GRcade

I've got a Trek 4700d, I've had it about 12 years now. It's a great looking bike and has some nice touches on it. Shimano Deore gearset, Rockshok forks, Bontrager bits and bobs. It was a steal at £500 (reduced from £700 as it was the previous year's model)

Just spent all of today trying to fix a bike (I've had it for years but only ridden it twice, my dad found it in the trash originally).

I first replaced the inner tube for the front and rear wheels, then I cleaned the chain, and gears and re-applied lubricant.

Then when I tried riding it I noticed the tire was riding against the frame in the back. Must be because it has some side wall damage I thought, so I went and got a new tire. replaced the old one, and then noticed, no the wheel is actually too large for the frame.

Someone must have tried repairing this bike before and got the wrong size wheel, which means I just spent $21.99 on a new tire for nothing!

Then I remember my other old bike, I go to check it and luckily the tire is the same size, but a different width. The damn thing is also rusted to crap, so I clean the chain and gears for it as well. Then replace it's rear wheel (which also had a broken inner tube and cracked tire) with the rear wheel from the other bike. After fiddling with it, to adjust the brakes and such I get it all working then notice that the first bike only had 6 rear gears, whereas the second bike had 7

strawberry floating hell it's like everything that could go wrong did.

Oh and I tried it out, the new Frankenstein bike works, but it's so rusty my girlfriend doesn't want me riding it because she thinks it will fall apart, and is asking that I either get in inspected and fixed by a professional, or get a different one.

I spent all day working on it!

So tl;dr, I need suggestions for a bike, I plan to start commuting to work, but don't want the ones with super skinny tires as they seem less safe then the ones with bigger tires.

What specs should I look for, like tire size or whatever. There's a chain of stores here called Canadian tire and they sell their own brand of bikes, I'll probably buy one of those since they're pretty cheap but just want to at least know what to look for.

My suggestion: Ignore your woman.

Also, for commuting on roads you want skinny tyres as it makes it easier for you.

Bicarb and water into a paste on a toothbrush removes rust. Then you can see if there's any damage to the main frame. Small bits that have rusted are easily replaced.

bigcheez2k3 wrote:My suggestion: Ignore your woman.

Also, for commuting on roads you want skinny tyres as it makes it easier for you.

I know skinny tires make it easier but part of the route is on a gravel trail, and our roads are pretty crappy here, so I thought some slightly fatter tires might help.

If there is gravel don't get thin wheels, you will end up coming off etc. There are some pretty good hybrid tires about where the main tire surface is smooth for roads but there is nobbles on the edges so when you get to some gravel etc. they bite in to give grip there.

I put these on my bike for that purpose: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/halo ... -prod12385

I ended up buying this...

[url]m.canadiantire.ca/en/sports-rec/bikes-accessories/adult-bikes/mountain-bikes/schwinn-talik-29-hardtail-mountain-bike-0711051p.html?utm_campaign=bazaarvoice&utm_medium=Default&utm_source=AskAndAnswer&utm_content=Default[/url]

I got it on sale for $399 as well. Now here's hoping for some nice weather so I can actually ride it

Very nice.

I ended up getting a new bike at the weekend as well.

http://corleycycles.com/shop-online/bik ... port-650b/

Took it out at the weekend and it was an absolute joy. It was like driving a very fast Land Rover. Loads of grip and very smooth over the bumps.

Rightey, don't forget to get the bike serviced within the first 6 weeks. You'll find the brakes and gear cables will slip a bit after first use.

That is a very good looking bike Stu.

I went on a ride for the first time with mine, since it had been raining here for the last few days. I went down to my workplace, and came back as I want to commute by bike, it was about 17km round trip, and took me about 30min one way, and a little longer coming back. Unfortunately coming back there is a big hill to climb but that should be fine since when I'm going home I'm not in a rush. Overall the bike was great, the brakes, the gear shifting, all of it works really well. I'm very happy with the bike.

I bought one of those gel seat cover things on the weekend and I just have to say wow, it is so much better than the standard seat. I got mine for $22 and it definitely is worth the money.

I haven't bothered with a gel seat. I'm happy with the cycling shorts padding.

Also, don't ever go on long ride wearing pants under your shorts. That's a sure fire way to get ultra sore rubbing in your special area.

Seat covers can move about if used long distance. I've got a gel seat which everyone insists on touching but it's amazing comfy.

Well some great craftsmanship on that bike I bought, I just noticed three of the teeth on one of the gears have snapped off.

I've only had it for a month! I'm going to take it back tomorrow, shouldn't be a problem as the warranty is good for 1 year for parts, but still this kind of thing should not happen! I have never had this happen with any bike I've ever owned and I've had some of my bikes for years!

Gunna get me some of those fully rubber tyres you get on kids bikes as I've had 5 puncture in as many months. Hope it's not an omen for my epic cycle across Europe in 6 weeks.

Solid rubber tires makes your whole bike very VERY heavy and you will need to exert a lot of energy in moving because it has no natural rolling features. Just saying.

Bunni wrote:Gunna get me some of those fully rubber tyres you get on kids bikes as I've had 5 puncture in as many months. Hope it's not an omen for my epic cycle across Europe in 6 weeks.

What sort of punctures are they?

Tears in the rubber like pinches? Or holes from thorns/nails?

If it's tears, then it's possible that the tube is catching on the wheel rim. The innertube valve may be too big for the hole in the wheel. If you're using a presta valve, try a schrader valve instead and vice versa.

They do tyres with kevlar that are meant to be puncture resistant.