Hey hoping for some feed back!
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Hey hoping for some feed back!
So I just started riding again after a long long time away. I never had time or energy for it at my old job.
My old ride was a specalized hard rock that my Mom found at a garage sale for around 20$. This was years ago. It has sat through weather and mistreatment ( sat in my drive way for years as I didnt think I would ride again) and recently started back up now that I have more time.
However, It needs new brakes, new chain, new cassette, new kick stand.... Which is all more then the bike itself cost.
I don't need a few hundered dollar bike right now, as I am not sure how commited to riding I will get this go around. I saw one at walmart on special for 78$, but not sure how good it will be?
Also, What kind of solution could I get for something to hold my- wallet, keys, and bike lock that doesn't involve a bag that will make my bag a sweaty mess?
Glad I found this place!
My old ride was a specalized hard rock that my Mom found at a garage sale for around 20$. This was years ago. It has sat through weather and mistreatment ( sat in my drive way for years as I didnt think I would ride again) and recently started back up now that I have more time.
However, It needs new brakes, new chain, new cassette, new kick stand.... Which is all more then the bike itself cost.
I don't need a few hundered dollar bike right now, as I am not sure how commited to riding I will get this go around. I saw one at walmart on special for 78$, but not sure how good it will be?
Also, What kind of solution could I get for something to hold my- wallet, keys, and bike lock that doesn't involve a bag that will make my bag a sweaty mess?
Glad I found this place!
#2
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You are better off fixing the Specialized than buying the $78 Walmart cheapie, I had a Hardrock and the components and frame quality are a world away from any discount store bike shaped object. As for carrying stuff, U locks often have mounts that clamp to the frame, or get a rack and carry your lock there. I often ride with my wallet and keys in my pockets if I'm wearing baggy shorts, or you can get a seat pack or just a smal bag on your rack. To save money look for a local bike co-op or used bike specialist to get lower cost parts and if necessary labor. Alternatively shop around and find a good used bike for $150 or so from a bike shop brand and save the Hardrock for your first project bike.
#3
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Do you have a bike co-op in your area? I'd try to get some help fixing up the bike you have rather than spend the money on a Walmart bike.
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However, It needs new brakes, new chain, new cassette, new kick stand.... Which is all more then the bike itself cost.
Here's some inspiration:
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Probably not the whole brake assembly replaced, but the brake pads. Budget $10 per pair ($20 for both front and rear). You need a 5mm metric allen key, and a set of allen keys is about $10
$20, plus chain tool to properly size and install the chain, another $15
$20. Plus you need a cassette lockring tool and a chain whip, another $30
Well, most will tell you that you don't really need a kickstand, but they can be purchased at Walmart for ~$10.
About $125,including buying the tools to do it yourself, or ~$50 for shop labour and $70 in parts.
Mae the bike new again with another $20 in cables and probably another $20 in shop labour. Or, to do this yourself, you need a good set of cutters and some research into how to size and prep cable housing ends.
and you have a bike much much better than the Walmart one.
$20, plus chain tool to properly size and install the chain, another $15
$20. Plus you need a cassette lockring tool and a chain whip, another $30
Well, most will tell you that you don't really need a kickstand, but they can be purchased at Walmart for ~$10.
About $125,including buying the tools to do it yourself, or ~$50 for shop labour and $70 in parts.
Mae the bike new again with another $20 in cables and probably another $20 in shop labour. Or, to do this yourself, you need a good set of cutters and some research into how to size and prep cable housing ends.
and you have a bike much much better than the Walmart one.
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About the worst thing you could do at this point is buy the $78 Walmart bike. If you cannot or do not want to work on the bike, you can purchase a decent bike for about $300. Check out BikesDirect.com. Pretty good bikes for less and free shipping.
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You have a sort of Grail bike---the Holy Grail of knock-around, ride-anywhere commuter/fun bikes. With that Walmart bike for $80, after you take it to a shop to get the wheels tightened and trued and the cables adjusted, you will be at $130. And the bike, if you ride a lot, will last a couple seasons …. Maybe.
Put $130 into the Hard Rock and you will get another 30years out of it.
You need a new cassette? Or do you need to clean the old one?
New chain? Yeah, but I’d bet the old one could be cleaned and used for a while---enough for you to find out how much fun riding can be. Eventually you will need to replace both …. But that’s like tires, tubes, and cables … stuff wears out.
If you plan to ride, investing in some simple tools makes a lot of sense. or about $20 you can get a chain whip and a cassette lock-ring wrench, which will fit every bike you will ever own. You definitely want a multi-tool with a set of allen wrenches so you can do little repairs on the road if you need to—another $10 or $15. A couple tire irons and a mini-pump---but you can wait on those until you decide if you are going to commute or ride regularly.
For a start … I use gasoline or mineral oil on a Really rusted part … Simple Green if it is just dirty … and a wire brush to knock off the worst of it. Though it isn’t as easy, you can do a lot of cleaning on the cassette and chain without even taking them off the bike.
