If it's for general commuting around town then go for a hybrid or flat bar road bike. More comfy than a racer and a bit easier to ride (tyres aren't as skinny).

You can probably get a bottom end new hybrid for $500.

I'm biased, but for $500 you can get a pretty good new or second hand single speed bike these days. Fuji and SE make good cheap new single speed road bikes. For restored ones check ebay.

Single Speed is probably great if you are planning to ride around the flatter parts of Melbourne (eg Northern/Western suburbs). If you're like me and riding more around the eastern suburbs I reckon you'd want to be pretty fit before you try a single speed.

as for the question about which bike shop to go to... go to the one that you feel comfortable with when you walk in the door. we have a heap of bike shops in newie, and i went to a couple of them when i was looking around for my new road bike. but as soon as i dealt with the guys from two wheel industries, i knew that i would buy my bike from them. they were really happy to chat, listened to what i needed/wanted in a bike, and gave me a pile of practical solutions. they also spent time fitting me out and all in all i just felt really comfortable with them. chances are you will find some people you want to shop with as well, and that level of trust in your bike dealer is great - especially because if you really get into cycling, you will probably get to know the guys are your local bike shop pretty well.

I'm somewhat enamoured with this bike at the moment:

Check out the awesome push rod brake system!

drool

The Classic Bicycle Shop
121 Grey St, St Kilda , Victoria , 3182

Ph: (03) 9593 6622

what do you guys think about buying an 80's drop bar road bike and fitting it out with flat bars for a general commuter bike? it's going to spend a bit of time at uni while I'm studying so don't want anything too flashy so it doesn't get nicked. any recommendations?

Good idea, autumnleaves. I'm all for it!

townies 4 lyfe!

autumnleaves, yep I'd go with the '80's drop bar road bike and fitting it out with flat bars'.

FrankieTeardrop, beware those vintage bikes, those 26'' wheels are a nightmare to repair. They don't even use presta or schrader valves on the tires, so you'll have to get the tire pump they supply. But I suppose if you're not living in a hilly environment and you're doing less than 50km a day it should be fine. I just wouldn't fork out a whole lot of money on it. Plus they're heavy! But pretty!

Did you get your stolen townie back, nishiki?

cheers guys :) any recommendations for places to pick up decent second hand road bikes?

Good point Ed. It's hard enough negotiating the terrain between 27'' and 700x23c wheels and tubes. If you buy a new bike, make sure you can get it repaired easily!

Or you could just get one for less than 500 dollars woo!:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Vintage-Raleigh-Mens-Bike-Malvern-Star-Road-Bike_W0QQitemZ330311613962QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Sport_Cycling_Bikes?hash=item330311613962&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318

THAT is pretty damn cool. The Brooks saddle clinches it.

franks - no :((((((((((( but i put another bike of the same model on lay-by, so i should have that one in a few weeks.

you're all yuppies, go to Series and get one for like $50.

what or where or even who is Series, Zac?

it's this shop in brunswick way, near the end of the 96 tram. they use old bike parts and make up new ones for real cheap.

or if you want something badass, shifter bikes

he means ceres bikes.

ma bad- i wasn't sure of it's spelling.

You can call CERES office any weekday on 9387 2609 (9am to 4.30pm)

How much is or are?

I'm not sure of their price. I've never built a wheel.

I've got an old centurion racing bike I want to sell for about $150. They're a Japanese brand that were quite well made. It rides well.
PM if you want pics/more info.
I'll upload pics here if i get a chance.

Velodrone said 8 minutes ago:
How much is or are?

I can't write after the fucken mega burger. :-D

i've got an mtb for long rides, but i ride my bmx 99% of the time.

pic:

jamis coda elite. they any good?

it will be used for truckin me 40-45mins to and from my place of buisness - and other, hopefully, longer journeys.

i wanna be able to carry a rack and bag too.

Question: Can I put suspension on a bike that currently has none? I'd like to have a suspension-cushioned seat, but have no idea if that's do-able.

What say you?

Yep, you can just replace the seat post provided they make suspension posts in the right size (ie. you may have some trouble fitting a suspension post to a vintage bike).

Fantastic. Looks like price range is pretty big - $30 up to $200. Hmm.

Thanks for the pointers.

Older bikes are usually 25.4mm, 26mm, 26.2mm, 26.8mm, 27mm and 27.2mm seat post diameter. It gets “bigger” the better quality the tubing.

If you pull your seat post out the diameter is usually written on the seat post down near the bottom.

Can anybody vouch for whether the Peugeot Touraine frames have standard screw thread sizes etc... or some stupid French sizing?

I’d be leaning towards Frenchy sizing. Depending on the year.

Seems to be a lot of them coming up through google.

Hm, seems the seatpost is 24mm - a bad sign to start with!

Yeah, I'd be steering clear of that, unless you can fabricate your own parts, or it's in mint condition.

It is actually in mint condition (apparently), but that still doesn't really bode well further down the track.

buy this bike

b to the ump

dude. That is going waaay too cheap. If i was in any way into fixies i'd be keen, but i like my gears too much...

$239 single speed.

http://www.reidcycles.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=3&products_id=11

tugboat i had a look at those in person the other day.

Seem good value if you're not expecting anything fancy, and i'd probaly swap the cranks for something slightly better quality.