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Do You Road Bike?

aram said:
Or maybe get an older mountainbike on craigslist that is in good shape and has half decent components. Should be able to get something for under a hundred bucks.
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I don't look at CL all day for $100 bikes but usually the bikes are in bad shape. They would need new cables/houseing/tubes+tires/and maybe a chain at the min. If you don't know how to do all that itll be $90-$250 worth of work. $70 if you buy all the stuff on sale and do it at home.
Second hand becomes a potential great deal in the $600+ range. $2500 is a real sweet spot. Lotsa people get a super fancy bike, ride it for two weekends and let it sit in the garage for a year. That's the type you wanna look for.
Those are all rough numbers. Just take it into account when deciding if you should get a rusty clacky $100 used bike or a brand new $250 bike.
Of course there are awesome exceptions to everything but if the guy is asking for this kinda advice chances are he wont spot those killer deals.

Having said that its very possible to find a nice used road bike for $300-$350 thatll be more than good enough for a 5 mile trip and would be way better than a new $350 bike.
 
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5mi actually goes by pretty fast, just pace yourself and go have fun, you should easily be able to make it 10-15mi just cruising around.

You could probably find a decent old road bike for that amount, but if you're not sure if you're going to get addicted to riding, kickstand and aram are right about the hybrid or mountain bike. kickstand is also right about craigslist bikes. They can cost a fortune once a mechanic tells you what's wrong with it.

If you're still interested in looking on cl, send me a pm and I'll see if I can help you find something in your size that's not thrashed. I'm just in SJ so I can't check it out with you.
 
theAmazingKickstand said:
I don't look at CL all day for $100 bikes but usually the bikes are in bad shape. They would need new cables/houseing/tubes+tires/and maybe a chain at the min. If you don't know how to do all that itll be $90-$250 worth of work. $70 if you buy all the stuff on sale and do it at home.
Second hand becomes a potential great deal in the $600+ range. $2500 is a real sweet spot. Lotsa people get a super fancy bike, ride it for two weekends and let it sit in the garage for a year. That's the type you wanna look for.
Those are all rough numbers. Just take it into account when deciding if you should get a rusty clacky $100 used bike or a brand new $250 bike.
Of course there are awesome exceptions to everything but if the guy is asking for this kinda advice chances are he wont spot those killer deals.

Having said that its very possible to find a nice used road bike for $300-$350 thatll be more than good enough for a 5 mile trip and would be way better than a new $350 bike.
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I'll give you that if you find a beat up bike you need tires/tubes/cables/brake pads and it can get expensive.. tires along will probably be $50+ but a lot of times you can find a pretty nice bike that is actually rideable pretty cheap.

Saying that, I bought a bike on craigslist the guy bought for $1800 on clearance (full dura ace 7800 group) rode about 100-200 miles, parked it in his apartment and I bought it for $600. The thing looked brand new and rode awesome.
 
I climbed Old La honda on a metal bike with standard gearing and a shitty $90, 2000 gram wheels. Rode down to the red hippie shack and climbed the big ass hill back.

Just wanna confirm that it isn't all posing. I havn't ridden a shitty bike in a buncha years and totally forgot. A good bike is a bajillion times better than a shitty bike. Glad Im riding now and not in the 60's. I wouldn't even ride. Take up jogging or wife beating or whatever they played back then.
 
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Man Kings on Saturday was wet and slippery, and I was going up and down it few times. :laughing First time rear slid on tar snakes I thought "hmm maybe I should slow down a tad", but then I just kind of forgot until next time rear slid or skipped. On the same corners too. :laughing
 
Thanks for the tip on turning - I was turning in the hoods. And yeah, KMR is a fun descent, but hairy in the wet...

Soooo. The first supermoto race of the year is on the same weekend as the Sea Otter, and now we're in a quandary. Anyone want to buy some race slots and a camping slot? :p
 
I was visiting my friend and borrowed his lower end jamis hybrid this morning for a quick ride, rode it up a 3-4 mile climb and then back down and was really miserable on the way up.

Had this super soft seat that was so much more uncomfortable than the super light/almost zero padding seat I usually use. Couldn't find a comfortable position with the high flat bars.

I didn't realize how much of a difference a real road bike makes until I went back to a lower end bike. Maybe it would have been different on a pretty flat ride though. I usually ride a 6 year old fuji carbon bike so it's not like I'm usually on the latest and greatest either.


I've been thinking of doing some kind of group ride or something soon since I usually just ride by myself or with a couple friends, anyone have any recommendations in the Santa Cruz/Capitola area?
 
Looking for something to commute on and maybe do some miles here and there as additional fitness training and stuff.

I think I'm fairly well set on the Motobecane Cafe Latte, unless someone has a better suggestion?
 
If you get that, budget another $20 for a cheapy stem. Those adjustible stems always squeak and flex. They never sit perfectly tight no matter how much you tighten.
 
only real issue with CL is I'm not entirely sure what to look for or not to.
 
mikev said:
only real issue with CL is I'm not entirely sure what to look for or not to.
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If you have a tight budget that you want to stick with, take into account that even though the bike is mostly assembled from bikesdirect, its really poorly assembled. You kinda have to take most of it apart and put it back together.....so budget for that or get comfy with youtube instructions.
 
Go to trek and look at the FX line. Decent fitness / commute bike. Run about 500 for the mid level one. Used maybe 300 for a clean one
 
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