Help with choosing a used Bicycle

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

The beefier the tires the higher the road resistance, assuming road use only 25cm 90 psi road tires are immeasurably easier to roll than 27 inch mountain tires.

A road bike will always be faster and easier (physically) to ride, and lends itself to distance better.

i do not disagree with you, but if the OP is only willing to spend $50 on a bike, then in my opinion having a bike with tires that are more flat resistant is a more important consideration that overall rolling resistance. i am assuming that he does not want to deal with buying a pump, patches, and some extra tubes.....

[TSXCman]

I would consider a road bike, many people switch over and don't go back.

I would like the best quality I can get for $50ish, that means used.

Unfortunately my best pick may be sold now.

[TSXCman]

most of my prospected buys are not replying, so I gotta assume they are sold now.

an ad that was up today was this norco, the guy says I may be too short for it at 5'9, but who knows. $95, no budge on price yet. What do you guys think of the quality? is norco a good company?

http://london.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-se...dIdZ231414093#

And then I just got a reply from this Hybrid bike seller, he will go to $50, and $40 if no one buys it by friday, no pics though so I will try to meet him. "it's in great shape.tires,brakes wheels,crank and gears all work and in good condition."

http://london.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-se...AdIdZ231345300

[Northendzone]

i would say that a 20 inch frame would likely be a little to long for you - 18 inch would likely be perfect - but that being said you are looking at spending as little money as possible (in comparasion to buying a $2,000 bike) so just take whatever you find for a good ride, make sure that it shifts nice and smooth while you are pedalling, check out the chain for rust, make sure the brakes are contacting the rim nicely and that the cable ends are not frayed.

I would not expect to get a lot of years of use out of a $100 dollar bike.

[habernac]

a 20" frame is huge, unless you have unusually long legs for someone who's 5'9"

[Northendzone]

^^^

Seems like there is never any shortage of advice on the net - regardless of the size of your problem.

Originally Posted by habernac

a 20" frame is huge, unless you have unusually long legs for someone who's 5'9"

I would say that the distance between the seat and the handlebar is more of an issue with this frame size

[TSXCman]

I ended up with a useful hybrid bike for a while but I popped the tire and its cost will be close to buying a new one.

I updated the original post for a choice between a roadbike or mountain bike.

Thanks again CP for the advice