ScotchMan

Hi all, first post here. I'm a member on many other non-bike related forums and always see these first posts from people who don't know what they're doing...hoping you can help me out as I've done for others in areas I'm smarter on.

I live 1.6 miles from my job as a network engineer. It seems wasteful to drive my Honda Ridgeline to work, and on top of that, I am always interested in getting into better shape. I am right around my ideal weight, so there are no pressing concerns, but you know, mo' exercise is mo' better.

My biking career is limited to my childhood, and a few years of recreational riding during and after college. I commuted to work for one season a while back, it was a 4 mile commute. I haven't been on a bike in...probably 6 or 7 years. But I remember I enjoyed it greatly and rode a lot.

So all of this leads me to the desire to start commuting to work when possible. I am 6'5" so I need a big bike, I am thinking 62" frame. I also don't want to spend much money at all on a bike. I am viewing it more as an investment and less as a hobby, which leads to my dilemma. When I walk into a bike store and say I want a cheap bike to commute, I am shown $800+ bikes. That seems insane to me. The bike I previously commuted on was a Gary Fisher mountain bike, and I think it was $300 when I got it. I don't know much at all about bikes, but I was under the impression that wasn't a terrible brand. My friend purchased a Trek hybrid bike back when I was riding for $400. Why are bikes so much more expensive now?

Given that I'd like to spend under $400 or so, what are my options? I'm also unclear on whether a fixed gear bike is something I might want; they weren't around when I was riding, and I don't think I've ever been on one. I believe they are cheaper though. I've never owned a road bike either for that matter.

Looking for any advice or insights you can provide.

bikemig 

I'd buy a used vintage mtb from craigslist. You can pick up a good quality bike for under $200. You'll need to add fenders, rack, and lights. You'll want to service the bike (easy to do) and change out the knobbies for slicks. It will be easy to keep your total costs under $200. Old mtbs are tough bikes and make great commuters.

Oh yeah, you'll want to figure out what size frame you need. You're not going to find too many 62 inch frames,

ScotchMan

MTB...knobbies...slicks. Glossary please

Don't think I need racks, I don't bring much to and from work. Fenders and lights, good idea.

I think I need a 62-64" frame based on some research.

bmthom.gis

You can use almost anything for that short of a commute. Fishers are great bike! Pre-and-post Trek buying the name. unfortunately, bikes are more expensive now because of marketing and R&D costs being passed onto us. The good news is a lot of subtle innovations have happened that can make riding more enjoyable. Generally, you get what you pay for in a bike. You can spend $300 and get a $300 bike (new...the used market can get you something really nice for $300). It's going to have the lowest level of components and a heavy frame. But for less than 2 miles each way, it would serve you fine. i don't know the geography of your area (or even where you are located) but that is a very walkable distance, as well. If you were looking to get in shape and burn calories, I would suggest walking it - not to discourage a bicycle ride of course. You might find yourself taking your bike to go grocery shopping or doing more than just going to/from work (I am guessing you live in an urban-ish area based on distance, but I could be wrong). What I am getting at is the more you use your bike for transportation, the less you will be using your car and that means less money spent on gas which = a bigger bike budget!! See how it works?? LOL!

bmthom.gis

MTB = mountain bike (you probably want something in the XL frame size...but a mtb won't have the same measurements as a road bike which would be your 62-64" frame). Knobbies are the tires you think about when you think "mountain bike" - they have knobs for being off road. Slicks are the tires without knobs and perform much better on pavement. Where are you located?

practical

Just about any bike will work for your commute. Your challenge will be finding one that's big enough. I suggest you look on craigslist and other places like that. Seat posts can be raised pretty high.

ScotchMan

Thanks guys. I am in Rochester, NY. I am not right in the city, so it is sort of halfway between urban and suburban. The majority of the ride would be in traffic with a small piece in a bike lane (like, 300 feet, lol).

Walking is a possibility, but there aren't sidewalks the entire way, so I'd have to either walk on the grass of other people's homes, or walk in traffic. Neither is super appealing. And I don't particularly want to lose 40-60 minutes of my day doing something that used to take me 5. I imagine that bike ride might not take much more time than driving depending on the lights.

bmthom.gis

Gotcha! A bike it is!

I liek the excuse to browse CL for bikes.

