need to get a mountain bike for ~50-100$. yes i know, she will be amazing (i spent all my money on a new tri bike so can’t afford a good mountain bike just yet)…but its for communting to class everyday, and i can’t bear to take my tri bike out in the snow during the wisconsin winter. So anyone get a bike from like walmart/toysrus etc that didn’t completely suck??? some brands that seem to be cheap are next and mountain(something). i really could use a reccomendation on buying a crappy commuter. any brands/stores/deals would be awesome. thanks
Put an ad on Craigslist. You definitely want to go used for your price range. Most likely, someone you know has an old beater in their basement they would give you if you ask around, probably needs new rubber and a lube and you are in business. Also, check with your campus police, sometimes they have auctions of abandoned bikes.
One of my wife’s friends got screwed over by the guy she was living with, and I’m currently wheeling around on the MTB he left behind when he hastily got out of Dodge…
heck…Wal Mart has some pretty sturdy looking rides in that range.
Not sure if there is a Dick’s sporting goods store in your area, but look at the big box sporting good stores. You might find something for $100 - $150. In a kids they sell one for $100 so if your short you might be able to go that route. After looking last year for a kids bike the Walmart, Target, bikes were a joke, bent wheels, stuck bottom brackets, Frozen hubs and this was all on bikes sitting on the rack brand new.
A bit late in the season, but you should keep an eye out for garage sales and the like.
When I was house shopping, I’d say that around 80% of the houses I looked at had old, unused bikes in the basement. (very sad…)
-charles
hmm, never even thought of the police auctions, theres a lot of bikes that probably go unclaimed on campus here. does it cost money to advertise on craigslist?
that was the problem when i was looking. i got spoiled by being around nice bikes all summer, that when i went in there i felt lost. i was able to make it almost through the entire semester on a bike i found by the curb on move-out day here on campus. Sure it weighed 50+lbs, but it was free. well, now that the front and rear brakes snapped, i just can’t seem to bring myself to putting money into a free bike like that, it’d probably cost more to fix than a brand new bike
Check with some bike shops. Every now and then we have bikes in for repair that just never get picked up and eventually we sell them for the cost of the repair. Its stragne, we call and call, sometimes reaching the person, sometimes not. Soemtimes they tell us they changed their mind and they don’t want it anymore. We’re not talking the gem bikes but they are exactly what you’re after.
keep an eye on craigslist…we let my wife’s REI brand Novara MTB go for $200, it was $550 brand new and was a well-made durable bike.