The biking thread

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Took the Cervelo out for a big ride yesterday...honestly the first genuinely big ride on that bike. 62mi/100km and 5500ft of elevation. It did really well and it was probably the first 100k ride I've done where I didn't feel absolutely wrecked at the end...which I attribute to it fitting me correctly, having more compliance, and generally being a more stable bike than my old nervous Cannondale. I could have easily done 100 miles if it was a flatter route (It was a 6.5hr ride). On the old Cannondale (and I think also on the Ribble to a degree), I was in a very quad-dominant riding position and so my quads have become very strong in relation to my other leg muscles. The fit on the Cervelo has me in a lot more balanced position with regards to my legs and yesterday, for perhaps the first time ever maybe, I felt significant soreness in my glutes and hamstrings after around 3.5hr of riding. I think once I put a lot more miles into this bike it will eventually be for the better (considering they are the strongest muscle), but yesterday it ended up being my limiting factor.

The Cervelo is so good at just all paved road riding, and so comfortable, that I've been considering making the Ribble a little more off-road dedicated so it isn't redundant. I can sneak a 650bx2.1 in the frame so I think I might do that and swap the bar to a flat bar with MTB controls. Most of the off road opportunities around here are a lot more rowdy than a gravel bike is really intended for and I've felt myself pretty limited by the drop bar setup on technical descents, not to mention the 700Cx40 tires on there now. The main concern about doing this would be making the bike less suitable for longer rides...but I could also get some clip on "bar-ins" to help make up for the lack of hand positions if I were to do a longer ride.

 

[Greycap]

We're looking at bikes still that we can afford that match our budget.

Some pointers here.

The first thing is to not listen to any of those so called enthusiasts that judge others by their bikes' price. If someone can buy a carbon rocket worth someone elses's half a year's paycheck, good for them, but it doesn't make them any more knowledgeable or "better bikers". It only means they have money. And according to them you absolutely can't ride anything that doesn't have a $1000+ fork if it's a mountain bike or a $2000+ wheelset if it's a road bike. The wheels apply to mountain bikes too though. Only the most expensive groupset is allowed, everything else is junk. Especially if it's from Shimano, in that case even the most expensive is junk because real riders use SRAM or preferably Campagnolo.

Now, the real pointers. I've built "daily beaters" for my mom and myself, and also "enthusiast bikes" for both so I have a bit of real life experience on what works, what doesn't, and what's just worth avoiding for one reason or another.

The first and really only "avoid at all costs" thing is a seven speed cassette. They're the cheapest possible parts, wear about as quickly as soft cheese, and replacing the cassette is a pain because it's usually a freewheel setup instead of the more common freehub. Pay a bit more when buying, get a 8/9/10 speed freehub setup like nearly all modern bikes have, and you'll save the money in the first service already.

Another thing I wouldn't get if the use is any heavier than on a sunny day every now and then, is rim brakes. They do their job but they go through pads like a kid through a bowl of sugar coated cereal and the brake dust gets everywhere. My mom wears out two or three sets of pads a year and I don't even remember when I changed my own disc brake pads. Might have been in summer 2022 for a comparison, and I brake a lot harder. Get disc brakes if possible, they don't even have to be hydraulic, the mechanical ones work just fine for leisurely riding.

The "what works" part is more of a brand thing really. Get the cheapest model from a big brand instead of a mid range from something nobody has ever heard about, let alone some Walmart specials, because they've put the money and effort into R&D and it can be seen though the entire range. Cannondale, Scott, Specialized, Trek (in alphabetical order) etc., the big names. What comes to the parts, the mid to high end SRAM is good, but the low end not so much especially what comes to the value for money. As long as it says Shimano on the drivetrain - and it's not a seven speed - it'll take everything you can throw at it and just keep trucking.

About the price though. I've had hardtail MTBs that cost around $700, $1000, $1500 and $2000 as new and the last one has since been built into a ~$4000 setup. On the other hand, my current daily driver is the $700 model with some small improvements and its actual price is perhaps $1000 now. There's a massive law of diminishing returns when the price goes up, from my point of view (I ride more or less daily, and the equipment has to be good enough to not be a constant irritation) the sweet spot is indeed around the $1000 mark. It already has all the cheapest things ironed out and from there on the functionality doesn't change all that much, everything just becomes lighter and more refined. I know that it's a lot of money for a bike, but you'll get a setup that doesn't have any really weak parts that need attention immediately or perhaps ever.

 

[Chris30]

Some pointers here.

The first thing is to not listen to any of those so called enthusiasts that judge others by their bikes' price. If someone can buy a carbon rocket worth someone elses's half a year's paycheck, good for them, but it doesn't make them any more knowledgeable or "better bikers". It only means they have money. And according to them you absolutely can't ride anything that doesn't have a $1000+ fork if it's a mountain bike or a $2000+ wheelset if it's a road bike. The wheels apply to mountain bikes too though. Only the most expensive groupset is allowed, everything else is junk. Especially if it's from Shimano, in that case even the most expensive is junk because real riders use SRAM or preferably Campagnolo.

Now, the real pointers. I've built "daily beaters" for my mom and myself, and also "enthusiast bikes" for both so I have a bit of real life experience on what works, what doesn't, and what's just worth avoiding for one reason or another.

The first and really only "avoid at all costs" thing is a seven speed cassette. They're the cheapest possible parts, wear about as quickly as soft cheese, and replacing the cassette is a pain because it's usually a freewheel setup instead of the more common freehub. Pay a bit more when buying, get a 8/9/10 speed freehub setup like nearly all modern bikes have, and you'll save the money in the first service already.

