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(The content in this Instructable first appeared in my new blog at http://biodieselhauling.blogspot.com/
To my 40 Instructables subscribers, and anyone who stumbles across this and likes it, be sure to take a look, as much of what I write isn't quite right for an Instructable.)
Bikes are perhaps the greatest human invention of all time.
They get you from where you are to where you want to between 2 and 5 times as fast as you could walk there, but they use absolutely no fossil fuel or external energy what-so-ever, which means they have basically no environmental impact and no operating costs beyond the original manufacture and purchase.
However, if you are not already a "bike person", the amount of choices in type and brand and size and accessories can be overwhelming. If you buy new from a local bike shop, the salesperson will most likely walk you through the process of deciding what will fit your needs, but if you want to save money (and further reduce your eco-footprint) you should really buy everything you possible can used.
So, for the beginners who know just about nothing about bikes but want to get one from Craigslist, or perhaps a thriftstore or yardsale, I'm going to break down for you exactly what to look for and what to avoid.
To my 40 Instructables subscribers, and anyone who stumbles across this and likes it, be sure to take a look, as much of what I write isn't quite right for an Instructable.)
Bikes are perhaps the greatest human invention of all time.
They get you from where you are to where you want to between 2 and 5 times as fast as you could walk there, but they use absolutely no fossil fuel or external energy what-so-ever, which means they have basically no environmental impact and no operating costs beyond the original manufacture and purchase.
However, if you are not already a "bike person", the amount of choices in type and brand and size and accessories can be overwhelming. If you buy new from a local bike shop, the salesperson will most likely walk you through the process of deciding what will fit your needs, but if you want to save money (and further reduce your eco-footprint) you should really buy everything you possible can used.
So, for the beginners who know just about nothing about bikes but want to get one from Craigslist, or perhaps a thriftstore or yardsale, I'm going to break down for you exactly what to look for and what to avoid.
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Signing UpStep 1About me
First, for anyone who doesn't know me personally, my credentials on the subject:
I began riding regularly for fun and transportation in 1992, when I was 12. The next year I began riding to school every day, so that I could keep the bus money for other things. In high school, in addition to daily commuting (to school and internship) and weekend rides of 40-100 miles, I began annual 4 day trips down the CA coast with a group of teachers and friends. After college I went with the couple that had organized those annual rides from San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta Mexico, and went solo from there along the coast to Acapulco and then North to Mexico city (over an 8000ft pass) for a total of 2800 miles over 2 months. When I returned, I took a job as a bicycle messenger. I eventually ended up also working as a messenger in New York City.
In 20 years of serious riding, I have had a bmx bike, a steel touring bike, a British internal-hub drop-frame from the late 60s, a carbon fiber racing bike, an aluminum mountain bike, and two folding bikes, all of which together I paid a grand total of $450 for (of which $400 was the carbon fiber road bike).
Eventually I returned to CA where, for the past 5 years, my primary job has been as a hauler (mover, and handyman) which involves picking stuff up that people don't want anymore, and then finding new owners for those things. This involves either selling or giving away anything which is still useable (which is most of what I pick up), frequently on Craigslist.
My second job for the past 5 years has been as a mechanic in a tiny bike-shop of sorts, the Bike Station, whose primary service is FREE secure valet attended bicycle parking, but also offers relatively low-cost repairs. Because we don't sell new bikes, and because we never turn anyone away for lack of bike quality, I have been able to work on a great variety of bikes, of all types and ages and cost levels, which is rare in any one shop.
(My third job is a reserve for the Coast Guard, but that isn't relevant to this at all)
And now... on to the content!
I began riding regularly for fun and transportation in 1992, when I was 12. The next year I began riding to school every day, so that I could keep the bus money for other things. In high school, in addition to daily commuting (to school and internship) and weekend rides of 40-100 miles, I began annual 4 day trips down the CA coast with a group of teachers and friends. After college I went with the couple that had organized those annual rides from San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta Mexico, and went solo from there along the coast to Acapulco and then North to Mexico city (over an 8000ft pass) for a total of 2800 miles over 2 months. When I returned, I took a job as a bicycle messenger. I eventually ended up also working as a messenger in New York City.
