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  • Newbie bike question

    I picked up a used road bike to try commuting to work about four miles away. I bought used for $100, made in the 80's, gears and the ride aren't real smooth. Tires a little wobbly, etc. I picked up just to see if I would like doing it and if it would work. I've really enjoyed it so far and now thinking about an upgrade.

    If I moved up to the $500-$800 range in a used bike, would it significantly improve my ride? What should I look for in a bike? The main issue is the ride home is mostly hill and I'm tired late in the day and it would would be a lot better to have a bike that could make that trip with a little less effort.

    How much does the size of frame matter? I'm 6'3 and the frame is 23" and I feel like it might be a little too small. Also, I assume the pedal length is fixed. Are there bikes that have a wider circular motion? I feel like I could have a lot more power if I had a longer range of motion and probably help with my knees (a little sore) also, but I've never noticed any variation on that in bikes.

  • #2
    I'll get back to this later today if others don't cover it first.
    "What are you prepared to do?" - Jimmy Malone

    "What choice?" - Abe Petrovsky

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    • #3
      I just dropped $2k on a new road bike for the wife. She loves it. She can do a 10 mile ride now in the same amount of time that the 5 mile ride used to take.

      Go get fit for a bike, your world will change. (According to her. I'm still fat and am abstaining from this little venture.)

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      • #4
        Originally posted by jay santos View Post
        I picked up a used road bike to try commuting to work about four miles away. I bought used for $100, made in the 80's, gears and the ride aren't real smooth. Tires a little wobbly, etc. I picked up just to see if I would like doing it and if it would work. I've really enjoyed it so far and now thinking about an upgrade.

        If I moved up to the $500-$800 range in a used bike, would it significantly improve my ride? What should I look for in a bike? The main issue is the ride home is mostly hill and I'm tired late in the day and it would would be a lot better to have a bike that could make that trip with a little less effort.

        How much does the size of frame matter? I'm 6'3 and the frame is 23" and I feel like it might be a little too small. Also, I assume the pedal length is fixed. Are there bikes that have a wider circular motion? I feel like I could have a lot more power if I had a longer range of motion and probably help with my knees (a little sore) also, but I've never noticed any variation on that in bikes.
        I'm certainly no expert, but you'll be hard pressed to find anything new in that price range. You could probably find a decent (and much newer) used bike in that price range. At that price point you are looking at an aluminum frame and entry level components, which is fine if you'll just use it for commuting a couple miles a day. Your ride would improve quite a bit and the enjoyment factor would also go up. With the hills, it's more a matter have having the right gears and not so much the length of the pedals (which is mostly standard but I think you can get different lengths if you want to pay for it but I'm not sure how much it would help). Any standard road bike will have the gears necessary for riding hills in the city. Just learn to use the gears better and you shouldn't need different pedals or anything else.

        Frame size is very important for comfort. I'm 5' 9" and use a 54cm frame although I've also owned a 56cm frame which also fit. You can probably find some online tutorials to show you how to fit the bike to you or you could pay a local bike shop to do it for you.
        "Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. Uchtdorf

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        • #5
          Is there anything more to fitting than the frame size?

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          • #6
            Originally posted by jay santos View Post
            Is there anything more to fitting than the frame size?
            Frame size is the biggest thing. Probably the next is the length of the handlebar stem since they come in fixed lengths, but that is generally cheap to swap out. The seat post and seat are usually universally adjustable.
            "Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. Uchtdorf

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            • #7
              Originally posted by jay santos View Post
              I picked up a used road bike to try commuting to work about four miles away. I bought used for $100, made in the 80's, gears and the ride aren't real smooth. Tires a little wobbly, etc. I picked up just to see if I would like doing it and if it would work. I've really enjoyed it so far and now thinking about an upgrade.

              If I moved up to the $500-$800 range in a used bike, would it significantly improve my ride? What should I look for in a bike? The main issue is the ride home is mostly hill and I'm tired late in the day and it would would be a lot better to have a bike that could make that trip with a little less effort.

              How much does the size of frame matter? I'm 6'3 and the frame is 23" and I feel like it might be a little too small. Also, I assume the pedal length is fixed. Are there bikes that have a wider circular motion? I feel like I could have a lot more power if I had a longer range of motion and probably help with my knees (a little sore) also, but I've never noticed any variation on that in bikes.
              A few thoughts:

              --frame size is the key. But frames are not all equal. when you say a 54cm frame, for example, you are talking the distance between the top of the seat tube and the center point of the bottom bracket. Unless you';re not, as some frame makers measure differently. But all other frame dimensions can affect fit and ride. Top tube length can vary, chain stay length varies, etc. This all matters to fit and comfort. Not to mention ride (a touring frame, for example, is much longer than a crit frame, and so the handling is much different [truck vs sports cars] as is the response on the road). In gnereal, however, you need to fit it by inseam/leg length against the seat post length.

              --crank arm length can baolutely be changed and can make a big difference to how your knees feel. When you say pedals, you reall mean crank arm, btw. Part of a high end fit is to assess the length of your thighs and to make sure your crank arm isnt too long or too short, so you are getting a good straight power stroke. If you are lalready feeling like the cranks arent right, and if the frame is the right general size, it might be worth considering a change.

