The Bike Needs Replacing – DAMN!

[ResidentEvil7Participant 9543]

Well just as I was 30 seconds from home, my cheap Wal-Mart bike I had for almost 3 years to the day now needs to be replaced. The back tire, ever since I put air in it last earlier this month, is now all bent up out of shape. Plus the left handle gear cracked open. So I need to replace my bike that I’ve been riding shirtless all summer long.

I wanted my old GT Aggressor bike back I had like 10 years ago, but they don’t carry the one I had, meaning colors and patterns. So I went to Dick’s Sporting Goods website to check on some possible bike replacements. The following I’m considering:

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=51897156&cp=4406646.70516396.4413993.4418012&categoryId=17393826&fg=Wheel Size

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=51897166&cp=4406646.70516396.4413993.4418012&categoryId=17393826&fg=Wheel Size

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=88769666&cp=4406646.70516396.4413993.4418012&categoryId=17393826&fg=Gender

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=88769656&cp=4406646.70516396.4413993.4418012&categoryId=17393826&fg=Wheel Size

This time around I’m not going with another cheap Target or Wal-Mart bike either one of my parents dump on me to save money. They don’t last. Each bike since my GT Aggressor (2005 – 2009) have not lasted more than a year (one of them broke on me twice in the same month). So I’m not going cheap, but I’m not going to break the bank either. I might go to one of our bike shops here and see what they have, but I have to come to terms that those bikes usually are expensive marathon bikes and I only ride for pleasure and cardio purposes.

If I don’t figure out a good enough replacement, then I’ll just have my current cheap one repaired, since I being autistic don’t like change.

https://themanszone.webs.com/

[chirParticipant]

Quality lasts a long time. Had my Trek bike for 15 years. Except for basic maintenance. Flawless.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion, it is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning; it is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

[Anonymous 18]

If your parents paying for it…. Lol

The 3rd link looks sweet.

[ResidentEvil7Participant 9543]

Anonymous wrote:

If your parents paying for it…. Lol

The 3rd link looks sweet.

My parents aren’t paying for it, even though next Sunday is my 34th birthday. They paid for Wal-Mart and Target bikes the past 8 years; 3 of them and they don’t last. I will suck it up and either pay for a new one, or have the cheap $90 Wal-Mart one I have now repaired.

I wish I didn’t have to spend $350 on a bike, when I could of just held onto the one I have now. Then again, with the bike riding I do 20 hours a week, still everyone passes me up like I’m turtle riding.

Yes the Titan Dark Knight bike (link #3) does look badass but it’s only available in 18 inch, when I don’t know what size I have been riding. It could be too small for my 5′ 11′ height. Plus, it’s $400, which is quite much for me.

https://themanszone.webs.com/

[ResidentEvil7Participant 9543]

chir wrote:

Quality lasts a long time. Had my Trek bike for 15 years. Except for basic maintenance. Flawless.

Right. My old GT Aggressor bike was my favorite. It looked awesome, it preformed great, it was fast, and it lasted the longest. Because I had no money, my parents gave me bikes after the GT Aggressor from Target or Wal-Mart and they didn’t last long and were slower than everyone else on the bike path. This time around I’m going to buy my own bike. I wish I could go back to GT Aggressor, but that exact color and style was being last sold in 2005. I still have the old frame for it, but it may not be worth rebuilding it. I would love to bring back my old GT Aggressor bike out of its grave in the garage attic and bring it back. Like I said, it may not be worth rebuilding.

So I’m likely going to go to Dick’s Sporting Goods and buy a better brand name from a more trustworthy store. Too bad Sports Authority is now gone; I should could use their help right now.

https://themanszone.webs.com/

[Anonymous 42]

What about a used (top end) bike? I have a Kona chromolly tapered double butt oval (steel) bike, I like the steel for a mountain bike, aluminum dents and bends to easily. I maintain my bike maliciously, keeping the spokes adjusted “before” the rim bends is the trick to having your wheels last, also cleaning, adjusting, and repacking the bearing sets is also key to longevity.

Some rich dude cleaning his house and selling the bike he never rode would be your best possible bargain, $1500 to $1800 bike for $300 to $400!

Same with cars and motorcycles, always look for a motivated seller that has his “new and improved” and doesn’t care to be a used car salesman and just wants the frigging thing gone so he can clean out a parking space for his new one.

$300 will buy 3 to 5 as much quality in the used market.

I’ll never understand why bike manufactures haven’t switched to the indestructible sealed cartridge bearings?

One thing’s for sure, always “look” before you “leap” into any purchases!

Good luck REvil-7!

