Getting back into biking

[403Gemini]

Well I really haven't rode a bike since high school (really since I got my drivers lol), but I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. I used to BMX and mountain bike ALL the time in Jr High and High school and it kept me in pretty damn good shape.

I was wondering if anybody could suggest a pretty basic mountain bike that will require minimal maintenance for roughly $250-$400? I don't need anything super pro, just something to keep me in shape and ride every day.

Cheers!

[Nissan_Fanboy]

LOL, i ride a supercycle!
I just bike up Nose Hill and places like that.
Does the job!

[swak]

Not to be a dick, but 2-400 won't get you much of a bike.

Check out kijiji etc. That would be your best bet.
Good to see another person joining the 'cycling' crowd..

BTW.. Did you BMW or BMX? Haha..

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by swak
Not to be a dick, but 2-400 won't get you much of a bike.

Check out kijiji etc. That would be your best bet.
Good to see another person joining the 'cycling' crowd..

BTW.. Did you BMW or BMX? Haha..

See!!! Too much of cars on the brain! BMX*

And that's not being a dick, a used bike would be fine with me honestly. Like I said, i don't need a super pro bike, just something pretty decent.

Any brand recommendations? Shops to check out? Etc?

[403Gemini]

Edit:

Actually with my birthday being next month I think I'll just ask my friends and family for some coin so I can invest in a better mountain bike...

[Vagabond142]

403: If you really don't care about brand names or it being and ultrasupermegaultrabike, Canadian Tire has some pretty decent cheap-o bikes. This one might be good for road riding:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows...BMen%2527s.jsp

$129, front suspension, 26 in wheels, 21 speed grip shifters, friction brakes

[swak]

Check out Bow Cycle, they got some pretty reasonable prices.
Also Eurotech on Northmount is a really good shop. (Owners Roy and Almeda will hook you up with something good, they wont bs with you.)

Good luck tho kiddo.
Save up around $6-800... You'll be glad you spent the extra money.

IE. Me riding my CAAD9-5, vs. riding a lower end road bike is like night and day.

This might not make sense to you, but even the tiagra line vs. the 105 component line is very noticable and 105 is only 1 step ahead of tiagra.

[corsvette]

also check out bow cycle classifieds,a bike for $400 used that was 1200 new is still better than a $400 new bike.

[Adrenaline101]

Bow cycle classifieds has some good deals sometimes, also check pinkbike, altho if your like me and use something like hotmail, aol, yahoo mail you cant register on there.

And for a bike, maybe a tiny bit out of your price range, but a Giant Boulder SE, its about $515 with taxes. I got one for my fiance from cyclepath, Its got lower end components (in the scale of name brand bikes), but a good light frame, suntour front suspension. its got v-brakes, but all the mounts are there if you ever wanted to upgrade in the future up to discs.
Also Bowcycle has a few bikes quite close to the 400 dollar price range, konas and norco's.

One other thing to think about, is if you are serious about getting back into biking alot. Most of the name brand bikes IE: giant, trek, specialized, rocky mountain, norco, cannondale, etc etc etc. All use components that are upgradable down the road.
Example: unless your insane and wanna waste money like I did and know how to weld. You cant stick a rock shox's front fork on a raleigh mountain bike.

[bigbadboss101]

Subscribed! Gemini I am in the same boat as you. Looking for a bike. Let me know what you decide to go with. I think used bikes can be a good bang for the $ but one would need to know what to look for in terms of finding wears and damage etc.

[Jlude]

I picked one up a month ago from wal mart... it's actually not that bad for $200. If I stick with it enough to warrant it, I'll invest in a better bike. Right now I only bike to work, but I feel so much better because of it.

[gretz]

I would suggest buying a bike worth a little more than 2-400 if you want to progress (who doesn't?)

If you go BMX, you can land a decent bike that will take wear and tear

If you go mountain bike, buy something decent - nothing worse than skipping shifter/derailer, brakes that dont work in the rain, and suspension that is more there for looks than anything

[swak]

Exactly.. Groin to top tube is not cooL

[trevh]

Try pinkbike.com, local website. Many people selling bikes/accessories in Calgary too.

[ZorroAMG]

I'm looking at getting a cruiser for the sea wall here and just around town....looking at the Electra Straight 8...

SICK bike, comfy ride and 3 speeds...I won't be doing any off road riding and I hate riding all bent over and high off the ground. This bike is low, 24" diameter wheels, 3" wide tires



Not cheap though, around 800

[scat19]

Did my first ride this past weekend with my girl.

Arbour lake to eau claire and back. Great first ride!

Check out bowcycle, that's where I purchased my bike 8 years ago. It still looks new! (Used a lot, I guarantee)

[syeve]

like others have said, there are some unreal deals on the bowcycle classifieds. $2k bikes for $5-600 all the time.

[Euro838]

I'm pretty sure a lot of people are in the same dilemma as you are. I've been looking for a couple of months now and it's actually pretty difficult to find a good deal for a used bike. I'm sure the last thing you want it is to find out that you could have spent $50 or $100 to get a similar bike brand new. Now with that being said, there's not a tonne of abuse that you can do to a bike without it being truly visible.

Used bikes that will be priced around $400 are 04's or older. The used market is very tough as you really don't know how much it was ridden, how it was stored, etc.

I agree with what someone said earlier that you are probably better off spending $600-800 rather than just $400. If you want to go ultra-economic, you may want to check out Costco as they has a sale on right now for $165 for a bike and it'll probably do the job. If you don't like the bike, you could always return it.

The other thing you have to consider is the size of the bike, you won't be very confortable if you buy a bike that is too big or too small just because it was a good "deal".

[Euro838]

Originally posted by syeve
like others have said, there are some unreal deals on the bowcycle classifieds. $2k bikes for $5-600 all the time.

I find this is the case more with downhill bikes rather than road bikes.

[syeve]

^yah, I don't follow road bike prices much. This is defn more the case for XC.


This is a wicked bike for a commuter
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/444720/

also...
http://www.bowcycleclassifieds.com/C...em.asp?ID=3260

More all mountain but
http://www.bowcycleclassifieds.com/C...em.asp?ID=3235

http://www.bowcycleclassifieds.com/C...em.asp?ID=3146

a great xc bike
http://www.bowcycleclassifieds.com/C...em.asp?ID=3164

Asking $1k but I bet you could get it cheaper.

http://www.bowcycleclassifieds.com/C...em.asp?ID=3312




Rememeber, used bikes are like fish tanks, they may want $700 but if you offer $500 they will prob take it.