Help me buy a bike please

As an anectode, I worked on a guy's bike on Sunday who bought it for $250 on Craigslist and rode it, without tuning it up, from Texas to Minnesota and back. Never even got a flat. Guy was on 23c tires even. Everything on his bike was completely worn out, to the point where I tried 4 different chain measurement tools just for fun, but they wouldn't even register this chain. I gave him an estimate and he declined and said he's going to donate the bike instead. Dude got his money's worth for sure. I definitely would not recommend this course of action. I don't know how long the bike had been in the condition it was in when he brought it to me, but riding it must have been miserable. But shit, Texas to Minnesota and back. No maintenance. At all. He made it. $250.

Actually, a cyclocross bike, if you can find one that fits you, wouldn't be bad--something like the Surly Cross Check. Put slick tires on it, and you'd have a good all-around bike: wide tires run at low to moderate pressure soak up bumps from the road, and a cross bike would be spry enough to do long rides but tough enough for carrying a load to work or for light cycle touring and camping. Keep the knobby tires that cross bikes tend to come with, in case you decide you want to do some off-roading. The drop bars of a cross bike give you more hand positions. But drop bar bikes do require a different riding position than a flat-bar bike. You can get more hand positions on a hybrid or hardtail mountain bike by adding bar ends. Sizing is hard to judge without knowing your riding style and how flexible you are. I'd recommend looking at http://sheldonbrown.com/beginners.html, and Peter White's http://peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm. Generally speaking, I would advise Craigslist bikes only if you're knowledgeable or can bring a knowledgable friend along when you look at them. My advice on tires differs from MuffinMan's. Unless your commute has lots of debris or goathead seeds, I would recommend a tire like the Panaracer Pasela, which is fairly supple and fast for the price. Put 32 or 35 mm wide tires on for a heavenly ride. Don't inflate them too much.

Should I look mostly at road bikes? Hybrids? Something else? I was going to offer the same advice as http://ask.metafilter.com/251789/Help-me-buy-a-bike-please#3656802 about considering a steel-framed cyclocross bike. They Surly Cross Check is very popular for what I read in your post. Personally, I dislike bar end shifters and cantilever brakes, so I might suggest something like the http://www.redlinebicycles.com/bikes/commute/2013-metro-classic instead. I'm not suggesting a cyclocross bike for cyclocross use (although that's a nice side benefit); it's more that the style of bike lends itself to multifunctional usage while keeping weight down. Another warning is that there are a lot of bikes that have useless (for your purposes) rack mounts that a bike salesperson will try to sell you for touring purposes. Touring bikes have a very specific geometry so that loaded panniers aren't in the way of your leg. However, this geometry is not amenable to performance or precise handling, so more performance-oriented bikes tend to avoid it. Further, touring bikes tend to have very strong frames to avoid excessive flex when fully loaded. This comes with a weight penalty, so again it's avoided on more performance-oriented bikes. Surly bikes, in particular, tend to be designed with at least light touring in mind. What sizes should I look at? At 5'3", you will have problems finding bikes on Craigslist, and I suggest you not do it - again, for exactly the same reasons as brianogilvie. Although you might not find a better selection at a local bike shop (LBS), they will be able to have you try a larger size then order the proper size. Further, they will be able to fit the bike to you. Although this will cost extra (a "fitting service"), I highly recommend it. What kinds of tires or wheels I should be thinking of or even what exists? Effectively all road bikes use 700C wheels. However, 650C (a bit smaller) might be appropriate at your height. However, you tend not to have a choice of wheel size - it comes with the bike. At your size, any wheel is functionally equivalent. If you were, say, 6'3" and 250 pounds, that answer would change. The trade that brianogilvie and MuffinMan allude to is ride quality vs flat resistance vs performance. Narrower tires tend to be faster (lower weight), but tend to be prone to flats (especially pinch flats), and tend to have a harsher ride. Wider tires tend to be slower, less prone to pinch flats, and have a smoother ride. Your choice here - I prefer somewhere in the middle for all around use (28 mm tires are highly underappreciated). However, your bike choice is dependent on this; more performance-oriented bikes tend not to be able to fit wider tires. However, cyclocross bikes tend to be able to fit very wide tires. There's nothing wrong with putting a narrower tire on a bike designed for a wider tire, although it might look a little odd. What brands of components are better or worse? If you get a Shimano equipped bike, you'll probably look at Sora or Tiagra components. Lower than Sora is 2300 or Claris, which I would not recommend - their shifters are counter intuitive to everyone I've heard of using them. Higher than Tiagra is 105, which is perfectly fine, but would probably be more expensive than you're looking for. If you get a SRAM equipped bike, you'll probably look at Apex components. SRAM shifters are "love it or hate it". I'm on the "hate it" side, but I understand their appeal. If you try one out, you'll find out which way you go. If you get a Campagnolo equipped bike, it doesn't matter what you get because bike enthusiasts will admire you regardless of what you pick. ;) More seriously, I would not suggest Campagnolo because it'll be more expensive and be harder to repair. In general, Shimano and SRAM components are more-or-less compatible, but Campagnolo and Shimano/SRAM components are almost always not interchangeable. It's not common for bike shops to stock the components, although also not unheard of. How do I meaningfully test drive a bike? Don't worry too much. Although enthusiasts are loathe to admit this, most bikes are pretty much interchangeable. You will rapidly decide what vague area of bike you want (more touring-oriented, more performance-oriented, etc), and at that point, if there's anything you notice about a particular bike that you like, that's enough for me to suggest to buy it. Don't get too stuck in picking the perfect bike - you can make almost anything work with a bit of work.

