What to Look for in a Bike/Where to Buy One

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I am considering buying a bicycle to be used both on and off roads regularly, but nothing intense (unless you count my bike as my main mode of transportation intense). I am a female between sixty-two and sixty-three inches tall (when barefoot). What kinds of qualities should I look for when bike shopping?

In addition to decent quality (as opposed to Wal-Mart or Target), I would prefer my bike have the following: straps on the pedals, a mirror, a kickstand, either a basket in the back or one of those rectangular "platforms" (I apologize for not knowing the proper terminology) for a milk crate or something, reflectors/lights/reflective tape (any one of the three is fine), and possibly another basket in the front.

The only places I can think of to buy bikes, aside from places like Wal-Mart and Target, are high end bike shops. The problem is I doubt I can afford high end bike shops, and I'm paranoid about buying online.

Update: I just got a reply from a bike shop, see below.

"Thank You for the e-mail. A basic bike that can be used both on the road, or on gravel trails will start at around $360 - $450 and we have a few models in that range to choose from depending on the style you like.

The accessories you mention price are priced as follows: Rear rack around $40-45, Mirror $12-18, Front basket $40, Light set $35 (bikes come with reflectors), Toe clips with straps $10. I would also suggest a Helmet $35-40 if you don't have one."

i'm not sure what new bikes cost in the states but that sounds fairly reasonable.

another good option is second hand from a reputable source. where i live there is a fantastic charity that sells second hand bikes and parts and lets you use their tools for a small charge. i think those types of shops are quite rare but i do think second hand bikes can be great value if they are in good working order.

one thing you could consider if you want a bike that is low maintenance would be a hub gear/brake and perhaps even a belt drive bike. Those tend to be pricier options and when they do break require more expertise/money to repair.

chances are a bike shop will be the best place to get advice if you are not too clued up on bikes. You may end up paying a bit more but at least you know it works and fits you well.

bikes are great fun and so practical for getting around. I really like seeing people deciding to cycle so yay

For your use, I'd check Craigslist. Look for an older 3 speed bike.


Something along the lines of that. No mounts included on most of them, but you can buy a mount to put a basket or whatever on for like 20ish dollars. As far as a basket in front, it's easy as hell. Get a milk crate, and ziptie it to the bars. Make sure you use good zipties and a lot of them. Done. In the back it's a bit better, as it's harder to steer by a bit if you got a basket in front. I like 3 speeds better than derailers, though derailers are a bit more mechanically efficient, but 3 speeds are in my experience much more reliable systems. 3 speed bikes have literal gears in the rear hub like a car transmission, whereas derailers just have multiple sprockets.

For all your accessories and bike parts, by far the best bike store I've found online has been Niagara Cyclery. http://www.niagaracycle.com/ I got some mirrors from them for like 3-4 bucks each a few years ago, tires from them are like, 6-9. Basically, this is where bike shops go to buy their parts. IE, they have cards of cheapie brakepads, like 10 sets for 6-7 bucks, that's what bike shops use when you bring your bike in to them for brakepads, and they'll usually charge like 10-20 for the job of loosening a few nuts, adjusting the cables, and putting the pads on, but the actual pads themselves are a few cents really. So any accessories, definitely go to Niagara.

If you're willing to sorta wait and see for a bit before dropping money, definitely check out your area thrift stores and yard sales and whatnot. Usually people have old bikes for sale, and you can easily pick up something for 10-20 bucks. As far as what to look for in a used bike, a little tough. Brakes don't worry about that much, as I said, brakepads are relatively easy to put on, and not an expensive job. What I'd worry about is, make sure the wheels are relatively straight. Wheel truing is one of those jobs I for the life of me can't figure out how to do well, and most bike shops charge like 20 per wheel, and even after, won't come out perfect regardless with a steel wheel. So try to make sure the wheels are straight, and you're not missing spokes and stuff. That, and bearings, too, bearings aren't really that HARD per se to replace usually, but it's not something you wanna do as an intro to bicycle mechanics. Rear hub bearings are actually hard to do, fronts aren't bad, but rear ones, especially if you gotta pull a cassette sprocket set off, or mess around inside the 3 speed hub, not fun or easy. You don't want the wheels to have much side to side or up and down movement on their axles, same with the pedal bearings, too. So you might wanna pass up a bike that displays too much "wiggle" in those areas.

