Help! I need a new bike!
 

OK, I am fed up to the back teeth with my 15yo mass production British Raleigh Mountain bike. It's wearing out and it weights a ton.

I went in my first bike store this evening and the guy recommended a Cannondale Road Warrior 500 @ $800. seemed nice enough to ride and certainly nicer that the couple of cheaper bikes I rode, but they're all so different from my current tank that it's really hard to tell.

Anyone have any opinions on this bike in respect to my needs/use and what is a reasonable amount to spend? I'm not loaded, but this time I want a bike I'm going to love. And will last.

I ride most days -but that's just to the bus stop with the kids. (And then back with two fold-up scooters in my saddle bag and wheeling one bike). Some days I ride to the gym a mile away. In the summer I will ride to the pool once or twice a day. I ride often, but not far. Sometimes we go for longer family bike rides. Sometimes I'll do about 10 miles with friends. I'm no racer. We take our bikes on vacation where we'll ride on dirt roads and grassy or woodland tracks, but nothing very rough. If I get a nice bike and really enjoy it, I might look into doing it a little more. ((I'm sorta thinking triathlon, but that thought scares me right now and I wouldn't want to buy based on that wisp of a notion.))

I'm 5'4", 170lb, muscular, and I want a bike that I'm going to be happy with for a long time. I don't like to be terribly upright, but I don't really need drop handlebars. I occasionally like to be a daredevil and ride without hands. I like this not to be an effort as it is with my current bike.

I think I don't want to spend this much money, but I certainly preferred this bike over the cheaper ones and the few reviews I've found on the internet have been favorable.

Your thoughts? Any advice on how to proceed in my bike quest? I like biking, it's my preferred mode of transport when practical and once my kids are in full-time school (September), more places will become practical -. But $800? Is it worth it for my level?

Have at it and thanks......

Have you tried craigslist for a used bike? At least give it a look. You might find a good used one for half that.

$150.00 tops. Either Craig's list or Walmart. $800 is a bit much for a mile or two. You could take a cab for six months and still be ahead.

If I decided this was a good bike, I would try to find a used one first. Walmart is a no. A while back I looked at their entire stock and it's utter crap and weighs a ton. Weight is an issue -my bike needs to be stored on hooks and like I said, I bike often. right now I sometimes walk or drive rather than bike because it's too hard to get the bike down and back up because it weighs so much. I want to make it easier.

Why on earth would I want to take a cab? I like to cycle, I hope to do it more, I cycle rather than drive whenever I can. Cabs are costly, nasty and hardly environmentally friendly. I never take cabs. I walk 5 miles home from the pub rather than take a cab.

No - the cab fare was just a comparison.

Yeah - getting the weight down gets very expensive. My bike is attached to my car and since I park about a mile from where I work, I take the bike the last mile - whatever the weather. But mine is pretty heavy.

I saw a bike the other day I really wanted. But since I don't feel like a third mortgage, I'll just have to live without it. Can't find the dang link. Just picture in your mind a really cool bike.

Oh right, sorry. So used to people who don't see the point of doing anything else when you can drive.

Ok We are lucky, we could "afford" the $800 if there was evidence that it would be worth it to us, but right now -nice though the bike was- I'm after alternatives/suggestions etc, it really does seem like too much to be spending on this. This is just the starting point -I'm still trying to work out what i wantr/need/feel is good value. My last bike was bought because we had a buy one get one free coupon in the UK. These do not happen often on things like bikes in the UK It was a good deal. but we had to buy in a certain store, so choice was limited. the bike before that my parents bought. So this is a whole new ballgame. I could get a nice looking second hand bike fairly easily round here, but before I even contemplate that option, I need to know what I'm out for. And how to spot a fucked-up bike that's been neaten back into reasonable shape. I bike a lot, but I'm not a cyclist.

that said, I liked that bike. If it turned out to be the best and I couldn't find a decent second hand one, I'd consider buying a new one. But I like to do my research thoroughly, and asking you lot is part of it.

thanks :)

Oh forgot to mention, thanks for the craig's list reminder :)

Have you looked at folding bikes?

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/397/

You can get fairly cheap ones...and they're easy to store and transport.

No, but I will, thanks.