Hi all! Well, this thread was very super helpful. Based on these suggestions, I visited a bunch of local bike shops where I talked to the staff and test rode several bikes. I was surprised to find folks did try to sell me bikes with suspension forks even though I wasn't looking for mountain bikes, and did try to make whatever stock they had available work for me which totally makes sense. Overall these folks were great and once I found the ability to say, "I have no idea what you're talking about", even the more gear heady guys were super nice and explained things to me even when I made clear I wasn't going to buy that day. The explanation of the different levels of components within each brand was great. I used that when I was googling, researching, and perusing craigslist and it helped me narrow down to avoid the cheapest and also the unnecessary-for-my- needs most fancy components. You all also helped me narrow my search to primarily search for cyclocross and light touring bikes. After doing some research on different brands and models of these, I started looking at craigslist and finally found what I believe is an ideal bike for me, used! It is probably a bit more bike than I need, and only very lightly used, so I ended up spending beyond what I wanted to, but definitely a lot less than if I'd bought new. It is really fun to ride, lightweight (compared to the hybrid and mountain bikes I've been riding), tons of brazeons for racks when I start trying my hand at touring, and all around awesome. http://www.flickr.com/photos/serazin/11484870926/ it is! For more info on the bike, it's: The All City http://allcitycycles.com/bikes/space_horse. I have a lot of follow-up questions if anyone is still following along. Primarily I'm wondering about: Strategies for avoiding theft: I know about locking through the back wheel triangle with my U lock and cabling or locking the front wheel to the bike. But I'm still anxious having such a nice looking item. I'm intersted in making it a bit uglier to be less of a target but am a bit loath to given how pretty it is! Any anti-theft tips would be appreciated. Being visible on city streets: Already have a garish day-glow green/yellow helmet and some high quality front and rear lights. How else do you avoid getting run down? Racks and saddle bags: Any reason I shouldn't just put on a cheap secondhand rack I find at the local community bike collective? Do most racks fit with most saddle bags? What are good all-around panniers? Can I use the same bags for carrying a few things to work and for going camping? What else should I think about? Thanks again for all your help with this process!

Congratulations! That's a nice bike. I hope it gives you many good miles. Quick thought on your questions: 1. Theft avoidance. Best strategy is to park your bike in a secure place. Can you bring it inside at home or at work? If not, is there somewhere else lockable you can put it? Failing that, somewhere with a surveillance camera? If you have a regular place at work to park, I'd suggest going to a motorcycle shop, getting a heavy covered chain (the biggest you can get through your wheels and frame), with a high-quality lock, that you could leave at work. Doesn't matter if it weighs 15 lbs. if you don't have to haul it back and forth. Some people run a length of old bicycle chain covered in rubber through the saddle rails and the frame, so the saddle can't be stolen. That's a little much for me, but I have a crappy saddle on my commuter. And don't leave it outside at night if you can avoid it. 2. Being seen. Best advice is not to ride in the gutter; keep far enough away from the curb or parked cars that you won't be doored (by cars) and anyone driving behind you sees you. At night, high-visibility clothing isn't much better than ordinary clothing unless it has reflective material. I would recommend a reflective vest covered with reflective material, or something like the Amphipod Xinglet reflective belt. Reflective material on your gloves can help when signaling turns. Have a cheap backup set of lights, like some of the Knog bracketless ones, in case your main headlight or taillight fails. 3. Carrying stuff. Cheap racks are more prone to break with heavy loads or rough roads (which cause vibration). But you can start with one and then move up if necessary. As for panniers, touring cyclists can argue for hours about them. What I'd suggest is that you call up Wayne at http://www.thetouringstore.com and ask his advice. The Lone Peak panniers he sells are good value for money; the Ortliebs are top dollar but extremely durable. He could also give advice about racks. If you do call him, buy stuff from him too - his prices are competitive and his customer service second to none (as long as you remember you're dealing with one guy - he won't necessarily answer as fast as a call center does, but he knows what he's talking about!). Feel free to MeMail me if you want to follow up - I just happened to be checking recent activity and saw your response.

