i myself have wanted a bike for awhile. not some fancy-schmancy trek or anything, but just something to ride around the park, and maybe do errands. heck, i could even VERY realistically ride to and from the metrolink station in forest park and end my four mile round trip gas-wasting commute to the delmar station for school. so........what better time to buy a bike than now? there is a good entry-level bike going on sale at good 'ol target next week. i used to work near sporting goods and had to help people with bikes, and got to know the guys who build them, as well. they work for huffy, and they all agreed that these target schwinn's are a great buy...we rarely had any get returned, and they all spoke well of their frame construction and the smoothness of the gears. (elliot, feel free to chime in with any bike-related opinions!)
ANYWAY...
i'm seriosuly considering it. the cost of the bike (about $120 next week) would be paid for in gas savings in less than 6 months, depending on your driving habits as well as how much you rode, i would imagine. plus, its just another way to get in shape, and really, couldn't we all use that?
4 comments:
100% agree! i have started riding my bike to school myself. it's awesome. i've only been able to do so a few times so far, but it's great me, my wallet, and of course mother earth. (tangent- Happy Earth Day everybody. it was actually yesterday i believe, but the festival in forest park was today. talk about hippie central) school may only be a little more than a mile away, but it sure has shown me how out of shape i am. buy the bike kirby.
so i rode my bike to school today. allow me to offer some sound advice to all. finish your morning coffee before you start riding. i'm pretty good at riding one handed, but it get's a little tricky when your going up hill, hitting bumps, turning, and trying to manage your back that is determined to keep swinging around to my side and throwing my balance off. it was awesome.
Do not buy the bike, Kirby. And here is why: when you buy a bike from Target, you are married to the 90 day policy. Granted, because you (and I, of course) work there, you may be able to finagle yourself around it, but, even if Sean built it (the good huffy guy), I mean, it's still like Toyota putting together a Yugo. You can't expect a decently put-together bike if the parts you put together are not great in the first place. Now, if you went to a bike shop, you get many benefits. One, instead of a "one size fits most" approach, you will be fitted to a bike that you actually fit on, including free adjustments by guys who spend every day riding, selling and fixing bikes. Also, you'll get a service plan that extends beyond 90 days, most often a year or more. Now, yes, you will be paying more, but it's totally worth it in the long run. Now, go out and buy a Bianchi Reparto Corse XL Boron with full Campy Record. Actually, for the money you'd spend on that, you could probably just get a Honda hybrid...
Although Elliot will probably yell at me for posting this I am going to contradict him on this a bit ...and put in my two cents:)
I am not going to recommend that you buy the target bike, because I have no idea if they are quality bikes at all, but I will say before you go to a bike shop and spend a small fortune you may want to look into a shop that focuses on sporting goods such as REI. These bikes are generally decent quality, have various sizes so you can be fitted to the bike AND they have sale prices. Bike shops are very expensive for people who do not intend to do bicycling seriously (not that you are not, but if you were considering a target bike I am assuming this is a commuter bike and nothing more). Now some things to consider before buying any bike is are you seriously going to ride it all the time, how long do you want to ride the bike, where are you parking/leaving the bike in the evenings and where you ride it to.
If you are like me and have no desire to haul a bike into your apartment to keep it inside then DO NOT get a bike shop bike, it will likely end up stolen and that would suck, also if you are riding it to school ask the school about the theft rate, or if you are riding it to the metro station look into that as well... you do not want to have a bike stolen regardless, but is would not be as difficult to handle if the bike is less expensive.
Just my thoughts.
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