Buying a bike...

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

I wanted to buy a bike for the summer... nothing fancy :p nothing i need to jump off a cliff, and land on one tire type of stuff.. just riding for excercise... i live in Ontario (mississauga) so don't suggest anything thats above $300.. cause i dont wanna pay like $500 for a bike ill use 5 months out of the year :p

i was looking at Canadian Tire.. and some are pretty nice, and seem to be good enough..

suggestions / things to watch out for before buying...

p.s. i didnt know where to post this.. it's a sport right :p

[VLL]

Giant make some quality good value bikes, the Terrago is a good alrounder.

[Symbiotic Hat]

an entry level road bike will run you about $500. If you're just looking for a bike, go to walmart and buy a $100 multipurpose bike.

[youm0nt Veteran]

id recommend going to a local bike shop.some good popular brands are trek,giant,specialized, and cannondale.

[Des429]

Check out ebay first. I bought my proflex bike which is normally $800, and i got it for $200.

[five04]

in my life, cycling is #1, so i suggest you bite the bullet and get an entry level road bike for ~US$600 because cycling becomes incredibly addicting. you can usually find the trek 1000 for around US$550. if you just want some kind of crap go to walmart and get one of their junk made in china schwinn mountain bikes. regardless of what you get, make sure you buy a helmet. i had a really bad crash a little over a month ago which left me left wrist broken in many places and my helmet cracked all the way through. my head was fine though. if i hadn't had it on i'd be dead.

[mikmo]

Yeah, def check out ebay. Can get some real bargains on there when it comes to bikes. even a well used one will cost only a little to get fixed up nicely.

[Pink Floyd Veteran]

last week, I bought a Giant Iguana for 800$ taxes included and it fits my need as an old buddy biking hehe

I'm sure you can find something cheaper from Giand in the recreative section

like the Boulder

[Warning]

I'd go for a norco entry level bike IMO, because i loooove norco's and i have riden several models, something like a Norco Storm or the like sounds like it should suit you.

The norco bikes are amazing value for money and very tough, but you could also look at the specialised hardrock and/or some of the giant bikes.

My advice is to steer clear of trek however, i have had some bad experience with some hardtail treks, as they tend to be pretty badly specced for the price, and also a bit crap.

One final note: go for a hardtail, anything in your price range that isn't either stolen or second hand that is a full suspension bike will only impair your riding ability.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

lol, did anyone even read my post? or just the title?

im not gonna be jumping off cliffs.. and dont wanna spent over $300 CDN... comon guys :p only one person gave me advice.. lol and told me to go to wallmart.. but ill go to Canadian Tire... thanks anyways guys ;)

[christracy]

i just bought myself a gary fisher wahoo for 350. i'm planning to use it like you. a bike trail here and there and to get around town especially with gas prices going up. gary fisher has an advance that goes for 299 i think.

[DrunkenMaster]

Don't go to Crappy Tire to buy a bike. There's tons of bike shops in TO.

The bikes are poorly assembled and don't last very long (bad quality parts). Trek and Specialized usually have good price points and make pretty good bikes.

You could also check police auctions.

[emo]

i'd say get a cannondale.

[Galley]

A good entry-level bike would be a Schwinn. Target sells a really nice one for $200US.

[instant.human]

schwinns are pretty good, but you can also buy a cheap ghost or focus.

i would not buy a giant, sometimes you get really crappy quality, for relatively much money...

go for a schwinn or look for ghost, specialized and focus at ebay.

[qdave]

also you can try Raleigh. I have one and its realy good.

[christracy]

also you can try Raleigh. I have one and its realy good.

585793051[/snapback]

i have seen quite a few of those since i bought my fisher. never heard of them before but they seem to becoming popular.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Canadian tire has crappy bikes :|

and police auction... thats a brilliant idea! except.. i dont know when they happen. i should ask my brother, hes a cop :p

[Boffa Jones Veteran]

I am also in the market for a new bike, I have no idea where to start though, I want to do a bit of trail riding, I dont want to spend much more than 500$ though, so lets hope this pans out.

[Budious]

May I suggest the trek 820 (steel frame mtb, front shock), basic 21-speeds, runs $230US at most dealers... much smarter to buy a professionally assembled and guaranteed bike at that price from a reputable shop and brand than from wally world for a bit less...

[MR_Candyman]

ok, you live in 'sauga man! There's TONS of good bike shops there and in the rest of the GTA. The best I know of is Burlington Cycles. There are however a ton of good bike shops. Just go to a bunch of them and talk. Let them know you will not buy anything that day and are just doing research. Keep going back to those places a few times each and tell them what others have said and gauge their reactions. You will end up with a great bike if you read their expressions and listen carefully to what they have to say.

Also try going to www.mtbr.com and see what other riders are saying about the bikes (I would have claimed this was me advertising a few years ago, but I stopped working for them about 5 years ago, I still like the site though). Some are just plain trolling saying how good or crappy something is with little knowledge, but those are generally easy to spot.

DO NOT go to canadian tire or wal-mart, etc. for a bike. I did that as a kid and nearly got myself killed from mechanical failures with every single one of those crappy bikes.

You are living in a place that sells mountain biking equipment cheap. I need to pay 5 times as much for the same stuff here, so i always take trips to bc and ontario (wish I woulda picked up disc brakes while I was living in oakville). Trust me, go shopping around, go to the small family owned stores, go to the ones with teenagers working on the bikes, talk to the people working on the bikes and see which ones are coming back with problems the least.

and instead of the trek 820 I think maybe a trek 3700 would be better (if you're staying with trek) because it's pretty much identical, except the frame is aluminum, and a heck of a lot lighter. That 820 weighs a fair amount.

Edited April 22, 2005 by MR_Candyman