Like title says, looking for a bicycle. Wanting to use it for commuting to the train station every day and some casual riding a few times a week. Would like for it to be lightweight. Open to sugguestions and the best places to get good deals, ie Gumtree, bicycle stores.
Looking for a Bicycle under $350
Bearinator on 24/05/2016 - 20:41
Comments
reid cycles
I didn't know you had a cousin!!!!
Check gumtree, lots of people buy bikes and never use them. Slot of people are are willing o sell lower to clear up space.
Heres a decent one on sale at 99bikes. http://www.99bikes.com.au/all/sale-clearance/bike-clearance?…
If you check out the sale and filter by price you should get yourself a nice bike. Postage is free for over $80 spend.
Got a near perfect condition Giant on ebay last year for $50
$350 is not going to get you a new light bike, but it's all relative I guess. You might think a $350 bike is light compared to a $100 bike from K-mart, when the $350 bike is quite heavy compared to a mid range bike ($1k-$1.5k) which is heavy compared to a high end bike. Light weight doesn't start coming into new bikes until you get to over $1500, until then it is all about other features.
Is the area you ride hilly? Rough roads, smooth or off road? Do you want to ride fast or carry lots of stuff? How far is your commute? This will help determine what kind of bike to get, drop bar road bike, flat bar road bike, hybrid, mountain bike, number of gears etc.
Don't get anything to shiny and flash looking if it is going to be left at the train station as it will be a thief magnet.
Go to gumtree and look for an entry level bike with disc brakes that is less than 5 years old (disc brakes is a crude proxy for the bike probably having slightly better basic parts).
$100-200 second hand is the sweet spot imo
You can get a new $100-150 bike from kmart but they are junk (still rideable but start to fall apart quickly).Good bikes will get stolen pretty quickly.
Disagree on the brakes thing unless the OP is going off road. You won't find many disc braked road or hybrid bikes in the $350 budget (but might be lucky). If you are going second hand look for bike shop brands only. Giant, Specialised, Merida, Trek, Avanti to name a few.
I agree on the $100-200 mark for second hand bikes, but only if you are prepared to give it a good service and maybe replace a part or two. If you aren't mechanically minded and would need to take it to a bike shop for servicing spend a bit more up front to avoid that cost.
Looks good just make sure it changes gears smoothly
drivetrain is the worst thing to replace on second hand bikes
Yup, looks good if it's the right size for you, it is a good brand with good gear on it.
You can check how worn the chain is by measuring the length of 12 pairs of links (should be exactly 12"). Can also check for wear to the cassette (back) and chainrings (at the pedals) by looking at the shape of the teeth. If the teeth are symettrical it's all good, if they look a bit like sharkfins, different shape on one side to the other it's time for new stuff.
Don't rule it out if it is worn. A new chain and cassette will probably be all thats needed and if you're handy it is a fairly straight forward job with the right (special) tools and cheap with online parts. Assuming it's all otherwise good I'd buy it with a worn drivetrain.
@Euphemistic: Unlucky it was sold before I could see it. How about a Schwinn Prelude Bike in great condition for less than $150?
@Bearinator: sorry I'm not familiar with the schwinn prelude. However 20seconds on google pointed out it was a k-mart bike. So probably not the best value at $150. K-mart bikes tend to be ok, but… Will not last and gears etc are not easy to adjust and can go out of adjustment very quickly. A better bike will usually have a better feel to ride too (hard to put a finger on what this is until you try them)
Might be worth $50 to a competent bike mechanic as a pub bike, but there are plenty of older quality bikes around for the same money. They won't look as flashy but will last and ride much better.
@Euphemistic: Really appreciate your reply mate. The guy said he would go $60 for it. And it's in pretty good condition. I just need to for occasional use about 3 or 4 times a week only riding less than 3 km's each day.
@Bearinator: for $60 it'll do the job you describe fine. If you get the cycling bug and need to upgrade you'll get your money back. If you don't get the bug and the opposite happens you can leave it in the shed having not lost much as well.
@Euphemistic: He sold it before I could get there. Haha. What about this. And if it's 6 years old, does it matter? Because I've heard bikes more than 3 years aren't too good.
@Bearinator: rubbish kmart bike.
Old quality bikes are no more trouble than new bikes. I'm riding a mid 90s road bike for a commuter and it's fine, not flashy or light but solid and dependable. If you are willing to spend some time with the tools an old bike will service you well. I'm a competent mechanic and would have no hesitation buying an old bike. I might even prefer an older bike than a new one as they used to build them to last.@Bearinator: that's a lot closer to a decent bike than the last two posted. It would be a reasonable starting point for cycling, but as you are probably aware there are better bikes out there on gumtree for the same money, it's just a matter of finding one. Being new it will also come with a warranty.
@Euphemistic: Replying after a very long time, I managed to get a Giant Roam 3, 2015 Model for $180. Great steal.
just a while ago I bought my flight Trail 2 bike from Amartsports for about $330, when I checked at Rebelsports it costs around $400-500
http://www.amartsports.com.au/Product/Flight-Trail-2-Mountai…
You arent going to get a decent bike for that price. If you are going to leave it at the station buy a junker from Gunmtree. Potentially on Gumtree you could eliminate the middleman and just arrange a 'pay as you go' scheme with the criminals that steal bikes from the station!
Double.
Thanks for all the feedback guys, ended up getting a Giant Roam 3, last year's model for less than $200.
Sounds like excellent value. Enjoy the wind in your face. It's probably better to say wind in your hair, but you can't do that because you'll have to wear a stupid foam fine deflecting bucket (helmet) on your head.
Aldi had some reasonable mountain bikes with Alloy frame for $150. A month or so ago. About 2 weeks ago I picked up one at 49% off. ($75+) Maybe your local Aldi has some at clearance as well. Ok as a commuter not for serious off road use