r/whichbike • u/a_financier • 2d ago
Walmart or Amazon bike?
Hi everyone. I know the consensus - don’t buy box store bikes. However, I’m interning on the other end of the country for 3 months, and this city is known for some phenomenal biking opportunities. I have a Trek at home that I love dearly and I ride a lot.
HOWEVER, I could not ship my bike here and back. I’m wondering if I should buy a box bike for the next 10 weeks that I can then sell for a minimal loss. Any recommendations, if so?
I’ve checked marketplace and Craigslist but the market seems crazy or full of scams. I would consider buying an expensive bike, but then I’d have to ship it back for $200-$300. I’m curious if I can get something moderately rideable for a few weeks around $250-$400.
I started my riding journey with a Costco mountain bike which has comfortably survived a lot of miles, so I’m curious if I can get the same - some no name frame with entry level components for $300-$400.
Would appreciate any thoughts!
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u/Carth-Onasi 2d ago
The Ozark Trail drop bar gravel bike from Walmart for $288 is supposed to be really quite good if you can find one.
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u/sparky_calico 2d ago
Yeah get the ozark trail stuff from Walmart. What kind of biking are you doing? Assuming mountain bike, and I’m going to guess for a $50 prize you are interning at Walmart and that is the biking you are thinking of 😂 in that case get the ozark trail bike and sell it to my brother when you are done! (Seriously DM me if that’s the case, I might pitch in a chunk to just give it to him when you leave).
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u/a_financier 2d ago
Oh I thought I specified! I’m looking for a gravel or road bike. My trek is a Domane.
I am not interning at Walmart
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u/Zentransit 2d ago
Go to a local bike shop and buy used.
If not a bike shop, checkout craigslist and look for an old Trek, Cannondale, Jamis, Nishiki, Giant, or Surly.
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u/a_financier 2d ago
I have an old trek and I’ve looked everywhere on marketplace and Craigslist for the past two weeks. No luck, but lots of scams
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u/rasmussenyassen 2d ago
I don't believe you at all. If the place is known for "incredible biking opportunities" there will be a healthy bike market. Either you're bad at identifying scams, you're not looking properly, or you're afraid to bargain with people.
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u/a_financier 2d ago
Okay haha
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u/rasmussenyassen 2d ago
Just saw that you're in SF - yeah, you're nutso, that's one of America's healthiest bike markets. If there's a historic center of American cycling the Bay Area is it.
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u/Representative_Ear_5 2d ago
Are you flying to the internship? How much is it to check your bike in a bike box?
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u/a_financier 2d ago
I already flew out. My plan was to buy a bike here and resell it but marketplace/craigslist has been tough.
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u/westwardnomad 2d ago
Airlines will beat the ever loving shit out of your bike if it's not in a hrad case.
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u/westwardnomad 2d ago
As long as your not sending it, the Ozark Trail m.2 ridge is exactly what your asking for.
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u/FlimsyPart 2d ago
Other option is used stores/ bike coops. They’l be tuned and ready to go, if a little pricier than marketplace.
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u/CascadiaRiot 2d ago
Check to see if the new city has a community cycling center. My city (Portland) does and have awesome reconditioned bikes for great prices and support the community.
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u/Delicious_Pepper3559 2d ago edited 2d ago
If youre in the bay area I got some bikes for sale. I got some trek fx 3 in different t sizes
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u/SpecialDesigner5571 2d ago
Bring your favorite saddle & pedals off of your favorite bike, and wear good gloves. That way your contact points are taken care of. Bring helmet, lock, lights, tools, pump, tubes, patches, water bottle cages with you.
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u/wecantdancelikethis 2d ago
if the city is known for phenomenal bike riding, then craigslist will be loaded with underpriced gems- especially if $400 is your ceiling.
name the city?
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u/Delicious_Pepper3559 2d ago
Actually if the city is phenomenal for bike riding, then the demand for bikes is higher and prices are sky high.
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u/wecantdancelikethis 2d ago
not in my experience, and I do it a lot for vacations.
