faisal12

Hello,

I hope everyone is keeping well and healthy in these times. During this pandemic my home country has decided to ban all cars on the street. I am thinking of investing in a bike to commute, in a city where there are lots of steep hills (Amman). I found a bike that I like but haven't tested yet. The brand is Anchor and it is Aluminum. 21 gears and size is 26 inches. I'm a 5'11 guy.

The price is not too bad. I would like to hear your suggestions - Does this bike hold it's value? I never tried Anchor and I'm not sure what to expect. Any recommendations and feedback is appreciated.

EDIT: Thank you for the replies everyone. I agree that Amman is a place with lots of up hills and downhills, and I figure I need something with many low gears. I have found an alternate option to the one I posted. This one is dynacraft 700c, light aluminum frame and has 3-speed gears! I read some reviews on amazon and it seems like a decent commuter bike for going to and from work. I'ts brand new and the price is very appealing to me. The Tire size is 28 inches, dimensions are (53 x 7.25 x 29.5 in inches). It would make me happy to hear what everyone thinks.

Thank you in advance

alan s 

I’ve never found the bike itself to be a good investment. Over its life, you will spend more than its initial cost in maintenance and repairs. And in the end it will be worth almost nothing. However, owning and riding a bike is a great way to save money, if it replaces a car or public transportation. Plus you’ll get a bit of fresh air and exercise along the way. The bike you are looking at is unfamiliar, but it sounds like it is appropriate for your situation. If it has knobby tires, replace them with smooth street tires immediately, and you’ll be much happier.

Darth Lefty 

Sure let's attack the headline, drop some names, that will get him rolling

Amman must be a fascinating place to live. Wikipedia says it's valleys and ridges. You are going to want a bike with low gears, so a 21 speed is good. 26 inches is the old mountain bike tire size which is pretty common, that's good too. But I think a lot of us here will have no idea what the bike brands are in Jordan. You could help us out if you can find a link to a website about it. I struck out. "Anchor" doesn't sound encouraging if you are going up a hill, but there was once a decent mountain bike sold in the USA called a Giant Boulder, so who knows? At 5ft11 you are going to want a large but not XL frame, which means a the frame tube that holds the seat will be 18-19" from the crank axle for a mountain bike, 58 cm for a road bike.

Unca_Sam

I'd add to the above advice that you look at the gearing of the bike you wish to buy if you're looking at lots of climbing. You might be served better if your largest rear cog has more teeth than your smallest front chainring, making it easier to ride the bike up the hill (with lots of pedaling) to avoid stalling out, until your fitness improves (which it will do quickly). Just search for your favorite bike gear calculator on google, and see what you come up with. It's much simpler to replace cassettes (the rear cogs) than the chainrings.

faisal12

Thank you for the replies everyone. I agree that Amman is a place with lots of up hills and downhills, and I figure I need something with many low gears. I have found an alternate option to the one I posted. This one is dynacraft 700c, light aluminum frame and has ONLY 3 gears! I read some reviews on amazon and it seems like a decent commuter bike for going to and from work. I'ts brand new and the price is very appealing to me. The frame is 28 inches - Which might be on the bigger side?

It would make me happy to hear what everyone thinks.

Thank you in advance and hope you're having a beautiful day

BobbyG

If you are lucky you will keep riding the bike until long after it looses all value.

+1 smooth tires (except in snow).

dedhed

I think you're confusing tire size with frame size. 28" is VERY LARGE for a frame.

wphamilton

There are few bikes that could qualify as a literal investment. They might work forever, but they don't hold the value. It's more realistic to consider the price of a bike vs its commodity value.

Not familiar with that brand, but I'd look for component levels and user reviews that address durability and failures.

faisal12

You're right. I checked with the owner and they confirmed.

Here are the dimensions:
(53 x 7.25 x 29.5 in inches)

Unca_Sam

Are these mixed units? I'm surprised that a bicycle outside the United States is using the imperial system for marketing.
You can get an estimate of size based on your height, or take some more detailed measurements and use them to get a range of sizes.

The measurements that mean the most after effective top tube and seat tube length. Standover is useful for estimating but is affected by a number of factors that don't relate to how comfortable you will be when riding.

randyjawa used to have a website (heads up, Randy, it looks hijacked) that provided this illustration:

For modern frames, use virtual or effective top tube length, rather than actual.

faisal12

Thank you. I am not sure about gearing bike in times like this as bike shops might be closed, but I'll keep it in the back of my mind. Also can you elaborate on what a rear cog is? Sorry in advance for the inconvenience

Nyah

Welcome, Faisal.

Rear cogs are the toothed rings that are located on the rear wheel, which engage the chain. Some bicycles have only one of these, while others might have up to eleven. Chainrings (also known as chainwheels) are also toothed rings which engage the chain but they are located at the crank. Some bicycles have only one chainring while others might have up to three.

The bicycle which has 21 gears and 26-inch wheels will handle the hills much better than the one with only 3 gears and 28-inch (also known as 700c) wheels. Don't put your trust into reviews posted on Amazon. Those could easily have been written by people with a financial stake in the bicycle, who are pretending to be satisfied customers.