouble on a hybrid than a road bike.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | The lottery is a tax on those who fail to understand _`\(,_ | mathematics. (_)/ (_) |

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 13:10:55 +0000, Matthew wrote:

> If you have a local cycling club they can help you with sources for used bikes and with fitting.

BTW, to the OP, yes, there is a "local cycling club", in fact there are several. Contact me for
information about the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia (BCP), or go to http://www.phillybikeclub.org .
Sources for used bikes are always iffy, but maybe we could help out.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored _`\(,_ | by little statesmen
and philosophers and divines. --Ralph Waldo (_)/ (_) | Emerson

 

[Jacques]

>>
>> I've been commuting to work in an urban area (philly) by bike (it's only a
> 10 minute
>> bike ride).

>
> A road bike would be fine for short country day rides, on the road. In fact, it would be ideal for
> such. It would should work OK on something like the Delaware tow paths; they did fine with my 1.5
> inch tires, and these are probably 1.25.
>

A road bike is fine for day rides on good paved roads, but don't expect to feel fine on unpaved
paths. Typical 23C road tires are less that 1 inch wide.

For a daily urban commute, I would recommend a straight handlebar, which gives you better agility
and more braking power in traffic.

> As for the hybrid, I personally would get a mountain bike instead, and put on slicks (high
> pressure tires with little or no tread). That's sort of a "fake hybrid", which gives you the
> option to put on knobbies if you want to go off-road.

But as you intend to continue commuting daily, your best bike is not a pure mountain bike either.
Your best bike for this mix is probably a kind of hybrid (what does this exaclty mean ?) with
fenders (you go to work even if it rains), lights, rack, 24 gear, a mountain bike-like position (not
a so-called "comfort" or fully upright position), 28C or 32C slick tires.