klick@ihuxu.UUCP (08/26/83)
This is a summary of the information I received in response
to my request for recommendations of bikes in the $225-$300 range.
Thanks again to all who responded.
Two respondents recommended recent issues of Bicycling magazine.
The February 1983 issue contains an article on what to look for
in a bike, as well as a buyer's guide with specs on many bikes.
There are also reviews of bikes in the $200-$300 range in other
issues this year, and generally lots of useful information.
Other recommendations were as follows:
This may be a little on the high side, but I would recommend the
Schwinn Voyager. I don't own one, but have used them.
They have come down in price in the last year. I think you can get
one for about $320 in Columbus, maybe less if you are a good haggler.
It's not for the serious biker, but for light recreation to moderate
touring it has seemed to have captured a fairly wide audience.
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I'd like to recommend TREK bicycles.
I own a TREK 620, which is one of their touring bikes (520, 620, 720).
It is a great bike and I am very happy with it. TREKs are a favorite of
touring folks everywhere; particularly with the crowd that isn't interested
in proving how macho it is by touring on Italian bikes that were made for
racing. I'm talking loaded camping type touring -- not sissy "ride around
the block with the bike club" touring.
For day rides, TREK has another line of bikes (numbered X10, I
believe). These differ from the X20s in having a slightly more upright
frame geometry, a two ring chainwheel, and a slightly steeper rear cluster.
TREKs are built with Reynold's 531 tubing and finished with a
beautiful if not enduring paint job (seems to chip fairly easily, particularly
on the front fork). Quality components are used in sensible combinations.
[Trek has a two year testing program for new parts.]
TREKs are handbuilt(!) in Wisconsin, which doesn't mean they are
easy to get. TREK also discourages price cutting, which may make it hard
to get a "deal". But look around; when the model year ends you can often
buy last year's model at a good price.
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My Univega Viva Sport 12-speed cost $240 when I bought it
at Baron's in Torrance, CA, in Dec. '81. Cr-Mo, alloys
throughout. Bugs: toe-clips not included, holes at end of
rear fork to support pannier brackets are too big for
standard self-tapping screws.
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I can't recommend any bikes in a particular price range, but I do
have a couple of comments, mainly due to features my bike does/
doesn't have:
(1) Get a bike with a anatomic saddle. I remember this as one of
the differences separating bikes from $250-$300. My current bike
has one and is much more comfortable(if you can call any bike
comfortable) than the seat on the old Scwwinn Varsity I had.
(2) A warning about seats. Many good-quality ones are suede. The
color may rub off on your pants. Cheap vinyl ones don't have this
problem.
(3) Spokes: Mine [on a 1982 Univega Viva Sport-vbk] are steel,
although the rims are alloy. I don't know
if stainless steel ones are available in this price range.
(4) Brakes: If you get side pulls, be sure to get the thin wrench
needed to adjust them. No matter what
anyone tells you, they get out of adjustment quite a bit.
(5) Detailing: Look for braze-ons. I'm willing to bet that few bikes
in the price range have them. It's a sign of a better bike. You
can't tell a good bike anymore by a lugged frame; even Sears bikes
have them.
Vickie Klick Bell Labs - Naperville, IL ihnp4!ihuxu!klick