"atfsgeoff" (atfsgeoff)
06/10/2020 at 21:50 • Filed to: None
4
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"atfsgeoff" (atfsgeoff)
06/10/2020 at 21:50 • Filed to: None | 4
| 22 |
So I got flown out to Nebraska for 3 weeks of job training, after which I go home for two weeks, then come back for three more weeks. I wasn’t able to ship one of my bikes out here to ride around when I’m off work so I set about looking for
a cheap bike locally. Boy was I in for a surprise.
Apparently bikes are the new toilet paper. Local craigslist was barren. All three local bike shops were completely out of stock in anything adult sized that cost less than about $800. All six Wal-Marts were out of stock of pretty much all adult bikes. I was hoping to spend under $400 but it was seeming more and more improbable that I’d snag a decent bike to ride around. I did find a craigslist seller asking just $200 for his ~10 year old disc brake-equipped Gary Fisher/Trek hybrid bike, but his wife sold the thing out from under me before I could get there.
I was about to give up when this popped up on CL:
~2008 Trek 7.3 FX, 22.5" frame,
sparingly ridden. Seller had just got it back from a professional service and tune-up to the cost of $221 (he gave me the receipt!). New tubes, tires,
brake shoes, a few replaced spokes, wheels trued, new chain, cables and derailleurs adjusted. Came with the rack, bag, and panniers.
Snagged this beauty for $320, which I ordinarily would have thought a bit high, but with the receipt for recent work plus the rack and bags, not to mention the scarcity of bikes everywhere I looked, I wasn’t about to turn it down.
Picked it up yesterday afternoon but it stormed pretty much all night. Went to Wally World and picked up some ancillaries like a mini pump, tool kit, patch kit and cheap cycle computer and installed those last night. My first ride was this morning to the office (the apartment they put us up in is a bit under 4 miles away). Took it to work, then back to the apartment for lunch, back to the office, then took it for a leisurely ride around a nearby lake. 22 miles on the first day.
Rides a bit stiffer than I’m used to with the slightly skinnier 32c tires and
hard saddle, but I’ll get by for two months. Otherwise it rides great. Eerily silent, the rear hub ratcheting is extremely quiet.
dogisbadob
> atfsgeoff
06/10/2020 at 21:56 |
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Walmart’s site sux because they don’t let you filter for only items that are in-stock :(
Chariotoflove
> atfsgeoff
06/10/2020 at 21:57 |
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Well done! It really is hard to get anything worth riding for much less these days. The panniers make for a useful vehicle.
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atfsgeoff
> Chariotoflove
06/10/2020 at 22:00 |
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Hell yeah they do. Everything is close enough to this apartment that I may not need to drive the company car for a week at a time. I can put a pretty decent amount of groceries in there.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> atfsgeoff
06/10/2020 at 22:00 |
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Nice find. Bikes everywhere are like toilet paper. Even the big discount outlets (Nashbar, Performance Bike, bikesdirect) are out of everything except the really ugly ones and the odd sizes.
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atfsgeoff
> TheRealBicycleBuck
06/10/2020 at 22:02 |
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I did manage to find a good deal from bikesdirect for a friend who was looking for an upgrade, just this past Sunday:
He got the last one in 20" frame size. Now all that’s left is ocean blue in 22.5" frame, which is too big for most folks. I might have ordered one in 22.5" if it wouldn’t take a couple weeks to get here, which kinda defeats the purpose of having a bike to ride for most of the 6 weeks I’ll be here.
facw
> atfsgeoff
06/10/2020 at 22:03 |
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I just got a new (used) bike, but my old bike is a 2010 7.2FX. Some things I don’t like about it, but with 25mm tires and SPD pedals, it got me through two centuries and thousands of miles total. Probably needs a new rear wheel at this point (or at least a full rebuild there), as I keep breaking spokes.
And yeah, quiet freehub (don’t know if the 7.2 uses the same as the 7.3). The ones on my trainer and the “new” Ridley are much, much louder.
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Chariotoflove
> atfsgeoff
06/10/2020 at 22:03 |
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Wonder if you could deduct bike expenses as a work vehicle expense. Not that it will end up amounting to much money.
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atfsgeoff
> Chariotoflove
06/10/2020 at 22:06 |
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Nah, they provide a company car with a company gas card so the bike is a purely optional purchase.
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facw
> TheRealBicycleBuck
06/10/2020 at 22:06 |
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To be fair to bikesdirect, I think many of their motobecanes can be classified as really ugly (or at least not sporty), so they could still have a lot in stock . They used to stock some prettier Fuji and Kestre l models, but it seems clear they’ve depleted that stock.
If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> atfsgeoff
06/10/2020 at 22:07 |
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If only I were like 1,400 miles closer to you. I have two bikes that a former housemate just sort left behind last year and never came back for. An old C annondale and a “Jamis”. Haven’t bothered trying to sell them because that would mean dealing with peop le. Eww.
shop-teacher
> atfsgeoff
06/10/2020 at 22:08 |
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Yeah, all this staying at home stuff has been a boon for everyone selling bikes. Nice find though!
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atfsgeoff
> If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
06/10/2020 at 22:10 |
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Now is definitely the time to do it though, it’s a seller’s market.
Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> atfsgeoff
06/10/2020 at 22:44 |
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That seems like a good deal and a good commuter bike.
Nom De Plume
> atfsgeoff
06/10/2020 at 23:03 |
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Laughed at 32c tires being too stiff.
At least a saddle is easy enough to throw in your luggage when you come back.
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atfsgeoff
> Nom De Plume
06/10/2020 at 23:11 |
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I've looked into shipping the whole bike back, I think I can do it for about $70. $15 for a bike box from FedEx, and about $55 to ship from Nebraska back to Eastern PA via BikeFlight. Just need to partially disassemble it to fit in the bike box.
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Chariotoflove
> atfsgeoff
06/10/2020 at 23:57 |
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Still worth it!
Nauraushaun
> atfsgeoff
06/11/2020 at 00:58 |
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Why is it called the midwest when it’s not at all in the west?
Schaef_Camaero Z/28
> Nauraushaun
06/11/2020 at 10:34 |
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Without doing any research.. I would say that it’s call the midwest, because when the country was young, everything west of the Mississippi was ‘west’. Hence St. Louis being known as the ‘ Gateway to the West’. Once explorers made it all the way to the west coast and the center of the country started to fill in, it probably became known as the midwest. I do agree that middle or central would be better descriptors, but it is what it is.
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Schaef_Camaero Z/28
> atfsgeoff
06/11/2020 at 10:38 |
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That sounds like a great buy, especially with the rack/bag/paniers already equipped! It’s a very similar bike to my ‘06 Giant Cypress. It’s just a big comfortable bike that can take you on and off the pavement and eat up some miles without issue. Enjoy it while you’ve got it.
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atfsgeoff
> Schaef_Camaero Z/28
06/11/2020 at 11:38 |
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I think I'm gonna ship it back home after I'm done in Nebraska. It's too good to leave behind!
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Nauraushaun
> Schaef_Camaero Z/28
06/11/2020 at 18:19 |
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Ah history. I guess that makes enough sense.
Stef Schrader
> atfsgeoff
06/18/2020 at 02:39 |
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Extra nice. Also, yeah—bikes are the new TP for now. A lot of places are selling them as fast as they can get them in.