apteno

Hi everyone, I am looking at buying my first bike since I was a child. I plan to mostly ride on trails that are dirt/gravel/paved, nothing really hilly or rough. At most I think I'd ride for a couple hours, maybe 20-30 miles. I'm about 6' which seems to definitely matter for sizing.

I talked to a few people and had recommendations of hybrid bikes, which other people said were junk, and cyclocross, which after researching a bit, seems to be out of my budget of $250-300.

I really don't know what I need style-wise and am looking for some suggestions. I'm going to try to make a trip a bike store that is kinda far since the only things close to me are big box stores.

Thanks for the help!

saint mucus

My situation too, not knowing anything about today's cycling world it was quite a shock to see the price gap between Walmart bikes and (real bikes). I've had Walmart bikes in the past so I knew thats not what I wanted, I want this bike to last longer than one year lol.
Here's the thread I started asking pretty much the same thing you are, maybe you can find some help and direction from there. My price range was the same as yours, I was pointed to a few bikes in that price range and decided on a Diamondback Insight 1, I have the bike ordered, haven't received it yet so no review but I feel pretty good about it after reading a lot about the bike. Good luck hope this helps https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...21-hybrid.html

mstateglfr 

Craigslist Craigslist Craigslist. Say it over and again.
look for a bike sized as L...or 58cm...or 23". That general range. Ride a couple and figure out if one fits you.

No idea where you are, but $250 should get you a quality hybrid thats 1-6 years old and in great condition.

Itll have the gearing and tire size you will most likely want for the type of riding you mention. Plus, racks and fenders will be easily mountable to the frame, if desired.

CosmicF

Bike shop bikes are absolutely wonderful, but you don't have that kinda of cash, nor do you want to debt yourself with a "thing" not knowing whether you're going to be into it.
But, with the $ that you are talking, and just getting your feet wet, I recommend going to a department store, a Walmart, or whatever type of store that has toys around you and trying out some cheap- bikes. For $125, you can get something to get your feet wet, something to have fun on. Yeh, it's not going to impress the gearheads or techheads, but let's be honest here, with your kind of cash you're not going to be able to impress them.

But, if you get into it, I'd much rather see someone with good riding technique on a cheap Huffy, than a newbie who can't hop over a curb or log on a $1200 Trek.

You're money, your decision. But, with a cheap bike, you'll have money left over for a helmet and a rack for your car to take your bike places.

dim

2nd hand Surly Karate Monkey

CosmicF

Disk brakes, nice saddle, you offering that up for under $300?

apteno

I'm in Pittsburgh, most of the sales on CL seem to be cheap mountain bikes.

pittsburgh bicycles - craigslist


Thanks for the advice from everyone so far, I'll maybe go to Walmart just to check some stuff out while searching on CL.

I was also looking on here, I didn't know if anything was worth it,
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/hybrid_bikes.htm

RonH

Pittsburg should have dozens of bike shops.

Skip Walmart. Most of there bikes will need repair or adjustment within one week.

BikesDirect.com is a good place to start on a budget if you know what size frame you need. If you're not sure visit a bike shop and ask them about sizing or ask a knowledgeable cycling friend for help.

mstateglfr 

2015 GT Vantara Comp Hybrid Large Frame $350. Newer style. Perfectly fine components.

2015 trek fx 7.1 21 speed hybrid $400. Good solid hybrid. High price, probably too high by a bit.

GT Mountain Bike - Large $100. Suspension fork isnt needed and is heavy since its entry level, but the bike is perfect for what you want to do.

1992 Trek Antelope 820 Electric Blue Splash Mountain Bike (Delivery) $145. After looking on your local CL for 10min, this is what I would target first. The components are perfectly good even though they are older. I have many bikes with this level components that are early 90s and even older. The bike has been overhauled so it should shift and brake well. Its a solid frame and solid components for a solid price. All around...solid.

Gary Fisher Gitche Gumee Mountain Bike (black) $115. Entry level from '98. Still a solid option, assuming it shifts and brakes well.




