I want to ride my bicycle

[gridlore]

OK, here's the situation.

To get to and from the job I hope to have soon (El Paseo limo, for those not keeping track) I'm going to need a bicycle. Luckily, my sister had a bike that she rode perhaps three times. Bad news, it had been stored outside, and was a rusted hunk of metal. Chain, gears, even the seat post were almost fused. Not worth paying to fix, since the rust was obviously into the frame.

So, I'm now pricing bikes. CostCo had a couple of good ones for around $160. Since I'm not paying for this, I'm trying to see if I can get a better deal somewhere. Onward to Target's website!

Addition at 1855 I think I found a good one. Could the bicycle literate tell me what they think of this:

http://www.kmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=979080&cp=887571.887567&parentPage=family

Comments

You gets what you pays for

[zyxwvut.livejournal.com]

I commute by bicycle, by dint of which I certify myself qualified to give
my opinion.

I would caution against buying a discount department store bike. A
cow-orker of mine bought a K-Mart ("K-Mart sucks.") bike a couple of
years ago, and was having some trouble, asked me to look at it. They
had routed the front derailleur cable *into the chain*. I learned a
valuable (vicarious) lesson about buying a bike that has been assembled
by someone who does not ride (i.e., "get") bicycles.

Also, department store bikes frequently have substandard brakes for use
in traffic, and that's bad bad bad bad bad.

I understand that money's tight. If you can't afford a low-end bike
shop bike, I recommend purchasing a used, "real-brand" bicycle.

Much valuable advice, from a friend-of-a-friend (I met him once, at the
friend's ex-husband's wedding.) here (http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~tom/advice.html); most relevant to you is this (http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~tom/advice/buying).

Z

P.S.: I otherwise agree with most of what was said above, especially in
the first comment. I flat-out disagree with the "Huffy is a good brand"
statement (sorry, johno). They are better than average, among
the Toys R Us/Target/Wal-Mart ::react here approximately as gridlore
does to the word "Dodgers":: /KMart lines... but that's not saying
much.

P.P.S.: A helmet is worth the extra $25-30. Your head's kind of an
important accessory to your body. (Don't buy a used helmet.)