Help Buying Good New Bike

[Road Master]

The couple across the street gave birth to a child this winter and they know I'm into the classic bikes so they asked me for advice on purchasing new bikes that are well built and will provide years of quality bicycling as their little one grows up. So I immediately eliminated Wally World and their line of what I call "disposable" bikes and proceded to direct them to bike shops in the Indianapolis area with a large selection but not necessarily the huge overhead associated with strip malls and the like. Can anyone, or everyone, give me names of manufacturers producing family styled (you know - non triathalon type) bicycles that are well designed and built, easy to work on and maintain and maybe even retain some value that they would find at a LBS? I appreciate all the input I can get - my knowledge of bikes stopped about 1956. Thanks alot. Robert

 

[user 135]

Giant, Trek, and Fuji have some good entry level bikes. Specialized seems to gone for higher end customers.

 

[Road Master]

Thanks alot - I've heard of those, duh. Giant I'm not familiar with at all, but the other two have been around awhile. Anybody else able to add to this list? The more the merrier. Thanks again.

 

[cruisehard]

Electra.

 

[Lil' rat rod]

Felt
http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA.aspx

Kona
http://www.konaworld.com/bikes.cfm

 

[Ace]

I agree with Cruisehard. Even though I don't own one myself, the Electra Townies appear to be great allround bikes. There are some topics about them on this forum that sound pretty positive.

 

[KOTA]

I just bought a couple of Electra Townies.....They ride and feel so good... I feel guilty, it feels like I'm cheating on my wife.

 

[StepChld]

Raliegh is another name to look for. I've never owned one but I have a couple of friends that swear by them and they do seem to hold up to a lot of wear and tear. I've owned three Treks and while some may not like them, I've had really good luck with mine.

 

[maddogrider]

Check out Mathews Bike Mart on the east side of Indy, They have a real nice bunch of bikes.

 

[Bigcam59]

Don't forget Hampton Cruisers or Worksman.

 

[deorman]

Somewhat costly, but super last-a-lifetime quality, user friendliness.
http://www.kettlerusa.com/page3.html

 

[jerrykr]

Globe is Specialized's more affordable line. We love ours.

 

[feuerdog]

On the Giant brand....

I have ridden a few Giant bikes over the years, my first was a Giant Iguana in smoked chrome. It was good solid bike for the time(late 80's early 90's). Thier newer mountain bikes are actually quite good too, so as a brand name I can't fault them.

Take a look at Jamis....

My girlfriend and I ride Jamis mountain bikes, but they have a nice selection of cruisers too. Jamis makes a full line of affordable quality bikes, and I have no complaints with mine. They may be worth a look.

Trek, Specialized, Nirve, Electra, etc.....there are alot of good names out there with good quality.
I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for though, so be sure and shop around and research before you buy,....thats my best advice.

 

[seetheusachevy]

If you look at the low-mid end bikes at the bike shops and the "wally world" bikes....its all the same China junk. The bolt on parts are all made by the same manufactures. Better off finding a child's Schwinn from the 60's. The two worst bike purchases I ever made were a GT and a Trek.

 

[GameBent]

My favorite current cruiser companies are:
Electra
http://www.electrabike.com/home.php
Felt
http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2010-Pr ... UISER.aspx
Nirve
http://www.nirve.com/

Their products are pricey, but that reflects their high quality.
Electra makes great men's, women's, and kid's bikes, Felt focuses mostly on men's cruisers with only has one or two women's cruiser models, and I actually prefer the style of the Nirve women's cruisers (especially the Lahaina) over the men's cruisers.
You can't go wrong with either of these brands.
Some of the mid-level companies I recommend are Phat and Raleigh.
Whatever you do, stay away from Micargi, SixThreeZero and Firmstrong. They are extremely poorly made Chinese crapcycles.
Lastly, Craigslist is the best place to find good bikes without paying top dollar.

 

[GameBent]

If you look at the low-mid end bikes at the bike shops and the "wally world" bikes....its all the same China junk. The bolt on parts are all made by the same manufactures. Better off finding a child's Schwinn from the 60's. The two worst bike purchases I ever made were a GT and a Trek.

Old-school GT Dyno cruisers (before 2005) can't be beat, but the current GT is owned by a Canadian company and now their KK (Kustom Kruiser) line is rather lame.

 

[Rooski]

I'm assuming your neighbors are "non bike" people, so as some others had already said, the Electra townie's should be investigated, if their budget permits. The laid back "flat foot" geometry really does live up to the company's intention of selling bikes that "non-bicycle" people can ride in comfort and ease, while still remaining efficient. I have a Townie 3 speed, that get passed around the family, but I've been mostly riding my Rat Fink. Now when I take out one of my Schwinn's, they feel awkward, unnatural and inefficient.

The more comfortable and easier their rides are, more fun will be had, and they will most likely stick with casual cycling, instead of burning out on it, like so many newbies tend to do.

 

[seetheusachevy]

I had a GT mountain bike, it was so so. My Trek cruiser is a POS. The rear end bearings wore out just after the warranty was up. Then then idiot at the bike shop told me he could not get parts to fix it. I finally found some "metric" Shamano bearings to fit in the hub. That will be my last experience owning a "new" bike. It's funny that my old bikes never ware out.

 

[CCR]

I bought a Townie 7, and I love it. The parts are lower end but still quality stuff. You can work on everything except the BB with an adjustable wrench, a screwdriver and some allen wrenches. I dont know what price range they were looking for (the cheaper the better right :mrgreen: ) but mine was $410 out the door. Put a kids seat and some lights on it and its been my go-to bike ever since. Its a really nice bike for running around town and bike paths.