One of my best friends visited me this weekend and piqued my interest on biking. He has been riding for around 8 years in St. Louis and we got to talking about how good it's been for him. So, now I would like to give it a go. Ideally I'd have $500+ in the bank to go spend on a new 10 speed but I don't. Does anyone have any suggestions for where to grab a cheaper $200- 10 speed bicycle? I've checked CraigsList but haven't found anything worthwhile. Thanks in advance.
They're out there, but for someone new to cycling can be hard to spot. There are a lot of people selling garage sale quality crap for that kind of coin, and there are some gems out there as well. There are a lot of people like you at this time of year though, making the pickings even slimmer.
I picked one of these up about a year ago, when I wanted to get back into cycling. It's obviously not going to compare to a $1000+ dollar bike, but it gets the job done. It's a 14 speed if that makes a difference to you. Also if you are shorter than 5'8 (ish) the top tube will probably be too high
Are you committed to a 10 speed? With the hills here, extra gears are nice.
If you have time and are willing to put effort into it, Free Ride is a good place to get bikes.
I'm not committed to a 10 speed. More like committed to 10+ speed. I'm 5'9" so, the Prelude (mentioned above) would probably be borderline for me.
I just found out about Free Ride. I think that it would be good for a few reasons. I haven't worked on bikes in 12 years or so and they seem to have fix-for-sale bikes which would be great. Support a good organization and get a nice bike (hopefully).
I stopped by today but got there a bit early and couldn't stick around. I think I'll go by on Thursday and see what happens. I'll let you know...thanks for the help.
FreeRide gets real busy this time of year.
If you're just looking for a good bike to tool around on, look for 80s-early 90s rigid mountain bikes. They're not as fashionable so a good number get donated but they don't get snapped up as quickly. You do need to buy a pair of slick tires since knobblies get pretty slow on pavement.
The trick to getting a nice bike seems to volunteer for a bit so you get the hang of things and watch the new donations like a hawk, then grab a nice bike as soon as it comes in. Most of the good bikes on the wall are already taken.
Well, I finally broke down. I went to Trek of Pittsburgh yesterday after work and purchased a new Trek 7100. I kind of love it. I only got to ride it for a few miles when I got home yesterday but I plan on putting many more miles on it in the weeks to come.
I figure I can always upgrade later.
Thanks for your comments. They helped me a lot.
Maybe a bit squishier than necessary in front, but it definitely looks like it'll ride like a bike. Good on you. Did you grab a Pittsburgh Bike Map and the Commuting 101 guide? Even if you don't plan on commuting the latter offers solid advice on riding in traffic.
