I took a little heat a while back when I reviewed the Gary Fischer Mendota. A few of you were disappointed that that bike cost around $1,000. What about people who are considering commuting by bike but don’t want to shell out a bunch of money in the event they decide it isn’t for them? So I’ve kept my eyes open for some inexpensive options.
Behold, XYZ Bikes. They have several men’s and women’s cruisers priced around $100. I thought I’d give it a shot. Looking at their website I got to reminiscing about my first bike, a Western Auto coaster bike. It might be fun to ride a bike with no gears and no hand brakes again. Ordering the bike was easy and shipping was quick. I opted for the 26″ Man Deluxe Thick Frame Beach Cruiser – Black – $95
I got home from work and everyone else was gone. There in the entry way was the box from XYZ and since there was nothing good on TV and no one around to hear me in the event something went wrong — I decided to put it together.
My dog Maggie couldn’t believe I was going to attempt to assemble the bike myself, but the website said it would only take around 15 minutes. We’ll see…
I’ve opened the box and the clock is now running.
I had my doubts about putting the thing together myself, but then again I’ve had my share of late night bike assembly sessions putting together presents for the kids. I grabbed a crescent wrench, screwdriver and hex driver. I admit that I was a little concerned when I didn’t see any instructions in the box but decided to proceed.
No problem, here is the bike ten minutes after opening the box.
Nine minutes after that I was done… Really, all I needed to do was put on the front wheel, the handle bars, pedals and seat. Of course now that I was done I checked the website again and found the link for their instructions.
I’ve got to admit I’m looking forward to taking it out although my route can be a bit hilly. I’ll let you know how it well it works. Stay tuned.