courier friendly bike required

ullu

I've been working as a courier for the past few weeks in Dublin, using a good quality but unsuitable for work mountain bike. It was stolen the other day so I've got to sort out getting a new one over the weekend.

I'd be looking for one as cheap as possible with my upper limit being around 400 euro, second hand bikes would be fine too. Basically I'm curious to find out about good shops/ models of bikes etc and any advice would be much appreciated as I'm totally ignorant in all these respects.

As an aside, does anyone have any experience of getting a stolen bike back? Who buys them? Would it be worth checking out the next garda auction in case it's there, that sort of thing?

ash h

If it was me id tell the local gardai and local bike shops and then just check the buy and sell,local ad papers etc..

flickerx

ullu wrote:

As an aside, does anyone have any experience of getting a stolen bike back? Who buys them? Would it be worth checking out the next garda auction in case it's there, that sort of thing?

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/72315

Ghost Rider

Sorry to hear of your loss. Bike theft is one of the more loathsome crimes against property.

A lot of couriers use singlespeed or fixed-gear bikes, in part because they require less maintenance than a bike with gears, and in part because they're said to give a more efficient ride. Some "fixie" cyclists even dispense with brakes too, for that even more "stripped down" experience. As for getting hold of one of those bikes, I don't think you'll get a new one for €400 but you could probably build a second-hand one for that much using an old racing bike or track frame with some new parts. (See Sheldon Brown's articles on the subject at, for example, http://www.sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.)

Seeing as you need a bike in a hurry, though, I guess going down the singlespeed/fixie route isn't an option right now. In that case, and with only 400 brick to spend, I'd forget about getting something new, unless you want to get another mountain bike (and a fairly basic one at that).

Instead, I'd be scouring "Buy and Sell" for a second-hand hybrid of the "flat bar road bike" kind. As the same suggests, this offers some of the features of a road bike (i.e. "racer") such as the gearing ratios, frame geometry and thin wheels but with flat handlebars instead of dropped ones.

There are several models of this type of hybrid on the market, including the Giant FCRs, the Trek FXs, the Claud Butler Levantes and the Specialized Sirruses. New, these bikes tend to start around 550 quid but I imagine you'd pick one up second hand for 400, maybe less. You might take a look at the Carrera Gryphon (sp.?) range too as I think they're a bit cheaper. (Halfords stock these.)

If you were willing to spend up to 480, you could pick up a Ridgeback Velocity brand new. These are hybrids, but not really of the flat bar road bike kind. They seem more akin to mountain bikes in geometry and tyre size, but they are designed primarily for street use. I've tried one and found it a comfortable ride. I've also had them recommended to me by more than one person. AFAIK, there's only one shop in Dublin that sells them: Cyclelogical on the northside quays.

If I were you, though, I'd probably be looking for something second hand to sort you out in the short to medium term. Long term, I'd be looking for something ultra- low maintenance like a fixie or a regular singlespeed bike. (The difference between the two is explained in Sheldon Brown's article, referenced above.)

ullu wrote:

I've been working as a courier for the past few weeks in Dublin, using a good quality but unsuitable for work mountain bike. It was stolen the other day so I've got to sort out getting a new one over the weekend.

I'd be looking for one as cheap as possible with my upper limit being around 400 euro, second hand bikes would be fine too. Basically I'm curious to find out about good shops/ models of bikes etc and any advice would be much appreciated as I'm totally ignorant in all these respects.

As an aside, does anyone have any experience of getting a stolen bike back? Who buys them? Would it be worth checking out the next garda auction in case it's there, that sort of thing?

Andy-Pandy

I've had my bike for 5 years now, I think the secret to my sucess is always leaving it locked in a busy area, and never,ever, leaving it any place overnight. Its a lovely bike as well, Klein Pulse pro. Ya just got to be smart about where ya leave it.

zorkmundsson

i've seen quite a few couriers on what looks like the specialized langster, single-speed road bike that i think goes for €400 in cycleways. cool-looking yoke, too.

Ghost Rider

I think the Langster goes for something closer to 600.

zorkmundsson wrote:

i've seen quite a few couriers on what looks like the specialized langster, single-speed road bike that i think goes for €400 in cycleways. cool-looking yoke, too.

ullu

Ghost Rider wrote:

Sorry to hear of your loss. Bike theft is one of the more loathsome crimes against property.

A lot of couriers use singlespeed or fixed-gear bikes, in part because they require less maintenance than a bike with gears, and in part because they're said to give a more efficient ride. Some "fixie" cyclists even dispense with brakes too, for that even more "stripped down" experience. As for getting hold of one of those bikes, I don't think you'll get a new one for €400 but you could probably build a second-hand one for that much using an old racing bike or track frame with some new parts. (See Sheldon Brown's articles on the subject at, for example, http://www.sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.)

Seeing as you need a bike in a hurry, though, I guess going down the singlespeed/fixie route isn't an option right now. In that case, and with only 400 brick to spend, I'd forget about getting something new, unless you want to get another mountain bike (and a fairly basic one at that).

Instead, I'd be scouring "Buy and Sell" for a second-hand hybrid of the "flat bar road bike" kind. As the same suggests, this offers some of the features of a road bike (i.e. "racer") such as the gearing ratios, frame geometry and thin wheels but with flat handlebars instead of dropped ones.

There are several models of this type of hybrid on the market, including the Giant FCRs, the Trek FXs, the Claud Butler Levantes and the Specialized Sirruses. New, these bikes tend to start around 550 quid but I imagine you'd pick one up second hand for 400, maybe less. You might take a look at the Carrera Gryphon (sp.?) range too as I think they're a bit cheaper. (Halfords stock these.)

If you were willing to spend up to 480, you could pick up a Ridgeback Velocity brand new. These are hybrids, but not really of the flat bar road bike kind. They seem more akin to mountain bikes in geometry and tyre size, but they are designed primarily for street use. I've tried one and found it a comfortable ride. I've also had them recommended to me by more than one person. AFAIK, there's only one shop in Dublin that sells them: Cyclelogical on the northside quays.

If I were you, though, I'd probably be looking for something second hand to sort you out in the short to medium term. Long term, I'd be looking for something ultra- low maintenance like a fixie or a regular singlespeed bike. (The difference between the two is explained in Sheldon Brown's article, referenced above.)

Good man, thanks for the indepth response.

ullu

Andy-Pandy wrote:

I've had my bike for 5 years now, I think the secret to my sucess is always leaving it locked in a busy area, and never,ever, leaving it any place overnight. Its a lovely bike as well, Klein Pulse pro. Ya just got to be smart about where ya leave it.

Point taken.

I rarely leave my bike in town and take care to vary where I leave it if I'm parking in a regular spot, just to give the impression to anyone who takes notice of that sort of thing that it's not been left there for a while.

The galling thing is that there's a decent enough bike that has been locked in the same place for two months twenty yards from where mine was taken and I realised mine was taken only ten hours after I locked it.