You can get a rack and a bungee cord for not a lot of money at Walmart or online, or you can get a bag which hangs under your saddle …. Really cheap if you don’t mind waiting on shipping from China, and still cheap if you shop around on EBay.
I won’t lie. If you plan to ride a bike, you are going to Need some stuff. Riding a bike isn’t free.
You will need the bag or a rack and bungee, the mini-tool, tire irons, a mini-pump, spare tubes, and some oil----don’t spend millions on “exotic” lubricants, gert tri-flo or something. You might want to get a patch kit to repair tubes. If you have a lock, okay … if not you will need one. And as people have noted, you will need to replace tires, cables, brake pads, chains ….
Cycling is still the cheapest and IMO most enjoyable practical way of getting around …. And as with most things, the bottom-dollar, loss-leader, cheapskate special is not the best deal.
I tried buying sneakers at the Family Dollar once. Wore them about three times, then spent five dollars more and got some at K-Mart. The difference between shoes and shoe-shaped objects was immediately apparenttoo cheap was no good. The shoes hurt to stand in, and hurt worse to walk in. (I wear the same exact model of K-Mart sneaker now, 30 years later, that I bought then. Flashy names and labels mean nothing---performance is everything.)
I used to ride junk bikes. I got away with it because I always had three or four in the garage to tear down for parts, because they were always breaking down. I had tools and did my own work, but it seemed for every three or four commutes I needed to spend an evening fixing or replacing something.
Eventually I saved up money for a real bike---a Bridgestone MB4, similar to the Hard Rock---and suddenly I stopped being a bicycle repairman and was just a bicycle commuter. Nothing broke, everything worked. How much I saved in hors of labor and scrounging for parts …. Plus the joy of knowing the bike would always work---I never had to wonder what would break next, because Nothing would.
So … if you want the cheapest possible bike for the short term … sure, the Walmart bike will get you down the road. Be Very careful, though … they are often assembled by people who have no idea what a bike is or how it is supposed to work, and generally the cables need adjusting (shifting and brakes) and the wheels need tightening and truing.
There is no guarantee that any part of the bike has been greased, or that all the various bolts have been tightened. It is worth checking.
And likely----no guarantee, but most people who have experience riding Walmart bikes have similar experiences---lots of little stuff will go wrong, fall out of adjustment, need attention …
If you just want to cruise around the neighborhood on smooth pavement for a little while each evening, the Walmart bike might serve you well. No guarantee.
On the other hand, you could refit the hard Rock for about the same money or just a little more, and have a bike which will last for as long as you want it and which you could sell for $125 once you are done with it. You will Never be able to sell a Walmart bike if it is more than a couple days old.
Put $130 into the Hard Rock and you will get another 30years out of it.
You need a new cassette? Or do you need to clean the old one?
New chain? Yeah, but I’d bet the old one could be cleaned and used for a while---enough for you to find out how much fun riding can be. Eventually you will need to replace both …. But that’s like tires, tubes, and cables … stuff wears out.
If you plan to ride, investing in some simple tools makes a lot of sense. or about $20 you can get a chain whip and a cassette lock-ring wrench, which will fit every bike you will ever own. You definitely want a multi-tool with a set of allen wrenches so you can do little repairs on the road if you need to—another $10 or $15. A couple tire irons and a mini-pump---but you can wait on those until you decide if you are going to commute or ride regularly.
For a start … I use gasoline or mineral oil on a Really rusted part … Simple Green if it is just dirty … and a wire brush to knock off the worst of it. Though it isn’t as easy, you can do a lot of cleaning on the cassette and chain without even taking them off the bike.
You can get a rack and a bungee cord for not a lot of money at Walmart or online, or you can get a bag which hangs under your saddle …. Really cheap if you don’t mind waiting on shipping from China, and still cheap if you shop around on EBay.
I won’t lie. If you plan to ride a bike, you are going to Need some stuff. Riding a bike isn’t free.
You will need the bag or a rack and bungee, the mini-tool, tire irons, a mini-pump, spare tubes, and some oil----don’t spend millions on “exotic” lubricants, gert tri-flo or something. You might want to get a patch kit to repair tubes. If you have a lock, okay … if not you will need one. And as people have noted, you will need to replace tires, cables, brake pads, chains ….
Cycling is still the cheapest and IMO most enjoyable practical way of getting around …. And as with most things, the bottom-dollar, loss-leader, cheapskate special is not the best deal.
I tried buying sneakers at the Family Dollar once. Wore them about three times, then spent five dollars more and got some at K-Mart. The difference between shoes and shoe-shaped objects was immediately apparenttoo cheap was no good. The shoes hurt to stand in, and hurt worse to walk in. (I wear the same exact model of K-Mart sneaker now, 30 years later, that I bought then. Flashy names and labels mean nothing---performance is everything.)
