Price Paid:
$350.00
at Spokes Etc.; Alexand Favorite Ride:
W & OD, Shirlington to Custis, Custis trail to Rosslyn, Mt Vernon to 4 mi run; 4-mi to Shirlington Bike Setup:
The day I bought it, I put a rear LED light and cateye head light on it. Later I added toe clip peda Summary:
This was my first bike as an adult. I'm 5'11" and I weight 220 lbs and I had a Medium size frame which was slightly to small. I wasn't aware that I had a bike that was slightly small until I had ridden a while. So this might have placed some extra stress on the bike. For the most part I am satisfied with the bike for what it is, a low end hybrid bike.
I started riding to work on it soon after I got it. That's about 8 miles round trip per day. I've done several 30 mile and a few 40 mile weekend rides and I never had any significant comfort problems. I haven't ridden many other bikes so I don't have much to compare with, however, I can say that riding this bike has hooked gotten me hooked to cycling and I had firm plans to buy a better bike. Unfortunately, those plans were quickly moved up when this bike was stolen. So now I already have another bike.
I didn't have my first flat until I had the bike for 6 months. I broke a couple of spokes within the last 3 months of owning the bike. However, as I mentioned I am somewhat of a big guy and both times that I broke spokes, I was starting out in a higher gear than normal and standing up and placing a lot of pressure on the drive train. I broke a pedal jumping off a curve sometime within the first 4 or 5 months. Again, it was a high stress situation for the bike and this is a low end bike. I proceeded to replace the plastic stock pedals with toe clip pedals. I had no problems with those for the rest of the time I used this bike. I took the bike back for one more tune up before the warranty ran out and the guys in the repair shop rebuilt the bottom bracket..
Overall, I think the bike is fairly comfortable and a nice bike for someone who's never done any serious biking or someone who wants cheap bike for a short commute to work. After riding this bike for a year, I'm ready for something better. I've bought a Specialized Sirrus al for my longer recreational/exercising rides. Only one 15 mile ride so far, but I enjoyed it and can appreciate some of the better features. I'll probably buy another bike in the same price/value range as the C-40 for my short commuting rides Strengths:
It's comfortable and has a nice price for an entry-level bike. Weaknesses:
The rear derailer seemed to slip out of adjustment easily. Of course these are components on a 350 dollar bike.
However, whenever I took the bike to the shop for a tune-up, they would adjust the derailers. And the rear derailer seemed to be out of adjustment within a week. The indexed Perhaps adjusting the derailers is a skill I should learn. It would not shift at one position between positions 2 and 4 and if I got up to position 6 or 7 it would skip a gear there. And of course when it missed shifting a gear, there is a lot of noise. You could shift back down and work with it to get it in the gear you want, but it can be a hassle Similar Products Used:
None seriously. I've test rode a Giant Crossroads.
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