Need bicycle buying advice

I'm looking to buy a decent bike for exercise and, of course, to beat the high gas prices when I can. I saw one yesterday at Costco (a Schwinn Ditch 1) for $249 that I really liked. Very comfortable. However, in doing a little research on the 'net, the advice I saw was to buy from a bike shop since the bikes would be better quality (the individual parts wouldn't be cheapies like the ones found in Target and Walmart). I don't want to spend more than $250 and I'm not planning on doing any mountain biking. So is the Costco bike a good idea or not?

I love it. Bought it at a local bike store. I have owned a few treks. They are American made bikes.

I believe schwinns are now manufactured in china, but I could be wrong.

Well made bikes, shop around.

no matter which one you decide on.

god only knows how many bikes you have for sale where you are at.

The difference is that if you buy a bike from someone knowlegeable, it will be set up properly before you leave the store. That makes a big difference. You'll also have someone to do adjustments and repairs. May be a bit more expensive, but good service is worth a couple of bucks.

Another suggestion--your local bike club may have used bikes on its message board.

They will fit the bike to you, adjusting it where needed - and will likely tune it up free after a "break in" period

More expensive bikes are usually more costly because of the components (things like marketing budgets can play a role but aren't as big a deal). Components like frames, seat stems, handlebars, cranks, peddles and forks are usually more expensive because of the use of thinner and lighter weight materials (low weight but high strength stuff like aluminum, titanium or alloy steels).

Sprockets, Crank Gears and shifter sets also have this weight issue but also are more expensive as the quality of manufacture and machining rises. If you spend more money on a bike at a bike shop you will usually be getting a lighter, better performing and longer lasting (mechanically) product using better materials. Whether you make that investment is a decision that should be based on how much riding you plan to do. How long your rides will be. How long you think you will own the bike, and where you ride. A few extra pounds of bike weight won't seem like a big deal in a flat part of the world but you'll feel it in a lot the hills.

The Schwinn you were looking at has an aluminum frame (so it may be light) but I'm not sure what type of aluminum it is. The Acera components are entry-level Shimano MTB gear. If you ride hard you will break this stuff eventually. The higher level Deore stuff is a bit tougher, LX and XT even better but the very high end XTR components focus so much on being light for racing I think they are more fragile.

That bike is a full suspension bike which is nice for trail riding and great on descents but you do add some weight compared to an old-fashioned hard-tail and the latter will usually climb hills better.

If you are serious about mountain biking going with a Trek or a Gary Fisher (my two favorite bikes all time) will pay off in the long run. Go seek some advice at at a shop.

Getting a good fit is essential for enjoying a bike.

If you don't want to do mountain biking, ditch the suspension and go for more of a hybrid/city bike. It'll be lighter and much faster on the streets/trails.

... or a neat and clean three speed hub. Unfortunately, I see you live in SF, where you must pedal up hills . There may be a wide range 8-speed that suits your riding. Here is a Trek cruiser. I am not crazy about the upright seating though. http://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike.php?bikeid=1384000&f=31


This urban bike is cool. It has a 42 tooth (front) chainring matched with a 32 tooth (rear) lowest cog. That is higher gearing than my road bike, stock. That's not low enough for the 16% grades in my neighborhood, in my humble opinion. If your hills were gentler than 16%, you may be ok.

http://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/subcategory.php?c=3&s=11

In 1970 Schwinn was the Second most known name in the world (American Airline was Number one), by 1992 Schwinn was Bankrupt and the name was sold off as one is its few assets of any value (Bad management did in Schwinn, it was one of the first companies to out-source overseas, and found out that out-sourcing just opened up your distribution system to the people you out-sourced to and sooner or later such people will start to compete with you and put you out of Business and that is what happened to Schwinn).

Today Schwinn is just the name Huffy gives to its slightly better bikes (And the bikes are all made in China in one big bike factory). My brother works for Toy-R-Us and says the components on the Schwinns are among the best he sells, but none of the components are top notch (For that you will have to go to a bike Shop).

Saying the above, Such Schwinns are a good $250 bike. It is a good starter bike for someone who wants to get some exercise in. Is it a Trek or Cannondale? NO, but the domestic made Treks and Cannondales start at about $700 each (Treks sells cheaper bikes, but those are also made in China).

One last Comment, most bikes stores will repair ANY BIKE, even ones sold by the big box stores. Furthermore if you stay biking you will want to upgrade your bike. If the frame is good, it is easy to improve the components later on. I went to the the Schwinn's Web Site and could NOT find "Schwinn Ditch", it may be an older discontinued style. You need to check if the frame of the bike is Aluminum or Chrome-Moly Steel (It will say one or the other if it is). Both are good frame materials. Chrome-Moly was the wonder material of the 1930s (Most high end bikes till the 1980s were Chrome-Moly). Aluminum was the wonder material of the 1980s and 1990s (Carbon is the latest craze as a biking material, but such frames are $1000s of dollars and out of your price range).

If you see no writing and it looks like a Steel bike, it is probably "High Tension" Steel. "High Tension Steel" was the wonder material of 1900, had the Titanic been made of it, it would NOT have sunk. "High Tension Steel" is a very fixable material, but that is its strength and weakness. Being Fixable High Tension steel is easy to fix, but also being flexible it will INCREASE HOW MUCH ENERGY YOU HAVE TO SPEND PEDALING. Chrome-Moly Steel and Aluminum are "Stiffer" metals and thus easier to pedal (Through harder to repair, but do you really want to repair the Frame to a $250 bike?).

I do NOT see you getting a better price if the bike is Chrome-Moly Steel frame. If it is a High Tension Steel bike I would avoid it and spend the extra money on a Chrome-Moly or a Aluminum Frame Bicycle.

Other thread on this topic (From the Bicycle Forum):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=324x1566
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=324x1209
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=324x1217#1220

The DU Bicycle Forum Itself:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=324