Bicycle recommendations

[dammit]

My advice would be to find a bike shop that does measurements, and find a size that is right for you. Then you will know what size you want when you order online.

why just dont buy it at the bike shop?

why does everyone have to shop online these days?

[melrosebitch]

My advice would be to find a bike shop that does measurements, and find a size that is right for you. Then you will know what size you want when you order online.

why just dont buy it at the bike shop?

why does everyone have to shop online these days?

Because I already looked at the local bike shops, and it's about double the price of the ones on line. If they'd lower their price, I'd happily buy from them instead.

[LifesBeenGoodToMeSoFar]

And Life, I forgot to add, since you worked with bikes before, could you explain the height information? Since I may be buying the bike on line I want to make sure I get the right size. It seems most of the womens bikes I'm looking at are 26" and one of the users said that was a bit high for her but she's only 5'1". I'm 5'5", do you think I'd have any issues with the 26" or would that be ok for my height?

There are two parts to this, the height of the frame and the height of the seat. When they say 26" they mean the tire height rather than the frame or seat ("saddle") height. Sometimes the frame height is referred to as "stand over height". You should be able to stand comfortably on the ground with that horizontal bar not jammed into your crotch--so measuring her inseam height to the ground in her tennis shoes would be appropriate here.

If it's a girl's style bicycle like the Schwinn I showed you then you can step through the frame and the frame size then doesn't matter. A boy's style bicycle has that horizontal bar and it can be difficult to step over that if you're shorter. So... if you're shopping for a unisex bicycle like the one you showed earlier then frame size becomes significant if you're talking 5'1" or so.

There are a variety of frames that don't really look like a girl's bicycle but remove that horizontal bar element. For example:



Anyway, take a look at this: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/lp2/bi ... guide.html
They have multiple sizing tables there which are based upon style of bicycle, inseam measurement and/or height. Match up the correct table to the type of bicycle you have in mind and then look up the inseam/height measurement in inches.

If you buy the bicycle at a place like Sears they will put the bicycle together for you for a nominal fee (like $15). This won't necessarily include sizing it to your daughter. This custom work usually involves having her sit on the bicycle and then making some adjustments, like in the seat height itself or the height of the handlebars. To me, these are easy-enough adjustments but I grew up doing them. There are a variety of how-to things on this if you want to try it yourself. And this of course is why the bike shop charges more because people expect and even demand them to custom-tune the adjustments for their kid right there. They take the bike into the back and then make those adjustments and you're good to go. They'll also put the right amount of air in the tires, btw.

If you buy the bicycle at Sears, for example, and don't pay the nominal fee then it will be in a big box. You take it home and do a little bit of assembly work yourself and of course you end up doing the seat and handlebar adjustments yourself. In fact, the tires may be a little deflated in the box version, btw.

If your area is anything like mine, an unlocked bicycle is a stolen bicycle. I've had them walk up and steal a bicycle on my front porch (a fairly daring theft if you knew the situation). And also here, merely locking the bicycle frame wouldn't be enough, you'd need to loop the locking cable through both tires and the frame and some solid object (and hope that they don't take your seat). Note that you don't usually have to lock your car to this same extent. The penalties for stealing a bicycle or a bicycle part seem to not be enough of a deterrent.

Oh and btw, there are local laws for mandatory bicycle helmets (go figure). http://www.bhsi.org/mandator.htm Austin, TX is presumably one of those places where under-18s need one. My guess is that nobody enforces the law however. The problem would be that if it's required and some jackass runs into your daughter then the absence of a helmet would lower any claims that you could make against their insurance company.

[Falcon]

@ Lifey are you refering to your daughter as example because last I knew (Aug 2009) mb doesn't have a daughter...

[melrosebitch]

@ Lifey are you refering to your daughter as example because last I knew (Aug 2009) mb doesn't have a daughter...

Correct, I do not have a daughter & never will of any kind if I have my way! but I think he was just using her as an example.

Thanks for all the info Life. I will keep all that in mind as I shop. I know most of the online places I'm leaning towards buying from, I'd have to assemble them myself. I tend to be the type that starts out doing something like that fine, then about an hour into it gets frustrated & goes & gets a beer instead. Luckily my fiance is quite handy & loves putting things like that together. So I know he won't mind helping me if I go that route. But I hadn't thought about the tires not being inflated, so that reminded me that I should probably buy a bicycle pump at the same time.

And yeah, I planned on getting a lock too. I think it's unlikely to happen here, but I'm not taking any chances either. And I have a garage to store it in at home now. That's the only reason I hadn't bought one sooner, no room in the apartment.

As for the helmet laws, I planned on getting one anyway but I believe they are required by law here for anyone on a bike. But stupidly, they're NOT required in Texas for motorcycles. Figure that one out!

[LifesBeenGoodToMeSoFar]

@ Lifey are you refering to your daughter as example because last I knew (Aug 2009) mb doesn't have a daughter...

