Tjgoa

I'm male 33, 6 feet tall and 175 lbs, just want to get started and out of the research phase - just want to buy something and move forward!

I want to ride at my local park occasionally on gravel, light trails, but primarily ride on roads. I like quite roads without cars so being able to ride on gravel roads would be nice. Most importantly, I need an upright seating position because I'm getting over a lower back injury, so I want flat handle bars ideally in line with the seat.

I want to spend less than $500 US, so I'm willing to ride an all aluminum or steel frame, 8 rear gauge (clauvis), etc.

1. Don't want to pay for carbon anything (frame or fork) - so all aluminum or steel.
2. 8 gauge Shimano Chauvis is good.
3. Flat Handle bars
4. I NEED to buy upright as possible (but not a raised handle bar higher than seat (comfort bike).
5. Tires 32 centimeters wide to aid on off road travel.

With these in mind, a few type of bikes might fit the criteria.

1. Gravel Bikes
2. Fitness Bikes
3. Hybrid Dual Sport
4. Endurance Road Bike.

Guys, please recommend me a bike, new or used, so I can buy something and get out there. Save me some trouble!!

Also, where are the best places to shop in USA online?

Paul Barnard

Can you do basic assembly and adjustments?

Tjgoa

I'm willing to, sure! I always have youtube to help me out if I need it.

daoswald

Cannondale Quick 8 is within your budget and meets the specifications you've mentioned. If you are patient you may find a Quick 5 lightly used in the same price range, two or three years old with better components.

Tjgoa

What do you guys think of a Colnago Impact for 700?

Tires are at 700 with 28 width, is possible to upgrade to 32 for off road. I really like the look of it to.

bikeexchange.com/a/flat-bar-road-bikes/colnago/impact/136694699

Tjgoa

Good! Also considering Trek DS.

Why is Quick 5 better?

mattleegee

components

Tjgoa

Specifically, which components are better and what makes them better for what purposes?

I'm leaning towards Trek DS2 which has a suspension but is possible to lock it for long flat roads etc. This comes in around 600 US.

The Colnago looks lovely and is on sale for 699 (500$ off).

Is the colnago really that much better of a bike (better components)?

bikeexchange.com/a/flat-bar-road-bikes/colnago/impact/136694699

taz777

One of the most upright seating positions will be with a cruiser style of bike. Downsides are that you won't go fast on one.

CliffordK

Oof, you're hitting all the base on the bikes.

I'm a fan of drop bar road bikes. I'm not a big fan of shocks on city bikes. And, most of the ones on hybrids are pretty cheap shocks. A good shock fork may well cost as much as some of those bikes.

The Colnago Impact looks nice. At $1200 to $1500, you're paying a lot for a "name", and the bike is probably a China or Taiwan import bearing the Colnago name, but perhaps not much else.

If you're primarily wanting to do short local rides, 5 miles? 10 miles? 15 miles? Then the hybrid may well be a good choice.

The longer the rides, 50 miles? 100 miles? Then most riders start gravitating toward road bikes (or perhaps cyclocross bikes).

Add a location to your profile if you want suggestions of interesting used bikes. Craigslist? Facebook Other used marketplaces?

indyfabz

CF fork.

fietsbob

I like supporting my local bike shop.

Flat bars is probably a Hybrid unless someone changed them after buying the bike with different bars on it/




I cannot judge wear and tear/parts condition , of a used bike prospect, just by you quoting a brand name..

where I live , the used bike offerings in the shop , Mountain bikes sell quicker than road bikes..


NB you can order a new Trek like the dual sport DS, online,
but they ship it to your nearest Trek dealer, for assembly before you get it..

only then does their warranties have validity being professionally assembled ..

then you go pick it up..





...
Colnago impact is at $1000+ not $700..




,,,

Tjgoa

Now we are talking! I'd mostly use it for 10-20 miles a day to start off, then, hopefully once or twice a month I'll really want to push it 30-50 miles and more and more more.

What excites me most is multi-day long trips.

The Colnago Impact is being marketed as a road bike with flat handle bars, so it should zip along. In fact, it might be too zippy with 700 28c tires. Ideally, I'd want 32. I hope it wouldn't be too expensive or hard for me to upgrade to wider tires.

The number one important thing is my health, specificially, that I treat my back okay. I NEED flat handle bar as upright as possible. I should probably be using a cruiser with the handle bars higher than the seat, but I really don't like the look. They look girly, weak. I'll buy it if I have too though, but I think my back has healed up enough for a flat bar.

All in all, too many choices, too many confusing search terms to look up, too many places to browse, no consolidated "global" sites.

I want to narrow down all possible bikes from all makers on one site, instead of looking at many different places.

I'm a bit tired of looking and don't care what I get at this point! (sort of)



I'm from Morristown, TN, USA 37814.

Tjgoa

The Colnago is on sale for 699. It sounds like a good deal so I might pick it up even though it cost more than I intended to spend It looks nice, but I can't tell you if its worth the money (at discount or full price), is it?

