Dragon Boat West

...To commute from my dad's apt (East Van) or possibly home (Burquitlam) to practice at Granville Island. Generally a 20-40min car ride from the latter, depending on highway traffic.

I used to run regularly (2-5x week) but have obtained a stress fracture in my lower right tibia. Hurts to walk for long, or even brace in a db sometimes!

I scooter normally but figured since I'll be wet anyway, might as well have some low-impact exercise to keep me warm.

Any advice for a first-time buyer of such bikes?

Budget is a pathetic $500... planning to use it 3-5x a week after I develop my rejected leg muscles.

Manda:

You might want to check out the Police Recovered Bikes Auction next weekend in Coquitlam. You might be able to find more bike for your budget. Usually some good deals to be had. Deets:

AUCTION TITLE: Police Recovered Bicycle Auction
 
 
DATE/TIME: Saturday June 12th 2010, 10:00am 
 
 
ADDRESS: 1500 Lougheed Hwy, Coquitlam, BC
 
 
PREVIEW DATE/TIME: Friday June11th Noon to 6pm 
 
Website: www.ableauctions.ca

I used to bike to/from work, 5x a week.  Look for a hybrid bicycle.  No need for anything fancy or big name, $500 should be more than enough.  Just get something as light as you can, as comfortable as you can.

Like this perhaps? http://www.earthqu.com/e-joe-e-times-city-4000s-electric-bicycle/

$499! Local too

Haha, that's awesome.  Can't imagine having to peddle 56lbs would be any fun though when the battery gives out.  Might as well get a 35lb Crappy Tire bike.  These  (http://www.raleigh-canada.ca/eng_hybrid.shtml)are more along the lines of what I'm talking about - should be in the $300 to $400 range.

I don't recommend the bike auction as I've attended one and the prices get very inflated due to the hype the auctioners try to generate. Plus you don't really know what you are getting as the bikes are all stacked up on one another and hard to get at.

I have a Devenci hybrid, made in Canada, which I love. Get's me where I need to go and I even rode the Oregon coast (800Km) on it with no problems. They have different price ranges for the hybrids and I think you could get a good used one for $500.

I also have my sweet Trek Madone road bike which I got a smokin deal at the yearly bike sale held in March at the Caps in Surrey (also known as South Shore cycles). She's full carbon with ultegra components and some sweet features. I was surprised at the high level of bikes they stocked and were cleaing out (Trek, Guru...). This sale is worth saving up and waiting for.

Hope this was of help.

Kelli

Thanks for the input everyone! I am going bike shopping today again. I fell in love with the Devinci St. Tropez after giving it a little spin outside, up and down the nearby hills. I will still definitely check out all my options, including the auction (since I live pretty closeby and I am not doing much that day) but I'll keep what Special K said in mind.

I've had lots of suggestions to get a hybrid bike. I've never tried one but hopefully I'll find one today to try.

Any more comments/suggestions are welcome! Thank you!!!

i think you'll be fine with a road bike with regular pedals ...

Special K: A friend of mine was wondering how much you found your Trek Madone for?

It's a 5.2 WSD with a triple derailer, retails for $3600 and I got it for $1900. My original budget was $1100 but I couldn't pass up the deal.

I just bought a road bike this week since performance bikes was having a sale. I was close to buying either the KHS Flight 500 ($1000) or the Trek 2.1 ($1300), but ultimately i couldn't pass up on the price difference between Performance's Scattante r570. had all the components of a $1,500 dollar brand name bike but wound up getting it for $800.00 plus $160 in store credit to use.

The sale unfortunately just ended but what kind of terrain would you be mainly riding? is it going to be involving a lot of city streets or is it a dedicated bike trail? just wondering so I can maybe suggest a few bikes depending on whether a road or hybrid would be more suitable for your ride.