Help with bicycle purchase

GreyGhost said:
That's strange. Bike shops are normally competent. Steel rims? When steel rims are wet, braking is a gentle suggestion. Happy to have a look I you bring it by. I try to be in vaighan as little a possible.
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I would never ask you to come to me.
Much appreciated

Yes
Older bike
Steel rims, maybe aluminum?
But the back brakes have never gripped right.
But the bike is light, enough, low enough cross bar for my short legs, and, of course, it's purple...and I'm cheap, so I'm keeping it for as long as possible.

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Joe Bass said:
OP, if you go the SportChek route, hmu first -- there's these ridiculous bar code offers that I come across sometimes that can get you an additional 30-70% off, and the codes are good up to $4000
They get passed around on socials but most have lots of room left.
I also recommend getting a Triangle rewards card. Bonus CT points plus register it and there are bonus offers weekly.


And my brother has had good luck buying Giant bikes directly from the store at Keele & Hwy 7 here in Vaughan

@GreyGhost I still have a bike with those old v/c type brakes.
2 shops have been unable to get the rear to grip properly.
Hasn't been a problem because I've been riding my oldest's CCM with discs that my brother gifted me (which my kid took ownership of, then moved out, and now wants to use to get around)
If it's possible for you to take a look at it, it would be appreciated

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Are they V-brakes or old style cantilever brakes? (for the nerds technically both are cantilever but...)

The Geometry of Cantilever Brakes

How to adjust cantilever brakes to get the best braking performance on your bicycle.
www.sheldonbrown.com

V-Brakes are generally easy to set up and work well. The exception IME is the really cheap ones that come on bottom of the pile Walmart/CTC bikes as the arms are way too flexy, they still stop but can scream up a ####### storm. The older style cantilever brakes can also work well but they are a bit of an art form (and in some cases a lost one at that--but also have a lot of tweaking possibilities).

Old hard pads can be a big problem, fresh pads help a lot specially with old style cantis. The cable pull ration is also different between the two and mixing the wrong levers with the wrong brakes can create major stopping suckage. I actually see this one often on bikes with older cantis as the lever breaks or wears out and someone just swaps out a modern "v-brake" one with the wrong pull.
 
Here's an interesting read on the birth of the linear pull brake, and why Shmoo and everyone else were free to jump into the game (spoiler: no patent).


The inventor made 3 different versions of a linear pull brake. The Decelerator, the Stop Lite, and the Cheap Trick. The Cheap Trick were the budget brake, made from repurposed U shaped extrusion originally for windows. They came packaged in a badged water bottle, which was unique (and kinda genius) branding.

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buddy found a garneau gros louis last week for $500 brand new
whats nice with fat bikes..you can use em during winter too
 
So went bike shopping. Sport chek had 250-300$ mountain bikes that would probably work. A Diamond back w/ 1x8-10 was $750
The first LBS carried Giant but already was running out of stock. For 850-1000$ I'm not about "settle" for a colour I didn't like and a frame for the Squeeze that isn't optimum.
Second LBS carried Norcos. Had a nice 1x10 for 1000$ but again supply was limited and we have had to settle again on frame size and colour.
Although I can afford the bikes I struggle to justify the cost when old beaters were getting us by.

**The Norco had a special button to let the seat pop up. Push the button before you stop and the seat lowers to let your feet touch. Seemed both like a neat feature and yet very gimmicky. It wasn't working perfectly when I tried ("Oh just need to adjust that")
Thoughts on this feature?

And lastly the Squeeze is small and I have bad hips so were each going for "girls" bikes with the lower top bar ( apparently they no longer refer to them as girls bikes). Right now I have a hitch carrier that mounts via the top bar. Do girls bikes normally mean the carrier mounts via the wheels? I saw the add on top bar that allows my carrier to still work but it's hardly an elegant solution. (extra bits to stow and another step in the load/unload)
 
timtune said:
So went bike shopping. Sport chek had 250-300$ mountain bikes that would probably work. A Diamond back w/ 1x8-10 was $750
The first LBS carried Giant but already was running out of stock. For 850-1000$ I'm not about "settle" for a colour I didn't like and a frame for the Squeeze that isn't optimum.
Second LBS carried Norcos. Had a nice 1x10 for 1000$ but again supply was limited and we have had to settle again on frame size and colour.
Although I can afford the bikes I struggle to justify the cost when old beaters were getting us by.

**The Norco had a special button to let the seat pop up. Push the button before you stop and the seat lowers to let your feet touch. Seemed both like a neat feature and yet very gimmicky. It wasn't working perfectly when I tried ("Oh just need to adjust that")
Thoughts on this feature?

And lastly the Squeeze is small and I have bad hips so were each going for "girls" bikes with the lower top bar ( apparently they no longer refer to them as girls bikes). Right now I have a hitch carrier that mounts via the top bar. Do girls bikes normally mean the carrier mounts via the wheels? I saw the add on top bar that allows my carrier to still work but it's hardly an elegant solution. (extra bits to stow and another step in the load/unload)
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Seat dropper is more for technical mountain bike sections (especially down a steep hill). I've never seen anyone use it to get on and off a bike but I guess it's possible. I just slide forward so I am over the crossbar and lean the bike if it is really tall (which no mtb would need).

