Just the necessary

Kaibutsu

Could anyone suggest me a store for cheap bikes? I'm looking for something as cheap as possible. I'll be using it in Dublin for rides of up to 30 minutes or so and after a year I'll sell it as I would be moving back to my country.

I already heard of halfords.ie and dublinbikeman.com are those any good? How cheap would a simple bike be? I can't seem to find anything for less than €150 or so. That seems a little bit expensive for me, or maybe it isn't?

This is the cheapest I've found so far, but then there is a €30 fee they would charge me to assemble it.

Thanks in advance.

DirkVoodoo

Kaibutsu wrote: »

after a year I'll sell it as I would be moving back to my country

Don't worry, bike probably won't last that long.

If you want something decent for little money, try looking for second hand bargains. Try some local colleges, always students looking to sell a second hand bike. Gumtree, donedeal, adverts, etc.

Kaibutsu

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Don't worry, bike probably won't last that long.

If you want something decent for little money, try looking for second hand bargains. Try some local colleges, always students looking to sell a second hand bike. Gumtree, donedeal, adverts, etc.

Thanks. I'll take a look

But I don't understand anything about bikes which would make it hard for me to tell what is or isn't a good deal.

Those second handed "Dublin Bike Man" ones are supposed to be much better than the cheap halfords, right? They have some €180 deals. I might be willing to go that high if the difference would be drastic even for me. I sincerely have no clue, just another student trying to move around as cheap as possible. Walking doesn't always work...

Any advice is welcomed.

Darkglasses

Try second-hand, don't waste your time or money on the cheap stuff from Halfords.

A friend of mine bought a bike from Dublinbikeman. It was just about ok, he took it for a couple of long spins and it didn't stand up too well, BB came loose and the front derailleur exploded in the road one day (partly down to my friend's bad attempts to repair it). Might survive short trips for a year, but why take a risk when you might save a few euro, but have a broken neck.

Something like this (http://www.adverts.ie/bikes/felt-q26-mountain-bike-for-sale/2914602) would be much better than what you get from Halfords. Fairly likely to be safe enough too.

What I would personally do though is go to Rothar. They may have a single-speed going very cheap. Or, if you have patience and a tiny bit of a mechanical brain, build your own one with them.

happytramp

It's something of a misconception that bicycles are cheap and only cost about €60 or €70 quid. That's completely wrong. Even when we were young and our parent got us bikes they probably cost about a weeks wages. I guess we expect everything to be as cheap as out of season ryan air flights.

Bought new.....
Good bikes cost €400+
Decent bikes cost €300
Low quality bikes cost €200
Dangerous bikes cost €100

If you've got a €150 to spend you should go second hand. If you shop around online you can probably get a bike that cost €300-€400 new.

Kaibutsu

I see. I guess my original expectations are unrealistic then. I'll be looking for some second hand bikes at around €200 then. And hoping for it not to kill me. XD

Thanks for the advices.

DirkVoodoo

Kaibutsu wrote: »

But I don't understand anything about bikes which would make it hard for me to tell what is or isn't a good deal.

Well, if you can't google the bike, I'd avoid it. Not sure how good a deal you will find when your only requirement is "as cheap as possible", that's the risk you are taking.

Rust. If there is a lot of rust, the tyres are flat and the wheels aren't true, AVOID.

Darkglasses

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Well, if you can't google the bike, I'd avoid it. Not sure how good a deal you will find when your only requirement is "as cheap as possible", that's the risk you are taking.

Rust. If there is a lot of rust, the tyres are flat and the wheels aren't true, AVOID.

+1

There should be no side to side movement in the pedal arms whatsoever., no creaking or scraping noises when you roll the wheels. Feel free to post up a link to whatever bike you're thinking of buying, we'll help as best we can. Better yet, bring along a knowledgeable friend to the purchase so s/he can inspect it.

happytramp

Avoid anything with suspension. Avoid big fat mountain bike tires. Skinny tires are much better for cycling around town/commuting.

Mcofferon

Are you Dublin based? You could try Rothar. They usually have a fair range of second hand bikes and they'd all be mechanically sound.
http://www.rothar.ie/Sales_Repairs.html

HivemindXX

Have you looking in to just using the Dublin Bikes (those blue bikes you see all over the city centre).

It might not suit you depending on your usage pattern but if they do and you only ever take them for 30 minutes or less it will just cost you €10 for a year and you don't have to worry about paying for maintenance.

http://www.dublinbikes.ie/

manwithaplan

You could just steal one.

Captain Havoc

I'd get a single speed, cheap and no maintenance required. You could try rothar for one but I'm pretty sure you'd get one on adverts.

Kaibutsu

I did use the Dublin Bikes and they are very nice. But they are just available around the city centre which won't really work for me. And finding a station some times can be annoying. Or maybe no bikes or docks available at the moment...

Everybody's suggesting Rothar so I'll drop by today. I also e-mailed the DublinBikeMan. Let's see what can be done. Thanks for the tips, guys.

ford2600

http://www.adverts.ie/bikes/viking-fixie/2499259
something like this?
http://www.adverts.ie/bikes/vintage-single-speed-puch-clubman-bike/2082559
or this?