Maybe that's not quite the angle you want, as I'm a guy and I'm like "f**k you everyone else, I'm gonna do EVERYTHING myself." I got a weird DIY ethic bordering on insanity sometimes, so yeah. But, general idea is, if you're gonna be on the road, and unless your roads are really really messed up, you want road tires. 3 speeds I feel are the perfect commuter bikes, as they're sorta designed for that purpose, they're not designed for like, "sporting" use, but they're pretty quick bikes nonetheless, and the layout and all that is most comfortable to me, with the Albatross handlebars and the like.

For trails, a 3 speed isn't really ideal, but they can usually do lighter trails. Worst case scenario, you can mount cyclocross kinda tires on, road bike sized tires with MTB style treads, but if you're really serious about trails, you'd be best off with a proper mountain bike, especially one with real suspension and disc brakes and whatnot. Then keep a road bike around for the road, and a mountain around for trails.

I don't know, this is a special interest/something I know a bit about, and I could ramble on forever. Any questions about bikes, just shoot.

@ 1000knives Thank you so much! I probably won't be buying a bike used, just because I don't know nearly as much about bikes as you, and don't want to deal with more repairs and/or needing another bike sooner.

I looked at Niagara's site, and found a couple pedals with pre-installed straps that were cheaper than just straps. In addition to finding that very strange, do you know if the straps are (easily) removable? After all, the bike I get will most likely already have pedals. Also, do you know if any of the following accessories on their site are (easily) removable: mirrors (I plan to have at least one helmet mirror and at least one handlebar mirror), kickstands, front and rear baskets, and night lights?

Also, do you know how to install these things on a bike? (That's probably a stupid question, if they're easily removable.) I know if I buy them from the expensive bike shop, they'll do it for me, but I have no idea if I buy the accessories elsewhere.

I know I should probably be searching the site myself, but I would have no idea what to look for without your help.

P.S. Do you know if the site has (affordable) face shield helmets?

Probably look for stuff for like, scooters, mopeds or motorcycles if you want a face shield. It's kinda entirely unnecessary, imo, just wear glasses. I never wear a helmet on my bike, though. I wear one on a moped, but not on a bicycle. Ah, the daringness of youth...

As far as the pedals and straps, the straps won't attach to the bike's pedals, as the current bike's pedals likely don't have the necessary mount points for straps. Installing pedals is reasonably easy, though, just make sure it's the right threads and/or you have adapters for the threads, hold the pedal arm in your hand, and loosen off the pedal with a wrench, and tighten the new one on with a wrench (maybe use Loctite or something, too) and away you go. Not too hard, and much less time than it'd take to adapt straps to pedals.

As for all those accessories, generally they're pretty easy to remove. Most lights I've seen is a little clip that mounts to the handlebars, last light I bought had a quick release thing that allowed you to take the light off so people wouldn't steal it, was pretty neat. In back, you need a blinky thing for night time. Those are pretty easy, if your bike already has a rear reflector on the bottom of the seat, usually the blinky thing will just go on the same bracket the reflector was on, or it comes with it's own easy to put on bracket. Front basket, well, ziptie a milk crate to the bars, haha. As for installing a front basket, I don't know, I'm assuming it'll just clamp to the bars in a similar fashion as the lights/etc would. Rear luggage rack might be a tad tricky, might have to take the 2 bolts holding the rear wheel off, but most bikes have mounting holes in the brackets for either fenders or a luggage rack. Kickstand, easy enough, just one nut and bolt to install usually. Either way, all the accessories likely come with instructions, and if not, you can just google, say, "Rear luggage rack installation bicycle" and come up with some results. Sheldon Brown, btw, pretty much had the best site for bicycle mechanics and bicycles in general. Was a great guy, RIP. http://sheldonbrown.com/

One thing you forget, too, fenders. You're gonna want fenders, as if you're riding in the rain or anywhere the ground is wet, the wheels will kick up dirt onto whatever you're wearing. Also, mirrors on the bicycle aren't terribly necessary imo, I mean you're welcome to try some, but if you got a mirror on your helmet, that'd be a way better setup. You're sorta better off just learning to look behind you periodically, and then judge car distance by noise. But hey, at $3-4 a piece or whatever, get one and see if you like it. I tried it and thought it'd be really cool, but it turned out to be more or less pointless.