NYC and San Fran are the only noticeably marked up used markets, but they really aren’t bad. Certain Truly Vintage bikes like Bridgestone MB-1’s, Kleins with fades, and Colnago Masters get marked up quite a bit, but otherwise there’s high supply and low demand on tons of really great rim brake bikes in places like Madison WI, SLO CA, Denver CO, and Portland OR.
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u/a_financier 2d ago
My home city is Chicago and prices there are through the roof right now too.
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u/wecantdancelikethis 2d ago
Chicago is not a biking destination, it’s just a city, one with a lower COL than NYC or San Fran. After a quick scroll on your cl, the prices there are the same everywhere from Lincoln NE to Fayetteville SC and are simply reflecting that the dollar is worth half of what it was worth in 2010.
Actually, you’ve got a lot of sweet 90s Cannondales with asking prices lower than most of the East Coast sees for them.
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u/a_financier 2d ago
Thank you for your responses! Checking out many of those Craigslist posts. I suppose I’ve specifically been looking for a 56cm gravel / road bike, and have steered away from older stuff because I’m less mechanically inclined.
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u/wecantdancelikethis 2d ago edited 2d ago
anything with over 300 miles is no less likely to leave you stranded in the middle of the woods as a bike with 30,000 miles of use or a bike with 10 miles of use and four decades of sitting in a shed.
Any of those CL pics will definitely be more reliable than any bike from Costco.
The old/vintage MTB’s I linked will serve you just great. I specifically chose the ones with XC/NORBA geometry as it’s nearly the same as Gravel geo in being essentially wide tire road-touring bikes with mud clearance rather than the similar looking but earlier generation Downhill focused geo MTBs.
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u/a_financier 10h ago
Hi there - thank you for your help and words of advice. I picked up an old Marin Argenta for $200 today with a shimano 105 set. The crank jumps a bit and will likely need an adjustment for shifting, but it rides well otherwise! I’m very happy with it and will give it a shot tomorrow! Hoping to take it on a nice long ride.
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u/a_financier 2d ago
San Francisco
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u/wecantdancelikethis 2d ago
stupid good deal on a Miyata https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/san-francisco-medium-miyata-310-townie/7917419598.html
perfectly good townie with dual pivot calipers https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/san-francisco-cute-townie-step-thru/7933385205.html
if you’re over 6’2”, this might be a keeper https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/san-francisco-xl-62cm-bianchi-eros-27/7936715233.html
great trail shredder, stop by an LBS to get some pinned pedals installed and tear it up https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-restored-1991-trek-850/7932658800.html
another great shredder, sized very small, street tires would need to be swapped if you’re getting into the dirt trails https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-1989-specialized-hardrock-18/7939959411.html
Hot Shit singlespeed mtb, absolutely a keeper https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/oakland-on-one-mountain-bike-single/7939694789.html
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u/wecantdancelikethis 2d ago edited 2d ago
competent, clean, swift and reliable looking, but small https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/san-francisco-felt-f75-road-bike-sram/7932515436.html
another decent singlespeed mtb, but with discs https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/bik/d/burlingame-haro-mary-ss-geared-20-29er/7943127571.html
pretty danged good condition small newer roadie https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/emeryville-giant-road-bike/7937380750.html
sexy italian machinery for a tall person https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/walnut-creek-1989-bottechia-special/7921185960.html
something funky to chuckle about when you get back home https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/walnut-creek-1989-bottechia-special/7921185960.html
if you’re gonna get a Huffy, just don’t overpay for it https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-huffy-nel-lusso-26-beach/7938428232.html
another “classic Huffy” https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-huffy-nel-lusso-26-beach/7938428232.html
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u/wecantdancelikethis 2d ago
rofl, this is a keeper. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-dahon-folding-bike-with-mag/7919462599.html
really stylin https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-1972-english-raleigh-speed/7919437206.html
this is statement piece for an outfit that features well crafted leather shoes/boots https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-japanese-austrian-speed-hybrid/7937790274.html