Oops. Must have misread this... "It seems most of the womens bikes I'm looking at are 26" and one of the users said that was a bit high for her but she's only 5'1". I'm 5'5", do you think I'd have any issues with the 26" or would that be ok for my height?" I then deduced that this was for her daughter rather than herself, hence the helmet-talk later.

Luckily my fiance is quite handy & loves putting things like that together. So I know he won't mind helping me if I go that route. But I hadn't thought about the tires not being inflated, so that reminded me that I should probably buy a bicycle pump at the same time.

So basically, my suggestion is to go to some place like Sears or Toys-R-Us and actually sit on the bicycle you have in mind and buy one from them (boxed). Your fiancé will feel all manly and useful putting it together and adjusting it for you. Google "how to adjust a bicycle seat" and there are several how-to's on that. The instructions in the container itself are okay but they're not as good as the ones online.

Personally, I'd suggest a generic water bottle carrier that attaches to the frame. I got a nice one at my bicycle shop that screws into the holes that are usually there for that purpose. The hole spacing was perfectly matched up for it, too.



And you can get a variety of expensive water bottles but honestly, I just refill the standard/commercial pint-sized "bottled water" plastic bottle and this works great. Nobody will steal it if you leave it on the bicycle.

On a sidenote, the bicycle shop can perform something that the average person cannot easily do: they can adjust the brakes and the cable/gear assemblies themselves. This isn't easy. It's a skilled task and I wouldn't suggest taking it on lightly.

[melrosebitch]

cool, thanks for all the advice everyone, especially life! I posted pretty much the same topic on my Facebook & most of my friends just left sarcastic comments like, "buy a big wheel" or "fisher price makes some good models". This was way more helpful. I ended up ordering the Schwinn Sidewinder:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/26-Ladies-Sch ... e/11089190

And yeah, I got it from Walmart. But I justify that with the facts that I hardly ever shop there, I spend lots of money at other local businesses here & this purchase will encourage me to get more fit and be better for the environment. Plus, I won't have to give as much money to the stupid oil companies to put gas in my car too. They just won in the price & free shipping to store department hands down. I got the bike, a helmet & a lock for under $200. Turns out I didn't need a bike pump, my fiance already has one, but no bike...boys are weird!

Good point about the water bottle holder, I'll have to get one of those too. Especially if I'm able to force myself to ride in the summer. It's hella hot here.

And yeah, he loves feeling all "manly & useful" helping me put stuff together, lol!

should I have a bike shop adjust the brakes and the cable/gear assemblies when I first get it? Or is that something that will need to be done after some use?

I feel good about this purchase. I had a Schwinn 10 speed throughout high school & college & it was a great bike. I managed to damage one side of the handle bars when I took a nasty spill once, but my dad was able to fix it without snapping the metal. Other than that (which was totally my fault) the bike was great. I'll let y'all know how it looks when I get it. Should arrive in about a week or so.

[LifesBeenGoodToMeSoFar]

should I have a bike shop adjust the brakes and the cable/gear assemblies when I first get it? Or is that something that will need to be done after some use?

Out-of-the-box it should come with the cable set adjusted already for both the brakes and front/rear gear derailleurs (shifters). Over time you'll notice that it will start to misbehave. The hot temperatures in Texas will cause the cables to stretch, forcing an adjustment on two brakes and two derailleurs eventually. I'd suggest that your financé just take a good look at how the brake calipers and gear derailleurs look and behave now; maybe two years later when the cables stretch the brakes will pinch later within the range of the brake lever movement and the gear adjusters won't pull hard enough, resulting in a mis-alignment of the chain against the gears. You'll notice that the chain "chatters" a lot instead of firmly seating into a selected gear.

[melrosebitch]

should I have a bike shop adjust the brakes and the cable/gear assemblies when I first get it? Or is that something that will need to be done after some use?

Out-of-the-box it should come with the cable set adjusted already for both the brakes and front/rear gear derailleurs (shifters). Over time you'll notice that it will start to misbehave. The hot temperatures in Texas will cause the cables to stretch, forcing an adjustment on two brakes and two derailleurs eventually. I'd suggest that your financé just take a good look at how the brake calipers and gear derailleurs look and behave now; maybe two years later when the cables stretch the brakes will pinch later within the range of the brake lever movement and the gear adjusters won't pull hard enough, resulting in a mis-alignment of the chain against the gears. You'll notice that the chain "chatters" a lot instead of firmly seating into a selected gear.

cool, thanks for letting me know about that. I'll keep an eye out for it. I should be able to ride it without the heat being a factor until around the end of May, maybe mid-June if we're lucky & have a cooler/late summer start. I'll probably use my car more in the summer because of the heat anyway, but I'm going to do my best to use the bike. If I could manage to get up early to get things done that would work, but I'm not known for getting up early. I've got the hours of a vampire.

[Tommy_is_here]

[LifesBeenGoodToMeSoFar]

Oh yeah...?

[Tommy_is_here]

[LifesBeenGoodToMeSoFar]

2:50

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4YmVP6i4qw

[thisisit?]

Oh yeah...?

Unreal! I want that!

[Sad-Loser45]

Oh! Oh! I know! I know! One with wheels! Preferably two.

LOL