Advice on "Comfort Bikes" (Gary Fisher Capitola vs. Giant Sedona) - Page 3

07-17-2004, 07:32 AM

>Anyone who is shopping for the best $300 bicycle is a fool.

What a nice, friendly, helpful and constructive comment....

My 'winter' bike cost £120.... About $80... It's a cheap dual-suspension
machine of the type commonly found in supermarkets. Apart from adding a
rack, mudguards, lights and changing the bottom bracket for a real one it's
unaltered... The pedals started to squeak last year and got replaced....

I live at the foot of the Pentland hills near Edinburgh and five days a week
through a harsh Scottish winter that bike is used on my regular 8-mile
climb\descend maintenance run... I've quite deliberately loaded the bike
with weight to keep the energy expenditure up as I don't have the time or
inclination to ride further in what can be rather difficult weather
conditions.... I expected it to last me ONE winter...

It'll be three years old next week, I just checked the trip computer and
it's covered 3482 miles and hasn't been off the road since last August as
the weather here has been atrocious this summer..... It's absolutely fine!
This is particularly surprising as, being just a winter hack, it only gets
attention when it complains! I know many people who have owned very cheap
supermarket\catalogue bikes for years and commute regularly on them... An
alarming thought for those who feel the need to impose their particular 'you
must have or you're damned' creed upon others.......

Whether the proposal is to spend £30 or £3000 on a bicycle for whatever
purpose it's reasonable to want to spend that money as well as it can be
spent.

> The vast majority of adults shopping for cheap bicycles to ride on
> the sidewalk would be better off getting on a power walking or slow
> jogging program.

Surprised to learn that riding on the pavement is legal in the US!
Personally I'd never discourage anyone from any form of cycling as I feel
it's a great way to get and stay reasonably fit, whatever your level. Even
if you only ride a 1/2 miles to the shops and back to get your paper in the
morning it's far better for you and those about you than jumping into the
car to make the same journey.... AS many folk do!

$300, ..around £180 isn't a great deal of money to buy a decent bike though
I suspect you'll get better value in the U.S. than we would in the UK.
Oddly enough I'm going to echo what our somewhat unfreindly colleague said
and suggest that either you up the budget or consider a good second-hand
machine with a decent guarantee.

At that price point it's possible that the only real difference between the
machines is the colour of paint and the stickers. The real weak spot in most
very cheap bikes is the bottom bracket. Often these are no more than some
cheap arrangement of ball bearings; look for a bike with a cartridge
type.... Next is the overall running gear. Again you'll probably find a
chap nameless chainsets; some are ok, some need to be avoided. Shimano seem
to make good economy running gear and if you can make sure everything's so
branded you stand a better chance of avoiding trouble....

Personally I've never set much store by these consumer reports. Occasionally
they'll spring something really problematic but you really need to make your
own judgement.

07-17-2004, 09:41 AM

On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 10:16:26 -0400, "Bruce Freeburger" <"Bruce Freeburger">
wrote:

>Dave,
> Anyone who is shopping for the best $300 bicycle is a fool. These
>are the people you see riding on the sidewalk with their back in a
>vertical position, the seat 3" too low, spinning the crank very slow in
>a high gear, and the (optional) helmet tilted back like a yamica.

you forgot the headphones and riding the wrong direction.

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes
Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices
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07-17-2004, 09:41 AM

On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 10:16:26 -0400, "Bruce Freeburger" <"Bruce Freeburger">
wrote:

>Dave,
> Anyone who is shopping for the best $300 bicycle is a fool. These
>are the people you see riding on the sidewalk with their back in a
>vertical position, the seat 3" too low, spinning the crank very slow in
>a high gear, and the (optional) helmet tilted back like a yamica.

you forgot the headphones and riding the wrong direction.

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes
Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices
See [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] For prices and ordering instructions.

07-17-2004, 09:41 AM

On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 10:16:26 -0400, "Bruce Freeburger" <"Bruce Freeburger">
wrote:

>Dave,
> Anyone who is shopping for the best $300 bicycle is a fool. These
>are the people you see riding on the sidewalk with their back in a
>vertical position, the seat 3" too low, spinning the crank very slow in
>a high gear, and the (optional) helmet tilted back like a yamica.

you forgot the headphones and riding the wrong direction.

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes
Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices
See [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] For prices and ordering instructions.

07-17-2004, 09:41 AM

On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 10:16:26 -0400, "Bruce Freeburger" <"Bruce Freeburger">
wrote:

>Dave,
> Anyone who is shopping for the best $300 bicycle is a fool. These
>are the people you see riding on the sidewalk with their back in a
>vertical position, the seat 3" too low, spinning the crank very slow in
>a high gear, and the (optional) helmet tilted back like a yamica.

you forgot the headphones and riding the wrong direction.

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes
Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices
See [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] For prices and ordering instructions.

07-17-2004, 09:41 AM

On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 10:16:26 -0400, "Bruce Freeburger" <"Bruce Freeburger">
wrote:

>Dave,
> Anyone who is shopping for the best $300 bicycle is a fool. These
>are the people you see riding on the sidewalk with their back in a
>vertical position, the seat 3" too low, spinning the crank very slow in
>a high gear, and the (optional) helmet tilted back like a yamica.

you forgot the headphones and riding the wrong direction.

