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Hi, I'm looking to start bike commuting. I'm looking to buy a used bike and I'm mostly wondering what I should be looking for when I go see the bike and what questions I should be asking the seller. I will definitely test ride any bike I'm interested in: what do I want to check and observe on a test ride? Location: London, Ontario  Height: 6'1" Inseam: 33" Budget: < $250 Length of commute: 7 km ... and I also hope to use the bike for occasional longer rides on paved bike paths and rail trails Terrain: Flat road Link to local Craigslist or equivalent (if looking for second hand): I think Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace are the most common places for used bikes here. For example, I found this Trek 7.1 hybrid on sale for $145: https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1668189486 Would this be a reasonable choice? There's not a lot of information about the bike posted so what else would I want to know before buying it?
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Aug 7, 2023 14:58
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| # ? Jun 3, 2024 10:34 |
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That Trek looks perfect for a short commute and local trails. Except it's probably a bit small for someone your height, see if you can find an L or 23" frame.
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Aug 7, 2023 15:10
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sweat poteto posted:That Trek looks perfect for a short commute and local trails. Except it's probably a bit small for someone your height, see if you can find an L or 23" frame. Thanks! How do I assess if a bike fits me? I remember as a kid learning that I should be able to just touch the ground on tip toes while on the saddle. Here is another one I've found, a Fuji Absolute 2.1 for $225: https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1664309899. 21" frame seems to be the XL size for this bike.
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Aug 7, 2023 16:17
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Reaching the ground from the saddle probably means the saddle is too low, and doesn't say much about whether the bike is the right size. Start with seeing if you can stand over the bike forward of the saddle with an inch or two of clearance between the top tube and your crotch. Take a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O42KZ3db9kM. There's a cute bit half a minute in where you can see an example of what too big/too small looks like.
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Aug 7, 2023 17:20
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The number of bikers I see that have their seat far, far too low struggling up minor slopes is staggering. I kinda want to just nicely yell, “raise your seat and it’ll get easier!” But I don’t care enough to.
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Aug 7, 2023 18:58
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"gently caress off dickwad mind your own business!!  "
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Aug 7, 2023 19:12
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Considering I am on a ebike that's probably the response I would get...
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Aug 7, 2023 19:21
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raggedphoto posted:The number of bikers I see that have their seat far, far too low struggling up minor slopes is staggering. I kinda want to just nicely yell, “raise your seat and it’ll get easier!” But I don’t care enough to. I had someone running after me yelling at me to raise my saddle at the end of a three day bike packing trip
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Aug 7, 2023 19:26
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Mr Newsman posted:"gently caress off dickwad mind your own business!! People tell me this all the time, and I don't even have to comment on saddle height first!
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Aug 8, 2023 00:07
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I was on a ride with a friend once when we crossed paths with someone who had a carbon fork affected by a recall. He chased him down and booked an appointment with his shop to get a warranty replacement, seemed pretty appreciative.
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Aug 8, 2023 00:58
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Some of the carbon component recalls really put into doubt the presence of any engineering capability at the OEMs. The SL7 one was loving obvious if you looked at the load paths for just a goddamn minute.
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Aug 10, 2023 20:14
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specialized has a pathological compulsion to make the steerer tube and stem the most complicated part of the bike
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Aug 10, 2023 20:27
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Crazy Horse posted:Thanks! How do I assess if a bike fits me? I remember as a kid learning that I should be able to just touch the ground on tip toes while on the saddle. Hey Forest City bro Make sure you can also reach the bars without locking your elbows. And check for fender and rack mounts.
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Aug 11, 2023 20:58
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If I'm trying to find some full coverage fenders to fit fat 650Bs is there anything better than SKS Bluemel B65s for around the same price?
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Aug 12, 2023 05:07
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I got 650b ones for my gravel bike from velo orange and they go up to 58mm apparently. They're pricey, but you can get them in shiny silver if you like
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Aug 12, 2023 10:50
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Mauser posted:I got 650b ones for my gravel bike from velo orange and they go up to 58mm apparently. They're pricey, but you can get them in shiny silver if you like I looked at those and they'd be nice but I can't find the smooth 60mm ones in stock in black anywhere. My bike is too modern and black for silver or the rippled ones to look good
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Aug 12, 2023 19:20
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I like my Berthoud Stainless fenders. Ben's Cycle has them for $75. For 650B x 47-50mm tires I got the 26" x 60mm size and it fits perfect
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Aug 12, 2023 20:00
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Dog Case posted:If I'm trying to find some full coverage fenders to fit fat 650Bs is there anything better than SKS Bluemel B65s for around the same price? The PDW Beast fenders are great. Probably about $40 more though.
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Aug 12, 2023 21:36
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I had a catastrophic failure of the rear hub, of my daily driver. A 7 speed cruiser I've tricked out for cargo capacity and ride longer and harder than it was built for. + 2 broken spokes Managed to limp home the 5km and bought a cone wrench on the way home to get better at hub maintenance Organised to buy a near identical second hand bicycle on marketplace for 50 Bux as a donor bike and now have a small bank of parts if anything else breaks in the future Significant issue solved in less than a day and cheap, cheap bicycles have their upsides
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Aug 13, 2023 15:13
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worng thread
maxe fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Aug 20, 2023 |
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Aug 19, 2023 12:32
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What color should I tape my handlebars? The bike is very dark green.