You'll get lots of good advice, I'm sure, but one thing that I would advise is to learn to recognise the quality of the components. For example, http://www.choosemybicycle.com/in/en/bicycle-tips/know-your-bicycle/shimano-mtb-component-hierarchy, as does http://www.choosemybicycle.com/in/en/bicycle-tips/know-your-bicycle/sram-mtb-component-hierarchy, and an easy way for a manufacturer to cut costs is to go for cheaper bits and bobs. Knowing this helps you compare apples with apples, as it were. I've just linked to the mtb ones, which are also used in some hybrids. There are different ones for road bikes. Also: if you did want to change your mind and buy new, you might still catch some end of season bargains. On tires. If you're going some commuting then get Armadillo, Gatorskin tires or equivalent, i.e. puncture resistant tires. If you're not clear on things like type of bike or size then my final bit of advice is to pick your bike shop carefully and pick your time carefully. Get a recommendation. Don't buy your bike on the weekend - go when it's quiet and you can get proper attention, a proper fitting and try out a few options.

Unfortunately a bike that is good for touring will have several special characteristics that will make it probably somewhat harder to find. A touring bike might be OK for commuting and weekend rec road rides, but the reverse is not really true (a perfectly OK commuter would probably suck for touring). Touring bikes have long wheel bases so you can mount stuff to them without hitting your bags with your feet. They have lots of mounting points for bags and stuff, etc. If you're serious about want to tour, look into getting a touring bike. Touring bikes are usually not particularly light, as far as I know. I like road bike geometries way more than "hybrids" which are usually kind of clunky/heavy/upright. Almost any bike is fine for a "short" commute (I assume short means like 5 miles or less) For weekend road rides you want a road bike - 700c tires, traditional road handlebar (the curved ones), a less upright geometry, etc. As MuffinMan says, the brand is not the deciding factor on quality for components - every manufacturer has an entry level to pro line with increasing costs and quality along the way. The very lowest line usually goes on walmart bikes and sucks. The next few lines are usually fine but with higher weight and reduced longevity. Buying used is absolutely a good way to go. Cruise craigslist. However, if you're not that familiar with evaluating the quality of bikes, get someone to come along and look it over. It is very hard to "meaningfully" test ride a bike, but also a bike that is approximately the right size for you and in good condition can almost always be adjusted to suit you.

If you can learn the hierarchy of components as described by MuffinMan, and you can learn enough about bike sizing to buy a CL bike that can be set up to fit you okay, then I would disagree with brianogilive. Buying a cheap old tourer on CL and paying for a good fit from a good shop, plus a new component or two, will get you a much better bike than buying a cheap new tourer, at the same price point anyways. So it all depends on how much you spend. If you buy a new bike, budget for a good saddle and your pedal solution of choice. (I like wearing street shoes and using http://www.mountainracingproducts.com/power-grips/.) Buy from a shop that If that calculation says you can buy a Surly Long Haul Trucker, then do it! Otherwise read brianogilvie's links, canvass your friends for bike-knowledgable folks who can help you pick out a bike, and hit up CL. On preview - Cross Check, hmm. I am a tourer who commutes and I would avoid the Cross Check because I like touring bikes for all the reasons that saeculorum says that touring bikes are unsuited to you. So do you want to be a commuter who also tours a bit? And one who cares about performance and shaving ounces and riding fast? Take saeculorum's advice and ignore mine. Otherwise, a tourer will be a fine commuting bike, and you'll only be sacrificing a bit of performance due to the weight.

To clarify my post a bit, I am not saying not to get a touring bike, I'm more saying not to get an aluminum-framed race bike with rack mounts and expect to be able to tour with it. That sort of bike would be fine for carrying a small pannier just to work, but not for weekend camping. (although my last sentence in my post is still true - I've seen some very "interesting" combinations that end up working out. You can fit racks to almost any bike with some work. On other other side, I saw two guys ride Schwinn beach cruisers from Seattle to Portland in one day).