Buying a Bike

April 29, 2004 11:48 AM

Two-part question about buying a bike. Part the first: I want to get a good quality road or hybrid bike. What's your recommendation for brand and/or model to check out and/or avoid? B) If you're in Toronto, where do you recommend shopping? My price range is C$600-1000 (about max of us$750). If you're not in Toronto, is there an online shop you can recommend for buying and having a bike shipped here? Main purpose of the bike is exercise and will almost exclusively be ridden on city streets. [more]

It's been 10 years since I've done any serious riding, but prior to that I practically lived on my BMX bike for over a decade.

Note for Toronto people: I've had two bad experiences shopping (but not buying) at Duke Cycle. I find the staff there extremely condescending and would rather avoid it unless I'm just walking in knowing what I want in advance. In fact, it's their attitude that's driven me to ask.me.

posted by dobbs to sports, hobbies, & recreation (14 comments total)

I've had good luck with Bianchis.

I've never been to Toronto, but Urbane Cyclist looks cool.
posted by Utilitaritron at 12:08 PM on April 29, 2004

I love my bianchi boardwalk. If you can get an older one (2-5 years) that is made of steel instead of aluminium. At least with steel if you have a small accident you can bend everything back into place without a catastrophic loss of strength.
posted by jmgorman at 12:12 PM on April 29, 2004

Urbane Cyclist rocks. But Sport Swap (Yonge & Davisville area, unless they've moved) has used and new bikes for good prices and is overall a great bike shop, with knowledgeable staff who can help you figure out what you want. I got my last bike (an ancient, dirt-cheap and awesomely solid Specialized Rock Hopper) there for less than $100 and it's still working perfectly.
posted by biscotti at 12:36 PM on April 29, 2004

I've bought from the Urbane Cyclist in the past. They have an excellent line of frames they build themselves, exactly the kind of bikes that you are looking for. They are a quality bike store, but not the cheapest way to buy a bike.
posted by bonehead at 1:11 PM on April 29, 2004

Can't comment on Toronto, I'm afraid.

This is something of a FAQ on AskMe; you might want to search on it. I'd go for a road bike if you're leaning in that direction--hybrids suffer from the jack of all trades, master of none problem, IMO.

You can get a fairly nice bike in your price range; if you can find a used bike that suits you, you may be able to get a very nice bike for the same amount--check the bulletin boards at bike shops that hardcore cyclists patronize.

Online bike shops worth knowing about: Harris Cyclery (Sheldon Brown is an Internet treasure) and Lickton's, which is really like a long-distance local bike shop. I've called them to buy something and just wound up in a long, freeform conversation about whatever.
posted by adamrice at 1:16 PM on April 29, 2004

Also, since you mentioned having a BMX bike, you may want to check out fixed gear or singlespeed bikes.
posted by Utilitaritron at 2:05 PM on April 29, 2004

I have always liked Kona bikes. They are very well made in my opinion, and are often less expensive then others.
posted by chaz at 3:23 PM on April 29, 2004

btw here is the Kona website: LINK
posted by chaz at 3:25 PM on April 29, 2004

The advantage of Urbane Cyclist is they're a co-op and have never, even once, in my experience done the standard thing of making me know they know more than I do. It pays to get acquainted with them by name. There are reasons why their winter business can be larger than their summer business: They do a good job and they don't treat you like shite. (Even with a smaller number of open bike shops, people choose to go Urbane.)

It may have something to do with the fact that not all the partners are boys and one of the women is a lesbian. They have, no doubt, put up with enough shite of their own at other shops. And interestingly enough, they might be able to custom-build you a road or hybrid bike.

Duke's is indeed now passé. Ideal Bike on Queen East is also to be avoided. I have not had any trouble at all at Sporting Life Bikes; in fact, they did a tube swap for me right there and then even though I had only $3 on me and no plastic. You have a few options.
posted by joeclark at 3:40 PM on April 29, 2004

I'd recommend finding a good local shop rather than having it shipped. You'll be able to test ride the bikes to get a feel for how well you like the ride, and after you buy the bike you'll need a place take it for tune-ups, anyway.

