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+--- Thread: Cycling in Waterloo Region (/showthread.php?tid=186)
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RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 04-24-2016
Shortly after we moved into our house a couple of years ago, my bike (a Trek Y5 I'd had for years, and loved) got stolen out of my shed. They politely refused to steal my husband's Canadian Tire bike. I'd like to get another one, but it's been so long since I've ridden that I don't really know even where to start looking. I get the impress that the stuff at Canadian Tire probably isn't really what I want - I want something that's going to last a while. Basically, I want the "Toyota Corolla" of bikes - not a Cavalier or a Mercedes.
Any recommendations on cycle shops in the area that are good for beginners who want maybe something one-step up from just getting one from Canadian Tire? Back when I got my Y5, V-brakes were all the rage and had just come out. Everything now seems to have discs. I used to ride on a lot of trails at conservation areas when I was younger but I don't think I'll be doing too much of that, so I'm kind of leaning toward just getting a hard tail instead of a full suspension bike. I suspect most of my riding will be in and around town but I'd still like to ride on unpaved trails.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Smore - 04-24-2016
The WRPS bike auction is next wknd if that interests you...
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 04-24-2016
Heh, maybe I'll find my old bike!
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - taylortbb - 04-24-2016
I'd recommend King St Cycles or Black Arrow Cycles. I purchased several years ago at King St Cycles and they were quite helpful, not pushy, and happy to let me do test rides as I was deciding. Just go in and tell them what you told us.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - clasher - 04-24-2016
(04-24-2016, 01:25 PM)Smore Wrote: The WRPS bike auction is next wknd if that interests you...
I went to one and it was terrible, people were paying more for supercycle bikes than they for sell new. An entry level 70s raleigh went for over 5 bills. It was ridiculous. I don't know if those folks had just watched a storage wars marathon or what. I would avoid the police auction, most of the bikes also need tune-ups or worse so there is more money on top of auction-fever pricing. Better off buying a used kijiji special in my experience.
Black Arrow has a lot of good entry level bikes, I ride a single speed cruiser/hybrid bike around town and on all the stone dust paths in town without a problem, the smooth tires are way easier to push around on the road than the knobbies found most mountain bikes. Fat tires are plush like suspension and a lot lighter.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - tomh009 - 04-24-2016
I second the suggestion to look on Kijiji; you can easily find a few years' old good-quality bike for half the new price as long as you don't need a specific model.
My (ancient) MB is non-suspension, and I still find that to be perfectly fine for trails, roads and streets. But I did swap the knobby tires for a set of more street-oriented tires, the decrease in rolling resistance (and pedaling effort) was amazing!
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - jamincan - 04-24-2016
My lbs is Ziggy's and I've been happy with the service, but you probably won't find a corolla there. Maybe a Camry though!
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - timc - 04-24-2016
(04-24-2016, 02:22 PM)taylortbb Wrote: I'd recommend King St Cycles or Black Arrow Cycles. I purchased several years ago at King St Cycles and they were quite helpful, not pushy, and happy to let me do test rides as I was deciding. Just go in and tell them what you told us.
I've bought bikes from King Street Cycles and McPhail's, and both are great local shops.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - chutten - 04-25-2016
My hybrid's from King Street Cycle, and my experience those... eight? years ago? was similar to taylortbb's. The test rides especially helped me settle on the style and, eventually, the model I was interested in. I went in not knowing what I wanted beyond "Not a mountain bike, no matter how awful Erb St is." and I came out with an understanding of the range of styles available, what to look for as someone with my height and wingspan, and a bike that fit what I needed and what I wanted.
And I'm still riding it today. (only when the weather's nice. I'm a fair-weather biker)
If you don't mind non-new, nothing beats the value of the secondary market (kijiji, especially). Might be harder to get in a test-drive if the seller doesn't have the wrenches so you can adjust it, or the willingness to allow you out of sight for enough minutes... And, if you're still in a research mindset, I wouldn't recommend diving through the listings. Definitely a "I already know what I want, let's see if I can get it for cheap" purchasing experience.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - zanate - 04-26-2016
Another vote for King St. Cycles. They carry much of the Brodie bikes lineup, and I've been pretty happy with my Brodie Section 7. Kind of hits that "not cheap, but not Cadillac" price point and quality level.
Also, now KSC is very close to the Spur line trail, which means some nice strips of low-stress pavement to get a feel for the bike without dealing with much traffic.
If you're looking for a pure urban upright bike, you also want to check out either Black Arrow or maybe the new Berlin Bicycle Cafe!
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - timio - 04-26-2016
I got my Giant Roam at Ziggy's, mostly because I'm tall and it's harder to find larger frames in my price range. No complaints about the service in my experience. Seems to be a good bike, but I'm a fair weather cyclist and there hasn't been much fair weather since I got it. Hopefully soon though.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - rangersfan - 04-26-2016
I bought a specialized sport disc crosstrail from Mcphails, the bike has been awesome, last year alone commuting to work I probably put close to 1500 kms on it. Best purchase I have probably ever made, I bought it in the early spring of 2013.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 05-09-2016
Thank you all so much for your replies! This weekend I dusted off my husbands bike and went for a ride to Waterloo and back along the (new, I think) spur line trail that starts in Kitchener at Aherns. What a fantastic piece of infrastructure to have - it's like the Conestoga parkway for bikes!
I'm thinking a "hybrid" is probably what I might be leaning toward... Narrower tires but big rims, a comfortable seat and adjustable handlebars (I'm tall with long legs and prefer a more upright stance). I am not really into riding on hilly trails anymore (was when I was younger) but might want to do the occasional gravel rail-trail... But I think it's mostly going to be pavement riding.
These two caught my eye...
Trek Verve 2
Giant Cypress DX
Any thoughts on either of those?
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Viewfromthe42 - 05-09-2016
Neither seems all that upright, though the latter would be slightly more so.
RE: Cycling in Waterloo Region - Canard - 05-09-2016
(Sorry - when I say upright I don't mean like "Copenhagen Style", I just mean I don't want a road bike with those C-shaped handles that hang down where your back is basically horizontal.)
It sounds to me like a Hybrid is somewhere between a road bike and a mountain bike, which is kind of exactly what I'm looking for, I think?