Quick Tip if You Bought a Bike Assembled from Big Box Store

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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Sun. Jul. 12, 2020 7:22 pm

Check the the tightness of the pedals, usually 15 MM and the left side pedal is left hand thread. Check the front tire axle nuts if it has them, also usually 15MM but could be as small as 13mm/ 1/2 inch. Last but not least check the bars, this depends on neck style. Old stye has either nut or fallen key in the center and it's the only fastener other than clamp for the bars. The newer style also has allen key in center but it tightens the headset and over tightening it will lock up steering and potentially damage the nut inside. There should be two allen key fasteners on the side horizontal to the ground, those clamp to the forks and can be tightened. The one in the center can be snugged if necessary when the clamping bolts are loose.

I've been working at my buddies bike shop on the weekends and you would be amazed at how many of these bikes come in that don't have tight pedals or the other things I mentioned. The bars are usually easily recognizable but the others not so much. The pdeals are the worse because there may be no indication they are loose until they fall off.

 
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Post by gaw » Sun. Jul. 12, 2020 10:08 pm

Thanks Richard but don't buy bikes for adults at big box stores. Bike frames come in many sizes to fit different size riders and you won't see that at the box stores. Spend the extra cash and buy a decent bike from a bike shop, it dont have to be a carbon fiber costing thousands but you will need to shell out a few hundred.

I'm waiting on one of mine to get back from the shop, total rebuild and new crankset, lower gearing to help an old man get up the hills, when I get it back the other goes for a rebuild. I had no idea that the lockdown created such a demand for bikes and parts this year, the shop I'm dealing with said they sold over 400 bikes this year. His best year ever.

BTW if anyone has a Surly Long Haul Trucker for sale I might be interested.

 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Mon. Jul. 13, 2020 12:58 am

It was already getting to be minor problem with the trade issues but the virus really caused a "problem". My buddy who owns Old Mill Pine is almost completely sold out. He's putting used bikes on the racks every two or three slots so it doesn't look empty but he's running out of them too. He's having trouble with some parts also. They kind of saw what was happening and started stocking up but he wishes he bought more.

I was the bike mechanic there in the late 80's, our friend used to work for Main Bike World. He worked there for 30 years. I won't go into the details but be ended up walking out the door after 30 years and the bike store went bankrupt shortly afterward. The bankruptcy had nothing to do with him. He went to my buddies place, at the time he still had bikes but mostly crap. They managed to get the Trek dealership and it's been a very successful venture since. Only problem now is nothing to sell. If he had thousands of bikes he could of sold them.

Even if you are buying a really cheap bik it might cost you little more but buy from a bike shop. Those new bikes aren't always right out of the box, even the expensive ones. You usually have to put the front wheel on, the pedals, the bars and some other minor stuff like reflectors. Make some adjustments to the brakes and shifting and it's usually ready to go.

Sometimes there may be problems especially with the cheap bikes, those rims are never true but sometimes they are way out of whack. It might be something as simple as the chain is too tight but we go over all that stuff before it goes onto the floor, even if it's $125 bike. I'm not going to pull the rim on $125 bike and put it on the truing stand but I will get it pretty close on the bike. The other thing is if you need adjustments afterward just bring it in, brake and shifting cables usually stretch a after some use and they need to be adjusted.
gaw wrote:
Sun. Jul. 12, 2020 10:08 pm
BTW if anyone has a Surly Long Haul Trucker for sale I might be interested.
Does the wife ride? He has used tandem Trek with custom flame paint from the factory. It's not a leisure bike, it's racer. It was around $5k new. Not sure what he asking for it.


 
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Post by gaw » Mon. Jul. 13, 2020 9:54 am

Hauling a dead stoker around is not my idea of fun. She has a bike but was thinking of electric assist. I said I didn't think biking was a good idea for her and her doctor agrees. With all her medical issues a spill could be disastrous, she takes blood thinner and any bump to the head can be serious.

I'm not a super fast biker but I keep spinning probably 95% of the time, I want to exercise but not kill myself either and I use flat pedals and don't wear goofy looking clothes. :lol:

 
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Post by Richard S. » Mon. Jul. 13, 2020 10:11 am

gaw wrote:
Mon. Jul. 13, 2020 9:54 am
and I use flat pedals ...
Those pedals used to have cage and nylon strap, you would tighten the strap after you got on bike and were riding. There was a strip of metal in the center of the pedal the shoe had slot for. If you were going down you were going down.... Most people would just take the strap off if they were leisure rider.

They have pedal assist three wheelers available but $$$...

 
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Post by gaw » Mon. Jul. 13, 2020 10:57 pm

Richard S. wrote:
Mon. Jul. 13, 2020 10:11 am
Those pedals used to have cage and nylon strap, you would tighten the strap after you got on bike and were riding. There was a strip of metal in the center of the pedal the shoe had slot for. If you were going down you were going down.... Most people would just take the strap off if they were leisure rider.

They have pedal assist three wheelers available but $$$...
I have the toe clips that you mention but I don't like to feel trapped on the bike. Maybe clip-less would work for me but I will not put out the money for special shoes, a set of cleats and matching pedals. That would probably be a couple hundred bucks. A decent pair of aluminum flat pedals aka MTB pedals works well for me and i can wear any old shoe I want and I wont mess up my knees by not getting my cleats adjusted just right.

I saw an electric tricycle at the shop, Raleigh tricycle for about $2,500. Knowing my wife that would be a steep price to pay for a one time ride and then be forever in my way. It's a tricycle for God's sake! You can't even hang it from the ceiling like you can a bicycle.


 
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Post by johnjoseph » Tue. Jul. 14, 2020 5:16 am

You can have one of these trikes for $2500.150cc engine.

 
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Post by gaw » Tue. Oct. 06, 2020 4:48 pm

I noticed walmart getting a few bikes in now. Looked at a couple in the rack and one with rim brakes were too tight so that the brakes engaged in the first third of the lever pull or less. Where the brake engages is a bit of personal preference but typically you want it at about the halfway point to be able to squeeze it better. I then saw a mountain bike with mechanical disc brakes and that lever went against the handlebar. It probably varies store to store depending who assembles them but the ones I saw were not very safe to ride as they were.

 
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Post by Richard S. » Wed. Oct. 07, 2020 3:30 am

AFAIK the big box store are well stocked but they don't have anyone to put them together.

My buddy never really ran out of bikes but the higher end ones are difficult to get. The only real nice bikes on the floor are BMX from FIT and even thoses took months to arrive. Anything he gets in higher end mountain bikes are already sold.

Brakes can be tricky on the cheaper bikes. For starters they may just suck. Rim may have pretty good bend so they need to leave them loose or other problems. Some don't have pre-stretched cables so a little tight is sometimes preferable because it's going to loosen considerably in a few days. I'll try and stretch them out but the next thing is it goes out on the floor for a while, contracts a little and now they are really tight until you give it a good squeeze. On the other hand smaller kids bikes I leave the hand brake loose enough so it's just about touching the bar.

If I were to adjust everything on the cheaper bikes the way it should go out the door in the the best interest of the customer it would not be very desirable bike to ride for a couple days. 10 years down the road it would still be good. Even for one speed bikes there is always high spot in the chainwheel where the chain will get tight. Ideally the rear axle wold be adjusted so it's just a little tight but that can make it a little difficult to pedal. It's going to stretch and work it's way in after a few days and be perfectly adjusted.

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