I don't know, but finding cheap bikes in the US is hard. Seems like all the shops and used listings only have e bikes for hundreds
Not sure why the economics dont make sense for businesses, I guess the new junk is cheaper to assemble and sell efficiently than the labor and logistics it costs to refurbish used bikes for sale.
But in many big cities, you can find a "bike place" staffed primarily with volunteers that reconditions and sells used bikes at reasonable prices.
@sem @Hello_there I've been known to rescue bikes from our local 'dump shop'/recycling center. Also a great place to pickup cheap parts for repairs.
refurbishing an old bike is like 8-10 hours of work.
at 50 dollars an hour that's 400-500 in cost of labor alone. parts will easily add another 200-300.
it is not economically feasible to refurb old bikes for sale. it's typically only done as charity work, or DIY project.
a new bike takes like an hour or two to assemble, and comes with all the parts.
even dumpster tier used bikes are usually sold at 200-400 dollar range at bike shops, and have very little profit unless they came in in pristine condition and just need a lube.
also they are far less safe and reliable than a new bike because you're using decades old technology. 70/80s bikes are deathtraps with horrible tires, horrible brakes, and very unreliable shifting. things dramatically improved in the late 90s and 2000s.
you don't buy them at a shop. you buy them on fb marketplace from someone's garage sale.
then you bring it to a shop and you find out it needs 300+ work of work because it's been rusting away for 2-3 decades.
cheap bikes only make sense if you have the skills to DIY it yourself.
you don’t buy them at a shop. you buy them on fb marketplace from someone’s garage sale.
Cut out the middleman and steal one!
As a senior with bad knees I will wack you with my cane if you come for my ebike.
On a serious note, when I retired and started biking again, my knees just screamed. I could barely do 5 miles on a flat course. It just hurt to much, now I ride and ebike.
I spent over a year looking for a cheap used bike that would fit my 6'4" frame, and finally spent $700 on the cheapest new road bike I could possibly get. I wanted a $50 bike.
Old bikes were definitely not built for tall folks. I tried the 90s mountain bike and I wanted to love it, but the frame was just too small so I went back to my XL 29er and im happy as a clam. Im jealous of the average sized people that can make those bikes work for them though.
I am disabled. Cheapest bike that fits my disability is 1700. I found one on Craigslist for half that.
The problem is you are in the <1% of cyclists. Every time I sell my bikes they sell in hours because I ride XL-2XL frames.
I dunno about <1% exactly, but I'm for sure a minority, and that is definitely why it's hard to find stuff. I regularly have conversations in real life where people ask me why I don't just have a cheap used bike (given my hobbies and political beliefs, it makes sense on some level to ask) and I think I'm just salty after having to explain to people repeatedly that, no, I'm not a fancy-bike guy, I spent the least that I could.
Also, while cheap bikes are a great resource for working class people who fit them, like MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world and their need for an expensive bike to fit their disability, I think it's important to remind people about accessibility and that there are some of us that cannot access these resources. This is not to say that I think OP was being specifically discriminatory, only that if we don't speak up often about how society does not all bodies into account, people will tend to not think about it in general.
Yes! If you aren't competing in the Olympics or equivalent, I cannot understand $5k bikes.
Just 5k? Where? That's a screaming deal.
I'm not competing in the Olympics. I'm putting in 30-40 miles of commuting/errands most days tho. 3k was worth it for all the parts and shit to make it safe and fun to ride.
the people buying 5K bikes have a lot of money. to them 5,000 is like $5 bucks to you.
among serious cyclists, they are buying bikes in the 8-10K range every other year or more. because the income of a cyclists is very high.
Ehh, I do agree $5K is a lot, but it also comes down to using biking as transportation or exercise.
If transportation, then yeah get something cheap.
If it’s for exercise, imo it’s like building a computer, spending a grand or two can be worth it if you have the money. It would come from the “hobby budget”
My commute is 6 kilometres uphill practically all the way. It's not an insanely steep gradient on average, 62 metres of total elevation gain according to Google Maps, but let me tell you not being able to coast for basically any of it sucks so bad. Normally when you go up a hill you at least get to coast down on the other side, but here the hill is about 2.2 kilometres long and I only get to coast down on the way back.
So I got an ebike and it cost a lot more than £50.
That reminds me of my college bike commute. My house at the time was on top of the valley. And my college was on the top of the valley on the other side. 13km one way. I'd be sweating bullets when I'd get to class and sweating bullets when I got home, lol. Though I miss those days, it was a lot of fun. Still have the bike. A 2008 giant stp with 1x7 set up.
So that's how the mythical "up hill both ways in the snow" works, live at the top of a hill, school is at the top of a hill on the other side of a valley, yes there is downhill but there is up hill in both directions
@sexy_peach late 80s/early 90s ATB bikes are absolutely PERFECT for daily use. Great gear range, great geometry.
The only problem I have these days is tire selection dwindling for 26 inch (america) tires. Just not as many companies are producing in that size anymore.
disagree. most people should be on a road/hybrid bike with 700c wheels.
ATBs are horribly uncomfortable and slow. but they are 'vintage' and 'alt' right now so hipster people love them. they will fall out of fashion in the next 5 years as the 2000s becomes retro and gen alpha hits their 20s.
@TubularTittyFrog I think proper fit would solve both those problems. Bike coops are great for that. Modern road/hybrid bikes tend to have aggressive gearing that tries to emulate race bikes, and I think that makes things much harder for people trying to use their bikes practically.
No, you have that completely backwards.
Modern bikes are far more relaxed. those old bikes have incredibly steep and short angles that are horrible for causal riding. they have like 72 degree head angles, which is the same you'd see on a modern criterium bike. most hybrid bikes have like 68 degree angles, and are the handlebars are a lot higher. even most new gravel/road bikes are slacker and more upright than those old 90s mtbs. a lot of new cyclists buy allroad or gravel bikes now because they are comfortable and perfect for everyday riding and have all the mounts for attaching bags.
the only way you back an old ATB relaxed is by buying a crazy riser stem and riser bars, and then under-sizing the frame. which is precisely what ever IG retro 90s bike build does, and why they cost like $200 in cockpit parts alone to get that effect.
I got a nice middrive ebike as my first. It's great for things like large grocery runs etc but I'm working towards getting in better shape and picking up a beater for trips around town.
Years ago, Sam Pilgrim countered the douchebag downhill biking culture by travelling to the hardest double diamond runs in the world, and doing them with a $150 bike from Walmart.
Fucking Lance Fucking Armstrong ruined cycling.
I wish I had a bike but I cant find a cheap foldable bike
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