Anyone into bicycling?

[2SONDAD]

I've gotten it into my head that I need a bike for exercise and weight loss. I used to be a runner, but my knees are shot.

Anyhow, I keep reading about how bad department store bikes are, but I cannot get myself to spend hundreds of dollars. I keep thinking I should buy something at Wally World and take my chances- after all, I may decide that I hate to ride. (Although I loved it, once upon a time) I also can't seem to find anything used, that is decent. (I don't want a project bike.)

I think a lot of the issues people have with dept store bikes, are that they are built by 16 year olds with no experience and the people that buy them do not know how to adjust/tune/fix their bikes. I have decent enough knowledge in those areas, so that part doesn't bother me.

Anyone care to share their experiences and opinions?

 

[Duncan1574]

I own a Trek I bought at Sam's Club 10 yrs ago, it works great. I paid about $180. You could check out your local Good Will/resale shop or a bike shop for a used one.

 

[Bob Franks]

So...a bike's a bike! If it was put together poorly by an employee, use that as a bargaining point! You can always check it over yourself for loose nuts and bolts. Whether you ride a beach cruiser or a 21 speed is up to you.
Flip it upside-down to spin the wheels. Look for side-to-side wobble, and for eccentricity. If these need adjustment, take it to a professional; truing wheels is a real art.
The traditional way to check adjustment are:
The top crossbar should be just under your crotch. [you don't want to hit something hard coming down off the seat!]
With one heel on the pedal and your leg straight, your buttocks should be level on the seat. This will give the ball of your foot a little room to push down.
Handlebar height and position depend on your preferences.
Check the brakes before that first ride.

S&F

 

[jason]

I like Trek, CannonDale and Specialized. CannonDale has said to start selling some lower quality bikes at Wal-mart, but I haven't seen them there. I own a CannonDale mountain bike. It is great, love the thing. Then I got married and started towing kid(s) so I got a Specialized hybrid. Not bad. Cheaper then the cannondale, heavier, but it gets it job done. I believe my father in law has a trek, road bike. It is pretty nice. Light, and seems well built. But I will not ride it.

You can try some bike clubs, see if anyone is interested in upgrading their bikes and will sell you theirs at a discount. I've seen a few bike stores sell used bikes too.

In the end though a lot of is how you will take care of it. Are you going to use a road bike as a mountain bike and not do maintenance on it? At the height of my bike riding when I was doing 15 miles to and from work, I did monthly maintenance.

 

[Gary2112]

The main drawback with purchasing a dept. store bike is that they are in usually cheaply made and much heavier than the "custom" bike manufacturers. I presume that you are looking to cruise the beach or use it for touring?

I used to ride 15 miles a night after work. I had a Trek touring bike (not a racing bike) that cost me $800 back in the day (which is actually pretty cheap these days). You get what you pay for, but often people pay more for something that that they don't really need. Find your use for the bike, and go from there. You may be just fine with a bike from Wal-Mart. I'd also check independent bike shops in your area as mentioned before.

 

[2SONDAD]

No beach cruising- I'm not near the coast anymore. Just cruising around the neighborhood and getting some exercise. I would like a road bike.

I found a community run bicycle kitchen that I am going to check out. If I can't find anything there, I think I'm going to try Walmart or Target. At this point at it doesn't make sense for me to spend a lot. It's going to take awhile for me to be able to build up endurance for the kind riding that requires a decent bike.

I realize that the components won't be the highest quality and the bike will be heavier, but the trade off can be measured in hundreds of dollars.

 

[2SONDAD]

Stumbled across www.bigboxbikes.com, a website dedicated to inexpensive bikes.