Seeking discussion...

"Jeff" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Here's the scenario:

I intend to commute to school, September through April, in Winnipeg. We

get

Quoted message said:

lots of snow, put down lots of sand and salt, and don't do a great job clearing the roads. I do
not wish to use my relatively expensive road

bike <<snip..>>

Quoted message said:

So, my question for discussion is this: why should, or shouldn't, I go

with

Quoted message said:

the el cheapo bike?

My opinion is that you should get a single speed beater bike, if you can live with that. The first
thing to go on a winter beater is the cables for brakes and derailleurs. Winterpeg is about as flat
as it gets, so you really don't need extra gears. Get an old single speed coaster with fenders and a
chain guard, put a front caliper brake on it and paint it a hideous black colour (it'll probably be
rust-coloured anyway..). Nobody will steal it, you'll have minimal maintenance and you can probably
get one for $30 at a garage sale. You'll never need to replace the chain and new tires/seat will
cost you about $50 total, tops. On top of that, there were many CCM's made in the late 60's/early
70's exactly like this with easy to find 26x1
3/8 tires. This means the bikes aren't that huge. As a matter of fact, you can probably get a nice
ladies bike (I'm serious here..) that will easily fit. Throw a big paper route basket on the front
and you're laughing. Actually, it's a really practical beater.

If you're sour on the coaster/fender concept, I'd buy a new but cheap bike. Used bikes inevitably
need work, particularly the rear hub and bottom bracket. Get a $300 Iron Horse POS from Sport Chek
and just keep it running with lots of lube. Winter WILL destroy the finish on all your alloy parts,
unless you spend time cleaning after every ride (like that's going to happen), so I would not ride a
bike you like through the winter. You don't need suspension and all that [censored], so just get the
lowest priced, simplest mountain bike you can find.

Cheers,

Scott..

"Jeff" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Here's the scenario:

I intend to commute to school, September through April, in Winnipeg. We

get

Quoted message said:

lots of snow, put down lots of sand and salt, and don't do a great job clearing the roads. I do
not wish to use my relatively expensive road

bike

Quoted message said:

for this task, so I'm seeking an inexpensive (sub$200) mountain bike to

use

Quoted message said:

(I like the option of studded tires). My commuting destination has no proper bike lockup area.
Worst case, I will be locking the bike to a lamp post out of my view. The commute is between 8 and
9 miles each way.

I see three basic options: find a used beater, buy a new really cheap

bike,

Quoted message said:

buy a new low-end but decent bike from an LBS. I have minimal skills as a wrench, but I'm
motivated to learn as I will have to do a fair bit of maintenance to get any bike through the
winter here.

I too wrestled with this...I'm going to University of Maryland in the fall, and ultimately decided I
enjoyed riding my purpose-built commuter so much I wasn't gonna risk it's being stolen.

So, I went to my friendly LBS and asked Ken what he had that was ugly, cheap, yet reliable. Out
popped a 15 year old road bike, in a "well loved" red color, with modern handlebars and aerobrakes
(what the hell do you call modern road brake levers? I ride in the dirt), friction shifters, a pimp
Raleigh crank, new tires, tubes, BB, bar tape, cables, and brake pads. I didn't even look at the
maker - but I remember it said "Made in England" in script on the top of the top tube.

Anyway, $150 bucks later and I have my beater - one that I can't imagine anyone stealing, but will
still be fun to ride. I'm going to swap the rear mech for a Suntour so nothing on it says Shimano -
at UMD there are a lot of frames still bolted to racks, with the shiny bits gone...saying "shimano"
would only pull them in, even if it a [censored] SIS POS.

I say keep looking - thrift sores, small time bike shops. Maybe a shop can sell you a rental now
that the season is dying. Don't go new...that's asking for trouble. If you do go new, get aluminum
so you can strip all the pain off and ride a bare bike. The uglier, the better.

For the record, here's the nonsense I was going to ride to College Park...it looks like hell, but is
a blast. pbase.comx calOpen ↗

Chris

What about cgi.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗ or
cgi.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗ or other ebay offers?
May be you even find a seller "near you".

Erik L

"Jeff" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Here's the scenario:

I intend to commute to school, September through April, in Winnipeg. We

get

Quoted message said:

lots of snow, put down lots of sand and salt, and don't do a great job clearing the roads. I do
not wish to use my relatively expensive road

bike

Quoted message said:

for this task, so I'm seeking an inexpensive (sub$200) mountain bike to

use

Quoted message said:

(I like the option of studded tires). My commuting destination has no proper bike lockup area.
Worst case, I will be locking the bike to a lamp post out of my view. The commute is between 8 and
9 miles each way.

