Sports & Recreation

[OFFICIAL] Cycling thread for commuters and the casual enthusiast

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Mar 15, 2004
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Check out Royal Distributing, check out under "Street" > "Hybrid". They have Marin bikes which is quite good for the price. I picked up a 2011 Larkspur for $350 + tax, this bike goes for $580 new last year, so better than buying second hand, and I ride it to work 50km round trip each day with no problem.
If you can find a Larkspur in your size, I will high recommend it for the value and price.
chinesedevil wrote: Are there any good hybrid bikes for ~400?

Thinking of getting a bike that's good for road/sidewalk and minimal grass/dirt but don't have the budget for those expensive stuff.
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jsywong wrote: Check out Royal Distributing, check out under "Street" > "Hybrid". They have Marin bikes which is quite good for the price. I picked up a 2011 Larkspur for $350 + tax, this bike goes for $580 new last year, so better than buying second hand, and I ride it to work 50km round trip each day with no problem.
If you can find a Larkspur in your size, I will high recommend it for the value and price.
Looks great. Do you know when the sale ends?
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Oct 11, 2008
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Royal Distributing is legit! huge Guelph store
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Mar 15, 2004
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chinesedevil wrote: Looks great. Do you know when the sale ends?
As far as I know, they are clearing out the 2011, so the price is that until they sell it all. If you are looking for a 19" frame, I will say hurry, when I bought my bike 2 weeks ago, there was only one left in all their distribution centers. As for the other sizes, I am not sure, as I was only looking for the 19" frame.
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Mar 21, 2010
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How are the Marin deals compared to buying from bikesdirect.com and picking up in the States?

e.g.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/dover2.htm
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mot ... /jub_3.htm

Would just be for casual use by a non-cyclist (pretty much)... heard that even for light use you should stay away from Walmart/CT bikes. Mainly just looking for something reliable that doesn't require a lot of maintenance.
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The thing with bikedirect is that you have to either put the bike together yourself or spend about $50 for someone to do it for you. As well, crossing the border is not close, even though Guelph is not that close either, but you are still saving about 200km vs going cross border. And lastly and most important I think is at Royal Distributing, they will actually let you test ride the bike, and ensure that it fits you and that you are comfortable on it, with bikedirect, you get what you get. I have nothing against bikedirect, I did do a lot of research before purchasing my Marin Larkspur from Royal Distributing, and bikedirect was looked at very closely, but after 2 weeks more than 300km on my new bike, I have no regrets.
Manatus wrote: How are the Marin deals compared to buying from bikesdirect.com and picking up in the States?

e.g.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/dover2.htm
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mot ... /jub_3.htm

Would just be for casual use by a non-cyclist (pretty much)... heard that even for light use you should stay away from Walmart/CT bikes. Mainly just looking for something reliable that doesn't require a lot of maintenance.
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Mar 21, 2010
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jsywong wrote: The thing with bikedirect is that you have to either put the bike together yourself or spend about $50 for someone to do it for you. As well, crossing the border is not close, even though Guelph is not that close either, but you are still saving about 200km vs going cross border. And lastly and most important I think is at Royal Distributing, they will actually let you test ride the bike, and ensure that it fits you and that you are comfortable on it, with bikedirect, you get what you get. I have nothing against bikedirect, I did do a lot of research before purchasing my Marin Larkspur from Royal Distributing, and bikedirect was looked at very closely, but after 2 weeks more than 300km on my new bike, I have no regrets.
So will Royal have the bike put together completely, ready to ride off? I know nothing about bikes so if there's any work that has to be done, a bike shop is going to be doing it anyway, whether it's a full assembly or not.
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Mar 15, 2004
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Manatus wrote: So will Royal have the bike put together completely, ready to ride off? I know nothing about bikes so if there's any work that has to be done, a bike shop is going to be doing it anyway, whether it's a full assembly or not.
If you go pick up at Royal retail store, yes, they will have to bike assembled and ready to go. They will also make height adjustments to your fitting. I have rode my bike for 300+ km with no additional adjustment needed after my purchase from Royal. If you order it from any online store, it will be shipped in a box, and need to be assembled. Unless you are handy and know your way around a bike, this might be difficult. One of the biggest issue some people reported when ordering from online store and having it shipped is the wheels were not true caused by the shipping process (this mean the wheel is not straight). One of the things Royal or any other Local bike shop will ensure is that the wheels are true, if not, they have the knowledge and equipment to fix it.

