Hey,
I am looking to get a bike.
Previously had a bike from Kmart which did not last long.
Would like to spend a bit more, budget <500 dollars.
Wondering if anyone had recommendations on bikes?
Looking to just ride mainly on the road/bike paths.
Cheers! :)
Any hybrid from giant, Trek, Merida, specialised or any of the other ‘bike shop brands’
These are often hardly used and will be easy to get parts for or repair in the unlikely event something does go wrong.
Definitely second hand. There is nothing brand new around that price range that is worth it.
A bike shop will do an overhaul and grease and lube and tighten etc for around $100 - $120 or thereabouts (depending on where you live). So if the bike is in reasonable condition, you can put it into good condition with that additional cost.
Make sure you get a bike that is the right size
Note that something like 50% of bike sales in Australia are from Big W and Kmart. Those bikes arent terrible. They arent great, might not last too long and are heavy etc; but they will be 'sufficient' for quite a few years.
Please don’t promote buying from Kmart etc. the bikes are cheap and throw away items contributing to our wasteful society. You’d be much better to spend the money on a second hand quality bike and have it serviced. The difference in ride quality will be night and day. The only exception may be bikes that are single speed, rigid fork and back pedal brakes.
The Kmart bike brakes are usually terrible, the gears clunky and hard to adjust, the bearings in the are usually under greased and need a full service before using them. All the bolts and parts will end up with surface rust after a very short while. They are also very heavy being made of the cheapest steel you can find.
Kmart bikes are sufficient for maybe the first day you ride it, after that the parts have passed their use-by date.
Source: i was a mechanic for 7 years and saw Kmart death traps come in every now and then.
Ended up throwing out a fair few that had just come out of the box due to brakes that failed on the first ride/wheels that were so buckled they weren't worth saving.
They're good for landfill and not really anything else.
Just think about the profit margins. A $150 Kmart bike may have say $50 profit, $10 Freight, which leaves $90 for a whole bike frame, brakes, groupset, suspension, wheels, saddle etc.
Not costs that i'd have faith in when my life was on the line.
So what you are saying is that the 50% of all cyclists in Australia are riding death traps that only last one day? That seems…. unlikely. I ride every day and haven’t noticed people laying all over the road with failed equipment
50% of bikes on the road are definitely not kmart bikes thank god, I'd debate that figure
Even Reid bikes are better than the kmart rust buckets
@Drakesy: “ That means there are plenty of children’s and lower end bikes being sold at big box retailers such as Kmart, Big W, Toy World, Amazon and Aldi which, by some estimates, account for half of bike sales in Australia.”
https://amp.smh.com.au/business/companies/bike-sales-boom-bu…
@dtc: Most of the kids bikes are single gear, back pedal brakes. There’s not a lot to go wrong. Plus, kids grow out of bikes real fast so they don’t need to last long.
As for Kmart bikes failing, generally they don’t but they get bought by newbies that don’t know any better and then find they ‘don’t like cycling’ because ‘bikes are crap’. So those bikes end up out the back and eventually on the scrap heap.
I see heaps of them on council cleanup and they don’t even get scavenged anymore because they aren’t worth anything.
by some estimates
Unfortunately thats an off hand comment
I'd be keen to see the real figures though
Second hand Giant bike from gumtree. Shoulf be in the $70 to $150 range for a casual 5 to 10 year old bike. For casual riding you do not need a $300 used bike IMHO. You can then expect to grease and oil it yourself and may bee change a break pad or a tyre valve, or in other words minor maintenance.
If the bike paths are true off road then you will need to buy a proper off road bike and as such will pay allot more.
Be lucky to find one as cheap as $70! I’ve seen a couple lately for $100ish but most of the decent ones are $200 or more. Prices are still a bit silly from covid new bike shortage and cycling boom.
I got mine just at the start of covid.
Don't need a bike here anymore with the litter of all these electric ones all over the place .
if you aren't trying to win the tour de australia, any reputable brand used bike on gumtree, marketplace, eBay, etc… will do.
if you want new and aren't super serious, kmart, bigw, target will work just fine.
kmart, bigw, target will work just fine.
Just no. Please don’t recommend that rubbish. If you are going to get a Kmart bike, pick one up for almost nothing at a local bikeshare/bike coop, or pick one up from the side of the road.
they are fine mate. absolutely nothing wrong with them for casual use. most will use it a few times because its a new toy. after that, they will barely use it ever again. if they are planning on doing more consistent weekly rides, then get something better. most won't be doing that. they didn't do it before, they won't be doing it after. it also gives them time to see what kind of bike they are really into, road bike, mountain bike, etc… its an excellent recommendation.
I still say don’t encourage anyone to buy a new Kmart bike. Its not good for our planet to buy the cheapest crap you can get your hands on, use it a few times and throw it away which you admit is what many will do.
A Kmart bike is worth nothing after you’ve ridden it a few times. You’ll be able to sell reputable brand bike for $150 or more easily if in working condition. If you bought it for $150 even better.
I just got a secondhand Giant MTB bike off facebook for ~ $300, it fair shape. Took it to my local and they serviced it & checked it out. After checking all the screws, greasing everything, bleed the brakes and changed one of the clutch cables it was only $80. Would deff do this again.
Recently took it to Buxton MTB park and had a few stacks due to my inexperience and everything on the bike was fine.
I did have a bike savvy friend check the bike out with me, he noticed the front fork had a squeak but he just re-greased it and it was fine, was able to knock $50 off due to it. If your savvy or know someone it helps to have them check over 2nd hand bikes with you.
Previously had a bike from Kmart which did not last long.
What happened to it?
Not sure if this will help, but a few years back I looked at second hand bikes both in Sydney and Canberra (I travel a lot to Canberra to visit family).
Bought a $40 bike in Sydney that was just an absolute POS and I quickly ended up throwing it in the tip
Bought 2 bikes from Canberra for $40 each. A Malvern Star for my kid that looked like it had rarely been used, and and Avanti mountain bike that did look second hand but was well kept and in good condition. Both bikes are still regularly used and going strong.
Camry
Marketplace/gumtree.
Any giant hybrid from the last 3-4 years would work great.
Have just noticed secondhand prices are cratering (i'm guessing the supply lines have started to clear up)