....do you know anything about them? are they very robust or mostly novelty? I weigh more than I should and the road the bus comes on is a dirt road -would a folding bike hold up as well as a real one? I can't see them lasting very long with all the collapsing and uncollapsing, but the storage and weight aspect is certainly appealing. One of the thigs I liked about the $800 bike was the suspension. Would a fold-up bike make any acomodation for this?

The GoBike on Grant's page has suspension. It also has a $1500 price tag.

There will be a weight penalty with any bike that has suspension. I saw this on the REI site. It looks like an effective town bike, but I wouldn't do anything resembling single-track or high mileage with low end components.

Have you considered cyclocross bikes? They are actually made for riding on changeable surfaces, but maintain a roadbike feel. If I could only have one bike I'd lean toward a cyclocross machine. Kona Jake

Well. you could keep the bike you have and buy a $150 electric hoist to lift it.

OR
ROAD BIKES For long, demanding road trips.
_____________________________price___rating____weight
1 Klein Rêve v_________________1,800___87_______20
2 Giant OCR Composite 3________1,800___84_______22
3 Giant OCR 1_________________1,000___79_______22 best buy
4 Specialized Roubaix___________1,300___78_______21
5 Trek Pilot 2.1________________1,320___78_______21
6 Cannondale Synapse 4________1,050___77_______21 best buy
7 LeMond Poprad______________ 1,350___76_______22
8 Raleigh Cadent 1.0_____________650___72_______24 best buy

FITNESS BIKES For regular workouts or daily commuting.
9 Giant FCR3___________________630____72______23
10 Schwinn Super Sport GS_______700____71______23
11 Fuji Absolute 2.0_____________700____70______24
12 Jamis Coda Comp_____________830____70______26
13 Cannondale Road Warrior 400___700____67______25

COMFORT BIKES For leisure riding on generally flat roads.
14 Schwinn Sierra GS____________340____69______31
15 Mongoose Switchback SX______280____62______32
16 Giant Sedona DX._____________360____61______32
17 Jamis Explorer 4.0_____________600.___60______35
18 Diamondback Wildwood Deluxe.__350.___58______34
19 Specialized Crossroads Sport.___330____58______31

I used to work with an old engineer that owned over 150 bikes. He told me it's better to ride a rusty old bike that weighs 30 lbs than a high tech, $5000, 15 lb bike and have to carry 20 lbs of chains and locks.

yeah, that's another issue with the expensive bikes. My current bike weighs way more than 30lb, though. It's also knackered. It needs so much work were I to keep it that it would cost at least the price of an equivaklent bike to fix it. I suspect it may have been damaged when it was shipped here, because I didn't have problems with the front wheel shifting out of alignment like I do know. I'm thinking maybe the packers just forced it flat and bust it rather than using the appropriate tools :lol:

I'm biking more and more, so I really want something that I'm not going to curse at and wish I had a different one, as I do currently.

thanks for all the comments and info, guys. all very helpful. :)

(I never used to be one for spending huge quantities of $ on things when there are cheaper options, but I'm coming to appreciate that sometimes it's worth it, especially in sports -my $250 figure skates have been worth every penny. I should have got them in the first place, instead of the $100 off the shelf ones. I want to try and avoid a similar double-purchase)

I bought a Trek WSD (woman specific design) because I'm 5'2"and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Front suspension is great, easy on the wrists. Rear, really not needed IMHO for mostly road riding. Picture in the BIKES! thread, post #144. Can't remember the # and what I paid for it though at the local mom and pop bike shop, will look it up at home tonight and edit...less than $400 for sure though. I think this is the current model of what I have. $375. Did I say I loved it?


Had an often used Trek 820 that lasted about 10 years previous to that, so that's why I went with another. Sold the old one for $30, paid $300 for it in '94.

Definately try one out if you have the chance

Thanks, LabRat, I will. Just the sort of recommendation I need. :)

Update request :)

Have a chance to try any new ones out yet?

Monster,
You could spend many hours at RoadBikeReview. Go down to Product Review and choose the type of bike you're interested in, or you can search for particular manufacturers or models, old and new. There are also reviews of components and accessories.

For example, I have a 2003 Trek 520, which is reviewed here.
I read these reviews before I bought the bike, and agree with most of them (I've changed the seat - sorry, saddle - for a Brooks B17, and I would like to change the gearing).