For getting a used bike, unless space is an issue, I'd say it'd be good to get a used one, even if you have a new one for like, regular commuting. The reason for this is, you can familiarize yourself with bicycle mechanical work without it having to cost you much. You really do wanna familiarize yourself somewhat, you're gonna come across stuff you can't/won't do (like wheel truing and cassette/freewheel removal for me) obviously, that you'll need a bike shop to do, but bike shop labor rate is expensive. About $50-70 an hour here, almost the same as a car mechanic, so you could save yourself a lot of money learning some basic stuff yourself, if anything for just general maintenance. One line of thinking with this, a lot of college students (aka hipsters) will grab a road bike frame from the trash, rebuild it with new wheels, etc, and make a single speed or fixed gear race bike they ride around town. Google "Fixie" for this phenomena, so you could do something similar.

Last edited by 1000Knives on 25 Feb 2012, 9:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.

The only reason I want a face shield is that every time the wind blows, I get something in my eye- and I'm not risking that on a moving bike, much less on one near moving cars.

For the straps, if I get a pair not pre-installed, will those attach to my bike's original pedals? I do not have a wrench, nuts, or bolts, so I won't be able to make many alterations on my own.

As for zip ties, not only do I have to buy however many I need, but are they even durable enough? I imagine I would spend on zip ties at least what I would spend on a regular basket, plus what I spend if I can't find a free crate.

Are fenders the things that cover the tops of the wheels?

If you think mirrors are unnecessary, did I tell you I'm also looking into wrist, elbow, and knee pads?

Lastly, space is an issue for me, as I live in a tiny one room apartment.

Zip ties are like 100 for 3 bucks at Harbor Freight, and you can use the other like 95 for numerous other things. I use them to fix cracks in car bumpers even, it's as useful of a household thing to own as duct tape. You'll probably need a wrench, you just need one good adjustable wrench, that'll get you by. One good adjustable, one pair of pliers, and a pair of vise grips, and that's about all you need for like 90% of bike repairs. You're gonna need tools for other stuff anyway, so just buy those really small buys (all those things shouldn't run you much more than like $5-6 each) and keep them around. In life in general, tools are the best investment you can make, as they'll generally last a good bit of time, and you'll be able to fix stuff for yourself and other people. As far as the clips attaching to the pedals, they'll probably also have nuts or bolts or at least screws, it'll come with nuts and bolts 99% of the time. I'm not entirely sure how that works, as I've never put a pair on pedals before. If you ever need spare nuts and bolts for anything, just go to Lowes or Home Depot, they'll have pretty much anything you need.

But yeah, as I said, for the faceshield, if that's an issue, just wear sunglasses, or if you gotta go somewhere at night on the bike, either forego glasses or get a yellow tinted or clear pair for night time. In most states, it's a requirement for riding a motorcycle to wear glasses or goggles, even without a helmet.

And as far as wrist, knee, and elbow pads, might be useful for roller blading, but on a bike, I think a bit overboard if you're an adult riding on the road, maybe if you're doing tricks on your BMX bike, but just for casual riding and commuting to places...overkill.

And yep, fenders are the things that wrap around the wheels. Those are needed if you plan to ride in the rain.

EDIT: The clips sold on Niagara, most look like replacements for pedals with clips on them, or at least with mounting holes for clips. http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_inf ... _id=422960 That there for example, if your pedals don't come with clip holes on them, then you gotta drill holes in your pedals the bike comes with. As I said, much easier to just loosen a single thing.

