|
|
| *Vultures Knob>>>Mountain Bike |
So I'm buying a new bike? |
The plan was to wait until my old bike fell apart, learning all the while, then buy a new, higher quality one. My bike fell apart sooner than expected and I still don't know what to look for in a bike or how to maintain one. I bought this really good book-Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintainance and that helped, but I really have no idea where to go from here. I also looked at some steel (I know they are going to be heavy) hardtails specifically designed for women-they are less expensive and are probably easier to maintain than full suspension. What else do I consider? if you really want to save money look at the local classified ads, local craigs list, or local thrift stores or garage sales. Used bikes are usually much cheaper. If you really do mountain biking you are probably not going to find a great used mountain bike, but you are not going to be able to get a good new one for up than $300 either, so you may as well save some money on it. (I'd not recommend buying a bike from chain stores like walmart. They are usually not well made and won't last long.) If you don't stress your bike with mountain biking and use it mainly on roads, it's not that important that you get the best mountain bike there is. Then you still save a lot of money buying used. So you are buying a bike :) Good for you! First things first, what type of riding are you gonna do? Mountain biking (all off road)? Road Riding? A little of both? Second, ask yourself, how often you plan on riding? Once a week? 2-3 times or more? Next, how far or how long duing each ride? 1-2 hours, 2-3 hours, 10-15 miles 20-40 miles and so on. Once these questions have been answered, you can consider what bike you need to get (MTB, Road, Comfort) Then what price level ($250.00-$500.00 for light riding 1-2 times a week @ 1-2 hours; $500.00-1200.00 3-5 times a week @ 2-4 hours per ride, and $1200.00+ for more serious riding i.e. every day for 2-6 hours a day.) *note, some of the price ranges do overlap* Also you want to consider frame material. Steel, while Resiliant can be somewhat heavy. It will take away some road shock but for the most part will add overall weight to the bike. Aluminium is light weight but rigid, and will beat you to death on the trail/road espcially in a hardtail (no rear suspension) MTB or on long road rides. Carbon Fiber is resiliant and light weight, but expensive, and lastly there is titanium which has similar qualities to Carbon Fiber. If you plan to ride often and can afford it, consider carbon fiber. A good Carbon Fiber bike can be bought around $1400.00 and up. If that is to much, go for aluminimum (particularly on a MTB) with front and rear suspension. However, if doing road, I would reccomend steel as opposed to aluminium because of it's shock absorbing properties. You can also do a combination of aluminimum and Carbon, but again, those bikes start around $1200.00. Lastly, for a LOT of riding, plus a coolness factor, and a total comfort factor, is a fully customized bike. The bike is made specfically for you. They can be made of any material mentioned above, however they are mostly road bikes. There are a few companies that do make custom MTB however. Those companies usualy use Titanium or steel though. Some manufacturers of Custom bikes include Moots, and Serotta, while stock bikes include Bianchi, Raleigh, Trek and the like. I used to own a bike shop, and work in one now called Black Bar bicycles in Virginia. *Modification* Like I had stated to an earlier question, DO NOT get the bike form Wal-Mart or like stores..go to a bike shop to get your bike. Also what are your plans. Do you want to commute or Mountain Bike or road bike? It will indeed be difficult to find a women's specific bike at the $300.00 level. However I understand tight budgets. You can get something that fits you, and is comfortable at the $300.00 range. Click the link below to our shop, and hit enter, then bikes. Check out the different lines and take a look at the bikes from the various companies and their prices. Then, tomorrow, get out the phone book, and do the same with bike shops in your area :) I hope I have helped! Happy cycling! http://www.blackbarbicycles.com... http://www.serotta.com http://www.moots.com My LBS carries steel bikes made for women - Giant brand. They also have the models in aluminum. I think they're Sedona models. Could check out all the models to see what's comfortable. Scott bikes! http://www.scottusa.com/ The Contessa models for ladies. Ranging from $400 to $4000. A bike for every MTB budget. 'nuff said. |
| Tags |
| Kids Bike Schwinn Bike Cruiser Bike Road Bike Folding Bike Mountain Bike |
Bike Categories--Copyright/IP Policy--Contact Webmaster |