Buying a Bike in Seattle

[Raymo853]

I like your idea, but you should ask on a Seattle focused forum and not a Washington DC forum nearly 3000 km away.

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[puffnut]

@Raymo853 144314 wrote:

I like your idea, but you should ask on a Seattle focused forum and not a Washington DC forum nearly 3000 km away.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Ok thanks very much, they seem to mostly be clubs that you have to pay membership for to go on the forums, but i’ll have another look.

[huskerdont]

For that price, Craigslist Seattle is probably your best bet. https://seattle.craigslist.org/search/bik

Craigslist Seattle has a discussion forum re bikes:

https://forums.craigslist.org/?areaID=2&forumID=95

[dasgeh]

But if you manage to ride from Seattle to LA on a bike that costs $120, do report back!

[puffnut]

@dasgeh 144325 wrote:

But if you manage to ride from Seattle to LA on a bike that costs $120, do report back!

Haha will do! I’m sure it’ll be fiiine
:rolleyes:

[bobco85]

@puffnut 144313 wrote:

Hey everyone

New to the forum and was hoping you could help me out. I’m flying into Seattle from UK with my wife on the 8th of September. We’re going to be cycling down the west coast to Los Angeles and need to buy some bikes for the trip. We don’t want to spend much, maybe $120 each. We were thinking some 90s rigid mountain bikes would do us fine.

We will literally just have our bags at the airport. Can anyone advice us on how to get into the city, find a bike to buy in budget and get to people’s houses to see and buy them.

Thanks everyone

puffnut

Based on my trip to Seattle in 2012 (I biked around half of Lake Washington and made frequent use of public transit while exploring the city), I can give the following food for though:

• Have you considered bringing your bikes with you on the flight? You could even ship the bikes over and have a bike shop put them together if needed. Depending on your situation, I think you may be better off with bicycles that you know fit both you and your wife already rather than the chance that you’ll wind up with an uncomfortable ride.
• For buying a cheap bicycle, I would try anywhere in the University District which on the north side of the water (lakes, locks, and bays split Seattle in half) is adjacent to Washington University (read: lots of college kids mean lots of bicycle exchanging)
• To get to downtown from the airport (SeaTac), there is a light rail system (called the Link Light Rail) that you can use (the airport has a station); go to the King County Transit site http://metro.kingcounty.gov/ for more information
• Will you be getting a bicycle trailer? Depending on your setup, it might be better for carrying all of your luggage/supplies.
• This sounds like an awesome trip! I met a few couples who were actually doing similar trips to yours (going up/down the Pacific coast), but none were doing it by bicycle!

[nattyb]

@puffnut 144313 wrote:

Hey everyone

New to the forum and was hoping you could help me out. I’m flying into Seattle from UK with my wife on the 8th of September. We’re going to be cycling down the west coast to Los Angeles and need to buy some bikes for the trip. We don’t want to spend much, maybe $120 each. We were thinking some 90s rigid mountain bikes would do us fine.

We will literally just have our bags at the airport. Can anyone advice us on how to get into the city, find a bike to buy in budget and get to people’s houses to see and buy them.

Thanks everyone

puffnut

Recycled Cycles in Walingford should do you something good. If Bunny still works there, tell him Nathaniel says Hey!

[BobCochran]

I think the advice to ship your own bicycles to Seattle is a very good idea. It makes a lot of sense to use machines your are already fitted to and know well.

Is this your first trip to the USA? Speaking as an American who has traveled to London and the Southwest of England quite a lot, I’d probably want an organized tour led by experienced British cyclists if I were going to try London to Edinburgh by bike. Even now — and I’m speaking for myself. Traveling to England doesn’t mean I know the country well. So I’d try to get into a tour before going off solo on my own. You should consider the same thing for Seattle to Los Angeles. Maybe Adventure Cycling offers package tours, I don’t know.

And to speak to the actual topic…I don’t know that you can purchase a bicycle that fits you and is in excellent mechanical condition for USD $120. I have doubts about that, but I can always learn from fellow forum members. It’s not as if I’m a deeply experienced bicyclist or bicycle dealer.

Good luck to you!

Bob

[KLizotte]

If you are going to be looking for cheap or free places to stay then check out WarmShowers.org.

I hope you and your wife are very experienced cyclists and have built up the requisite muscles for such a long journey. Also keep in mind that you will have to get used to riding on the right side of the road. You should also make yourself aware of American road signage and driving rules/norms.

I would say it would be worth shipping your own bikes over though it may take up to five weeks if you choose the cheapest method. I know there are far faster methods though. Check out BikeFlights.com.

You may wish to consider buying new bikes then selling them at the end of your journey. You could possibly do a profit share by asking a bike shop to sell them for you if you need to depart LA quickly.

Alternatively, look into purchasing folding bikes either here or in the UK. These you could take with you on the plane and would be useful when taking public transport here in the US and the UK.

Check the Adventure Cycling website for info on routes as well as any blogs and west coast cycling sites you can find.

Lastly, in case you haven’t done it already, you will want to do a few serious test rides in the U.K. with all of the gear you plan on taking with you. If you plan on camping in the US, then do some overnights out in the woods. Go out in bad weather to see how your kit holds up. See if you can carry enough water and food to last you all day without stopping for replenishment (you will encounter very long stretches of road without any shops in the U.S.). Pretend you’ve had an injury or a mechanical problem and see if you can deal with it competently and with the tools on hand. Basically you want to replicate the worst conditions you could possibly encounter while still in the safe vicinity of your home. This will keep you safer and more comfortable on your journey. Don’t underestimate distances or how rural areas can be in the U.S.

Best of luck.

[BobCochran]

I agree with everything that KLizotte says.

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