There's a Lowes in my area, and I just looked at their zip ties- thank you so much for telling me! My only issue is that their "milk crates" are decorative office crates, and I'm worried they're not nearly as durable as I need them to be.

Actually, I generally don't need tools for other stuff anyway, since my apartment has maintenance staff.

I'm worried that glasses will only offer so much protection- I consider full protection in this situation to cover my nose and forehead.

In third grade, I was hit by a car while riding my bike across the street- in twelfth grade, I was trying to slow down while going downhill, and flew off my bike. As a matter of fact, the two incidents occurred on the same street, about a block from each other. To make matters worse, I currently live downtown, which has much more traffic than the suburbs, where the first two incidents happened. I'm also extremely prone to run into dogs who don't like people at all(- one of the reasons I don't like to walk everywhere). These are the reasons I was unwilling to even get a bike until recently. The main reason I'm even considering it is I do not live within walking distance of everything, nor do I have hours a day to spend walking everywhere. I take the bus for some things, but my city's bus system is unbelievably unreliable- just going grocery shopping or selling my plasma can be an all day event with the buses. So in conclusion, if I'm going to get a bike- and spend hundreds of dollars on it and the other necessities no less- I'm going to be as safe as possible. P.S. I'm not sure how much longer I will have health insurance (I only get it because I'm under 21), so I'd rather not have a hundred thousand dollar emergency room bill on top of all the money I may end up spending on this bike and etc.

I got hit by an ambulance actually at 16 years old. Funny, huh? Only like 20ish mph, but yeah, got rear ended, flew off my bike like 10 feet. No hurt except for a scraped elbow, I was lucky and wearing gloves, too. Definitely get gloves. Gloves are needed as your hands get cold from the wind, but also, your hands break your falls, and wristgaurds are good for not breaking your wrist, but gloves are infinitely more important than them, as you don't wanna roadrash your palms off, if you get what I mean. As far as face protection, since I try to be stylish, you could always just wear a scarf if you want. But yeah, scooter or motorbike helmet would be your best bet. Really, you'll probably hate getting harassed for wearing all the safety gear and a motorcycle helmet on a bicycle and take it all off after like your first ride, but hey, your call. Last time I went out on my 3 speed, some dude yelled out of his car "NICE BIKE fa***t" while I was just riding along fairly normally on an old bike. That, and a guy sorta kinda proved in a study that safety gear can increase your danger in that cars perceive you as like "armored" if you're wearing a helmet or other safety gear, thus they pass closer. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 334208.stm Article on the study

A decorative milkcrate? Huh wha? Crazy world we live in now. Just go to a few convenience stores/grocery stores and just straight up ask if they got any spares you can have, when they ask the reason, just tell them you need them for a luggage basket for your bicycle. Usually they'll gladly oblige.

As for the tools, yeah, you likely won't be living there forever, and you might need them for other things, too. Tools are the best.

As for the dangers, well, say your prayers before you go on, and yeah. As far as like, the "rules" on a bike, try to ride with traffic, not against, and use sidewalks and pedestrian ways sparingly unless your city sets it up otherwise. I mean, there's wise times to use them, but generally just operate your bicycle as you would a car. But yeah, say your prayers, hope you make it back alive. It's about as dangerous as driving a car, really, so your chance of dying on a bike isn't really any higher than driving or getting a car ride from a friend, but yeah. But yeah, basically, gotta throw caution to the wind, say your prayers, and hope for the best really. It's scary, but uh...oh well.

http://bicyclesafe.com/helmets.html

hey Blue_and_Orange

First of all ride safe, glass's aren't just for crashs. they prevent your eyes from drying out or excessive tearing. Also they prevent road grit that gets blown around from cars from temporarly blinding you, thats terrible in traffic.

I would omit the pedal straps from your list as they prevent you from putting a foot down immediatly.

now to the bike and accesories,
check out Ebay I built my competion downhill dual suspension bike completly from the mail.

and did the complete electric conversion on a cheaper bike also

they sell mirrors that velcro on the handgrips and they do come in very handy in traffic as opposed to turning around.

