Thank you Ryan for your informative answer. I am new to
performance bikes, and honestly some of the prices make me
wonder how a bike can be so expensive. My current bike is
a hardtail from Wallmart, so Canadian Tire will be an
upgrade for
me. I drive mostly on paved road, sometimes up and down the
hills, and a few days per year in the mountains.
Here is my problem: My wallmart bike (Cnd $170 + tax) is
falling apart. I have to tighten up or adjust something
often. I know this is partly because of the quality of the
bike. But I weight around 220 lb, so the bike is under
pressure. As an example, if I put too much air in the tires,
I have to change a spoke or two every week. So I reduce the
air pressure, which causes the tire to act like a shock
absorber and save the spokes. However, then pedaling becomes
harder. I am thinking maybe having a full suspension bike
will save me from this trouble. But then I don't want to be
forced to change a busted (and expensive) rear shock
absorber instead of spokes.
What should I look for in a hardtail bike that makes the
spokes less prone to breaking?
My interest in disc brakes is because I am tired of
adjusting the brakes on my bike every few weeks, and I've
heard that disc brakes are more powerful than normal brakes.
Would it be more cost effective if I buy parts separately
and assemble them myself? Constantly fixing my own bike has
made me a good bike mechanic
Cam
Ryan Cousineau wrote:
> In article <
[email protected]>, cam
> <
[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > Candian Tire stores are offering SuperCycle Gravity
> > bikes, which have features such as front disc brake and
> > full suspension at the attractive price of Cnd $300. Has
> > anyone tried these bikes? Is it a durable bike? Are
> > there any other (better known) bikes with these features
> > in this price range?
> >
> > Here is the link (hope it works):
http://www.canadianti-
> > re.ca/assortments/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_i-
> > d= 845524443250630&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath=2534374302209-
> > 441&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath
> > =2534374302432155&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath=25343743027414-
> > =47&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_i
> > d=2534374302741447&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395348-
> > 027&bmUID=1079771735801
>
>
http://tinyurl.com/3bvan
>
> Picture:
>
>
http://images.canadiantire.ca/media/images/BicyclesAccess-
> ories/BikesAdult /0711284_450_CC_2c8f7.jpg
>
>
http://tinyurl.com/2qnha
>
> Okay, for the price, I'm sure it's great. The fork is a
> brand nobody here has ever heard of, the componentry is
> low-end Shimano, probably Acera from the looks and the 8-
> speed rear end, and I'm fascinated by the provenance of
> that rear shock. The front disc looks like it might be the
> very respectable Avid Ball Bearing design.
>
> Is it a durable bike? Depends on what you want to do with
> it. It's clearly the worst of all worlds: as a bike-path
> bike, it would suffer from high weight and inefficient
> pedaling caused by the suspension (I'm thinking they
> didn't put in a stable platform valve...). As a true off-
> road and freeride bike, it's likely to suffer from too
> little suspension travel (just a guess from looking at the
> fork), bad or nonexistent suspension damping, and probable
> fragility.
>
> If you know exactly what you are doing, you might be able
> to get the wheels nice and true, and ride it some. I doubt
> the experience would ever be pleasant.
>
> > I am also wondering if one can get a bike with dual disc
> > brakes and full suspension in this price range. Would
> > someone be able to recommend an online store or forum
> > for buying discounted or second hand mountain bikes in
> > Canada?
>
> For C$300, your best value is probably a nice used
> hardtail, V-brakes front and rear, with a half-decent
> front fork. Locally, I'd recommend Sports Junkies or The
> Buy & Sell, but in either case you have to know what
> you're looking at.
>
> But since you're already starting at Canadian Tire, I'm
> assuming you're not a sophisticated consumer of mountain
> bikes. In which case I'd go to a local bike shop, and see
> if they can set you up with a low-end hardtail for about
> $300. It will be similar in spec to the SuperCycle, but
> you will get the advantage of a proper fit on the bike,
> and proper assembly of the bicycle, two things which are
> just about nonexistent for department-store bicycles.
>
> Bikes without rear suspension are great to ride on mildly
> bumpy trails: they absorb some of the bumps with their
> front suspension, but don't suffer from the inefficient
> pedaling of full-suspension bicycles. There are bikes that
> have rear suspension and pretty good pedaling, but they
> sell for at least four times your budget.
>
> If you actually intend to ride this SuperCycle down
> serious trails, I'd be very afraid. Even before the bike
> simply fell apart because its rear suspension is made
> cheaply (hint: suspension pivots are very hard to get
> right) and it was never assembled properly, I'd bet that
> the marginal suspension system would make the ride a
> chore. It probably has a virtually undamped rear shock,
> which means that every time the suspension gets compressed
> by a bump, it will hop back into place much too quickly,
> potentially lifting the rear wheel and generally making a
> mess of serious bike dynamics. Again, better to be on a
> hardtail than fighting that all the way down the hill.
>
> This seems like a long posting to tell you "department
> store bikes suck. Get a
> Norco/Kona/Specialized/Brodie/whatever," but I hope by
> articulating the problems in detail, you'll understand why
> most people who respond to this thread are going to
> encourage you to raise your budget and lower your
> expectations.
>
> For my part, faced with a similar budget and a desire for
> a serious mountain bike, I bought a used Kona Kilauea, a
> 1997-vintage bike with XT (pretty high end) components and
> a Marzocchi Z.2, a short-travel fork by today's standards,
> but one of the first really serious, properly damped forks
> made. I paid $400, and at that price had to put in some
> more money to change the fork seals and oil. I also
> upgraded the wheels, though that was more because I got a
> good deal on some nice rims and hubs (cost me less than
> C$100 plus my labour to get together a WTB front disc hub,
> XT rear hub, two Syncros Lil' Snapper double-wall rims,
> and enough spokes to assemble it all).
>
> --
> Ryan Cousineau,
[email protected]
>
http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/ President, Fabrizio
> Mazzoleni Fan Club