If you're spending a good chunk of change on it, you can often get the shop to throw in some accessories for free/cheap, so consider that when you're ready to buy.
posted by stefanie at 3:40 PM on April 29, 2004

If you're a new or returning cyclist and not sure about what to buy, try shopping for a shop to buy from, rather than specific kit. There are still good bike shops out there that offer good advice, will take the time to help you get the right bike for your purpose and will pay attention to important issues like fitting your bike to you properly. Despite what the magazines and ads will have you believe, the differences between bike brands are nowhere near as important as taking the time and getting advice so that you're set up right, regardless of the decal on your bike's frame. That's where the shop comes in. Don't but mail order or online if you're not pretty confident about exactly what's what.

Fortunately, the bicycle industry is one of the few left where monolithic chain-stores haven't destroyed any alternative... yet. There are still plenty of independants and it's at those that you'll find the best help. They're not charities... they hope you'll be back lots buying accessories if they can help you catch the cycling bug and give you good advice. There's no direct significant profit for them in selling bikes - it takes too long - the margin is all in the clothing, spares, tools accessories and extras you'll be back for.

Certainly, there's plenty of crappy shops out there, but if you find a good one, it should be treasured and supported. Most big cities still have one or two.
posted by normy at 3:47 PM on April 29, 2004

Thanks for all the advice, folks. I just went to Sport Swap, Cyclepath, and Sporting Life Bikes. The difference between Sport Swap and Dukes was night and day. The guy was friendly, answered all my questions, didn't condescend. It was incredible what the difference was so I think I'm probably gonna go with them.

I used to work at Sporting Life when I was younger and hate the company so that was out--just popped in to see the pricing difference (more than Dukes--same brands, not much selection unless you're rich).

Cyclepath, in my price range, only had Norco and Marin, two companies I've had bikes from in the past and didn't like.

At Sport Swap I tried a Kona and a Fuji and liked them both. Don't know much about either but the guy at the store was keen on both. Good to see chaz backs him up.

i will pop down to Urbanite as I do like that they're indie and co-op. however, judging by their site I think they're probably more bike than I'm looking for or can afford.

Anyone have an opinion on Fuji vs. Kona or Fuji at all?

Another good thing about Sport Swap is they'll buy my old Hoffman BMX which is just collecting dust.
posted by dobbs at 6:07 PM on April 29, 2004

If you are serious about the exercise, as opposed to say wanting a bike to cruise to the coffee shop, getting the right fit is everything. You will spend many hours a week on this machine and it must mesh properly with your body.

Find a shop that is serious about getting you the right fit and they will have plenty of good bikes in any price range. Greg Lemond had a great book, too bad I can not remember the title but how many books could he have written, that covered the basics and had pretty much the best section on fit I have seen anywhere (I confess, I am a bit of a bike fit nut). The thing is, if you are serious about the exercise you will be repeating certain motions for hours on end every week. With proper fit, cycling is one of the gentlest endurance workouts for your body. With poor fit, your knees, back, wrists and other joints will be stressed in ways that you can not ignore. Especially for the beginner, fit tends to be an iterative process and you want to find a shop that will be willing to work with you as you gain strength and accommodate to the bike. The arrogant shop probably should be avoided. A good fitting session for a beginner probably takes 15 to 30 minutes. As you gain skill it can take even longer.

The real rub here, your budget is about $750 US. Frankly, for a bike you will ride hard for multiple hours every week, that is just barely enough, and then there are clothes, shoes (do not scrimp here) and accessories. I would look for a good frame with OK components and as you pound the components to rubble, you can replace them with better stuff. At the low end the components wear quickly and weigh a ton. In the middle, they wear well but still weigh a lot. At the high end, they wear pretty well, but weigh much less. You get to decide how to allocate those dollars.

The best technical resource for bikes on the net is rec.bicycles.tech. Most amazing for usenet, that place is even more civilized than MeFi and it isn't even moderated. I would search the archives on Google or just ask the same question there.

Good luck.
posted by caddis at 7:06 PM on April 29, 2004

Thanks to all who helped out. I got fitted today (took about 20 mins) and purchased a LeMond road bike from Sport Swap. Road around a bunch this evening and love it.

Now... anyone tried these lights?
posted by dobbs at 8:39 PM on May 1, 2004