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Hello bike commuters!

Over the past few months I have started commuting by bike and have gotten hooked; I plan to make cycling my primary form of transportation for the foreseeable future. I have been using a Nishiki mountain bike from the 90's which had belonged to my uncle, and which I have been happy with, more or less. Unfortunately, a few weeks ago the frame broke near the right back fork end while I was pedalling hard on a rather high gear. I got my dad to weld it back together for me; that worked for a few weeks, but just the other day it broke again.

Since then I have decided that I better just invest in a new bike, but I would greatly appreciate some advice about this matter.

First of all, I suppose I must decide between getting a new bike or an older vintage one.

I am not at all interested in having the latest and greatest things, in fact, I tend to prefer what is older and simpler. That being said, I am willing to buy a new bike if I can be convinced that it would be a more solidly build machine and the most reliable option for years to come.

I have done a bit of research and think that a tour bike might be the best option for me; I have read that that are solidly built and and can accommodate fenders and racks and such, which I would be interested in. Additionally, I am interested in the idea of going on long trips at some point or another.

I am willing to spend about 1000 dollars, but I am frugal so I would prefer to spend less if I can without significantly sacrificing reliability. On the other hand, if someone can convince me that spending a little more would allow me to buy significantly better equipment, I would be willing to (but remember, what I care about is long-term reliability, not high performance).

​​​With all of that said, I would greatly appreciate it if someone would help point me towards a few models to consider. Thank you for your help!

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pdlamb

New bikes are hard to find this year, and new touring bikes are hard to find, period. That said, you might check and see if a dealer near you has a Fuji Touring in your size, or if a nearby REI has an ADV 1.1 in stock near your price range.

It seems springtime is when most used bikes hit craigslist, but you might look for a bike your size nearby. Since there's everything from hidden jewels to hidden garbage for sale, it'd be worth a lunch for a friend who's knowledgeable about bicycles to go look one (or two or three) over for you, and let you know what you're getting into. With a new bike, everything's new; but it's not uncommon for a used bike to need new tires, brake pads, and possibly a new chain -- especially if you're looking at 20+ year old bikes.

Good luck to you!

Darth Lefty 

It seems to me like the key to finding a good used bike is to be shopping somewhere lots of people use bikes. Where I live, it’s pretty good. Craigslist has thousands of bikes. If you are in the middle of Nebraska, the market is pretty poor. The next key is not to be too picky to get your heart set on a specific model. You are looking for a kind of bike, a touring bike, not a Miyata 1000 from 1983 etc. etc. Pretty much every company has had a touring model every year forever.

canopus 

What size would you be looking for? Are you looking for road tire? or stick with 26" MTB tires/frames? what is your location? Have you checked the ebay and Craigslist thread here?
1K is a pretty good amount to get you into a 1980's-early 90's touring bike with the assumption that you can find what you want in your size. If you have to ship it in it could eat 100-350 of your budget.

That said, I like my Cannondale's and Trek's and Schwinn's. I would love a Tout Terrain but since they have gone up I will have to skip it. Besides i don't ride enough to justify that anymore.

CliffordK

Also look at used frames.

You should be able to snag a 90's MTB frame off of Craigslist for less than $100.

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I would need about a 57cm frame. I'm in West Texas (El Paso); I have recently looked through craigslist and didn't find too much around where I am; I will check out eBay.
I think I would prefer to switch over to a road tire

Korina

Take a look at the Show Us Your Multitrack! thread on this forum. They're vintage 700c hybrid bikes, steel or aluminum, that can fit wider tires than your average road bike. They can fit fenders and racks, including lowrider front racks.

CliffordK

Ok, so I doubt you're getting a lot of snow, or rain. So, that opens up a lot of non-fenderized bikes.

Wow, only 105 bicycles on the El Paso Craigslist. You could go to Albuquerque, Tucson, or Phoenix, but that is a bit of a drive.

There are other online ads that are becoming increasingly popular including Offer-Up and Facebook Marketplace.

Also look for a "Bike Co-op", or bike stores, and even thrift stores.

What type of bike parking do you have? Secure?



This one would make a nice road bike, within your budget.

Trek Domane AL3, 58cm, $850

Mystery Giant, listed as "Medium" hiding in this ad, ???$900?

Trek Madone 4.5 Carbon Fiber, $1000

The Madone would be a fun bike. Not a typical "commuter", but could work if you take care of it.

