[PLUG-TALK] Used bicycles in Portland?

Gregory Salter winterbeastie at yahoo.com
Thu Aug 27 02:17:00 UTC 2009


city central cycle works, on 17th and alberta in ne, and citybikes at 8th and ankeny.
(and at 19th and ankeny) are both good bicycle shops that cater to the less financially fortunate among us. 
go there for a good reconditioned used bike, or a shiney new one. you'll be glad you did. 

-GRS




________________________________
From: John Jason Jordan <johnxj at comcast.net>
To: plug-talk at lists.pdxlinux.org
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 6:56:40 PM
Subject: [PLUG-TALK] Used bicycles in Portland?

I live about 17 blocks from the Max yellow line. On August 30 it will
no longer go to the Galleria; instead it will run up the new transit
mall directly to PSU, a common destination for me. It will be much
faster than taking the 35 or 44 bus. However, 17 blocks is a bit long
with a backpack full of books, yet I hate taking a bus to the Max
station. Therefore, I am thinking of two-wheeled options. Plus, I could
use a bike for little trips to the store and stuff. I could even use it
to pedal my ass all over town. OK, maybe not.

Today I stopped at Freddy's to look at bikes, plus I went to Weir's
Cyclery in St. Johns and to Cascade Cyclery on Killingsworth. It seems
that a low price for a decent new bike is about $400. Note that my main
requirement is "cheap." I am not interested in competition racing,
taking a world tour, or impressing people with how much money I spent.
I do want something lightweight (lots of hoisting onto those pegs in
the Max car), and easy to pedal with several gears. And I want skinny
tires; no mountain bikes with knobby tires. Otherwise, I don't care.
Wait ... I do care about the seat. I have in mind the seat of a John
Deere tractor. I don't know who designs bicycle seats, but I doubt they
ever actually sat on one.

I also already have a bike that would serve my needs. However, it has
been in the garage for at least 20 years. The tires are flat and
probably rotten (32 x 630 ~ 27 x 1 1/4). It has the handlebars that
curve down, and I recall how uncomfortable it was bending forward all
the time. And it weighs at least 20 kg. And it has dual brake levers,
but one of the levers on the right side (rear brake) is broken. It's a
Rampar, and getting parts of one of this vintage might be difficult -
although I do note that 27 x 1 1/4 tubes and tires are readily
available. I could probably resuscitate it for $50-75, but I never
liked this bike very much. I'd rather get something more recent.

There was a recent discussion here about bicycle shops in Portland, so
I know there are some readers who know all about where to go. Does
anyone know of a bicycle shop that might have a decent used bike for
me? Alternatively, someplace that can find odd parts for a Rampar that
hasn't been manufactured for decades? (It was a Japanese bicycle made
for the American market only, for the UK firm Raleigh, in case you've
never heard of Rampar.) And if I get a different bicycle, it would be
good to know of someplace where I can donate my old Rampar for
recycling.
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