What Bike To Buy

[tootie]

OK, I am going to buy a bike. I need it for transportation mainly and dont know much about bikes. Most days I am going to ride 4 miles (I know that is very short but with an 5-10 lb. backpack and I need to get there preety fast). 2 miles each way from college to my house.
I am also thinking of joining an bike group so I guess it shouldnt just be for short rides. I can only spend around 800 dollars on it, so nothing to fancy. I guess I just need an fast, easy ride.
It doesn't need to fold up, it is going to be locked up with an very hard to cut lock, and it cannot be lock picked. Only on days that it is pleasant out, not like in the rain. Sunlight will only wear the paint down right?
Im sorry for jumbling this up a bit, I think I have had a little to much caffine tonight.

Ill try to summarize this up a bit. I need a bike for traveling to college and back, I might join a bike group, it needs to be fast and easy to ride, and cant be much more than 800$. Please refer me to some bikes that would fit this description.

[xmarvel]

I'd go for a hybrid; something built on a road frame but with flat (not road-style) handlebars, and perhaps with a slightly wider tire (up around 32 to 35mm) to account for the fact that you're probably going to have to bump some curbs on campus in places. Because there are a large number of selections available which should meet your needs, I'd say that your best bet is to check the local bike shops (rather than the sporting goods stores) for this one.

It's really a matter of what fits you and your preferred style, which is something that the folks at a bike shop can take into account better than the drones at a place like Oshman's.

[fC]

The difference between using a NYC lock and and a regular lock is that a thief will break the regular lock while you're not there. For the NYC lock, he'll wait until you unlock your bike and then introduce you to his 18" crescent wrench. Sometimes the non-thief proof locks aren't so bad afterall.

This is just an observation, but if his cycling group is into Mtn. biking, he'll have made a poor purchase.

[chriser]

I pedalled back and forth about two miles daily from home to junior high school for several years on a five-speed Schwinn.

Despite the typical horrified reaction here on rec.bicycles.tech, you'll probably do fine with a brand-new bike from WalMart or a used bike and save hundreds of dollars--which you can use to repair or replace the cheap bike if something breaks.

Your speed will be about the same. Every now and then, a friend visits and we take a leisurely ride out my usual route. Horrors, the six miles to the dam took twenty-four minutes instead of eighteen!

As for theft, a cheaper bike is less of a loss and possibly less of a temptation. And there's the happy feeling that you're riding something that cost less than other people pay for a pair of pedals.

Garage sales, local bike shops, and want ads should be able to provide you a different bike for every day of the week for $800.

Last winter, I gave a neighbor's son similar advice, explaining that I ride a used Schwinn obtained for under $250 on eBay, including shipping. When the poor kid got a word in edgewise, he explained that he was thinking more along the lines of a $1500 "entry-level" bike. His mother has confided since then that he doesn't use it much.

Good luck

[chriser]

I'm skeptical, too, but would be charmed by a video of someone taking the considerable trouble and expense to cool a lock down to a brittle enough state and then jacking it or smashing it apart,
Terminator-2-style.

Frankly, I'd expect a small cutting torch to be more practical and less dangerous than pouring liquid nitrogen all over a lock and bike. Of course,
Steven may have been joking--and here I am moving in on his territory.

While locks vary widely, few plain pin-tumbler locks resist picking. Hand, snap, or buzz picking methods let even ham-fisted clods like me open an awful lot of locks.

And if anything, the tubular versions are generally even easier to pick due to weaknesses in their design, which is lucky, since I know of no common snap or buzz tools for opening them.

As for any secrets, lock-picking is no more a secret art than magic. Practically every technique and trick is for sale through dealers in both lines.
(Majestic Lock is not a bad place to start.)

Truly pick-resistant locks usually cost far more, but I'd be interested to hear if any bike locks like Kryptonite use false (mushroom) or beveled swivel-pins, which are unusual in tubular locks.

Locks that cannot be easily picked can be often broken without descending deep into the Kelvin scale. There are plenty of hydraulic jacks that can be adapted to pop or cut locks. And my 4-foot bolt cutters have come in handy when friends lost keys to fairly good padlocks.

[Phrantic]

It is not clear what he prefers for equipment but that is not out of line.

New basic DT levers plus tape around $30.

Campagnolo current 10sp shifters & DT mounting kit about $185

As with everything else different riders perceive this problem differently.

[Phrantic]

"The dynamo is not $400 , the only adequate system is $400"

Well, in that case you should definitely get a DuraAce Ten conversion to solve your gear shifting problem.

After all, it's the only adequate system

[thor0298]

He buys his shifters from the same place he buys his bicycle dynamo systems.

Just tryin' to stir up more trouble,

[ass traffic]

I purchased a Specialized Sequoia Sport in 03 - $800. It is my first bike and I love it. I put in over 2,000 miles in 03 without any problems at all.

http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=6001&JServSessionIdroot=qb6i6l xaow.j27005

Good Luck and Happy Riding.

[enj0ychuck]

Actually, one can find such bikes much cheaper -- nearly free, or actually free. Keep the eyes open on garbage day and when passing
Salvation Army stores.