Another thing I wouldn't get if the use is any heavier than on a sunny day every now and then, is rim brakes. They do their job but they go through pads like a kid through a bowl of sugar coated cereal and the brake dust gets everywhere. My mom wears out two or three sets of pads a year and I don't even remember when I changed my own disc brake pads. Might have been in summer 2022 for a comparison, and I brake a lot harder. Get disc brakes if possible, they don't even have to be hydraulic, the mechanical ones work just fine for leisurely riding.

The "what works" part is more of a brand thing really. Get the cheapest model from a big brand instead of a mid range from something nobody has ever heard about, let alone some Walmart specials, because they've put the money and effort into R&D and it can be seen though the entire range. Cannondale, Scott, Specialized, Trek (in alphabetical order) etc., the big names. What comes to the parts, the mid to high end SRAM is good, but the low end not so much especially what comes to the value for money. As long as it says Shimano on the drivetrain - and it's not a seven speed - it'll take everything you can throw at it and just keep trucking.

About the price though. I've had hardtail MTBs that cost around $700, $1000, $1500 and $2000 as new and the last one has since been built into a ~$4000 setup. On the other hand, my current daily driver is the $700 model with some small improvements and its actual price is perhaps $1000 now. There's a massive law of diminishing returns when the price goes up, from my point of view (I ride more or less daily, and the equipment has to be good enough to not be a constant irritation) the sweet spot is indeed around the $1000 mark. It already has all the cheapest things ironed out and from there on the functionality doesn't change all that much, everything just becomes lighter and more refined. I know that it's a lot of money for a bike, but you'll get a setup that doesn't have any really weak parts that need attention immediately or perhaps ever.

Hey, thank you for taking the time to give us this info. We're gonna start saving for a more expensive one. We can always ask people and staff at Walmart what kind of good reliable bikes they have. Thanks again for this information. Happy 2026 btw, it's Day #4.

 

[TB]

We're gonna start saving for a more expensive one...

...at Walmart

I understand that everyone's definition of "expensive" is different but that is exactly the kind of bike that @Greycap said to avoid:

Get the cheapest model from a big brand instead of a mid range from something nobody has ever heard about, let alone some Walmart specials

We can always ask people and staff at Walmart what kind of good reliable bikes they have. Thanks again for this information.

These are literally the last people you should be asking. They almost assuredly don't know anything about them and are just stocking the shelves.

Go to an actual bike shop. There are a number of them in your area. They likely sell used bikes which would get you into either a better bike for about the same price or a similar bike for less money. Worst case, you'll be able to talk to someone that actually knows what they're talking about.

 

[Greycap]

These are literally the last people you should be asking. They almost assuredly don't know anything about them and are just stocking the shelves.

To put this into perspective, in our local supermarket I've walked through the bike section, spotted a disastrous mistake, and pretty much forced an employee to get the bike off the floor now or I'll fix it myself right there on the spot with my own tools. It's happened three times now, three separate times. Forks installed backwards. That's how well they know their stuff.

Things like that do happen. On top of that I've had one of the around $300 supermarket bikes myself so I know what they are, and it's not a good look. The derailleurs were worn beyond able to be adjusted after one summer, the fork had developed play that made every braking hazardous as it didn't track straight, the wheels weren't properly trued even as new, and every part was as cheap as you can imagine. The absolute bottom of the barrel. After that I bought a $600 big brand bike and even though it was dirt cheap by their standards everything on it was several magnitudes better than the old one. It could actually be called a proper bike, the supermarket special was a bunch of parts assembled to look like one but it really wasn't suitable for anything else than riding to the local pub and not being sad had someone stolen it.

Just to make it clear, we're not trying to discourage you from buying a bike. We're trying to prevent you from wasting your money on something that will only cause you grief because good cheap bikes don't exist. Terrible cheap ones do, the actually good ones aren't cheap by most standards but they're still worth it in the end.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

To be fair, Walmart does make a bike that is above "bike shaped object" and is at least upgradeable to hobby-level components. However, it's barely cheaper than the lowest price offerings from Specialized/Trek etc, particularly on the used market so it's hard to say its the better option, if it's not the only option. There is the reality that in many parts of the US, there is basically no bicycle market at all.




So I finally pulled the trigger on the flat bar conversion for the Ribble. Went down to the recycled parts shop and found a nice old specialized 690mm bar with a slight rise. I definitely don't want a "contemporary MTB" width bar on this bike, so this feels just right and looks rad. Ordered an RS700 right hand shifter for my GRX 11-speed (from aliexpress, godspeed) and a pair of RS600 brake levers and some PNW grips because I really liked them on my SOMA build. Also going from 700Cx40 to 27.5x2.1s so this bike is being transformed from shared-use path cruiser to fire road mobber - in theory. Really curious to see how it feels, particularly off road as I really dislike drop bars on anything remotely technical or off road downhill. I may get a dropper for it later as it has quite a bit of seat post length available.

 

[TB]

upgradeable to hobby-level components.

The vast majority of people, myself included, don't want to have to upgrade anything, never mind doing so on a brand new bike.

For me personally, the only Walmart bikes I've purchased was for the kids when they were little. Once they grew up, one got my old 1999 GT Outpost and for the other we went to an actual bike shop and bought used Trek. My bike is a Specialized bought off of FBMP for about 1/3 the price of new.

Point is, Chris, don't limit your choices to Walmart's offerings. While passable, there are MUCH better options.