New to trails, Newish to Jersey

Pritz Man

New Member
Hi all

I'm located in South Jersey, Cherry Hill so just outside Philly.

I've never owned a good bike and my last was a beater commuter $300 mountain bike from Performance Bike. I took in to get tuned up at the local Trek store and they called me and said I cracked the rear axle and its being held together by the wheel quick release. They also suggested I do not take my kid on that bike because the combined weight and the way the kid seat moves up and down could prove disastrous. They also said they don't have the parts to upgrade my bike and they don't know when and if they will get them

Anyways, they were basically saying that my bike is a turd and that I should probably get a new one, especially if I want to give my kid a ride on the back.

I've always been intrigued to ride trails but never got around to it except for a handful of short ride so I am seeing this as a good opportunity to upgrade slightly at the typical max point of $1k. Problem is, I cant find stock anywhere online. My local Trek store has no real stock and the only thing I have found online is the DRT 1.2 at REI which is has a Large in stock. Other than that, looks like COVID has really messed up supply chains. I desperately want to buy a bike but I'm in a bit of a pickle here. If anyone can point me in the right direction...

My cheapie commuter near forbidden drive in Philly.

IMG_20161010_174405.jpg

Thanks
Paul
 

RickVaughn

Active Member
Bikes and parts are really hard to find FOR SHOPS. Shops go through suppliers and I don't think are allowed to just buy parts off eBay or amazon. Not sure what a broken rear axle means. Is it the rear dropouts or frame? is it literally just the skewer? Unless the frame is damaged you can replace the wheel and its components.

I drove to Princeton from Bergen County to get a bike from REI for my girlfriend. I have a hard time recommending the dirt and a 27.5 for a large is probably not ideal. We won't debate wheel sizes here but shops, bike manufacturers and 3rd party wheel manufactures are all saying they sell 90% 29ers. Also join REI for like $20 and you'll get 10% cash back at the end of the year.

This looks nice. not sure what the timeframe on a preorder means though

Good luck and give me a shout if you have any questions
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
Welcome!

From the description I am guessing the broken part is actually the 10x135 hollow threaded axle that the skewer (quick release) runs through. The shop probably doesn't feel like sourcing it out of an used/bent QR rear wheel to avoid any liability.

Good luck with your purchase and happy trails!
 

Pritz Man

New Member
Thanks for the welcome.

I went to the Trek store and inquired about the Marlin and Roscoe bikes. All sold out and not expected until possibly December ?

I expect a lot of bike stores, online and brick and mortar to be the same based on what I’m seeing

As for my bike, they basically said that if I want to carry my kid on the back like this I need a cassette wheel and not a freewheel. So now I need to consider whatever bike I get needs to accept the kid seat too.

Is there anything specific I need to consider for the bike to accept a toddler seat?
 

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Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Hello there !
I'm sure someone around here has a wheel for you for not too much $$ to keep you rolling safe.

Perhaps one of the bike exchange places would be a great place to start -
Second Life Bikes - bit of a hike, take kid to beach!
Princeton Bike Exchange - a little closer
 

the schwartz

Well-Known Member
i'm still not sure what's broken either. the terms you're using are all bicycle terms, but they don't quite line up to make sense. i'm not being mean or snooty here, i'm hoping to be helpful and just confused about what's acutally broken. i know it can be confusing when a mechanic tells you x, y, z and it's a bunch of words and terminology without real meaning.

can you send pictures here of what's broken?
>>> i have a hard time seeing any problems with running a child seat on that bike, or most any bike tbh... <<<

if you want a new bike, great, but seems like something you should be able to keep doing with the bike you have now... so keep that bike for hauling the kid around, and then drop your $1000 on a proper mountain bike, for mountain biking - without the kid seat
 

Pritz Man

New Member
I'll send pics when I get the bike back. Other than them saying the axle and then something about a flywheel being cracked in two and only being held together by the quick release, I have no other understanding. This is all new to me and the terminology foreign. I get motorcycles, but not bicycles.

I thought the same thing, why couldn't this bike run a kid seat? Its not like everyone who has a kid seat has a $1000 bike...

Anyways, I did end up buying DRT 1.2 and called it a day. Every website I went onto didn't have anything in stock. I have some friend who cycle and every recommendation they provided is out of stock with no ETA of stock coming back. REI have a great return policy so I can return quite easily if it isn't working out for me
 

the schwartz

Well-Known Member
cool! looks like a fun bike, i dig the wide wheels 2.4" is gonna dig in good and soak up a lot more of the little stuff compared to your old bike, assuming that one has tires closer to or less than 2"...

and yeah, lucky to find any stock given the market right now. enjoy it, post those pictures when you get your bike back.
 

Pritz Man

New Member
whoa - that's cool! what bike is that, it's not a DRT 1.2 that you mentioned earlier. looking good, congrats on the NEW BIKE!! ?

Thank you :)

I got the 1.2 but realized that I would want to upgrade in a few months so I just spent a little more. They had the 3.1 at 15% off available immediately and I couldnt resist. Im nearly ready to go. Just waiting on my bike rack to arrive. In the meantime I'll hit the local trails.
 
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