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Aug 27, 2023 23:00
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cruft posted:What color should I tape my handlebars? Burnt orange is really the only choice.
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Aug 27, 2023 23:27
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Picture? What color are any decals? What color is the saddle
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Aug 28, 2023 00:04
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SimonSays posted:Burnt orange is really the only choice.
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Aug 28, 2023 00:05
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Dog Case posted:Picture? What color are any decals? What color is the saddle 
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Aug 28, 2023 00:27
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I'll gladly pay you Friday for a bike today
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Aug 28, 2023 00:40
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Ok yeah, tan leather to match the pie
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Aug 28, 2023 00:40
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drat you didn't say it was a Bike Friday, that's sick. E: is that their British Racing Green option? A Bike Friday may be in my near future
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Aug 28, 2023 00:50
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Dog Case posted:Ok yeah, tan leather to match the pie LOL okay, tan it is. Probably going with natural cork, then I'll shellac it. SimonSays posted:drat you didn't say it was a Bike Friday, that's sick. Yep, that's the color! I love this bike. I bought it to replace a custom built Rodriguez that I drove into the top of the garage, RIP. I got 4000 miles on that one.
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Aug 28, 2023 00:58
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+1 matching the bar tape to the pie. i've been reading about folding bikes lately after stumbling across a brompton video on youtube.. they are so intriguing i don't need one but it would be rad to own a folding bike once i got past the odd look of em i felt the need to know more. i also previously thought bike friday was a weird sticker cult ride club or something from this forum site, T i L its a brand. 
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Aug 28, 2023 05:43
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cruft posted:What color should I tape my handlebars? Purple.
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Aug 28, 2023 07:33
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Platystemon posted:Purple. I don't understand. It's a cherry pie.
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Aug 28, 2023 13:06
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Turmoilx posted:+1 matching the bar tape to the pie. Even if you don't need one, once you have one you'll probably start discovering ways for it to be useful and convenient. I also think that besides the specific usefulness of Being Able To Become Smaller, folding bikes are really fun because they're a Weird Bike, and weird bikes are always fun. And if you're intrigued by small bike tiny wheels but don't care about folding you could always try a minivelo
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Aug 28, 2023 19:36
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bike fridays are really cool, and after taking my brompton out on a rough accidental gravel excursion the other day, i briefly thought "oh man... i bet bike friday makes a gravel folding bike," and of course they do: https://bikefriday.com/product/bike-friday-diamond-llama-folding-bike/ while bromptons like mine are a dime a dozen in nyc, every now and then i see a bike friday and find myself doing a double take. they're much larger folded (most of them have 20" wheels and not 16" and the fold shape just isn't as compact), so honestly i really could not tell you a great "use case" for one unless you just really like traveling by car with your bike and really don't want to get any kind of bike rack for it. but drat they're neat! i'm also kinda wondering how those citizens are holding up for people, i feel like i saw a decent amount last year but haven't seen as many lately. maybe because nyc's bike lanes are getting more perilous and there's just fewer casual cyclists out and about (and those that are would usually rather get an electric citi bike anyways...) abraham linksys fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Aug 29, 2023 |
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Aug 29, 2023 03:09
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abraham linksys posted:while bromptons like mine are a dime a dozen in nyc, every now and then i see a bike friday and find myself doing a double take. they're much larger folded (most of them have 20" wheels and not 16" and the fold shape just isn't as compact) My Pakit folds into a pancake shape, while the Brompton is far more cubical. The former shape works well for stowing in the end luggage cubbies on the Acela from Boston to NYC, where I use it instead of Citibike.
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Aug 29, 2023 03:53
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abraham linksys posted:
They offer real-deal road bike gearing and fit into an airline check-in suitcase so you can do stuff like this or yeah fit it onto a train. Basically trading off portability for more performance.
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Aug 29, 2023 05:46
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abraham linksys posted:bike fridays are really cool, and after taking my brompton out on a rough accidental gravel excursion the other day, i briefly thought "oh man... i bet bike friday makes a gravel folding bike," and of course they do: https://bikefriday.com/product/bike-friday-diamond-llama-folding-bike/ hahahahahaha https://bikefriday.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/big-air-Bike-Friday-Diamond-Llama.jpg
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Aug 29, 2023 08:58
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That’s probably more air than an outright majority of mountain bike frames have ever seen.
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Aug 29, 2023 09:09
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Fish Cake posted:They offer real-deal road bike gearing and fit into an airline check-in suitcase so you can do stuff like this or yeah fit it onto a train. Basically trading off portability for more performance. Right, this is why I got mine. The NWT, and an IKEA Sladda, are the only bicycles I own. I do loaded touring on the NWT, and other than needing to be careful that the panniers aren't too tall, it rides like the 700C touring bike it replaced.
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Aug 29, 2023 13:44
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didn't IKEA recall all their bikes?
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Aug 29, 2023 13:46
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