I used to ride junk bikes. I got away with it because I always had three or four in the garage to tear down for parts, because they were always breaking down. I had tools and did my own work, but it seemed for every three or four commutes I needed to spend an evening fixing or replacing something.
Eventually I saved up money for a real bike---a Bridgestone MB4, similar to the Hard Rock---and suddenly I stopped being a bicycle repairman and was just a bicycle commuter. Nothing broke, everything worked. How much I saved in hors of labor and scrounging for parts …. Plus the joy of knowing the bike would always work---I never had to wonder what would break next, because Nothing would.
So … if you want the cheapest possible bike for the short term … sure, the Walmart bike will get you down the road. Be Very careful, though … they are often assembled by people who have no idea what a bike is or how it is supposed to work, and generally the cables need adjusting (shifting and brakes) and the wheels need tightening and truing.
There is no guarantee that any part of the bike has been greased, or that all the various bolts have been tightened. It is worth checking.
And likely----no guarantee, but most people who have experience riding Walmart bikes have similar experiences---lots of little stuff will go wrong, fall out of adjustment, need attention …
If you just want to cruise around the neighborhood on smooth pavement for a little while each evening, the Walmart bike might serve you well. No guarantee.
On the other hand, you could refit the hard Rock for about the same money or just a little more, and have a bike which will last for as long as you want it and which you could sell for $125 once you are done with it. You will Never be able to sell a Walmart bike if it is more than a couple days old.
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Taking it to a bike shop for a "tune up" is probably a bad idea. It's like giving your fat wallet to them with instructions to empty it. If your bike sat outside for years the labor and parts charges are going to exceed to worth of the bike when you are done fixing it. A better idea would be to buy parts online, go to the various tutorials at Sheldon Brown's or Park Tool websit,e and learn how to do simple repairs yourself. Parts are often cheaper and your labor is free.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/repairs.html
https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help
You may need to buy some tools to get started but a simple tool kit can be had for around $30 and have most of the tools you would need for normal maintenance. It's certainly less costly that an hour of a bike mechanic's time.
Example kit - $30 postpaid https://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIVERSAL-B...4AAOxyQyJRms~F
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/repairs.html
https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help
You may need to buy some tools to get started but a simple tool kit can be had for around $30 and have most of the tools you would need for normal maintenance. It's certainly less costly that an hour of a bike mechanic's time.
Example kit - $30 postpaid https://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIVERSAL-B...4AAOxyQyJRms~F
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You are better off fixing the Specialized than buying the $78 Walmart cheapie, I had a Hardrock and the components and frame quality are a world away from any discount store bike shaped object. As for carrying stuff, U locks often have mounts that clamp to the frame, or get a rack and carry your lock there. I often ride with my wallet and keys in my pockets if I'm wearing baggy shorts, or you can get a seat pack or just a smal bag on your rack. To save money look for a local bike co-op or used bike specialist to get lower cost parts and if necessary labor. Alternatively shop around and find a good used bike for $150 or so from a bike shop brand and save the Hardrock for your first project bike.
#12
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Forgive my ignorance, I do not know what #KiloTT means. What is the significance?
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There are lots of different ways to get exercise while having fun on a bicycle. Do you have any idea where or how you are hopefully going to do that?
One of the greatest purposes of the first bicycle is to provide you with ideas of what you want in your next bike. Here's what I would suggest:
1. Oil your chain. Unless it's really, really rusted, that will get your bike moving. It's okay to do a little bit of fixing up but I wouldn't spend a lot of money on it because you probably aren't going to be satisfied with it for very long anyway. f you don't trust your brake pads, don't go down any long, steep hills.
2. Just ride. Do it often. Don't worry about how far or how fast, just do it. Don't get stuck in the rut of riding the same course day after day. In fact, try to ride a different route every single time that you go out. If you're enjoying yourself, farther and faster will come naturally.
3. Every time that you ride, make a mental list of what you like and what you hate about the bike that you have now. Think about that list when you decide to look for your next bike.
Ask us again on Labor Day. If you do those three things in the meantime, my bet is your list of questions will be a lot different than it is today.
One of the greatest purposes of the first bicycle is to provide you with ideas of what you want in your next bike. Here's what I would suggest:
1. Oil your chain. Unless it's really, really rusted, that will get your bike moving. It's okay to do a little bit of fixing up but I wouldn't spend a lot of money on it because you probably aren't going to be satisfied with it for very long anyway. f you don't trust your brake pads, don't go down any long, steep hills.
2. Just ride. Do it often. Don't worry about how far or how fast, just do it. Don't get stuck in the rut of riding the same course day after day. In fact, try to ride a different route every single time that you go out. If you're enjoying yourself, farther and faster will come naturally.
3. Every time that you ride, make a mental list of what you like and what you hate about the bike that you have now. Think about that list when you decide to look for your next bike.
Ask us again on Labor Day. If you do those three things in the meantime, my bet is your list of questions will be a lot different than it is today.
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