All these, assuming they are in good mechanical condition, would be significantly better than a new bike from a big box retailer costing $150 or less. I am not speaking in generalizations, I am speaking of specifics- as in the Trek Antelope for $145 really does have components which, even though they are 20+ years old, will function better than a Target purchased bike. The bike has been fully refurbished too, and by someone who apparently knows how to work on bikes. This is significant because big box bikes are not tuned and adjusted in near the same manner or precision.



There are also these options-
Diamondback Insight 1 Bike
Diamondback Insight 2 Bike

Both are over your price range, but Nashbar is currently running a 25% off sale which would put both bikes in your price range. The sale ends tomorrow, but that place has sales all the time and you should get the same or similar deal later if you dont want to rush.

VegasTriker

+1 to staying away from Walmart bikes. I came across two Schwinn bikes this morning at a neighbor's garage sale that came from that store. Both were hardly ridden. One was in pieces, just a frame, the fork and a pile of parts including wheels with no axles or bearings. Lord knows what had happened to it. The intact bike was a good example of what NOT to buy. It had one of those “cushy” foot wide seats with the useless suspension seatpost as well as the cheap front suspension. I asked the owner how often she had ridden it and the answer was, “once or twice”. That's what I suspected. It looked pretty but wasn't much use as a bike for any decent distance ride.

apteno

Thanks for the information guys, I tried emailing about a few of those bikes but they were already a couple of days later.

I saw these while looking again today, didn't know if they seemed decent or not.

Schwinn Mesa Runner

Specialized Bike
XL, so may be a bit big since I am 6'0", but willing to check it out.

VegasTriker

The Schwinn Mesa Runner could date back as far as 1984 1984 Schwinn Catalog . Can't find what it originally cost
If you are 6' tall, this bike may be too small.

Hard to comment on the second bike since the seller does not give any information about the model or year. Picture aren't close enough to figure out much. I like to know both since you can then find out how much it cost when new. That gives you information on whether the bike is an entry level model or much better.

apteno

He said it is a Hardrock model, most likely at 21" frame. He put extended seat and handlebar posts on it to fit his 6'7" frame, but said it should be fine with those removed.

VegasTriker

The correct size for you is 21" the largest frame they make for the Hardrock. This model has been around for a lot of years based upon the listings on Bikepedia which dates the model back to 1993, the earliest year they list for bikes. It is entry level. MSRP for a brand new 2016 is $425 and the 2017 is $500 and that includes things like disc brakes and a wider gear range than the old ones. If you want to confirm what year this one was made, look at the inside of the crank arms. You will almost always find a date code stamped there (month/year) which should date the bike.


The newer ones had front suspension (bad) versus this one which has no front suspension (good) but it also dates it back into the early 2004 or earlier when they first added suspension on the Hardrock. The brand new cost in 2004 was $330 which makes the $175 price tag look overpriced. It is a common bike on CL with prices as low as $85 for the vintage 21 speed, 26” wheel, V-brake type. I'd keep looking but I have no idea how easy it is to find a good bike cheap in Pittsburgh. It takes some doing where I live but I have bought a lot of bikes way better than this one for less than $175 with all they needed was a thorough going through to clean, relubricate, and adjust things. I bought a used Specialized Rockhopper, one step above this one, for $140 back in around 1993 when it was only two years old. Better bike, better price even back then.

SpikedLemon

I'm not sure who'd be saying 'hybrid bikes are junk'. My wife rides one and we got it for the sole reason that she wanted a lighter bike than her old MTB, liked the idea of a road bike but wanted a much more relaxed ride and without paying too much.

Neither of us liked the hybrids with front suspension as it just added weight on a bike that wouldn't really need suspension for her purposes (light trails & road riding w/ the family). And, besides, if you 'need' suspension on a hybrid: you should probably be looking at a MTB anyway.

We picked her up a Devinci St Tropez hybrid bike - end of season deal as the 2017's are coming in now.