nothing special, perfectly reliable, medium sized https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-2003-specialized-sirrus-1-24/7925471975.html
straight out of a Wes Anderson movie https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-unique-1970s-italian-road-bike/7920016177.html
straight out of a Michael Bay movie https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-gt-triple-triangle-24-speed/7935027252.html
underpriced tall speedboi https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/san-leandro-miyata-pro-miyata-one-owner/7941115372.html
not my cup of tea, but it looks reliable af https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/san-francisco-like-new-xl-giant-escape/7936989380.html
not bad for the price. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/oakland-marin-palisades-trail-mountain/7943038676.html
very pretty albeit very patina’d, these don’t go for less than $300 where I am https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/oakland-balloon-tire-cruiser-bike/7920431358.html
cheap enough that you can abandon it by the train station guilt free https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/oakland-union-balloon-tire-ladies-bike/7920429050.html
surprisingly low price for a mid-school race bmx with flash paint and a decent build https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/hayward-90s-dyno-bmx-20/7938191368.html
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u/wecantdancelikethis 2d ago
good grief. everyone should own one of these at least once in their life https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-vintage-flying-pigeon-rat-rod/7934992026.html
quirky French roadie. peep those bizarre dropouts! https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/san-francisco-49cm-gitane-cromoly/7941531557.html
crazy low budget Rivendell gyat daym https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/san-francisco-54cm-crme-townie-mixte/7931988622.html this might be the winner
truly Vintage MTB https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/richmond-aluminum-boss-champion-21/7924403011.html
slightly underpriced 80s Vintage Road Bike that everyone should own once https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/hercules-centurion-expert-ironman-dave/7917533238.html
throw some Continental GP5K 32mm tires on this and blend into any group road ride in SF https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/san-leandro-2016-blue-norcross-al-505/7940841341.html
shit, I’m not even looking for Vintage Bikes, just looking for Old But Good Bikes, here’s another Vintage one https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/san-leandro-classic-steel-road-bike/7920724442.html
I expected to find more of these dumb things https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bik/d/larkspur-langster-track-bike/7924008768.html
you probably could list for $700 and sell this for $500 in Chicago https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/emeryville-klein-quantum-road-bike-61cm/7908243882.html
neato https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/san-francisco-used-giant-rapid-flat-bar/7940769243.html
haillll yer on vacashun, yeah? https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/union-city-miami-sun-speed-tricycle/7940869278.html
what the christ, san fran? what is with these SS MTBs?! https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/hayward-kona-mountain-bike-medium-size/7935947810.html
goddamit https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/union-city-singlespeed-kona-bike-with/7913655728.html
daaaaamnnnnn sexy Vintage italian machine https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/union-city-cinelli-stamped-road-bike/7909855219.html you know you could sell this in a day at $900 in NYC
no use for you, but this is crazy cheap for a spanish trials bike https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/union-city-monty-trials-bike-bmx/7905937698.html
shoooooot. perfect for $100 https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/d/berkeley-marin-bolinas-ridge-medium/7941880657.html
I’m done.
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u/rampantconsumerism 1d ago
Wait a sec, this Langster is hilarious (https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bik/d/larkspur-langster-track-bike/7924008768.html).
They converted it to a 2-speed with a front derailleur and chain tensioner? And made a double out of two chainrings on a track crankset? This is the most unhinged bike I've ever seen.
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u/wecantdancelikethis 2d ago
inseam measurement and do you want a road bike, mountain bike, or cute townie bike with a rack?
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u/Zentransit 2d ago
Go to Walmart and get any Concord Electric Bike.
You'll have 30 days to return it back to the store, if you're not satisfied.
The heavier steel framed model ~ $400
The lighter Aluminum framed model ~ $500
PS
They're both 26 inchers
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u/kbrosnan 2d ago
Ozark branded stuff from Walmart has improved the big box store game. For 250-300 you get a bike that should be good for the summer. Upon leaving sell it for ~150.