              --Make sure your seat is the right height. Most knee problems come from people having their seats too low and/or from using to high of a gear. You need the seat high enough and you need to make sure you are spinning when you ride and not grinding. Grinding on a low seat will make your knees sore. I usually pedal at about 90-100 rpm. thats a little higher than you might feel comfortable with (you do not want to bounce on the bike) so maybe shoot for 80-85.

              --making a bike go up a hill easily is all about weight; yours and the bike's. Putting yours aside right now, the lighter the bike the easier it is to go up. But, not all weight is equal. Rotating mass is much more impactful on climbing. IOW, make sure you have well tuned wheels and a good drive train. The best upgrade on your bike to improve speed and climbing and the feeling of speed is to upgrade your wheel set. But on a less expensive used bike you wont get great wheels, so I suggest you get the bike, get it tuned and then, if you stick with it, think about a better bike or a new wheel set later on.

              --Don't be afraid of aluminum frames. Most of my bikes are aluminum. I like it. strong, light and durable.

              Remeber, YMMV. Others will hopefully chime in, too. Enjoy!
              PLesa excuse the tpyos.

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              • #8
                Creekster has it covered. Maybe the only value I have to offer is being tall too at 6'6". My preference is to get a bit of a smaller frame and make up for it in the seat post and stem. I use a mountain bike seat post because I needed the extra length.


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                I told him he was a goddamn Nazi Stormtrooper.

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                • #9
                  OK, so last year I rode the used $100 road bike. I liked it enough to upgrade this year. I bought a used Giant Roam 1 (hybrid bike). I love it. I ride back and forth to the office, about four miles, most days. And then I also have been going on longer rides for fun. Lately, I've been exploring the canyon. And that's really opened my eyes to how awesome this can be. But now I see the options for mountain biking, and I really want to get into that. I want to hit some of these trails up the canyon or against the side of the mountain that my current bike can't do.

                  My question: should I configure my current bike to do both road and mountain stuff? Or should I leave my current bike configuration and pick up a mountain bike?

                  My current bike comes with 40c tire, and has range of 32 to 45, I believe. I put on road style tires: 32c Shwalbe Marathon. My logic was that I wanted to configure my bike for speed on the road, and I didn't know I'd be interested in dirt roads. My bike also has front suspension, but I'm not sure how good it is. It has a "speed lock" which I understand is better to lock and turn off the suspension if you're doing commute on roads, which I usually set.

                  When I tried taking my bike on a road I wanted to try, it spun in the dirt and rock and couldn't go anywhere. And I think the tires were slipping too much to have good enough foundation for balance.

                  If I put on thicker tires with better tread, would I get the desired effect for the dirt/gravel/rocky trails? Or are there other variables that will slow me down?

                  Further, if I did change out the tires, would I mess up the ride on the road that I like right now with my commute?

                  I assume people that are really into this sport would have two bikes, but I seem to already maybe have the bike I need, possibly, if I just swapped out the tires.

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                  • #10
                    Get a mountain bike.

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                    • #11
                      What do you think of these two?

                      https://www.ksl.com/classifieds/listing/44870441
                      $400
                      Fuji Nevada 1.1

                      https://www.ksl.com/classifieds/listing/43323505
                      $300
                      2003 Specialized StumpJumper Pro M4 Mountain Bike

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                      • #12
                        The Stumpjumper is a lot of cash for a fourteen year old bike. Not as familiar with the Fuji. Can you find out what component group it has?

                        Do you have a specific reason you are looking at hardtails?

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                        • #13
                          I think this would be better than that old Stumpjumper if you want a cheap hardtail: https://www.ksl.com/classifieds/listing/44924223

                          If it were me I'd up my budget a little bit and get something like this: https://www.ksl.com/classifieds/listing/44922774

                          That's a medium frame but it might fit you. I actually own a Rocky Mountain Slayer that's similar to it.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Shaka View Post
                            The Stumpjumper is a lot of cash for a fourteen year old bike. Not as familiar with the Fuji. Can you find out what component group it has?

                            Do you have a specific reason you are looking at hardtails?
                            No, I don't know much anything yet. I was looking at bikes in the 300-600ish range for my first purchase, and I like the large frame on my current bike, so I was filtering on that, and those were the two best I could find so far. I did read up a little on hardtail vs full suspension, and I think I would lean towards hardtail, just because it's probably good enough, and I'll still be riding it a lot on the road, ie to get to the trails.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by jay santos View Post
                              No, I don't know much anything yet. I was looking at bikes in the 300-600ish range for my first purchase, and I like the large frame on my current bike, so I was filtering on that, and those were the two best I could find so far. I did read up a little on hardtail vs full suspension, and I think I would lean towards hardtail, just because it's probably good enough, and I'll still be riding it a lot on the road, ie to get to the trails.
                              I'm a fatty these days but when I was into it I made the transition from hardtail to full suspension. Let's put it this way....I'll never go back. The rear shock on my bike has a lever that will almost lock it out for climbing. It's really the best of both worlds. For the record I've started riding again but mostly in the concrete jungle. I split time between my road bike and my Rocky Mountain.

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