All these transpo catagories, and not one for the humble bicycle....

You know, the thing you probably grew up riding, the thing you can lift up on your shoulder and carry up stairs or onto the train, or over a barrier that stops a car. The thing that's easy to fix with Dad's pliers, and that Dad showed you how to fix a flat tire of, walking you through how to find the leak in the tube in a tub of water, and patch using the old "Monkey Grip" patch kit. The thing that never let you down, when even bus fare was out of budget.

Electric bikes are cool, and mopeds are neat, but the plain old bicycle is going to be it for most of us.

I'm off this afternoon to test drive a cruiser. My $25 bargain bike finally gave up. I want a bike that will accept a trailer. Both will pay for themselves in gas and exercise class savings.
cynthia

Consider one with 3 speeds at least, a good old sturmey-archer hub. Trailers require really gearing down, literally.

You might also consider just about any generic mountain bike.

I rode a postal bike for years as a kid, purchased for a buck at an auction; little front tire and big basket.

Probably unavailable for years now.

I bought a Schwin mountain bike about 25 years ago when they were just coming out – not the top line, but close. I rode it about 10 miles round trip to work for quite a while just to keep in shape.

I replaced the pneumatic tire tubes with solid ones and then a milk crate on the front and back and when we went camping I could haul ten gals of water and my 180#s fairly easy up pretty step trails. I still keep it close to the house to haul tools to and from the shop.

My wife didn’t want to spend much and has had maybe 2 Huffys and a Murray or 2 since…

And pushed her's home often.

I don’t know much about fancy modern versions but I would buy a used, old, heavy lunker before a fancy, lightweight, new model...

Most things now are made either for a Wall-Mart world or a Walton Family world (I ain't talking about John Boy Walton either).

Those old heavy clunkers are real survivalist bikes - hard to kill.

I rode one to/from work, and for fun on weekends and after work, I was in VERY good shape and could blow up hills on it like nobody'b business.

I was considering just getting another old cruiser, putting a front brake on it, and going around with that. I decided to go the new bike route and spent about $400 and like the bike I got (gary fisher "wingra") but when the chips are down, an old one-speed cruiser is the one you can afford and can rely on.

Those old Schwinn newspaper boy bikes are still around, the cruisers were of course used a lot, and the "heavy-duti" model shows up quite often. Check Craig's List.

My road touring bicycle is thirty-five years old. They may look delicate, but they are long lasting -- although don't know about all the new frame technologies out there.

Everyone of us that can do so, should get use to riding a bicycle. It may be the best way of getting around town in the not too distant future.

Besides, the bicycle design is a marvel of efficiency to behold. It hasn't changed it's basic design in probably 100 years amazingly.

I say bikes are the real alternative fuel!
I have a quiver of them and a great Burley trailer.
I always tell folks to look for the deals (buy quality because it will last), get to know the people down at your local bike shop, and learn how to work on your own bicycle.
If you can't afford a new bike, you should never have to buy a bike from a Walmart type place...there are too many great quality used bikes out there......just look around!

And it has been mentioned in other threads, get some good rain gear to ride in and your set year round...at least in the PNW....I know other cyclist who do commute year round in other climates as well.

Here's a link to my rides if you are interested:
http://velospace.org/user/4173

cb

Test rode a Trek today. size:13.5 (I didn't mention how short I am, so now you get the picture. It's also a women's designed bike).
"21 speeds." (three on the left and seven on the other left). I only used two speeds on the test drive. Loved the seat, the handling. I could figure out how to move from mono-speed to more...
My son works at the high-end bike shop in town so looking for more bike than I might otherwise (and at his discount )
It can handle a trailer. For the dollars and a sleep on it, I think this is the one for me.
Still, I miss the old bike...
cynthia

I think that the bycycle has to be the greastest all around transportation invention. Cheap to buy, easy to maintain and almost zero environmental impact. I ride for pleasure, but I know many people in Philly who depend on one for their daily transportation. We'll see many more bikes being riden in the future.

One more thing, they last almost forever. In the city, you don't want a nice bike as it will get stolen. That has created an industry of recycling old bikes. I know a guy who has a shop in Philly doing just that. Sand the rust off, add some new paint, tires, tubes, lube, etc, and you have a bike that rides like brand new.

Although I have raced as a youngin...I ride for fun and health now. As well as transportation. As far as having nice bikes...if you do...don't lock them up anyplace...they WILL get stolen. I built my singlespeed and have my Schwinn cruiser for the lock up bikes. No way would I leave the carbon road machine locked anyplace but in the house!

Recycling bikes is becoming a big deal in Oregon as well. i would love to see it get bigger..it should soon! I have an old Schwinn Suburban that I an recycling into a fun machine. Much like some friends of mine do in Portland:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... id=8323734

catbox

I really want a bike and I love the ebay/craigslist route, but I've also read that it makes a real difference in your ride whether or not the bike is fit to your specific body parts.

Also, what's the best way to include a small, but heavy, child? I'm thinking trailer which could be used for cargo also? What if you have both?

The BOB is a good trailer, and there are plenty of others too. Fit is important and can be played with quite a bit aside from frame size. Stem length and rise, type of bar, and number of stem spacers dials in the front end while the seat post dials in the saddle height. Fore and aft is set by the saddle rails. I am a hardcore offroader and know quite a bit about fit due to not having a good fit for many years. I am 6 foot 5 so I border on needing custom.

As for reliabilty buy a high end bike. If you want to save money buy old stock or used. One thing that is very important is chains and cogs. They wear out. You want a bike that uses commonly available stuff. I just replaced my chain after one season and should have replaced it at the end of last year. My cogs wern't too happy about it. Count on one set of cogs/rings for every 3 chains wear wise. The rest of the stuff on a bike will last almost for ever.

Drew

My wish list...........

Posted this over at another thread but felt it was worth posting here:

Trailers? I say Burley...made right here in Oregon... Spendy but they last forever!
http://www.burley.com/

And more bike goodness from Oregon:

http://www.catoregon.org/hpm/HPM2007web-catalog.pdf

http://www.catoregon.org/hpm/longhaul4kids.htm

Enjoy!

catbox

beer, bikes, and peak oil.

Miller ad-Errol Morris