Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Beth Meltzer-Abelow on June 18, 2009 at 10:20am

You might find something on Craig's list that would be inexpensive enough that you could then pay a little to have it tuned up. Especially this time of year when students are migrating out of Boston. This requires more work on your part, but could save money.

Permalink Reply by Greg S. on June 18, 2009 at 10:21am

thanks, Beth. I have been looking more at Craigslist lately. I just haven't found a suitable bike yet that fits my needs. But thanks for the suggestion. I will keep looking!

Permalink Reply by Robert P. Levy on June 18, 2009 at 11:00am

Hi Greg,

I often see bicycles at garage sales and thrift stores in the 20-50 range. I recently found a $50 bike at a yard sale across the street on Williams Street where I live, and with very minor adjustments I made, it became a very nice bike for Judy, much better than the old U.K.-style steel 3-speed she had originally purchased at BNB in the just over $200 range (don't get me wrong, BNB is awesome, but this bike was kind of a vintage jaloppy as we found over time. Fixing up the $50 bike got us farther than any repairs to the more expensive older bike would have).

If you find one with mostly good parts you can buy a few other parts and do most of the fix-up work yourself. Keep an eye out for bikes on Craig's List too, you can RSS the search results via Google Reader or some such thing, so that's it's like having an alert.

I recently saw a bike in the Charles River near Waltham. I fished it out and fixed it up a little with the tools I had on hand and it was actually ridable. The wheel was bent and there were other problems but fixing it up would be cheaper than buying a cheap used bike even. Actually though, I abandoned that bike unchained, and it may be still where I left it. Contact me if you wish to know the location (it was along a bus line that goes to Forest Hills fwiw).

Anyway, I would say definitely look at all second-hand sellers and frecycle/cl type websites, being prepared to do your own fix up. But consider what you are starting with, and how much time you can put into it. This approach saves money, as well as provides additional impetus to further develop the skills you need to save yourself a 3-hour walk if your bike breaks down.

Rob

Permalink Reply by Greg S. on June 18, 2009 at 11:02am

Rob, thanks a lot for your response. I will keep my eyes peeled (as well as the RSS idea! thanks!).

Hopefully, my next post here will be looking for biking buddies.
Thanks, All!

Greg

Permalink Reply by Lynne Somers on June 18, 2009 at 6:59pm

craigslist! I found my perfect bike there, a vintage road bike with hybrid tires (perfect for commuting) for $125. it needed a little tune up but I still spent under $200 including the repairs and fitting it with lamps and whatnot.