The DS 2 from Trek would be 600, so the colnago is just a bit more expensive but I like the look of it more, and apparently, it's quite a venerable brand, but, I don't know how I feel paying just for the brand, so, i could really use some input. Are the components what one would expect for this amount of money? Cheers!

mattleegee

Diamondback and Giant have "spring" sales right now until start up May

DB Flat bar $429 shipped
https://www.diamondback.com/road-bik...l/haanjo-1-d41

Giant $650 at local LBS
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/fastroad-sl-3

DustyBF

Buy Diamondback until you can do it for a lower price, like a previous poster mentioned

Tjgoa

Thanks. I like the Diamondback look, but I still like the Colnago better. Any reason in particular you feel its a more desirable bike?

That said, the Diamondback already has 32 mm tire width, the colnago 28. I'll research more..

The Colnago is 1200 and on sale for 700, so it looks like I'm getting a better deal, but I don't know for sure.

fishboat

Honest opinion..I think you need to take a deep breath and slow down a bit. If $600-$700 is stretching your budget, then you'll find the process of getting the right bike even farther outside your budget when you buy the wrong bike (primarily due to some mythical "sale"), then sell it at a $200-$300 loss, and then repurchase some other lesser bike as you're running out of money.

The Colnago looks to be more a $500-$600 bike on "sale" for $700. Of course, if the "list" price on the website was $2100, then the $700 sale price is even better..right? With the Colnago running (limited to?) 28mm tires..I don't think it's a good match for how you plan to use the bike. The Diamondback looks to be a much better fit(and more honestly priced) for a gravel/road combo with it's 38mm tires(not 32). The Giant looks nice, but it appears to be limited to 32mm tires. 32's might be what you run, or not, but I'd be hesitant to purchase(for your use & back limitations) a bike that was limited to 32mm max. Running the right 35 or 38mm tires will soften the ride without giving up much road speed..been there, doing that.

You seem to be convinced that a more upright posture is the key for your back-injury-recovery. It may or may not. The more upright you ride, the more vertical-shock you're transferring to your back. The flat bar bikes you're considering will still have you bent over the handlebars somewhat, and not unlike the bend you'd have with a shorter reach drop-bar road bike with the bars set high via the stem, steerer tube, or both.

A local bike shop might be a good option to see how various bikes, and bike types, feel and see what sizing is appropriate.

While the researching you're doing is a great thing, and necessary..do more.., the overall near-frantic pace of "just get it done" is setting you up for a financial face-plant. (I've been biking for 40+ years and was 33 just a short 29 years ago..if you've keyed in on the Colnago..go for it. It'd guess there's about a 50/50 (40/60?) chance of it being an OK (not great..for your use) bike or a good lesson & new fodder for the used-bike market.)

Maybe looking for a good used hybrid with the ability to run 38mm-ish tires is a better tack. Try it, if it works you're good, if not, sell it for near what you paid and take what your learned into another ride.

fietsbob

I have no idea it the only thing Italian is the brand name, since nothing keeps the company from having a OEM contract vendor
build the bike for them, so they have a consumer bike in that segment of the market..
Masi did this decades ago 1st to California.. then to ROC ..

you could get one of Maxway's many client brands

Phil_gretz

What is the nature of your back injury. Be specific.

After my L4-L5 fusion (at age 49), my surgeon specified the types of exercises and therapies that would restore full motion. He told me "no" to mountain biking and upright riding, and told me "yes" to road riding, at least during my first year of recovery. So, the entire "upright bike" thing might be a myth, formed in your head. Or, it might not.

Have you seen a sports physical therapist and gone over this?

Maelochs

There is a thread on this site about spine injuries ... you might search for that and see what some other folks with fused vertebrae have learned over time on the bike.

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...al-fusion.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/pills-ill...-had-done.html

Tjgoa

Sciatica l4-l5. I've been to PT and started getting better after doing my own research and not the stretches excercise they recommended I do. Ironically, I healed faster not doing the stretches and focused on decompression. Often, one has to think for oneself and do ones own research. Treatment is part theory afterall and there are different ways and paths. The best depends on situation and your mindset, western, eastern, holistic approaches, but, I digress.

Having my back bent is not good, period! I feel fatigue easy this way and I don't need anyone to tell me it's okay to have my back hunched over for hours on end. I can sit straight for hours just fine.

Tjgoa

You are probably right, but researching for hours on end, staring at bikes online where none of them at all grab out at me or can i even differentiate the hundreds of different types of bikes, its not worth the effort. I might even be happy with a 100 dollar bike at walmart for all I know. The only bike and design I like is the colnago. It's the only one that grabbed me.

I'll think a little more what I want to do. Maybe I'll go sit on some bikes at Dicks and see if any ideas grab me.

TiHabanero

The Colnago sure is a great looking bike, however it is a flat bar road bike. It is not specifically built as a hybrid, but has road geometry and fit. If you need to be more upright, this is the wrong bike. I found information showing it can handle tires wider than 32mm, however everything points to it being a road bike, not a hybrid.

Hybrids generally have a more upright position than road bikes.

Tjgoa

Thanks. This is very helpful! After considering this, I'll probably pass on it.

Back to the drawing board, revisiting previous recommendations, grateful for new ones

*5 Posts per day limit is bonkers!!!