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Ask HN: Where to buy a bike online

9 points by Rhodee ↗ HN
I make a promise to myself every so often to get more fit. Its sunny and now I want to try and make good on it.

So, anyone know a place where I can purchase a bike online fit for an HN reader? What gadgets would you put on it?

For your recommendations, I'd prefer to give my $ to a local shop (NYC) or a small shop with competitive prices. Seeking a bike for daily use with trail/road tyres.

14 comments

[ 497 ms ] story [ 164 ms ] thread
brudgers
My opinion is that buying a bike online before you have significant cycling experience is a mistake - the benefit of a local bike shop is that they can help you find a bike that fits your physical dimensions, level of fitness and intended use...and of course your budget.

Recommended gadgets: pump, patch kit, small tool kit, water bottle, and lights as required - weight just slows you down.

Rhodee
Thanks for the feedback. I must say buying a bike online is like trying to buy shoes online. It needs a zappos. Did I just give myself an idea?
pja
The other problem with buying a bike online is that the bike will probably come only part-assembled & if you don't know what you're doing you can really make a mess of things. A proper bike shop will be doing this assembly for you: it's one of the things you're implicitly paying for when you buy a bike from them. Decent bike shops will almost always offer a free "tune-up" service which you will otherwise need to do yourself. Again, if you know what you're doing and are happy to do it yourself then great: go for it. If you don't however then you're likely to end up with a bike that just doesn't ride right after a month or so & you won't know why.

(A UK consumer advocate program once bought a bunch of cheap bikes online: universally they were either poorly put together or in some cases actively unsafe. One bike had the forks on backwards!)

tobylane
I'm currently looking for a new bike and I asked around in local shops. One of them gave me a website and some brands to look at. They would have to order it in with my money, so I'm sticking with a shop that has in-store stock, but it is a good option.
barrkel
When I used a bike for commuting, I would buy bikes with 100% expectation that they would get stolen within 6 months (I've had over 7 stolen from me). So I would usually buy a bike second-hand for the equivalent of about 40 USD. So long as it had straight wheels, working brakes, a maintained chain and gears and a solid frame, I was good to go. (Cables / tyres / tubes I could replace / fix myself. Other repairs wouldn't make a lot of economic sense.)

A heavier bike is slightly harder to push up hills and harder to accelerate, but if fitness is your concern, it's immaterial IMO. Spending a lot of money on a lighter bike strikes me as a waste of money. Actually, spending more than the equivalent of 200 USD on a new bike would strike me as foolish.

Of course, if your the sort of person who would only ride in a circle from your house, or your car after having driven your bicycle somewhere, then feel free to ignore all my words of wisdom.

Rhodee
I lived in the Bronx-never had a bike stolen (no joke). My first day on campus @ a large midwestern school (Sci LIB) my bike got jacked. Sigh. Now that I am back in NYC, finding a new bike for less than $370 seems impossible. Then tax and accessories.
khandelwal
Gadgets: Buy a u-lock (harder to cut) rather than a chain, wire or some other configuration. Buy a cycle computer (shows you your speed, distance for your ride, etc) - the feedback is great. You'll know when you're pedaling slower than usual and also can keep track of how far you've been riding. Last of all, buy a pump for the tires. Keeping your tires properly inflated helps a lot.

Contrary to what has been suggested before, I would buy the lightest bike you can in your budget. A lighter bike will reduce the agony when you don't want to push yourself; and when you do want to push yourself, just go faster.

Rhodee
Great feedback. I definitely am going to consider buying a cycle computer. Do you have any recommendations? I wonder if any services exist to transmit my stats? Say how many miles I do in a day or other riders. It could be a game.
khandelwal
No recommendations. Although buy a wireless one. I have an old, simple one from Cateye that works like a charm.
pdebruic
I've been a bike commuter for a decade.

I'd go back to Metro Bicycles (http://www.metrobicycles.com/) if I needed another bike in NYC. I bought a Dahon Speed D7 (http://us.dahon.com/bikes/1728/speed-d7) folding bike from them a few years ago. Its cheap ($500 so I didn't worry about it getting stolen), adjustable (so I could easily change riding positions as necessary/sore) and fit easily in the apartment I was living in at the time.

As for accessories get this: http://www.strava.com/ for geeking out and a U-lock with cable like this: http://www.amazon.com/Avenir-Standard-U-Lock-Cable-Lock/dp/B... for security. The cable makes the u-lock more useful and most lock companies will insure the bike theft if you are using their lock when its stolen up to a certion $ amount.

Don't worry about flats etc because there are enough shops around to fix them within an easy walking distance. All the gear you strap to the bike is just something you'll have to replace once it gets stolen (either the bike or just the stuff on it) or falls off while cruising through town.

Also JWZ has some solid recommendations here:

http://www.jwz.org/blog/2008/05/the-collected-jwz-bicycle-wi...

Rhodee
Awesome. I actually know the shop too.
Rhodee
Article is classic; Its like watching yo gabba gabba with my kid 'don't bite your friends' --- Appreciate the recommendations. Especially Strava. I need games to be productive.
bretthopper
http://bikesdirect.com/

I purchased a road bike from here and couldn't be happier. I paid $700 for one that would have cost me double that in Canada.

Everyone is correct that buying a bike from a physical store is better, but here's how I combined the two:

- Go to a local bike store and try out some bikes. Get someone there to help you and take some measurements. I found out I needed a 56cm frame thanks to this.

- Buy a bike online.

- You'll need to do some assembly on the bike. It's actually really easy. I did mine in about 30 mins and I've never done one before.

- Take it into a local bike shop and get them to fit you plus do a tune up. Some shops include this if you purchase a bike from them or just discount it. For me, I got such a good deal that it was still worth it.

Rhodee
Thanks, I found a local bike shop and they fitted me, so at least I know how to buy a bike for my needs. I will check this place out though. I also found out some bike manufacturers do not allow stores to sell online. Interesting business challenge for retailers. Now I can see why a lot of the bike shop sites are so sparse on functional...and form.