As for frame layout, conventional triangle will be handle better and/or be lighter and fit your rack. Thankfully I haven't had to deal with bad hips. I would expect that you could find a way to may a conventional frame work (eg, the more you lean the bike, the less you need to raise you knee to get it over the top tube/seat). For cruising around, a low top tube bike is probably fine (other than your rack issues).
 
The seat post was a dropper post and it is for off-road riding (not for the purpose you noted). When descending something steep (or otherwise technical) and you are off the seat anyways you can drop the seat down so it is out of the way and you can shift your body more towards the rear. When the descent is done the seat can be raised back up to the proper height, all on the fly. You do not need (or want) a dropper post for your cycling purposes.

The common gender neutral term these days is step though frame. It will depend on the bike carrier and the bike. My wife's bike I just put it on the carrier using the highest tube (hers has two tubes, some are single) and it sits on an steeper angle compared to the other bikes, we never had an issue doing this. They do make that add on top bar but to me it is just another point of failure when transporting.

The style was commonly refereed to as a lady's bike due to the ability to ride with a dress back in the day but they were (are) used for delivery riders that have to get on and off constantly. I would say don't bother unless your wife needs the extra clearance (hips) as they add weight etc. My wife just wanted one...
 
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You can buy attachments on Amazon to make loading a "girls bike" or the gender neutral 'step through bikes' onto a carrier...forget what they're called but they're there...
 
The Bike Zone
Oxygen bike
Cycle path

are decent shops in the "west" to check out
 
backmarkerducati said:
My wife's bike I just put it on the carrier using the highest tube (hers has two tubes, some are single) and it sits on an steeper angle compared to the other bikes, we never had an issue doing this. They do make that add on top bar but to me it is just another point of failure when transporting.
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Thanks. That's what I was hoping I could maybe do.

LePhillou said:
The Bike Zone
Oxygen bike
Cycle path

are decent shops in the "west" to check out
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Sorry should have mentioned we're out Stratford way. London on Friday to another LBS (I hope that means Local Bike Shop). KW maybe but would never venture much further east just for bikes.

Squeeze of course has some research and found these guys in London have Giant / Liv versions of mostly everything we want (less 1x10) in stock around the 750$ mark. We'll how it goes.
 
People ride bikes out in western Ontario, you may not find as competitive pricing in smaller markets , but you can never go too wrong working with a ‘local’ shop .


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I would not consider 1X10 a needed feature for your purposes but if it is a 2X or 3X I would want the rear cassette to have a decent range say 11 to 32 (or wider). That way you will rarely shift the front and live in the middle or low front most of the time. That is also not a requirement but a nice to have.
 
Bought the Squeeze a Liv (Giant) Rove. Her first ever new bike! Has front suspension but you can't lock it out. (thought was a good feature but wasn't a show stopper)
They're assembling a Haro for me to try next week. Thoughts?
 
timtune said:
Bought the Squeeze a Liv (Giant) Rove. Her first ever new bike! Has front suspension but you can't lock it out. (thought was a good feature but wasn't a show stopper)
They're assembling a Haro for me to try next week. Thoughts?
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Sweet...which Rove did she get?...don't you mean that you CAN lock out the front suspension? Where did you end up buying?
 
timtune said:
Bought the Squeeze a Liv (Giant) Rove. Her first ever new bike! Has front suspension but you can't lock it out. (thought was a good feature but wasn't a show stopper)
They're assembling a Haro for me to try next week. Thoughts?
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Take a gander through YT looking at clips for setting saddle height and setback also if possible try out some different saddles to find what fits your sit bone the best. Bigger and padding generally isn't best shape is key. For the gals this is on place where gender specific can really matter FWIW.
Its not that i am stuck on saddles but its hard to enjoy the day when your ass hurts.
 
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ifiddles said:
Sweet...which Rove did she get?...don't you mean that you CAN lock out the front suspension? Where did you end up buying?
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Pretty much this bike I think. Front suspension can not be locked out for climbing hills and such. For her pace it shouldn't matter much. We got it at TwoWheels in downtown London. Side note: the core has really gone down hill since we both spent time there in 80's while at college.

EDIT
Hers a Rove 4 DD. I was going to get the same due to my hips but no mediums so the Haro Bridgeport but it needs assy.
Has an 2x8 , cable discs, and a lock out front fork. Whatever. The guys seem legit and been there forever - LBS right??
 
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timtune said:
View attachment 67668
Pretty much this bike I think. Front suspension can not be locked out for climbing hills and such. For her pace it shouldn't matter much. We got it at TwoWheels in downtown London. Side note: the core has really gone down hill since we both spent time there in 80's while at college.

EDIT
Hers a Rove 4 DD. I was going to get the same due to my hips but no mediums so the Haro Bridgeport but it needs assy.
Has an 2x8 , cable discs, and a lock out front fork. Whatever. The guys seem legit and been there forever - LBS right??
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Two Wheels has been in business for years. They were one of the sponsors of the O-Cup races at Boler in Byron back in the 90s.
 
Checked some old race Ts. All Seasons was a title sponsor of the London O-Cup and Canada Cup races. Two Wheels did have signage and IIRC walk-in specials/coupons in the swag bags. 25 years and several concussions ago.


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