Buying a bike

[Fencer]

I'm planning on buying a bike soon and have a very small budget of $250-$300. That rules out any road bike at a LBS and a lot of other bikes at a big box store. I've checked ebay to see if I can find any good bikes and came across a seller that is selling Dawes bikes.

I've never heard of the manufacture before and was wondering if anyone knows how reliable the frame is? Also the real derailluer looks to be a Sunrace R80, again never heard of the manufacture before.

Another bike has a Shimano S15 derailluer but it's still a Dawes.

Any help or opinions would be much appreciated.

[JohnV]

In that price range, I would try Graigslist rather then eBay, if you don't mind buying a used bike. If you are looking at buying a new bike, you can get a low end Schwinn at Wal-Mart or Target. I saw a Schwinn hybrid at Target for $279.00 and a Huffy hybrid at Wal-Mart for under $100.00. If you are looking for casual rides, then these bikes are perfectly fine. Just remember that you get what you pay for.

If you have a Giant dealer in your neighborhood, look at the Giant Cypress ST. It goes for $330.00 and its a hybrid. Only problem is that it has a steel frame, solid fork and a fixed stem. Here is the link to the page. Giant classifies this bike as a comfort bike, but it is a hybrid by definition.

Update:
Just checked the Dawes USA web site and the cheapest bike they offer (new of course) is a trail bike for $695.00. You may want to check the link on trevgbb's post to see if the bike you saw on eBay is shown and then you can get more information on the bike.

[trevgbb]

Dawes are a UK manufacturer with a very good name, the Galaxy was, and probably still is, one of the better touring bikes;
http://www.dawescycles.com/p-20-galaxy.aspx
Don't know if the Dawes in the US is the same? and of course, you get what you pay for.

[Fencer]

Well after lots of research, it turns out the Dawes USA is actually completely unrelated to Dawes UK. Dawes USA is actually a pseudo brand used by Bikes Direct (They also have "Motobecane" among a few other ripped off names).

The reviews however show that the bike will work fine if your handy and have some mechanical knowledge, which I do. It can hold a 20 mph pace all day according to some people, it's just a little heavy and the shifting is a bit more clunky compared to something like a Trek. The paint will chip off easily too. But for what it's worth it is a decent budget entry level road bike.

I'm hesitant with the schwinn and huffy because as a kid I was spoiled for a year with a Schwinn Caliente. Drop bars, toe straps, etc. Loved the bike, had to give it back to my relative though, who I believe sold it 2 years later (grr). The Dawes is just like that, then again so is a Trek.

I think I definitely consider the craigslist option and see what shows up. If anything the dawes will teach me much about bike maintenance...

[KC-Steve]

Craigslist is where I have bought all my bikes in recent years.

About a year ago I bought this Super LeTour for $50.

http://forums.bikeride.com/thread-1239.html

I think it was kind of a fluke though. Deals like that are few and far between. It would be even harder to find a good deal now after gasoline (petrol) prices keep rising and the politicians/bureaucrats keep blocking oil drilling against the legal decisions of the Federal courts (see article below).

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/50703.html

Meanwhile as the price of gasoline (petrol) keeps rising, the price of new and used bikes will also rise. I genuinely wish the prices rose under other circumstances though, like maybe a healthy economy.

Steve

[Fencer]

Definitely gonna try Craigslist. I have a month before I'll have the spare money to buy anything, so plenty of time for a deal to show up.

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As soon as I posted that I found a Trek 1000 for $150, but I don't have the money yet