Trek FX 7.2, listed at $1000... but that is VERY HIGH

The FX 7.2 is listed as 20", 51cm. I don't know the preferred size for a hybrid. It may be a bit small for you, but may also be OK. You could try it.

However, $1000 is a dreamer's price. I'd expect much closer to $300. Perhaps up to $500 if you really wanted it.

Sardines

Well I've become a big convert to belt drive gear hubs like pinion hubs, which have all but eliminated major maintenance on my bikes except for oil and cable changes once a year. Not tinkering with derailleur tuning, waxing/lubing chains etc, just wash and dry and good to go! The once a year strip and relube covers every other part of the bike.
I know it's an outlay that 2+x over your budget, but the Priority 600 is a solid commuter bike that comes with all the stuff like fenders and it has all the mounts for racks etc you will want for bikepacking/touring. I bought P600 for my kid for school, and she loves the low maintenance of it, with no complaints about it in the last 3 years. If you don't want to spend the time on maintenance, either paying someone or doing it yourself, the P600 will pay for it self in 3-4 years. I'm not sure if the Costco 20% is still available, but that's an option to try.

pagel

Is it pretty risky to buy used bikes online without being able to look them over? I found a Fuji Touring Size 58cm on eBay within my budget (including shipping). Sorry, I can't post links yet

pagel

Actually I just found the exact same bike (same pictures and everything) on a German (I think) website for 77 euros... Which seems odd

ClydeClydeson

I was actually in a neighboring large city over the weekend and saw an ad for an old (late 80s, early 90s) Nishiki that I was thinking would make a good tourer for some adventures I have planned over the next couple of years. By the time I called the seller the bike was gone. My primary hesitation is that lightweight steel frames from a few decades ago are not as tough as their reputation might indicate. Many lived so long simply because they weren't ridden much. That plus the possibility of tube walls thinned by rust over the decades makes me think I'm better off looking for something a little newer and more robust.

CliffordK

This One?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/324676406888

That is a wicked bar angle on that bike. Of course a quick fix, although it could be a sign of poor maintenance.

Some shipping damage is very common with internet bike purchases. Usually minor but it shouldn't be unexpected depending on how much care the seller takes with disassembly and packing.

I usually also consider any used bike as requiring a good tuneup.

I don't see anything that jumps out at me as a major concern with that bike. Those look like some kind of flip over SPD pedals.

We have to assume the bars and stem is OK, but they wouldn't be a big deal to replace if necessary.

The expensive item would be the shift levers, but I believe the Tiagra levers are a reasonably good model.

Did you say how tall you are? 6-foot-ish?

Darth Lefty 

The ebay listling looks legit, though expensive. It's >ten years old and cost around $1000 brand new. Within your budget you could be shopping new bikes from budget mail order brands.

Can't explain about the German listing... if it feels hinky do a reverse image search.

CliffordK

Actually that is a CHINESE website.

The E-Bay seller has a feedback rating of (2362) 99.5% Positive feedback

Looking at your Chinese SCAM website. First of all they've hot-linked to your original E-Bay photo. And, I think are only providing one photo.

"Whois" gives some interesting information about your SCAM website, including it being registered in China on Tue, 24 Aug 2021 08:28:32 GMT.

Buy the bike on E-Bay.

RUN from that Chinese website!!!

zandoval 

You may want to check out the pawn shops. Almost all the pawn shops in Texas are owned my just a few franchises. They rotate thier stock throughout the state. Get a general idea of what you are looking for then go to the pawn shop and let them know what you want and how much you have. Surprisingly they may turn up with a suitable bike with in a few weeks. Years ago I put out a feeler for a Peugeot Mixty frame at our local pawn shop here in Bastrop Tx. Two weeks later I got a whole fair conditioned 70's Mixty for 84 USD. It had a tag EZPAWN El Paso Texas... Ha

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Yeah, I guess if steel frames were indestructible I wouldn't have broken one; though that bike had a lot of miles on it: it was my uncle's only form of transportation and he went on long bike rides all the time.

From reading everyone's responses, I'm starting to lean towards the idea of shelling out a little more for a new bike that I can feel sure about rather going for an older used one that could potentially have a lot of tuning up needed and might be more used than I realize.
​​​​​​​But I will continue to look around for a few more months; in the meantime I'm able to ride an old department store mountain bike that was my grandfather's which I was able to upgrade with some of the parts from the Nishiki.