Not sure how the fit would be for you, but it would be perfectly adequate for your distance. Plus, already has fenders and cheap enough for a shop to do whatever might need to be done to it
https://rochester.craigslist.org/bik/4969275723.html

This is definitely a larger frame. Again, the price is low enough to have a shop service whatever needs servicing and still be in budget
https://rochester.craigslist.org/bik/4968700549.html

Another where I am not sure the fit will work, but could be worth a look
https://rochester.craigslist.org/bik/4936606796.html

Speaking of a Fisher
https://rochester.craigslist.org/bik/4968145192.html

Another nice, tall roadbike
https://rochester.craigslist.org/bik/4965935949.html

If you were thinking of singlespeed...
https://rochester.craigslist.org/bik/4925414813.html

bikemig 

I'd hurry up and buy this bike at $139:

Vintage Maruishi Mountace MT18 Mountain Bike

It's a vintage mtb and the seller clearly knows what he has. Since the last pic shows the frame geometry; 22 inch frame is large for a mountain bike.

Plus the bike has good quality slick tires with a reflective stripe (that's a plus for commuting) and a rack.

Get it, ride it. By the way, this is a cool vintage mountain bike; well worth owning.

Oh yeah, once you buy it, post some pics and we'll help you set it up for commuting. This is a pretty unusual vintage mtb and you can't really go wrong at that price.

Darth Lefty 

When you walked into the bike shop and said you wanted to commute, your trusty salesman showed you bikes suitable for riding 20 miles round trip a day, 250 days a year, in any weather and dark winter, up and down hills, with your lunch and your work clothes and your layers and rain gear and tools and spare tube and pump and etc etc.

Your ride is so short and your truck is an easy backup plan, so I'm guessing you don't need all that. If you want a bike just for this ride, probably anything will do, new or used, fast or slow, one gear or enough gears to go up and down Half Dome. If you break down it will be faster to walk it in than fix it on the roadside.

BobbyG

+1

TroN0074

Buying used is good because you can find it at a lower cost of what new would be. But chances are you wont be getting what is ideal for you, if you get your bike from a local bike shop they will sell you a bike that it is the right size for you and it is equipped with what you need. if you get one in craigslist or a garage sale the bike might be missing some components that you will have to buy and at the end you will be paying just as much as a new bike.

If the price you think is right is around $400 you can find a new bike at that cost, maybe ask in the LBS for a bike from last year mode, they can give you a discount. Also here are some link on bikes around that cost just find a distributor around your area.

Escape 3 (2015) | Giant Bicycles | United States

7.1 FX - Trek Bicycle

JAMIS BICYCLES

buying new is good. Good luck to you.

TenSpeedV2

They have always been around, they just were not popular at the time. For that short of a commute, a single speed or fixed gear is more than ideal. I do an 8.5 mile commute on a fixed gear with no issues.

City riding, short distance, what kind of terrain? Flat? Definitely fixed or single speed.

HDavidH

I'm pretty sure bikemig was teasing you. I think you mean CM... Not inches. 64 cm sounds close for someone your height but a lot goes into the consideration on size... That can wait for later when you get hooked and start spending all your money on bikes... For now just look for what suits you and welcome! Craigslist or ebay or your LBS (local bike shop) that may have used bikes as well as those $800.00 ones in stock.

ScotchMan

Woops, yes, centimeter is what I meant. I see cm in my head but type ".

Terrain is mostly flat. There is one decent uphill slope on the way in. Nothing I'd be worried about doing without gears.

I like the looks of all three that TroN0074 posted above. I looked at their sites myself but with no way to sort by price or size (that I could find), I found it a little difficult. Model names don't mean anything if you're new to the whole thing. The Commuter line from Jamis is especially attractive; seems to have everything I'd need already. Can I assume that "street price" is a little lower? I like the looks of the Commuter 2 a lot better (I could always just paint it..and we are getting into nice to haves here, but its hard not to get caught up in the whole buying process while I'm here).

Another question, this bike will need to be left outside during the day. Is baking in the sun and/or being in the rain all day something I need to consider? I could see about bringing the bike in to my desk but I'm not sure how well that would go over.

snow_echo_NY

good luck it sounds like you are "on the road" to a bike commute

let us know what you end up doing.

snow_echo_NY

if you can, i would bring the bike inside somewhere. is there a nearby garage?

DiabloScott

Probably nothing to worry about. Tires and saddles will wear out faster, and you'll have to do a bit more cleaning, but no biggie.