In 20 years of serious riding, I have had a bmx bike, a steel touring bike, a British internal-hub drop-frame from the late 60s, a carbon fiber racing bike, an aluminum mountain bike, and two folding bikes, all of which together I paid a grand total of $450 for (of which $400 was the carbon fiber road bike).
Eventually I returned to CA where, for the past 5 years, my primary job has been as a hauler (mover, and handyman) which involves picking stuff up that people don't want anymore, and then finding new owners for those things. This involves either selling or giving away anything which is still useable (which is most of what I pick up), frequently on Craigslist.
My second job for the past 5 years has been as a mechanic in a tiny bike-shop of sorts, the Bike Station, whose primary service is FREE secure valet attended bicycle parking, but also offers relatively low-cost repairs. Because we don't sell new bikes, and because we never turn anyone away for lack of bike quality, I have been able to work on a great variety of bikes, of all types and ages and cost levels, which is rare in any one shop.
(My third job is a reserve for the Coast Guard, but that isn't relevant to this at all)
And now... on to the content!
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That said, if you have the choice between a Schwinn Varsity and a Raleigh Superbe...get the Raleigh. 3 Piece cranks and...other...brake technologies ARE superior to the old types.
If your reason for riding is to "get there" as quickly as possible, or if your ego is hurt when other riders pass you, then by all means go buy an expensive road bike. But if you are like me and ride for the enjoyment and exercise, a department store bike is fine.
Just my $0.02 worth.
I am absolutely not suggesting anyone buy an expensive road bike.
Having had lots of experience with department store bikes, I feel they are DANGEROUS.
Literally.
This has nothing at all to do with snobbery. My bikes are all cheap and old.
But I know the material used in department store bikes, and I know how they are assembled. The brakes alone are reason enough to never ride them on city streets - simple caliper brakes can not stop you fast enough in an emergency.
Schwinn is definitely better than Huffy and Magna, but they cut their quality substantially to afford being more mainstream.
With cars, no matter how cheap it is, you know there are legally mandated minimum standards for crash worthiness, brakes, etc. but there is no equivalent for bicycles.
I wrote this guide because so many people don't realize this.
I mean no offense to you personally or your bike, but one can buy a much nicer used bike for $300 than anything you can buy at Target.
than £300 is a poor investment whatever that is in your dollars.I have two bikes i use at the moment,a cheap halfords Trax TFS1 which one of the cranks broke on but i just use that bike for short-distance trips,to shops,into towncentre etc and a 1998 Trek 800 sport,which didnt cost me anything as someone gave me it but certainly a bike of around $300/£300 price mark originally.As to the comment butreomont made about snobbery - if you were sitiing in a Ford Capri or a Ford Mustang and someone drove past in a Ferrari or a Lamborghini they would probably look down at you anyway.Generally you get what you pay for but this is not always the case..
It annoys me to see people my age (13-16) riding around on crappy "Muddy Fox" or "Apollo" bikes from Halford's - acting like they are experts. It's not because I detest enthusiasm but rather it's a hatred of this modern 'Xbox' lifestyle.
Instead of plonking their children (young children that is) in front of their Brighthouse TV, letting them fester in their own stupidity, parents should involve themselves in the upbringing of their offspring - instilling values and a thirst for knowledge.
From an early age my parents got me making things and doing stuff, IE; riding bikes. Instead of wasting money on a fancy games console I was taught to ride on good bikes that fit me and were safe. This applies to anyone:
Not only should people ride safe good bikes; they should be taught how to ride well and within their limits.
Too many people take cheap bikes to the trail and end up getting hurt - putting them off the great sport of cycling. (Including unicycling - my kind of cycling)
I guess it probably varies with where you live. I have never seen anything but 20 year old walmart style bikes at the thrift stores around here.