I am not working for Royal here, I just bought a bike from them and I personally think I got a good value for my bike. You can get the same level if not higher level of service at your local bike shop. Just hard to find anything in the $300 price range in those shop.
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Mar 21, 2010
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jsywong wrote: If you go pick up at Royal retail store, yes, they will have to bike assembled and ready to go. They will also make height adjustments to your fitting. I have rode my bike for 300+ km with no additional adjustment needed after my purchase from Royal. If you order it from any online store, it will be shipped in a box, and need to be assembled. Unless you are handy and know your way around a bike, this might be difficult. One of the biggest issue some people reported when ordering from online store and having it shipped is the wheels were not true caused by the shipping process (this mean the wheel is not straight). One of the things Royal or any other Local bike shop will ensure is that the wheels are true, if not, they have the knowledge and equipment to fix it.

I am not working for Royal here, I just bought a bike from them and I personally think I got a good value for my bike. You can get the same level if not higher level of service at your local bike shop. Just hard to find anything in the $300 price range in those shop.
That's great, thanks a bunch... just the name threw me off a bit, "Royal Distributing" sounds more like one of those places that buys cheap stuff from China to sell on group buy websites, not a full service bike shop.
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Jan 27, 2004
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jsywong wrote: Check out Royal Distributing, check out under "Street" > "Hybrid". They have Marin bikes which is quite good for the price. I picked up a 2011 Larkspur for $350 + tax, this bike goes for $580 new last year, so better than buying second hand, and I ride it to work 50km round trip each day with no problem.
If you can find a Larkspur in your size, I will high recommend it for the value and price.
Wow... that is an excellet find. I will add that to my 'useful links' section!
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Wish Royal had a store in GTA... Guelph kinda far haha.
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chinesedevil wrote: Wish Royal had a store in GTA... Guelph kinda far haha.
Well depending where you live within the GTA, they have warehouses in Whitby and Innisfil and of course Guelph, So there should be one within an hour drive no matter where you live within the GTA
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jsywong wrote: Well depending where you live within the GTA, they have warehouses in Whitby and Innisfil and of course Guelph, So there should be one within an hour drive no matter where you live within the GTA
Haha yea. Whitby is closest one to me, but they don't have stock on the Larkspur there. Are they able to transfer stock?

Not really feeling a 3hr round trip just to see the bike...
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chinesedevil wrote: Haha yea. Whitby is closest one to me, but they don't have stock on the Larkspur there. Are they able to transfer stock?

Not really feeling a 3hr round trip just to see the bike...
Yes they do, they only had stock of my Larkspur at Innisfil and I called Guelph to have them request a transfer from Innisfil to Guelph, it took 4 days at no extra charge.
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jsywong wrote: Yes they do, they only had stock of my Larkspur at Innisfil and I called Guelph to have them request a transfer from Innisfil to Guelph, it took 4 days at no extra charge.
Nice! Might actually pick it up then since I can transfer it to whitby.
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Jun 2, 2009
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Anyone use baskets for their commuter bike? Recommendations for both front and back ones?
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Milk crates rule but if you really want baskets get them at MEC, you'll need the support posts for the front if your doing heavy loads.
Miele made in the early 80's by Jim in Mississauga was exceptional he made it himself and only made road bikes back then.
Since the 90's CCm or who ever else owns it now is made it's Tiwan like most others but they still make a good bike, at that price buy it.
My kids 10" Miele was almost that price, LOL!
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trini wrote: Miele made in the early 80's by Jim in Mississauga was exceptional he made it himself and only made road bikes back then.
Since the 90's CCm or who ever else owns it now is made it's Tiwan like most others but they still make a good bike, at that price buy it.
My kids 10" Miele was almost that price, LOL!
Yeah that's what I read while searching for info on these bikes... that they used to be really good. Just wasn't sure if that meant "... and now they suck like a Walmart bike", or "... and now they're still pretty good just not the same". Thanks for the advice.
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Jul 18, 2012
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Hi - I am moving to downtown in 2 months time. I want to bike to work from there on (at least on days that are warm/summer). This has been a dream for so long of mine - I am selling my car to force me to use bike as much as possible - so excited!!! I have searched the forum and found that cheapest time to buy a bike is late august/September or in bicycle expo in October. Is this information correct?

I am looking to spend about $600-$750 on a decent bike. My biggest requirement is it should look cool - :-D, and be comfortable and durable (and LIGHT) (See I want everything because I am the ultimate NOVICE :-D). Its so unfortunate that I happened to see Venge as the first bike – oh boy the price made me dizzy a bit.

I like Specialized bikes look. And they seem to have some good reviews. What do people think would be an acceptable price for secteur, dolce or globe during this ‘sale season’?

Also – how safe are these semi-premium (??) bikes in terms of theft? If I leave it at the GO station locked or under my work building are there good chances of being stolen?

Please note – I learnt to ride a bike many moons ago. I am about 5.11 and 200 pounds, and I HOPE (upon hope) to use this opportunity for some serious exercise and bike around downtown over the next few years.

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