Replacing my 1980s Nishiki :(

[rattlehead4386]

New here and recently got rid of the car cause I was tired of the upkeep, insurance, gas, ect. Looking for a bike I can use to commute back and forth to school(30mi there and back, 4 times a week) plus something I can use possibly in races up to 100mi. I was a really heavy biker, swimmer & runner back 7yrs ago. But with my knees the way they are now I'll only be biking and swimming. And anyways, there's a bike shop down the street from me(Bob's Cycle) and they have a 2010 Marin Venezia up for $699 and was wondering if anybody had any input on that bike and if they could recommend me a bike I should be looking at for what I'll be using it for. The races are a definite once my fat booty gets back into sexy mode.
Thanks for any help, hopefully y'all will be seeing a lot of me on here cause I'm always willing to learn about these things.

 

[rattlehead4386]

Oops...I guess if a mod could move this to Bike Buying Advice...greatly appreciated!

 

[kdelong]

On paper, the Marin Venezia is a pretty nice bike for a novice racer. I guess that it could also be a pretty decent commuter bike but I beleive that you will be carrying most of your books, etc on your back as it appears that there are no provisions for a rack on this bike.

$699 is about normal for a bike that originally sold for a little over $1000 in 2010 and it might be a great bike for you

[SIZE= 20px]IF[/SIZE]​

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[SIZE= 14px]it fits you. If it doesn't fit you, it is worthless.[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 14px]Other bikes to look at? Pick any of the major manufacturers, they all have their own offerings of sport bikes that will work for what you want it for.[/SIZE]

 

[davereo]

My bike requires more maintenance than my truck. The upkeep part of your equation wont go away.

 

[rattlehead4386]

So....I guess I'll save up some more money and get 2 different kinds of bikes. One for commuting back and forth to school and one for training. Either way, I think in the long run I'll be saving money rather than a $660 car note, $160 insurance, and $200 of gas...shouldn't take me but a 3-4mos to save up for 2 different bikes. I'll spend some time in the Bike Buying section of the forum and see how things went for others.
Thanks to both of you for your help, greatly appreciated.

 

[alfeng]

Why can't you continue to use your Nishiki for commuting?

 

[danfoz]

Take a look at this... http://ibikedb.net/bikes/35051-marin-venezia

This guy got it sorted out. No reason you can't have one bike do it all. In high school I converted my tried and true racer into a touring bike by adding artificial eyelets, some rear panniers, a 26T cassette, a handlebar rack, and some bulletproof tubbies. It got me across Europe.

That Marin is probably good for most anything you would throw at it, as long as it fits and has the tires/gearing matched appropriately to the desired activity.