I really need help finding a bike at a price I can afford.
I've carefully narrowed my needs down to a hybrid. My goal is to for once to have a bike that's actually decent quality, I've had heavy cheap bikes that I've hated for most of my life, which doesn't make a lot of sense because this is something I do every day. Problem is, I don't have a lot to spend. For a while I've been unhealthy, mind and body, but I'm eating healthy now, getting exercise, making positive changes, and I'm planning on going back to college. Cycling is a major part of my lifestyle now as it used to be when I was a child and in my teens, but my old near forty pound Mongoose is really holding me back. It's just heavy as hell, ironically advertising "Aluminum" on the side of the frame. Its also too small for me, and its literally about to fall apart. Its a frankenstein bike, two bikes of the same model I've slowly combined into one bike as they both fell apart. I plan to donate it to a guy I found locally who fixes up bikes to give to poor kids, when I can find a replacement or to another guy I found who fixes up bikes to sell for a local food drive.
I've looked around randomly at a bunch of different bikes and I've got a pretty good understanding of what I want and need. Hybrid that's 26 to 28 lbs, ~21 inch frame, front suspension with decent travel. I'm just under 6 feet with a thin frame (140lbs), so thats why I keep gravitating to bikes of that weight. The last bike I sat on that was a perfect fit for my body size was a Medium 20.5" Scott Hybrid on sale at Conte's, but it was just too heavy for me. Store employee said it was 30 lbs.
I've been told that a bike like that will cost $1,200, which I can't even confirm because I can never find weight values on bikes I see for sale. Problem is, the max I can afford is about half that.
I've tried craigslist for about a week now, only to be frustrated. No one posts the weight of their bikes, and most of the stuff I see being sold is older than what I'm looking for. Also most people are shorter than me it seems (the national average is around 5' 10" right?) so most of the stuff I see being sold that's what I'm looking for is too small for me. When I do find something and inquire the weight, they don't respond.
I'm not sure what to do now, and I really don't like the idea of ordering something this expensive from an online store I can't walk into in person, if I have a problem with my order. I've been burned by online stores too many times.
I've gotten to the point where I really need some help. I'm hoping I can find someone in here who can help me out?
I'd also like to quickly ask, what can I safely do on a hybrid? What are its limits? How hard can you land on one from a jump and how rough of a trail can they handle? I'd like to be able to jump curbs, do some front wheel pivots, and jump off stuff maybe two or even three feet at the highest. I've been known to land hard a few times, but I've never broken any bike from doing that.
I've carefully narrowed my needs down to a hybrid. My goal is to for once to have a bike that's actually decent quality, I've had heavy cheap bikes that I've hated for most of my life, which doesn't make a lot of sense because this is something I do every day. Problem is, I don't have a lot to spend. For a while I've been unhealthy, mind and body, but I'm eating healthy now, getting exercise, making positive changes, and I'm planning on going back to college. Cycling is a major part of my lifestyle now as it used to be when I was a child and in my teens, but my old near forty pound Mongoose is really holding me back. It's just heavy as hell, ironically advertising "Aluminum" on the side of the frame. Its also too small for me, and its literally about to fall apart. Its a frankenstein bike, two bikes of the same model I've slowly combined into one bike as they both fell apart. I plan to donate it to a guy I found locally who fixes up bikes to give to poor kids, when I can find a replacement or to another guy I found who fixes up bikes to sell for a local food drive.
I've looked around randomly at a bunch of different bikes and I've got a pretty good understanding of what I want and need. Hybrid that's 26 to 28 lbs, ~21 inch frame, front suspension with decent travel. I'm just under 6 feet with a thin frame (140lbs), so thats why I keep gravitating to bikes of that weight. The last bike I sat on that was a perfect fit for my body size was a Medium 20.5" Scott Hybrid on sale at Conte's, but it was just too heavy for me. Store employee said it was 30 lbs.
I've been told that a bike like that will cost $1,200, which I can't even confirm because I can never find weight values on bikes I see for sale. Problem is, the max I can afford is about half that.
I've tried craigslist for about a week now, only to be frustrated. No one posts the weight of their bikes, and most of the stuff I see being sold is older than what I'm looking for. Also most people are shorter than me it seems (the national average is around 5' 10" right?) so most of the stuff I see being sold that's what I'm looking for is too small for me. When I do find something and inquire the weight, they don't respond.
I'm not sure what to do now, and I really don't like the idea of ordering something this expensive from an online store I can't walk into in person, if I have a problem with my order. I've been burned by online stores too many times.
I've gotten to the point where I really need some help. I'm hoping I can find someone in here who can help me out?
I'd also like to quickly ask, what can I safely do on a hybrid? What are its limits? How hard can you land on one from a jump and how rough of a trail can they handle? I'd like to be able to jump curbs, do some front wheel pivots, and jump off stuff maybe two or even three feet at the highest. I've been known to land hard a few times, but I've never broken any bike from doing that.