However, when my friends were telling me what to buy, they only told me *not* to buy a Huffy, they didn't recommend any brands. So I went out and got a $60 dollar bike from Wal-Mart. Total piece of crap.
When I rode it to school, they made fun of me and ripped off the chain guard. It had a front (caliper) brake, and coaster brakes, in addition to one-piece cranks, a dinner plate of a sprocket, and the stem and fork couldn't be removed from each other or the frame. The pegs were unsuitable for grinding, or flatland tricks, which are the only uses for pegs on a BMX bike, not to mention, they only fit on the front wheel, they didn't make a 14 mm one for the back. I crashed it into a curb, and the front wheel collapsed. The rim "pac-man"-ed, so it looked like...well, Pac-Man.
Before that, though, the brake pads stopped working, so the brakes became useless. The coaster brake was unable to bring me to a complete stop. It was terrible. I only had the bike for 1 month before the wheel collapsed.
In all my years as a rider and mechanic, I have never heard of a (properly adjusted) quill stem snapping.
What they are prone to is becoming frozen inside the fork, so that they cannot easily be adjusted, when people forget to grease them before assembly and then the bike is left in the weather and the stem height goes unadjusted for years. Then it can be a real challenge to get the stem apart from the fork. Which is kind of the opposite of snapping.
Now, just in case this was common and I just never heard of it myself, I Googled it before I started writing this answer, but could find nothing about older bike stems breaking.
Perhaps you just got unlucky? If you have any more details or evidence, please follow up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_531
What I meant was you are most likely to get HiTen in a bike older than the 70s
The tech may have existed, but most manufacturers weren't using it on most models.
I should def. mention the exception of 531
*Wishes fixie trend would stop pushing up the price of nice steel bikes ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Tubing
I have a vintage Trek touring bike made out of 531.
Thanks for the correction
If you want a jumping bike i recommend the specialized P1 or P2. Very good bikes. My P1 has not broken yet except for flat tires! GT is also a good brand!
I would have written a very different article were it geared for touring. I know about that too, and what I wrote here wouldn't be a good guide for it.
Used department store bikes have brakes that have MUCH less than maximum, optimal stopping power, which makes them unsafe. Imagine buying a 1/2 truck built in Eastern Europe in 1926 and driving it on an LA freeway- no air bags, no seatbelts, no power brakes... you wouldn't say "oh, its just fine for casual drivers"
Not to mention it will break down sooner, be more expensive to fix, and therefor end up costing more than a real bike would have overall.
I worked in a community bike shop. I saw it again and again and again.
"I'm sorry, your 3 week old bike is going to need a $150 repair"
"but that's almost as much as I paid for it!"
"I would recommend buying from a bikeshop or craigslist next time"
I wrote this hoping to be able to tel people this BEFORE they make the mistake of buying one of those rolling deathtrap pieces of "how cheaply can I possibly make a bike in china in order to maximize profit margin" crap.
Cost of repairs, I suppose that if you take your bike to a shop it will cost you a small fortune, most of which will be shop/labor charges so for people who can't or won't do their own repairs this could be a real consideration but really how hard is it to replace the bearings in a headstock? And if you get the bearings from a bike you broke the pedal crank on and kept for parts the cost is only a little more time. If you rescued the bikes from the curb then your total cost would be... 0.00?
I have a young friend who does trial? competitions, his bike cost something outrageous like $5,000.00 ! He can ride it off a house roof with no problem or climb in the back of my truck without touching the ground but when it does break it costs! The bike he puts 200+ miles a week on around town started out as a walmart special.
Perhaps commuting in a more urban setting like NYC or Chicago would be different, although Jacksonville Florida is considered a city its more like a bunch of small towns connected together with a small urban center. So we may be discussing apples and oranges in several ways but just like I will never be convinced that buying a $30,000.00 truck is more economical than my $500 25yo truck that gets 30mpg (20 churning thru the mud) I don't think I could ever be convinced that buying an $800 dollar bike makes more sense than my $50 beach cruiser