- Joined
- Oct 20, 2004
- Messages
- 4,704
Just to make you feel better buying something online, most bike shops make most of their money selling accessories and fixing bikes. If you get fitted, buy online, and then take it to them to put together they would still get paid for their time.
As others have said go sit on some bikes and see what feels the best. If you give us your inseam we can give you a good size frame which is going to be how you buy the bike. You can switch out some parts to make it feel better but the bike is going to come with what it has on it. I bought an ex a $1300 Gary Fisher that ended up being about $600 shipped and a year or so old. It was a little dirty but in good shape over all and a great buy for what she paid. It would have probably cost another $75 if she took it to a shop to put together but still would have been a really good deal. If you do buy online ask for a close up picture of the drive side frame tubes that go to the back wheel. A bike that has been used a lot, especially a mountain bike, will usually have lots of chips in the paint from the chain assuming it hasn't been wrapped in something like cloth tape. Should give you an idea how much the bike has been used. Also look at the top tube to make sure there are no dents from the handle bar which can happen in a crash depending on set up. A quick spin of the wheels while holding it off the ground to see if it travels straight and doesn't have side to side wobble is also a good idea. And if you can't look at these things yourself, you can ask the person who is selling it to do so and have a way to back out if they lie about it's condition.
Don't hesitate to ask if you find something and have some questions about it.
As others have said go sit on some bikes and see what feels the best. If you give us your inseam we can give you a good size frame which is going to be how you buy the bike. You can switch out some parts to make it feel better but the bike is going to come with what it has on it. I bought an ex a $1300 Gary Fisher that ended up being about $600 shipped and a year or so old. It was a little dirty but in good shape over all and a great buy for what she paid. It would have probably cost another $75 if she took it to a shop to put together but still would have been a really good deal. If you do buy online ask for a close up picture of the drive side frame tubes that go to the back wheel. A bike that has been used a lot, especially a mountain bike, will usually have lots of chips in the paint from the chain assuming it hasn't been wrapped in something like cloth tape. Should give you an idea how much the bike has been used. Also look at the top tube to make sure there are no dents from the handle bar which can happen in a crash depending on set up. A quick spin of the wheels while holding it off the ground to see if it travels straight and doesn't have side to side wobble is also a good idea. And if you can't look at these things yourself, you can ask the person who is selling it to do so and have a way to back out if they lie about it's condition.
Don't hesitate to ask if you find something and have some questions about it.