[The Laughing ManParticipant 1020]

I had one of those Walmart bikes, lasted a year. The cost of replacing and fixing the cheap parts make zero sense.

Check on Craigslist periodically for used bikes. You can always find people who spent big bucks and after it sat for so long want to go get rid of it.

It took a couple months but I was able to find a nice dual suspension Specialized for 200 bucks. Back when it came out in 2002 the bike went for 900 bucks. Good quality lasts.

An old adage I’m reminded of goes “I’m not rich enough to buy cheap things”.

I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes...or should I?

[Anonymous 3]

DO NOT EVER buy bikes from grocery stores! It is so bad quality, I wonder how the authorities allow to sell them. They are in fact dangerous to you and to the other people on the street. And there are a lot off hidden costs.

1. weak brakes, cheap s~~~ false disc brakes.
You are required by law to have TWO operational brakes, one on each wheel.
Fixies are kinda illegal (in my country, at least)
Minimum: a good METAL V-brake with metal brake lever. (Higher end: Avid BB7 or better disc brake, or even better is something hydraulic one if you have a good set of tools, a second hand 4-piston Shimano-saint M810 is damn strong.)

2. Cheap “adjustable” bottom bracket and hubs. Forget them, the “adjustment” can get too tight and grind bearing b~~~~, or get too loose, and there is no sealing, water goes in and it gets rusty. Of course it is not stainless steel. Minimum: go for at least Shimano Deore hubs for good adjustable bearings in hubs, or better, go for industrial bearings. For the bottom bracket, only mono-block industrial bearings or Hollowtech-like are the good.

3. No lamps = Illegal. Battery lamps are s~~~, you accidentally push the button, lamp may lit in your bag and battery dies. For commuting bike a minimum is a good hub-dynamo with fixed light. And a high-visibility vest (Mandatory by law if you ride outside of the city, at least at my country) and probably with spare battery lights on front and back, just in case.

4. VERY inaccurate derailleur (after a few months of use at least), breaking chains while pedaling up on a bridge, or chain falls down and sticks there, and hard to get it back again. Or the s~~~ shifts the chain and derailleur between the spokes, and then everything gets messed up very much.
Go for a second-hand Shimano Saint DH/FR derailleur plus controller for 150 bucks or a bit more, or a Deore one, and Jagwire wires and wire guides, that’s good thing. I have a Saint on my city bike too, like how precise it is with immediate shifting.

5. additional costs: a good mud guard, a bike lock (like Abus Bordo), a bell, …

There are lot of articles on the topic, but this is my favorite about what department stores sell as a “bicycle” here for cheap. (kinda bad translation but I hope the important parts get trough) :
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=hu&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fbikemag.hu%2Fkerekparteszt%2Ffreeride-downhill%2Fhiper-horror-made-in-gagyisztan

another ones originally in English:
http://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/tips/hidden-costs-buying-department-store-bikes
https://www.southcoastbikes.co.uk/Dont-Buy-a-Cheap-Bike

To continue, I have a lot of bad experience with cheap parts in general. (the age before internet and webshops, only cheap s~~~ was available in bike shops of my city) and feel free to ask anything. My older bike was a cheap bike with a good but heavy steel frame, from 1997, frame still running but with a lot better parts, having more mileage than some cars (3000 to 4000 kilometers a year for 19 years)

[ResidentEvil7Participant 9543]

Why would anyone buy a bike from a grocery store? It’s like going to Home Depot to buy a sweater. It just isn’t done. The only stores I would avoid buying a bike and it’s because of cheap s~~~ quality and that is Wal-Mart, Target, Meijer, and K-Mart.

The Laughing Man wrote:

I had one of those Walmart bikes, lasted a year. The cost of replacing and fixing the cheap parts make zero sense.

Check on Craigslist periodically for used bikes. You can always find people who spent big bucks and after it sat for so long want to go get rid of it.

Yeah, it coasts just as much to replace parts than it is to buy the whole thing again. I think it’s better to buy from a quality store like Dick’s or if were still in business Sports Authority. At least there you can spend a little more to get better. I bought my GT Aggressor from Sports Authority back in 2005, and it lasted 4 years; I would of been able to keep up with maintenance on it if I had money then. So that bike lasted 4 years; every Wal-Mart or Target bike after that lasted just a year or about. That’s the problem with those kind of bikes, they want you to replace them every year.

No I refuse to buy used. I don’t want something someone may of already beat up, or done god knows what to do it. I rather buy from a store where I can get a service plan on it, and brand new. You never know how much life is left in something used.

https://themanszone.webs.com/

[Anonymous 3]

ResidentEvil7 wrote:

Yeah, it coasts just as much to replace parts than it is to buy the whole thing again.

