Mara! Bike info!

[neatfreak]

Mara,

I saw on one of the other threads that you wanted to buy yourself and Greg bikes for your anniversary. I used to work in a bike shop throughout college (not too long ago for me!) and so if you need help or have questions on what to buy, please feel free to ask!

I would really really recommend buying a bike from a specialty shop over a place like walmart or dicks. The bikes they sell at those stores are not reliable and many of the parts are easily breakable, hard to fix, and expensive to fix! There really is a major difference in quality, and you don''t need to spend $500 on each bike to get a great one.

If you want a cruiser, I highly suggest the Specialized (brand) Crossroads or Expedition (models). They should run you about $300 each at most (you can probably get a discount if you buy 2 so ASK! The dealer usually only pays about $200 at most for each of those bikes, so there is room to negotiate). Specializes makes incredible bikes and you will be able to go a LOT longer without costly repairs. Trek also makes similar bikes in the same price range that are really nice too. Don''t let someone try and upsell you to something more expensive that you don''t need.

In addition, a speciality bike is like riding in a cadillac vs. a ford focus. Both are nice, both will get you places, but the Caddy is just going to shift so much nicer and be a muuuuuch smoother ride. If you''re just getting into biking you will enjoy the sport a LOT more if you have a comfy bike.

You''ll also get better customer service, often will get free tuneups, and most importantly they will SIZE the bike for you. It''s really important to get a personalized fit or else you can really hurt your back riding.

Also, if you end up hating the sport a "branded" bike will be much easier to sell and will actually hold pretty good resale value.

I hope that helps and please let me know if you have more questions! I would be happy to answer them.

 

[Mara]

Hi Neatfreak thanks for your post!!

We have talked about getting bikes FOREVER literally....but we just never do it because we end up being so intimidated by what you should know and the cost. We really would just be weekend riders so we don't want to spend too much but we want something nice to ride but not high end. I actually already have an older 10 speed and I know I like to ride but Greg doesn't have a bike so we always talked about getting him one but then just never did. And now I thought well let's just get a pair of them and start fresh.

Every time I look at a bike store it seems like the prices are just insane! Like $500 for a cruiser or something. So I noticed Target had Schwinn bikes which I really like and remember from childhood for like $200ish each and I thought oh that sounds reasonable. So is Schwinn no longer a decent brand of bike? Also I was not sure if we wanted cruisers or road bikes/10 speeds because I have always ridden a 10 speed but it seems like cruisers are the thing lately? What is the real difference, we'd be only riding on the roads and stuff just leisurely kind of thing (but I just love 10 speeds hehee).

Also, I feel kind of intimidated about going into a local bike store and being 'upsold' or hassled whereas with Target you pretty much just go and fool around with what they have there then buy it and you're done. Anyway, any more insight? We're heading out in an hour or two to do the shopping, so I'd appreciate any additional knowledge you have....we do have one or two bike stores near us that we are familiar with but I remember once we went into one of them and it seemed like everything there was so expensive. And I know there's no way Greg will want us to get $400 or $500 leisure bikes. So it seemed like a $200 version was less kind of a committment AND if we decided that we loved riding and turned into cycling freaks (my dad is a serious cyclist so he'd probably say the same thing you did...!!) then we'd go ahead and do the research and commit to a more expensive pair. But we don't want to overspend then find we don't use them as much as we thought.

 

[neatfreak]

Unfortunately Schwinn, Mongoose, and many of the older brands that were good were sold out to other companies. It's really hard for the consumer to know what's good or not, and unfortunately many specialty bike stores are not female friendly and can be intimidating. I completely understand!!!

These days there is no such thing as a "10 speed" like there used to be. A road bike will have the dropped handlebars, and while you can go faster on those bikes, they aren't NEARLY as comfortable to ride as the hybrid bikes. For the weekend rider, I usually recommend a hybrid or cross bike, which isn't quite a beach cruiser and isn't quite a road bike. They have comfy seats, adjustable handlebars, and are easy to shift and pedal. They usually come with 24-27 speeds, although you don't really need to use more than you're comfortable with.

What I would do is find a local specialized dealer that is a "womens" dealer. They usually will have women on staff who are less likely to bull**** you and you'll probably feel more comfortable. If you go in armed with the knowledge of what you want, you don't need to buy anything else.

I don't know anything about it, but Trailhead Cyclery is in San Jose and they say on the specialized site that they are women's dealers. Go in, tell them you are casual riders who want something comfortable and easy to ride. Tell them you'd like to look at the Expedition and Crossroads (the only difference between the two is the tire width) and you do NOT need anything more than the base model, even if they try to upsell you. Try and talk to a woman if you can, but if you can't just don't deal with anyone who is rude or insensitive to your needs.

If you go to Target you'll get a bike built by a 15 year old kid who doesn't know how to build properly (i.e., possibly unsafe), no service, and no help in the future if you have a small problem with your bike. You'll likely spend $300/ea at a specialty shop, but you'll get much better service now and later down the road if you have problems. PLUS if you don't end up using the bikes, a Specialized will probably have a resale value of $150 while a Target bike will maybe be worth $50 used. If you DO get into biking on the other hand, you will quickly realize that you want something nicer than the Target bikes and need to upgrade. If it were ME I would spend the bit of extra $ now and get the better bikes.

Also, make sure to take lots of test rides! And if something doesn't feel comfortable at the shop, tell them! There are MANY adjustments that a good bike shop can do for you to make it more comfortable to ride. For women, the best upgrade you'll ever make is a nice seat, the Dolce by Specialized is reasonably priced and reaaaaally comfortable. PLUS specialized has a money back guarantee on it if you hate it, so no loss there if you don't like it.

