Hey y'all, I know some of you out there ride bikes a lot so I thought I'd ask some advice.

I've been riding the same Schwinn Gateway I got at Target for a couple years now. I'm not a huge biking guy but in the good weather outside a too crazy to ride commute to work and back I mostly just ride the bike. Unfortunately the last bit of last year it got shitty. I kept getting flats. I'd change the tube, and two times out it went flat again. Took it to a bike shop and had them change it and asked them to see what was up and again...flat after a quick ride around.

So, thinking I either need to get a whole new wheel or get a new bike. I'm leaning toward get new bike as the bike is pretty cheap and a new wheel and an annual tune up and I've already spent about what the thing cost. So, any advice on if I should either get some sort of better wheels and tires and put 'em on a cheap bike, or if I should get a new bike instead?

And, if I do get a new bike, any suggestion for ones I should keep an eye out for? This is just something for getting around town, not a serious biker, so something with fenders so I don't splash all over myself on the way to the bar in and maybe a rack to carry stuff so I can run errands are things my other bike has that I really appreciate. And no fixed gear shit, I ride up and down hills. I do lug the thing up and down steps regularly so if I get something new, Id like something lighter. Don't wanna spend over $500 and would prefer less of course. Gonna go to a bike shop Saturday and look around, but if anyone has any advice before then, I'd appreciate it.

i have my eye on the trek allant to tool around town. fenders, clippy thing on the back for library books and it sure is pretty. just under $600 here.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/town/urban_utility/allant/allant/

Can't recommend any specific models, but I will second Trek bikes. Between me, the wife, and the kids, we've had a bunch of bikes, from well-known brands. Nothing hangs in there like my old Trek 820.

That Allant does look like just the sort of thing I'm looking for. Thanks. I may check to see if one of those is around unless I can come across something similar cheaper.

Dude, no offense, but you should really be able to change a flat without taking it in to a shop. It sounds like they just put a new tube in without checking the tire for what might have been causing the flat (piece of glass, thorn, what have you). Many years ago, I kept getting flats and couldn't figure out what was going on. A woman at the local shop suggested my tires were old. I changed them, and lo, no more flats.

I did a brief search on your bike and came up with this: http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index ... 63663.html Sounds like it's a pretty cheap bike. If you've had it for a couple years, maybe it's time to upgrade. For $500, you'll be able to get a nice bike. Just stay away from Target & WalMart this time, k?

I'll put your info out on a bike site I frequent and see what we come up with.

Edit: Here's the thread, let's hope we get you some info. http://forums.mtbr.com/general-discussi ... 75653.html

I did change it myself, twice. I'm not completely mechanically inept. Seemed really simple, but when it kept going flat I thought maybe somehow I did something wrong even though I couldn't imagine what so I took it in. But yeah, I intentionally went cheap since this was the first bike I rode since I was in junior high, figured I didn't want to spend money on something if it turned out I was gonna decide after a month I didn't like this bike riding bullshit and I could get something better after it went south if I did like it OK enough.

Thanks for posting to the other forum, I'll go see what they're saying.

In case you don't check out the link in my thread (and no need to, the one good bit of info is below), check this out:

http://kentsbike.blogspot.com/search?q=allant

Ok so the bike you bought might be cheap, and you may be sorta tired of it, but if it works other than the flats, you don't really "need" a whole new bike. Just putting that out there - getting any number of flats has nothing to do with the frame, drive system, gears, brakes, etc. It's probably a piece of metal or glass stuck in your tire, or it's that the tread is worn so low that any/everything will now puncture it. In rare cases it's the top of a spoke inside the rim that wasn't taped well and it's poking the tube but that's much less likely.

I have grudgingly come to accept the fact that if you don't buy GOOD tires (and by good I pretty much exclusively mean Schwalbe Marathons), then you're going to get flats in the city. Conversely, when you buy Marathons, you get either No Flats (my experience on 2 bikes, in Boston, over 2 years, commuting both bikes 5 days a week to work and both weekend days for errands - they literally do not get a day off unless we're on vacation) or one flat in a blue moon after you do something incredibly stupid.

It will feel stupid/crazy/avoidable to spend $100 on a pair of bicycle tires, but compare it to dealing with flat tires. Now imagine those flats just never, ever happening. Put Marathons on that Schwinn and you're fine. It has everything you actually need, and buying a whole new $500 bike (which will come with shitty tires on it, by the way, and eventually have this exact same problem) will only make you feel better for a little while. The tires are the problem. Spending money on anything else isn't going to help.

Ya know, that doesn't sound like bad advice. I do feel a bit strange spending almost what the bike cost on tires, but yeah city riding is where I'm at, pot holes, broken shit in the gutters and all that. If something new is likely to get me right back where I started...well... bye bye $500.

The voice of reason.

These the ones you're talking about?
http://www.amazon.com/Schwalbe-Marathon ... B0015UOUJQ

Yes, that's them. They make Marathons, Marathon Pluses, and I think one more variety even more insanely flat-resistant. All of them are light years better than stock cheap tires - they have nice low rolling resistance, and the fuckers just will not go flat.

The thing that convinced me, aside from being sick as shit of fixing my wife's constant flats, was the Netherlands. We rented bikes in Amsterdam to ride several hundred miles around the countryside. I was like "hey homey where's the flat patch kit? I got a kid on here too, can't afford to get caught out in the tulips." "Oh you won't need one." I still went and bought my own patch kit, but he was right - their bikes all roll on marathon pluses, and they just never have flats.

Your bike has 28" tires, so you need the really common 700c diameter. The 2" listed width is a little odd, that's incredibly wide and I don't trust it. So I'm not positive what width you need, but I'll bet it's printed on the side of your current tires. So when you go to the drop-down size menu, you want 700c x ___, probably the widest of them (35 or 38?).