I completely have to agree this. My old bike was around 100 – 150 $ in 1997, parts have been replaced over time with same quality that was available, only the frame remained. And last year I spent over 600$ to replace everything and get it as good as it can be. New puncture proof tires (CST Salvo, Schwalbe tires are good too), double walled rims, stainless spokes, Deore rear hub, hub dynamo in front, new lights with home made electronics and ultra-capacitors and power-LED, saint derailleur, a good whole drive chain and cranks, a new front fork that can be disassembled for yearly cleaning (so that it does not get stuck), and more, so on… And a new spray paint in metallic green and silver with my nickname in black…

Now I have a good but heavy bike that is hard to damage and reliable. (20+ kilograms with 3 huge locks)

[Anonymous 3]

ResidentEvil7 wrote:

I rather buy from a store where I can get a service plan on it, and brand new.

In my place they like to not give your money back if a part fails due to what they think as “abuse”. (and everything is an abuse for s~~~ty parts) So I don’t like to spend extra for this when I get nothing for it.

ResidentEvil7 wrote:

You never know how much life is left in something used.

You never know it for new parts, too. You just can hope more for spending twice the price of a second hand part. That’s why I disassemble parts and renovate them before use. I get to know all the problems. Typically, for most of the time for 2-3 year old high end parts I buy, it just needs a big cleaning and realignment. Of course, there are some parts that one must not buy second hand for safety reasons, like brake pads and rotors and tires and other tear-and-wear parts. But I have no problem with the parts that do not get worn during use.

[The Laughing ManParticipant 1020]

Service plan is a great idea, just be sure to read the fine print.

You have to put in more effort to find a good deal but generally if you inspect the welds and they are good the frame will be fine. Also good bikes have reputations, I was able to avoid a few bikes that he chronic manufacture / design issues.

Good luck man, let us know what you got and how not turned out.

I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes...or should I?

[ResidentEvil7Participant 9543]

I likely won’t make a choice until after my birthday which is next Sunday the 4th.

https://themanszone.webs.com/

[ResidentEvil7Participant 9543]

Well now my alternate bike now has a problem — flat tire and I was over 5 miles away when it went flat. Took me over an hour to walk back home. So that’s two bikes that went to hell on me with rear tires and metal wheels in just over a week’s time. Great! Just another reason reminder to avoid bikes from Target and Wal-Mart; cheap s~~~ doesn’t last and was never meant to.

https://themanszone.webs.com/

[ResidentEvil7Participant 9543]

The primary bike is now fixed. I just used a replacement wheel from my alternate bike and switched them. That was a very dirty project. It was also very difficult as the bike wheel/tire wouldn’t go in without forcing it. Either way it’s as fixed as I can, even though the left gear shift is cracked open. Unless something comes up with it like the alternate bike went flat on me after just a week, I saved myself hundreds of dollars on a full replacement. After getting it back on and fixed, I had to clean it. There was so much dirt on it, it was pealing off in large chunks. Hopefully this repair works out and I don’t have to spend $400 for a new bike, even though a new one would be nice.

https://themanszone.webs.com/

[The Laughing ManParticipant 1020]

Right on man, it may not seem like it buy being resourceful in little ways like that are great learning experiences.

I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes...or should I?

[ResidentEvil7Participant 9543]

Well I just rode it a full route, and it works, other than the rubber handgrips sliding off a lot. So fixing that rear wheel and tire saved me several hundred dollars that I can now spend on something else, or save up in cash stash.

https://themanszone.webs.com/

[The Laughing ManParticipant 1020]

Look for handle bar grip tape, sturdy feel and comes in a roll for custom fitmeant.

I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes...or should I?

[ResidentEvil7Participant 9543]

I think my dad’s hot glue gun would be better.

https://themanszone.webs.com/

[Anonymous 3]

ResidentEvil7 wrote:

That was a very dirty project.

Just to tell you, fixing a broken chain on the roadside is even more dirty.

ResidentEvil7 wrote:

I saved myself hundreds of dollars

A patch on a flat tire is cheap as dirt, a new inner tube is a few bucks. And less than 2 hour of work, even if you are inexperienced. If you did it many times, it’s 1 hour or less. Of course, if you bring the bike to a workshop, you will pay a lot more and wait for the finished bike a lot more, at least a few days in summer bike-season. And it ma not be worth it on a worn-out Walmart bike. Learn to tinker and fix the things. The hot glue for the rubber of the handlebar is a good idea, cheap, fast, and should do it for months.

[Author]

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