I see three basic options: find a used beater, buy a new really cheap

bike,

Quoted message said:

buy a new low-end but decent bike from an LBS. I have minimal skills as a wrench, but I'm
motivated to learn as I will have to do a fair bit of maintenance to get any bike through the
winter here.

I've been to several garbage sales recently and have yet to see anything remotely worth buying.
Even the utter junk is overpriced ($30 for a rust bucket needing a new seat, new chain, new
peddles, new cables...).

Finding

Quoted message said:

one that fits me is also tough (29" inseam, 5'6" overall). I'm concerned that I won't be able to
find an acceptable beater or that the one I find will have serious but hard to find damage.

I've been to several LBSs recently. Their low end bikes never seem to run below $700, well out of
my price range.

Several sporting goods stores sell cheapo bikes and at this time of year, they are discounted.
Well within my price range.

Now, I understand that a $700 bike is (or should be) much better than a

$100

Quoted message said:

bike. And if I were going to be running it down a mountain at breakneck speed, I'd want the best
components I could find. But I'm going to be riding in the city at 12-18 MPH with minimal hills.
If a $100 bike lasts

me

Quoted message said:

3 months, that's still substantially cheaper than taking the bus.

So, my question for discussion is this: why should, or shouldn't, I go

with

Quoted message said:

the el cheapo bike?

S. Anderson said:

"Jeff" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Here's the scenario:

I intend to commute to school, September through April, in Winnipeg. We

get

Quoted message said:

lots of snow, put down lots of sand and salt, and don't do a great job clearing the roads. I do
not wish to use my relatively expensive road

bike <<snip..>>

Quoted message said:

So, my question for discussion is this: why should, or shouldn't, I go

with

Quoted message said:

the el cheapo bike?

My opinion is that you should get a single speed beater bike, if you can live with that. The first
thing to go on a winter beater is the cables for brakes and derailleurs. Winterpeg is about as
flat as it gets, so you really don't need extra gears. Get an old single speed coaster with
fenders and a chain guard, put a front caliper brake on it and paint it a hideous black colour
(it'll probably be rust-coloured anyway..). Nobody will steal it, you'll have minimal maintenance
and you can probably get one for $30 at a garage sale. You'll never need to replace the chain and
new tires/seat will cost you about $50 total, tops. On top of that, there were many CCM's made in
the late 60's/early 70's exactly like this with easy to find 26x1
3/8 tires. This means the bikes aren't that huge. As a matter of fact, you can probably get a nice
ladies bike (I'm serious here..) that will easily fit. Throw a big paper route basket on the
front and you're laughing. Actually, it's a really practical beater.

If you're sour on the coaster/fender concept, I'd buy a new but cheap bike. Used bikes inevitably
need work, particularly the rear hub and bottom bracket. Get a $300 Iron Horse POS from Sport Chek
and just keep it running with lots of lube. Winter WILL destroy the finish on all your alloy
parts, unless you spend time cleaning after every ride (like that's going to happen), so I would
not ride a bike you like through the winter. You don't need suspension and all that [censored], so just
get the lowest priced, simplest mountain bike you can find.

Cheers,

Scott..

I don't know about a single speed. I found riding in snow itself was worse than a steep climb and
when I hit the plowed spots I could move at my normal speeds (considering traction 🙂).

My personal opinion is that I wouldn't go for something that I cared a whole lot about. I'd go for a
used beater with decent enough heratage that I'm not going to have to hoof it when it breaks.

David

"Erik Lindeberg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What about

cgi.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

or

cgi.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

or other ebay offers? May be you even find a seller "near you".

Erik L

Thanks for the suggestion. My biggest problem with buying a bike via eBay, or similar system, is
that I cannot check the bike for fit before buying it. While I don't expect a used bike to have
perfect fit, it must be a reasonably decent fit. Poorly fitted bicycles are, IMHO, dangerous to
the rider.