Yeah, says 700 x 35 C.

I may just give this new tire thing a shot and if it works great, if not I can always backtrack to getting a new bike some other time. Because yeah, rough terrain, broken bottles and potholes are a fact of life around here so anything I get will need to be durable.

Gonna think on it a bit but I'm pretty close to convinced.

It's not sexy or fun - believe me I still wince a little when I plunk down for schwalbes. But yeah, they are the right tool for the job.

Trust the germans.

OK, two other questions in case I go this route. Any difference in what tubes I put inside them? Any reason not to just go generic? Also, should I re-tape the rims? If so, any particular tape to use?

Sorry to keep badgering. Just really want to get this problem fixed. Was very much enjoying riding around until I started to have these issues.

No man don't feel bad - this stuff can be frustrating.

Tubes - I don't notice a difference in brands, some people do, so whatever. I'd say go cheap first and upgrade if you find you have some reason to. But a quick tip on tubes that I wish someone had told me a loooong time ago... when you're mounting a new tube and you have the tire off, there's a trick to getting the stem area of the tube seated in the tire correctly, and if you do it wrong (as I did several times) the tire appears to have a "fat spot" and a slight lump to to it as you roll on it. So you get the tire halfway on, you lay the new tube into it and poke the valve stem into the rim hole, and then you put the tire all the way on and seat the bead in the grove of the rim. All good so far. But here's the kicker - now you have to push hard on the valve stem, pushing it way up into the tire. At first it feels like nothing's happening, but then the stiff area around the valve stem is going to finally get out from under the bead of the tire. NOW, when you inflate the tire, the tube isn't going to be pushing the tire up and out and all will be well. If you don't do this, the tube is wedged under the tire bead, and it pushes it up and out. See crappy Paint diagram...



The one on the left shows tube wedged under the bead. On the right, it's clear. Anywho.

Rim Tape: Just eyeball and feel (carefully) the rim tape when you have the tires and tubes off. It's 99% likely to be fine, otherwise it would've been popping tubes from Day One. If it needs tape, the local shop has cloth stuff.

Thanks for the advice. I do still feel a bit weird putting almost as much as the cost of the bike into new tires and tubes, but Id feel really pissed if I went out and bought a new bike and ended up in the same spot next year. Can't say a new bike now and a change of tires later on the new bike isn't a possibility. But you do have me convinced that new tires are probably a must for rolling down my shitty trash covered alley if I want to not have this happen again eventually.

heh heh

Or ya know, look at the old bike and start adding up, tires, tubes, new seat for the one that's ripped to hell, twisted up chain guard, half one peddle broken, etc... And say fuck it, new bike that comes with puncture resistant tires and a promise that if they don't last the season a great deal on some Schwalbes for replacements. Also helped out that the place does free tune-ups and adjustments for the life if the bike. Rode a few bikes around this morning and settled on a Giant Escape City.



They talked me out of the more comfort bike types if I was gonna ride more than a couple miles at a time, which is about half the time I ride. This bike isn't as cushiony but it is more agile and easier to get going with, seems versatile. Liked a Raleigh they had too, but the size that was comfortable riding hit me in the nuts when stopped. A Marin was OK, but a few more bucks and didn't have a rack or fenders or kickstand. Adding that stuff would have blown my price. Anyway, gonna go take this thing for a spin now. I still find it shocking that this is considered a cheapie at these places, but it outta be the last bike I buy for a good ling time.

And Finch, you can tell the mountain bike guys that I went for something slightly less Marry Poppins, I think anyway, hard to say.

And thanks for the advice and suggestions even if I did pretty much ignore them all in the end, still appreciated.

Excellent! Good to see you're out riding, no matter what the end decision. If you decide to totally flat-proof the tires, stay away from the "thorn-proof" toobs. They are so hard when blown up, that they can rotate inside the tires, eventually shearing off the valve stem. Better to go with a sealant that "fixes" the small punctures when you get them (and you will). Remember that sometimes the tire will still go flat with the sealant, that's why you carry a pump with you at all times to pump the tire back up, right?

And yeah, that Mary Poppins shit was uncalled for. Fucking elitist mountain bikers.

Eh, don't bother me none. I say worse to people I know and like more nights than not. But when I got the first bike I told myself to just get something cheap and wait to see if I'd actually ride it regularly and then upgrade. Well, two years later and shit needing replaced/repaired seemed like as good a time as any. Didn't have too much time this afternoon, just a quick ride around to make sure all was well and so far so good.

Good looking new sled, nbdy. Ride the holy hell out of it.

You went practical as hell, which is awesome. I can't stand shit without fenders and a rack anymore, I've been spoiled for too long. Hell I get cranky when they don't have generator lights. I got kids and groceries to carry, and that doesn't change when it's raining or snowing.

A rack and bags to carry stuff to me is mandatory just 'cause I'm absent minded and when I'm out and about if I happen to remember something I need to pick up, I wanna be able to carry it home. Or a fresh shirt for a long sweaty ride in the summer when I wan to to get off the bike and go into a bar and not stink. Or a six pack or a bottle of something to carry to the park or whatever. There are about a million reasons to me why you need to be able to carry stuff on a bike. The fenders I am somewhat less adamant about, but I prefer not to splash shit all over myself. I tend to avoid riding when it is raining or snowing unless I am just caught out, but as soon as it stops, not like the roads are instantly dry.

But yeah, been wanting to try this new one out and break it in so been on it for a few miles everyday so far and so far so good. Going to Cambodia for a couple weeks end of next week so I gotta get some time in on it before I blow town.