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes
Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices
See [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] For prices and ordering instructions.

07-17-2004, 01:54 PM

"Dave DesRoches" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Looking at comfort bikes and my local bike shops carry these models in the
> $300 range. Any opinions? I checked Consumer Reports, though I'm not sure
> I should regard them as an authority on this subject. Interestingly, the
> shop that carried Giant spoke about them as the premier maker of Comfort
> Bikes, yet they didn't even make the Consumer reports ratings list, nor did
> Gary Fisher (!) Consumer Reports order was:
>
> Jamis Explorer 2.0
> GT Timberline
> Trek Navigator 100
> Schwinn Sierra GS
> Specialized Expedition
> Raleigh SC30
> Diamondback Wildwood

Consumer Reports should be taken with a grain of salt, but they usually aren't
completely off base. I'm sure that any of these bikes would be a decent
entry-level value. Bikes have become a much better deal in recent years, so
$300 does buy something ride-able (ignore people who can't spell yarmulke).

What's probably more important than the actual bike brand or model is the
staff at the shop. The quality of bike assembly/setup is probably a greater
value issue than the differences between any of those bikes. Bear in mind that
you get what you pay for, and diminishing returns don't really start settling
in until $1,000 or so, but those are serviceable bikes with perhaps slightly
different component tradeoffs.

07-17-2004, 01:54 PM

"Dave DesRoches" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Looking at comfort bikes and my local bike shops carry these models in the
> $300 range. Any opinions? I checked Consumer Reports, though I'm not sure
> I should regard them as an authority on this subject. Interestingly, the
> shop that carried Giant spoke about them as the premier maker of Comfort
> Bikes, yet they didn't even make the Consumer reports ratings list, nor did
> Gary Fisher (!) Consumer Reports order was:
>
> Jamis Explorer 2.0
> GT Timberline
> Trek Navigator 100
> Schwinn Sierra GS
> Specialized Expedition
> Raleigh SC30
> Diamondback Wildwood

Consumer Reports should be taken with a grain of salt, but they usually aren't
completely off base. I'm sure that any of these bikes would be a decent
entry-level value. Bikes have become a much better deal in recent years, so
$300 does buy something ride-able (ignore people who can't spell yarmulke).

What's probably more important than the actual bike brand or model is the
staff at the shop. The quality of bike assembly/setup is probably a greater
value issue than the differences between any of those bikes. Bear in mind that
you get what you pay for, and diminishing returns don't really start settling
in until $1,000 or so, but those are serviceable bikes with perhaps slightly
different component tradeoffs.

07-17-2004, 01:54 PM

"Dave DesRoches" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Looking at comfort bikes and my local bike shops carry these models in the
> $300 range. Any opinions? I checked Consumer Reports, though I'm not sure
> I should regard them as an authority on this subject. Interestingly, the
> shop that carried Giant spoke about them as the premier maker of Comfort
> Bikes, yet they didn't even make the Consumer reports ratings list, nor did
> Gary Fisher (!) Consumer Reports order was:
>
> Jamis Explorer 2.0
> GT Timberline
> Trek Navigator 100
> Schwinn Sierra GS
> Specialized Expedition
> Raleigh SC30
> Diamondback Wildwood

Consumer Reports should be taken with a grain of salt, but they usually aren't
completely off base. I'm sure that any of these bikes would be a decent
entry-level value. Bikes have become a much better deal in recent years, so
$300 does buy something ride-able (ignore people who can't spell yarmulke).

What's probably more important than the actual bike brand or model is the
staff at the shop. The quality of bike assembly/setup is probably a greater
value issue than the differences between any of those bikes. Bear in mind that
you get what you pay for, and diminishing returns don't really start settling
in until $1,000 or so, but those are serviceable bikes with perhaps slightly
different component tradeoffs.

07-17-2004, 01:54 PM

"Dave DesRoches" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Looking at comfort bikes and my local bike shops carry these models in the
> $300 range. Any opinions? I checked Consumer Reports, though I'm not sure
> I should regard them as an authority on this subject. Interestingly, the
> shop that carried Giant spoke about them as the premier maker of Comfort
> Bikes, yet they didn't even make the Consumer reports ratings list, nor did
> Gary Fisher (!) Consumer Reports order was:
>
> Jamis Explorer 2.0
> GT Timberline
> Trek Navigator 100
> Schwinn Sierra GS
> Specialized Expedition
> Raleigh SC30
> Diamondback Wildwood

Consumer Reports should be taken with a grain of salt, but they usually aren't
completely off base. I'm sure that any of these bikes would be a decent
entry-level value. Bikes have become a much better deal in recent years, so
$300 does buy something ride-able (ignore people who can't spell yarmulke).

What's probably more important than the actual bike brand or model is the
staff at the shop. The quality of bike assembly/setup is probably a greater
value issue than the differences between any of those bikes. Bear in mind that
you get what you pay for, and diminishing returns don't really start settling
in until $1,000 or so, but those are serviceable bikes with perhaps slightly
different component tradeoffs.