[Cycling] Bike purchasing

[Homemaster]

I've got about 300-500 bucks to spend on a bike and am wondering where would be a good place to purchase a city style road bike (ie. only for riding around Sydney, mostly Stanmore to Newtown)

I'm looking at Cell bikes on Parramatta road http://www.cellbikes.com.au/Bikes

But what other choices do I have? I'm not that interested in getting top of the line stuff, just a reliable tool to get me from A to Z without worrying about it falling apart.

Also, use this thread to discuss suitable bike purchasing outlets.

 

[Felixflex]

use http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/

lets you search all the bike shops in your area for the best deals and such.

 

[Grunta]

yea, bikeexchange will give you the best price going.

Also try Reed Cycles, they sell commuters online.

 

[Admin]

Head down to your local bike shop and have a talk to them ,try out a few bikes and see what suits you

hybrids are a good style bike to get that will suit your needs

 

[Homemaster]

Good to know on the type of bike, was looking at road bikes there but they are a bit more focused it seems.

Thanks for the link, I will check it out.

 

[lex]

usual online places
cell ,reid , bikesonline (north Manly)

http://www.cellbikes.com.au/
http://www.reidcycles.com.au/
http://www.bicyclesonline.com.au/
http://www.bicyclestore.com.au/

My brother swears by http://www.wiggle.com.au/
gets a lot of his triathlon stuff from them

could also go second hand
I picked up a road bike in good nick for $88 off ebay this year,


Get a decent bike lock and you'll need a helmet
Maybe $250 -400 on bike and rest on accessories

get a back rack for bag/s and a drink bottle holder and drink bottle(about $15 from cell)

with a rack you can always cable tie on a milk crate

The cell bib and braces are great for the price (got mine for $19)

 

[Grunta]

I think a flat bar road bike is the best commuter, hybrids look the goods, but do you need to?
a) lug the weight of susspension around,
b) pay for it.
Riding aroung Sydney chances are than you will not.

 

[lex]

can pick up a fixie for next to nothing as lots of blow hard hipsters buy them then find out how unfit they are then sell em a few moths later

 

[Grunta]

can pick up a fixie for next to nothing as lots of blow hard hipsters buy them then find out how unfit they are then sell em a few moths later

good point, all you need then is somme square rim glasses, skinny jeans and remove your shoelaces.

Jokes aside, you can pick them up used for FA.

 

[oldcorollas]

that's cos the fixies suck

if going 2nd hand, beware of Avanti from the last.. 5 years or so..
friend just picked up a 2010(?) Forte (26" hardtail commuter), and it has spoke disease.. they're all fucked. needs new wheelset...

flatbar roadie with fatter tyres is good on the streets. 500 might just get mechanical disc brakes..

 

[Homemaster]

Good suggestions all round. I know I seem cheap but as I said it's just for getting around.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Admin]

nah not cheap just sensible

my first decent bike i went into my local bike shop with 2k in my pocket , i told the guy i had 2k budget , he asked what i wanted the bike for and what sort of riding i would be doing , at the time it was just riding on bike trails and riding to work , he said you don't need a 2k bike and sold me $600 bike instead

after that adventure i only ever buy bikes from that shop

 

[oldcorollas]

Giant Boulder is within your range http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bikes/model/boulder.1/12037/57372/

 

[Neddysmith]

Your budget won't get you much bike but for the riding you will be doing you won't need much either, my preference for a bike in your budget would be sourcing a decent second hand bike as you should be able to get something worth around the 1k mark or slightly more if getting second hand.

 

[Leiothrix]

Don't buy a hybrid, they're good at nothing.

If you're only going to ride on the road get either a road bike or cyclocross bike. Suspension is only any use on MTB, otherwise it just saps your power and gives you extra weight to lug around.

Road handles are much more comfortable on my wrists than flat bars, but YMMV.

Clipless peddles are fantastic. Once you're accustomed to them they mean you can put out more power, and are safer too. If you go over a bump or stop quickly your feet don't fall off the peddles, which means you don't fall off the bike.

Get a decent set of front and rear blinky lights. Anything that runs of CR2032 batteries is rubbish, so don't bother. I have a Magicshine on the front and a Niteflux on the rear, but there are plenty of options.

Get a bike and accessories that are white, silver or yellow. They are the most visible colours in all lighting conditions.

Get some reasonably skinny and slick tires. Knobbies only help you on rough ground, they actually give worse grip on sealed surfaces and are harder to push as well.

 

[Admin]

personally i found that running slicks made no difference compared to that of running knobbies on the mtb, their was no real speed difference

 

[Leiothrix]

both on the MTB?

 

[Grunta]

Don't buy a hybrid, they're good at nothing.

If you're only going to ride on the road get either a road bike or cyclocross bike. Suspension is only any use on MTB, otherwise it just saps your power and gives you extra weight to lug around.

Road handles are much more comfortable on my wrists than flat bars, but YMMV.

Clipless peddles are fantastic. Once you're accustomed to them they mean you can put out more power, and are safer too. If you go over a bump or stop quickly your feet don't fall off the peddles, which means you don't fall off the bike.

Get a decent set of front and rear blinky lights. Anything that runs of CR2032 batteries is rubbish, so don't bother. I have a Magicshine on the front and a Niteflux on the rear, but there are plenty of options.

Get a bike and accessories that are white, silver or yellow. They are the most visible colours in all lighting conditions.

Get some reasonably skinny and slick tires. Knobbies only help you on rough ground, they actually give worse grip on sealed surfaces and are harder to push as well.

This is what I thought but haven't got around to typing on a phone, it's good advice.
I found that slicks make a big difference in speed, and yes, drop bars provide many more hand positioned to vary your grip, flat bars do not provide this.

 

[Admin]

yep both on the mtb
running knobbies on the mtb my top speed was 43k , average around 30k's , slicks might've given an extra k or two , but it was nothing to write home about

 

[Leiothrix]

Has your MTB got suspension? If it does, every time you push down on your peddle you're also pushing down on the front suspension, and that takes off a lot of power.

Also curious about the terrain you were riding on. My bike is a (rigid) CX that came with 35mm CX tires, changed them to 25mm slicks and that made a pretty big difference in speed on pavement, just don't try riding on wet grass with them.