I hope that helps...please keep me updated on the progress!

 

[Mara]

thanks for the info neatfreak!

we actually ended up getting a pair of schwinn jaguar cruisers from target. greg found one he really liked and it was only like $99 from schwinn. my hubby being super practical, he just wants something for us to use on the weekends and have some fun riding. they had other ones up to $200 but he liked this one..and i just got the same one he got as it fit me quite well.

target typically does not let you take the bikes without assembly, but they take a week to assemble it and greg prefers to assemble them himself being that he''s a total gear head and knows he could most likely do a 1000% better job than the random target assembly crew, so he talked them into letting him take them home, and forfeitted the return policy so that he could put them together himself.

also he noticed that all the parts on the bike we saw assembled were brand names he recognized so he felt pretty good about the purchase. he kept saying for $99 that this was a really nice bike in terms of bells and whistles and quality of parts.

while i was getting a mani pedi he actually went to a specialized bike shop in a different area, and asked to see their cruisers and he said the most absolute basic one didn''t seem as nice as the ones we were getting and the cheapest was $250 each. so after that he was REALLY gung ho about getting the ones we saw at target and went back and did it while i was at my appts. we also got a bunch of accessories like the lights for evening riding, a lock, a little pouch, etc. now we just have to find a basket that fits portia !hehe.

so he''s going to assemble them this morning and then we''ll go for a test ride this afternoon. but thanks for your info. i think if we were really going to be serious riders we''d have invested more (and we still may who knows if we ever get into road biking like my dad) but for $99 for weekend recreational rides, honestly it seems like we can''t really go too wrong we hope!!

 

[HappyAnniversary]

NeatFReak--any suggestions for shipping my son''s mountain bike to him across the country? Both tires are sitting to it''s side and it is upside down in my garage, a little muddy/dusty from his last ride. I have no idea how I can get it into a huge! box and mail it to NC. I was going to go to a bike shop to ask then I read this thres. (Is that called highjacking?? sorry!!)

 

[gailrmv]

HappyAnniversary, my parents sent my bike to me when I went to college (sadly it was stolen shortly thereafter). A bike store took it apart and mailed it in a special box directly to my local store who reassembled it. I think it was like $100 or more in total. If his bike was inexpensive it might be more cost effective to buy a new one in NC but if it is a nice bike I''d recommend doing what my parents did!

 

[monarch64]

Whatever...where''s the bling???? Just kidding. But not really.

DH has a Canon I think from before I met him, then for my 25th (a looooong time ago, like when we were planning our wedding 4 yrs ago) he got me a Mongoose mountain bike and we rode together exactly one time, ever since then the bikes have been in the garage unfortunatly even though I am always after him to go riding because we have awesome bike trails by us where we can go right downtown and explore, but DH just never is willing...

I know Greg is more willing and I hope you guys found bikes you love and do lots of riding together, it is great fun and I''m sure in CA you''ll have lots of things to explore!

But still, where IS the bling, LOL!!!!

 

[Mara]

monnie i posted the bling in SMTR!!! did you see it?!

 

[monarch64]

No but believe you me I''m off to look RIGHT NOW! lol

 

[bujiatang]

Back in college I would stick my bike under the bed during the winter, with an old touring bike the easest way to make it fit into small spaces is to take the pedals off.

If it is a mountain bike, and you plan to mail it, the post office should have boxes specifically for bikes. you''ll want to loosen the handelbars so that they can turn seperately from the wheel. on the post which holds the handlebars, there will be a nut that needs to be loosened, you might need an allen wrench, at least if it is a newer bike. usually it is 6mm. My Peugeot has a 10mm nut though, so it depends on the bike. Loosen this and tap the nut gently with a hammer. The handel bars will go slack, allowing them to be packed flat.

to remove the pedals, tighten a crescent wrench around the peg that is screwed into the arm that the pedal is attached to. turn it counter clockwise, I usually just hold the wrench and the arm and squeeze till it loosens. Getting it to move at all is the hard part, they usually come off in your fingers once it gets a 1/8 turn.

Its may day off, so if you want pictures let me know and I''ll show on my bike how to do all this.

 

[neatfreak]

If you don''t know how to disassemble a bike properly, I strongly suggest that you bring it to a bike shop and have them professionally take it apart and pack it.

You''ll need to take the tires off, move the handlebars, and take the pedals off at minimum. Then you need to pack it all really well and tape any loose parts together inside the box so they don''t bash anything. You also should cover the bike with foam if you can.

It''s a lot of work and a bike shop should do it for you for not too much $.

 

[HappyAnniversary]

Thanks so much for your help Neatfreak and Bujiatang. I am not a person who is going to take a wrench to my son''s mountain bike, cos I am so afraid I''d do something wrong. I took the handle off the lawn mower once to move it and lost all the little parts!! Yikes--I can''t let that happen to his bike. It is a Cannondale? and he loves it. I hope it won''t cost more than $100.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 5/14/2007 10:31:55 PM
Author: HappyAnniversary
Thanks so much for your help Neatfreak and Bujiatang. I am not a person who is going to take a wrench to my son''s mountain bike, cos I am so afraid I''d do something wrong. I took the handle off the lawn mower once to move it and lost all the little parts!! Yikes--I can''t let that happen to his bike. It is a Cannondale? and he loves it. I hope it won''t cost more than $100.

With the shipping it might cost more than $100.

To ship a bike x-country it is usually between $45-65 UPS, but there are a variety of factors. PLUS the bike shop likely will charge you at least $25 to disassemble and pack it for you.