*sigh* no, the bike shop I went to still don't have that in my size in stock for me to try (I'm 5'4"-hardly a weird size!)and I haven't had time to visit others yet (end-of-school-year start-of-pool-year craziness right now). Craigs list scared me. Full of all sorts of phrases that I either didn't understand or made me worry about the roadworthiness. But I'm dreaming.... Good job I'm not in a hurry, although I really hate my old bike (well sorta hate it). I weighed it -it's 49 pounds! :lol:

Thanks HLJ. Our pool is supposed to have wireless this year, so I may surf while the kids swim...

Monster, I keep forgetting to bring my camera in to work, but I will post a pic in the bikes thread when I do of my rig. Turns out I have the Trek 4500, a step up from the link I previously posted. $495 for an '07, or last year's model is on sale for $395.

LR, that's a really nice bike, and especially for the price. It looks like a mountain bike, but it was hard to tell from that link.

Hi Monster - Labrat & HLJ are right- Trek have a great range of bikes - hard to choose from so many - I have a 7.1 FX hybrid (pictured in my profile photo) - costs here about UK pds 270. The 4500 here costs UK pds 400, so I guess in US the $ price of the 7.1 FX will be a good deal cheaper than the 4500. I think you could probably get a 7.3FX disc brake version for the same price as the 4500. I like the hybrid because it gives you better on-road performance - and disc brakes are better for off-road as they don't get clogged with mud as easy as rim brakes.

Hey, posted a pic of my rig in the BIKES! thread if you are interested.

Thanks. I'm having no luck with the local bike shops. They all suck. I'm very tempted just to get a low-end all-aluminum Schwinn from Target and be done with it, but you're doing a really good job on selling me Trek! Where do you all buy from? On-line or your local bike stores?

The link in post #19 is to the store where I bought mine, World of Bikes here in Iowa City. My house is on the way to IC from your place, and we have a spare bed if you wanna go for a road trip to bike shop :). This is actually a serious offer, BTW.

Also, the TREK website should have links to local dealers in your area...if you don't have time to visit lovely Iowa.

Monster, I've bought all of my bikes at bike shops. I went to a local (non-chain) shop when I bought my Trek 520, because I thought that they would help me with sizing, but I realized later that I bought one that's a little big, so I was a little disappointed there.

They were good for a service issue. One day I had my rear wheel off and was pumping up the tire after patching the tube. The wheel was sitting on a bench and I was using a floor pump. Just as I was on the final down-stroke (when my head was nearest the wheel) the tire exploded. I was working in a small utility room with concrete walls and the explosion was incredibly loud. I just kind of staggered around for a few seconds. When I finally recovered I inspected the tire, which was destroyed, and saw that the wheel rim was also shredded. I was amazed. I took the wheel back to the dealer (the service manager said that he had never heard of that happening before) and they built a new wheel for me at no charge. If I had purchased on line I probably would have been out $100 dollars or more for the wheel and tire.

thanks both. will start with the Trek website.

Hey, I've got one of those!

Monstro-I've bought bikes both ways. If you are not really sure of yourself on sizing and repairs go with a shop.

Griff, is your 520 stock? I've changed the seat and pedals on mine, and added a naviiON computer (discussed here). I also have a tail trunk, which I use all the time.

I still want to add an adjustable stem and maybe to change to lower gearing.

I've changed pedals, tires, and seat. I have a cheap trunk as well. I customized mine with some deep pavement scratches last summer and updated my wrist at the same time. Pete has a newer 520 which came with a Trek rack and I bought her a proprietary trunk that locks in place.

I looked into doing that. The shops I talked to said that the only lower gearing they could do would add two teeth, and that I wouldn't notice it much, if at all. Maybe the difference would be more pronounced if you aren't hauling 50-100lbs of extra shit with you.

But I need all that stuff (particularly the fig bars, rain jacket, spare tube, extra spokes, blowup doll, multi tool, extra water, maps, pump, headlight, tail light and Ramen noodles).

I was thinking of a smaller front chain ring. Some of the hills around here are so steep that I have to lean way forward just to keep the front wheel on the ground.