For glass's at night try Home Depot and check out their saftey glass's. they come in clear yellow tint and tinted, they have quite a selection !

i like my giant suede gx a lot. but i had to replace the transmission with a 5-speed, as the standard 3-speed was geared too low and at full tilt would barely get me to 10 miles per hour on level ground. in addition, i got a taller rear wheel gear that would get me up to 25 miles per hour but still let me climb big hills without killing my legs. the gx suede has a wide comfycushy bigassed american seat for the typical bigassed american booty, and a suspension seat post to take the jolt out of bumps and ridges and such, same for the front fork suspension. most american roads are too rough to be riding a non-suspended bike over without causing eventual kidney and spinal damage. another benefit of the suede gx is that it has a nice leisurely "crank forward" upright riding position with legs several inches forward of the seat post axis and arms fairly well back, so there is no pressure on the palms/wrists/elbows/shoulders. they sell two sizes of this bike, a standard and a long [for people taller than 6']. the tires have that green slime built-in to 'em so as to help to guard against typical sharp road hazards such as sharp rocks, glass etc. the only other change i'd make to this bike, is to make yet a longer frame, as i have long legs. i would recommend this bike to any non-hard-core athlete who wants a reliably strenuous yet gentler workout.

I bought my bike from http://www.giantnerd.com/. It's a really good website and they have some nice deals on it sometimes (I got mine during a 50% off sale). It is a little expensive but the quality is really good and it will last you. A family member of mine also got a bike from them with good results as well. As for what to look for it really depends on what you want to do with it, how much you're going to use it, and how hard you're going to be riding it. I'd certainly try to get one with a decent amount of gears though (I'd say 15+), since that can make one of the biggest differences in how enjoyable a bike ride can be.

something about my giant suede gx i forgot to talk about- it has an all-internal hub [the thingie on the rear wheel which contains all the final gears] - it was my experience, that derailleurs are a giant PITA, in that road debris is always bouncing up into the works, i can't count the number of times the chain was stripped off the gears due to rocks. plus it takes somebody with the skills of a bicycle mechanic to keep the things properly calibrated, i lacked those skills so i was always pedalling around between gears with all the resultant clunking, no matter how i tried to fudge the shift levers. no, an internal hub like the SRAM i use, is the best thing for non-techie bike rides like me. 5 well-chosen gear ratios are enough to get me up and down most small to medium hills. another good thing about the suede gx is that it is light enough to lift with one finger. it is no problem shuttling it into and out of the back of my honda CRV for periodic trips to the bike shop in the next county. it didn't cost much more than a typical department store bike [$330] but it is so much lighter.

I thought about getting gloves, now I definitely will after your several points. If I put a scarf over my eyes, then I would never be able to see- I really don't care about style, and am actually looking for the cheapest face shield helmet possible- as long as it's not from Wal-Mart.

I'm not sure what you mean by "getting harassed", but I'm a pretty tough cookie- minus the wanting to be safe on a bike part.

A guy "sorta kinda proved"?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Well I have SURE AS HELL proved that safety equipment is beneficial IN MORE THAN ONE SCENARIO. Another thing I haven't proved as well is that cars are probably MORE LIKELY TO NOTICE ME IN THE FIRST PLACE if I look like an overly protected weirdo. ACTUALLY...YOU "kinda sorta" proved I'm more likely to get noticed, since you said I'll probably get harassed. P.S. I just saw in the U.R.L. that the study was done in the U.K., where I'm sure they have not only different driving/biking laws, but different "personal bubble" cultural laws. Even if neither is the case or the two are irrelevant, the rest of this paragraph still stands.

You're right about me not living here forever. In several months, I will be moving into another apartment that also has maintenance staff. So I still won't need my own tools.

Actually, cars are safer than bikes in a lot of ways. At least one of those ways was in my last post. Also, I don't think you read the part about me not wanting a hundred thousand dollar emergency room bill should I have yet another accident on a bike, if I even get one.