"S. Anderson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My opinion is that you should get a single speed beater bike, if you can live with that. The first
thing to go on a winter beater is the cables

for

Quoted message said:

brakes and derailleurs. Winterpeg is about as flat as it gets, so you really don't need extra
gears. Get an old single speed coaster with

fenders

Quoted message said:

and a chain guard, put a front caliper brake on it and paint it a hideous black colour (it'll
probably be rust-coloured anyway..). Nobody will

steal

Quoted message said:

it, you'll have minimal maintenance and you can probably get one for $30

at

Quoted message said:

a garage sale. You'll never need to replace the chain and new tires/seat will cost you about $50
total, tops. On top of that, there were many

CCM's

Quoted message said:

made in the late 60's/early 70's exactly like this with easy to find 26x1
3/8 tires. This means the bikes aren't that huge. As a matter of fact,

you

Quoted message said:

can probably get a nice ladies bike (I'm serious here..) that will easily fit. Throw a big paper
route basket on the front and you're laughing. Actually, it's a really practical beater.

If you're sour on the coaster/fender concept, I'd buy a new but cheap

bike.

Quoted message said:

Used bikes inevitably need work, particularly the rear hub and bottom bracket. Get a $300 Iron
Horse POS from Sport Chek and just keep it

running

Quoted message said:

with lots of lube. Winter WILL destroy the finish on all your alloy

parts,

Quoted message said:

unless you spend time cleaning after every ride (like that's going to happen), so I would not ride
a bike you like through the winter. You

don't

Quoted message said:

need suspension and all that [censored], so just get the lowest priced, simplest mountain bike you
can find.

Thanks for the suggestions. Having ridden a little bit in snow (years back in high school), I would
definitely want more than one gear - it's amazing how fluffy solid water can hold you back.

I am considering a ladies bike as I'm concerned about needing to come off the seat if the brakes
freeze. I've forgotten who, but there was a comedian who had a comment about bikes, saying that he
didn't understand why the ones with the balls got the ones with the bars. Don't know why, but that
comment has stuck in my head ever since.

"Chris" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I too wrestled with this...I'm going to University of Maryland in the

fall,

Quoted message said:

and ultimately decided I enjoyed riding my purpose-built commuter so much

I

Quoted message said:

wasn't gonna risk it's being stolen.

So, I went to my friendly LBS and asked Ken what he had that was ugly, cheap, yet reliable. Out
popped a 15 year old road bike, in a "well

loved"

Quoted message said:

red color, with modern handlebars and aerobrakes (what the hell do you

call

Quoted message said:

modern road brake levers? I ride in the dirt), friction shifters, a pimp Raleigh crank, new tires,
tubes, BB, bar tape, cables, and brake pads. I didn't even look at the maker - but I remember it
said "Made in England"

in

Quoted message said:

script on the top of the top tube.

Anyway, $150 bucks later and I have my beater - one that I can't imagine anyone stealing, but will
still be fun to ride. I'm going to swap the

rear

Quoted message said:

mech for a Suntour so nothing on it says Shimano - at UMD there are a lot

of

Quoted message said:

frames still bolted to racks, with the shiny bits gone...saying "shimano" would only pull them in,
even if it a [censored] SIS POS.

I say keep looking - thrift sores, small time bike shops. Maybe a shop

can

Quoted message said:

sell you a rental now that the season is dying. Don't go new...that's asking for trouble. If you
do go new, get aluminum so you can strip all

the

Quoted message said:

pain off and ride a bare bike. The uglier, the better.

For the record, here's the nonsense I was going to ride to College

Park...it

Quoted message said:

looks like hell, but is a blast. pbase.comx calOpen ↗

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been to a couple LBSs and neither stocks used bikes. I guess
the concept of trading up doesn't do well here. I will continue to look into it at some of the
other shops.

I asked one LBS last night about buying a rental bike. Apparently, it's been a bad year for rentals
and under their business model, they'll actually end up, or trying to, selling the rentals for more
than new bikes at sale prices. That seemed a little odd to me but business plans don't always make
sense to outsiders. Nonetheless, I don't really know that LBS very well.

"David Kunz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I don't know about a single speed. I found riding in snow itself was worse than a steep climb and
when I hit the plowed spots I could move at my normal speeds (considering traction 🙂).

My personal opinion is that I wouldn't go for something that I cared a whole lot about. I'd go for
a used beater with decent enough heratage that I'm not going to have to hoof it when it breaks.

Any idea what is likely to break? If it's just a couple of parts, I could consider replacing those
cheap parts with better parts. I certainly expect the risk of things (deraileur, BB, etc) freezing.
I've heard that plastic fenders become brittle and break.