I've owned a lot of mid-rangers and Cannondale is a favorite, you can't go wrong IMO.
Been a few years, but I've got no reason to believe they've changed a great deal, as far a quality and weight-to-durability is concerned.

That may be a little fussier to setup than a new cassette. I assume you have a 9sp cassette. You can run anything from an 11-21 12-27in Shimano Ultegra and 11-21 to 12-26 in SRAM (better price) I did have to change my mtn bike from a bigger cassette to a smaller because the rear derailler was being over-extended. *shrug* I think the change is useful and doable but your chainring idea is a cheaper place to start.

Ha ha! I went to the Trek site and the two dealers in my city are the one with the worst rep -nobody has anything good to say about them and they didn't mention Trek to me, and the other had nobody to help me so I left. But their website looks promising, so I'm thinking maybe they were having a bad day and I'll try again.

My first touring bike was a Cannondale, it was a nice ride. I did, however, have a frame failure because the chain stays, being aluminum, were soft enough to be ground away by pebbles which stuck to tar on my tires. This was an early version frame though and the new ones have more space between wheel and chainstay. For hardcore touring, I'd lean toward steel for durability and ease of welding.

I'm not criticizing the load. I probably carried about 10 lbs worth of food alone. Considering I burn in excess of 4,000 calories day-to-day, I'm not sure I want to know how many I burn touring. I'm thinking it's somewhere in the range of all of them!

I once spent 51 days riding from Frankfurt, Germany to London, by way of Italy, and I kept a food journal (I should look for that). We ate lots of pastries and ice cream and pasta. Just before we left London to come back to the US I bought some nice dress pants. They fit me for about a week. I didn't realize how much weight I lost during that ride, despite the huge intake of food.

(My friends wanted to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa but I didn't want to spend the money. I said, "I need that money for more food." I did end up going up, and I'm now glad I did.)

Now the proud owner of a Trek FX 7.2 WSD. Thanks all

(it has pink grips, but I'll be doing something about that in the next few hours.....)

My friend also needed a new bike, and has similar riding habits, and found that the (evil) store just round the corner from me was doing 10% off today. she tried loved and bought one of these this morning, then called me..... The service was still crappy, though.

21lb. feather-light :D

Yay monster yer the biker!

monster -- I imagine you've just finished a 14-hour marathon ride with your new light-weight bike. How do you feel?

Nice looking bike - just checked it out in the Trek catalogue.

As well as changing the pink grips you might want to change the saddle to an ergonomic one (the standard ones become uncomfortable too quickly), and although the tyres they fit are quite good they have relatively high road resistance - try something like Specialised Armadillo All Condition which are very light on road and yet still tough off road (need high pressure - min 75psi front and 90 psi back).

Have fun!

Well I biked to the pool and back and a local party and back.... Have a longer ride arranged with my friend for monday. It is wonderfully light -especially on the way back tonight when the beer was in my belly and not the panniers... ;) :p

Saddle is fine so far (I have plenty of personal padding and my previous saddle that i have to compare it to was 20 years old....), but will keep this thread and your advice in mind if it gets to be a problem, thanks CF. The wheels thing -way to technical for me. But if one day I suddenly understand, I'll be sure to remember your advice and come back and read it again, thanks :) I'm a real newb to real bikes, even though I bike a fair bit. Hoping it will be more now I have a new bike and a riding buddy and next year all my kids will be in school all day..... :D

(I think beest is jealous of my new bike.... I wonder if we'll be down the store again tomorrow getting him a new one before the 10% discount expires....? ;) )

monster - that's a nice looking bike. It has a mountain bike-style frame with the sloping top tube. Does it give you a lot of clearance when you're standing over the frame? With the Trek 520 I only have about an inch of clearance between the frame and my sensitive bits.

Sweet! Congrats!! I really think you'll like the WSD.

Yes, a good amount. I don't have the same sensitive bits issue, although I would still rather not get whacked there.....

I am finding the lack of front suspension something I need to get used to -my wrists and elbows were really jarring on the bumpy pavement today, but I really don't need to hold on so rigidly to maintain control, so I think I can adapt. It was perfect bike weather, warm and sunny but not hot and humid. Wheeeee!

And I loved coasting with no hands -I'm such a big kid.