Your biggest problem is that you don't know what you want... once you've been riding for a while, you can determine if a bike is a good fit and good geometry in a few minutes... there's a risk that you'll buy something used and then realize it's just wrong when it's too late... lots of people come in here having made that mistake and we can't help them.

I'd guess you've been spending $500 a year on gas for your commute - an $800 bike would have less than a 2-year payback and you'd get new, with a dealer fitting.

ScotchMan

Yeah. Well, I'm not going to bike during upstate New York winters no matter the benefits The cost savings is tangential at this point, I am most interested in the health and environment benefits. I use very little gas, fill up my truck maybe once a month if I'm not doing anything unusual.

I noticed the Jamis fixie options for under $400. I still need to find out if "street price" is actually lower, but if so, and I could pick one up for $300 or so, that would be a cheap and easy way to buy in. If my Fisher mountain bike wasn't rusted and covered with spiderwebs I would start riding it just to get an idea. I am not opposed to going used also.

I'll wander into a bike store soon now that I'm armed with a bit more info, and see what I can find new.

arskemp

I was at the same spot you are a few weeks ago for a 10 mile round trip work commute. I purchased a 2015 Giant Escape 3 for $344 new after taxes from a LBS. I believe Trek has a similar hybrid bike around that price but there were not dealers for them where I lived. After adding on a u-lock, water bottle cage, lights, and rack (you mentioned you don't need this) and I'm right at ~ $400. So far I'm pretty happy with it (I've put on ~ 120 miles so far). I thought about going the used route but I honestly do not know enough about bikes to be able to look at one and know which parts are still good, close to end of life, need replaced, etc). In the end I decided it was better to support a LBS, have a new bike that would last much longer before any real parts would need to be replaced, and have somewhere to go when there were issues (tuneups are free for life from the LBS I went to).

noglider 

First of all, good for you for not wanting to drive such a short distance. Driving distances like that makes me crazy. It should be easy to walk or cycle that distance.

I'm not here to tell you what your budget should be, and if it's $300 or $400, that's fine, but I don't think it's crazy for a shop to recommend something more expensive. If you want a new bike and can only spend $400, you'll get the minimal bike-shop-quality bike, and that's fine, but you should know it's bottom of the line. This is what bikes cost. Years ago, you bought a decent bike for $300, but how much was a loaf of bread now, and how much is it now? You'll find that bike prices have tracked inflation or actually gone down slightly. It's hard to keep track of it, though, on items we don't buy frequently. But this is just a plug for the bike industry, to say they're not overcharging.

If you want a used bike, I say you're smart. I only buy used bikes, and you can get something very nice for your budget.

RubeRad

Hey Scotchie,

Kudos for leaving the car at home, especially for 1.6mi; everybody else is right, that is so short a distance, pretty much any bike would do.

I vigorously agree with the recommendation above for that vintage marushi mtb; 22" should fit you fine, and that's a pretty ideal-looking commuter bike, with urban tires and a rack all ready to go. And $139 is a good price, and well within your budget. Text him now and offer the full asking price.

Rochester NY, huh? Paging tsl... Scotch, you need to hook up with this guy; he knows Rochester bike commuting inside and out, and is very friendly and open to questions. You never know, he might even get you winter commuting too!

spare_wheel

That bike would sell for $300+ here and be snapped up instantly. Sheesh.

cooker

Scotchman, It's great that you are planning this.

I'll argue strongly against fixed gear. It is a niche product that you should only get if you already know that is what you want. If you don't know, get a bike with gears or at least a single speed one that can coast.

I also disagree with your economics where you say "I also don't want to spend much money at all on a bike.". That's backwards thinking. Fortunately it won't cost a lot to get a suitable bike but you you should pay what it costs to get what you need. So pay the right price, not the lowest price. If you cheap out and end up with a dud and you don't ride it, you've wasted your money no matter how little you paid. If you ride it, it pays for itself in fitness and pleasure.

You won't get fit riding 1.6 miles. Be sure to "take the long way home".

I've been parking my bikes outside at work for 20+ years. The weather has done them no noticeable harm. I have leather saddles on some bikes and I cover them with a plastic bag if I expect rain, that's all. Oil your chain regularily if there's a lot of rain or humidity.

alan s 

OK, walking 1.6 miles@3.2 mph is 0.5 hours. Riding 1.6 miles@15 mph is 0.1 hours. I think you would be much better off walking, even if you have no sidewalk. Invest in a backpack and a good pair of shoes and call it a day.