(03-29-2020, 09:08 PM)Anthony Lu Wrote: Hello, I am going to college next year and was thinking about commuting to school using a bike. Let's ignore that the whole COVID-19 pandemic is happening for this as ideally, I would still need a bike in the future. I have spent some time researching bikes but have gotten nowhere. However, I did stumble across BikeDirect and found this little number: http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gravity/dutch-express-lifestyle-hybrid-bikes.htm , men's black 16M more specifically, and I was wondering if you guys can give with ur judgment. My budget is super fixed as I am poor (around $200, definitely under $300). I am a male, around 5'4'' maybe taller, I have not checked. Advice is greatly appreciated and I was wondering if it was possible to attach fenders to the wheels as I do not want to be assaulted from the behind by rainwater. So yeah, I was wondering if you guys can review this bike for me, maybe teach me the ropes about all the parts and what not! I'm sure I will have more questions but rn I'm brain dead xd. If you guys have any other bike recommendations please share! I only thing I would prefer is a flat bar bike!
Beware of companies that sell cheap bikes because you'll get what you paid for, and this includes the big box stores like Walmart. I bought a Schwinn 3rd Avenue hybrid for $199 (not much less than the bike you are talking about). Out of the box the tires and tubes were absolute junk and would not hold any pressure. I took the tubes out and they were far too small for the tires. Pumping them up split them, and they were made of a granular material that wouldn't hold a patch. The tires looked like they were hairy. I had to go to the bike shop to buy new tires and tubes. So now I had laid out about $260 for the bike. Then it needed fenders, lights and other things.
While out on a ride, several miles from home, the front derailleur came loose. The clamp bolt was made of a soft material that chewed off when I tried to tighten it. I had to ride home with the chain rubbing on the cage , worrying me to death. Then a trip to a hardware store for a decent bolt.
This bike came with a lot of good reviews on Amazon, but it turned out they were shills. So don't trust reviews if they're all good and hardly any bad ones. But I knew that I wouldn't be getting much for the money, and I was prepared to have to do some work on it, so I'm not complaining. I can do mechanical work but if you bought a new bike and you have to take it to a bike shop to make it right, it may not be worth it.
I read the specs on those bikes you're talking about. They sound good, but so did the specs on the Schwinn I bought. The ad also says "compare to $499 Trek." If you know what you're looking at, you'd see they don't compare on a par with Trek.
One more thing: I checked the warranty on my Schwinn, and it's void unless a bike shop assembles the bike. I assembled mine, myself. Had a bike shop assembled mine, and I later needed warranty work, the bike shop isn't going to honor the warranty, and shipping the bike back to the dealer could be costly. If you insist on a new, cheap bike, I'd go with Walmart because you have ninety days to take stuff back.
Have you considered a better quality used bike? Here in Florida there are lots of places that have a lot of bikes to choose from, ranging from about $50.
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