Step 2: The Single Most Important thing to know when buying any bike (new or used)
DO NOT BUY A DEPARTMENT STORE / TOY STORE BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ever. Don't even consider it. Seriously. Not even for your kid. They are absolute garbage. They shouldn't be legal to ride on public streets. They should be considered toys at best. This includes pretty much anything you can buy at WalMart, Target, or Toys'R'Us, or whatever local equivalent you may have where you live. The most common brands are Huffy, Murry, and Magna. Generally anything branded with a car/truck name (GMC) is one of these also. One of these bikes brand new is worth less than a real bike that is 30 years old. (Actually, my favorite bike, the one that I rode to Mexico and used a messenger is about that old).
I can not emphasize this enough. Having worked on these many many times, I can say with absolute certainty that they are not worth the price if you are given one for free. They use the cheapest parts that can be found, parts which have been obsolete for decades in the rest of the bike world, and those parts are put together by people who know literally nothing about bike mechanics. I have rarely seen one, even brand new, that had everything adjusted properly. They are so cheaply made, and so poorly assembled, that they are dangerous.
*I have already gotten a couple of comments suggesting I must be a "bike snob" to say this. Not so. All of my bikes have been cheap. I have never been a racer. The shop I worked in was a non-profit community bike shop, and we never turned anyone away, no matter what they rode. That's how I got to see so many department store bikes up close and from the inside, as well as test riding them (after repairs).
These bikes are not suitable for casual riding, and not just because they are heavy. They are built with the cheapest parts possible, and then poorly assembled. By riding one you are automatically increasing your chances of getting into a crash.
From a mechanics perspective, the poorly built parts translates to additional labor for repairs (which they need more often) which in turn means higher repair costs - often higher than the original purchase price. For this reason, many bike shops will not even work on these bikes.
The best clue that the bike you are looking at is a department store bike is if it has a one piece crank.
See pictures above for examples
Another clue that the bike you are considering is a rolling pile of crap is brakes that look like the ones in the pictures, called simple caliper brakes.
Note that most road bikes will have compound caliper brakes, which are similar in shape, but slightly more complex. The keys to the crappy brakes are the rectangle brake pads and the flat metal brake arms, with just one single pivot point in the center.
Ever. Don't even consider it. Seriously. Not even for your kid. They are absolute garbage. They shouldn't be legal to ride on public streets. They should be considered toys at best. This includes pretty much anything you can buy at WalMart, Target, or Toys'R'Us, or whatever local equivalent you may have where you live. The most common brands are Huffy, Murry, and Magna. Generally anything branded with a car/truck name (GMC) is one of these also. One of these bikes brand new is worth less than a real bike that is 30 years old. (Actually, my favorite bike, the one that I rode to Mexico and used a messenger is about that old).
I can not emphasize this enough. Having worked on these many many times, I can say with absolute certainty that they are not worth the price if you are given one for free. They use the cheapest parts that can be found, parts which have been obsolete for decades in the rest of the bike world, and those parts are put together by people who know literally nothing about bike mechanics. I have rarely seen one, even brand new, that had everything adjusted properly. They are so cheaply made, and so poorly assembled, that they are dangerous.
*I have already gotten a couple of comments suggesting I must be a "bike snob" to say this. Not so. All of my bikes have been cheap. I have never been a racer. The shop I worked in was a non-profit community bike shop, and we never turned anyone away, no matter what they rode. That's how I got to see so many department store bikes up close and from the inside, as well as test riding them (after repairs).
These bikes are not suitable for casual riding, and not just because they are heavy. They are built with the cheapest parts possible, and then poorly assembled. By riding one you are automatically increasing your chances of getting into a crash.
From a mechanics perspective, the poorly built parts translates to additional labor for repairs (which they need more often) which in turn means higher repair costs - often higher than the original purchase price. For this reason, many bike shops will not even work on these bikes.
The best clue that the bike you are looking at is a department store bike is if it has a one piece crank.
See pictures above for examples
Another clue that the bike you are considering is a rolling pile of crap is brakes that look like the ones in the pictures, called simple caliper brakes.
Note that most road bikes will have compound caliper brakes, which are similar in shape, but slightly more complex. The keys to the crappy brakes are the rectangle brake pads and the flat metal brake arms, with just one single pivot point in the center.
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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)
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.
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The comment below is for the guy below, sorry.
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.