Many years ago , I picked out my first bike . When I was a kid my dad got me a simple one speed Huffy for back and forth to school , It broke down on a road trip some 15 miles from home . After that I opted for a small motorcycle , When I got a little older I wanted to do some cycling for fun . No Wal-mart then . I went to a bike shop and got a nice 10 speed Turn down bar type road bike made by Concord (then made in Japan ) , Later on I had knee problems and was told that Biking was hard on my knees and sold the Concord I wish I had not . Much later I got better and started Biking a little . But in the last year or so I have been repairing and selling old bikes . I have seen a lot of real junk out their as well as some real nice stuff . Discount store bikes are so cheaply made if something brakes they are not worth the effort to repair ,And some times what brakes is the frame . If you can't weld its the dumpster, On the other hand Super bikes cost so much they don't make sense to buy and some are a little fragile to boot .Let this be your guide for a nice daily road bike . Steel frame is OK but look for reinforcement gussets were the tubes meet each other at the lugs for the steering yoke and Seat as well as the crank aira . Alloy steel is lighter (like 4130 Alloy) ,Lite is good , All metal peddles are a must some super heavy duty plastic with steel pins are good (they are gray in color ) ,Stay far away from the Cheap Black plastic ones found on Cheaper bikes. Under the seat should be Steel and with springs if possible avoid plastic if you can (hard to find now days ) .I have seen fiber glass they are OK but the Fake leather will not stay glued .Seat covers need Rivets and a lot of them .(also hard to find now).A seat post made from Aluminum Alloy (fluted) is first class a black steel tube is bottom of the line TO cheap to even have Chrome WOW !. I had a Sheep skin with fur cover for the seat , I don't know if they can be had now ,but vary nice item . keep in mind the bigger the tires and rimes the better the ride , Light weight Steel rims are tough but will rust ,they Must have a good Chrome finish or be Stainless alloy , Never buy painted rims on anything steel "Super cheap" Chrome steel is the way to go !If unsure take a small magnet with you ,if it sticks to a ALuminum painted rim its Steel , Don't buy it ! That is one real cheap trick to paint steel to look like Alloy aluminum .Alloy rims will not rust and are light but bend up with the slightest touch , If you buy a bike with Alloy rims check prices of a replacement and count on buying one or two into the price of the bike .Tires, A no tread tire is for a race track , daily on the street you want light tread and thicker side walls . in light to heavy gravel you have the best control with street tire or a Street trail cross over tire , Mountain bike tires are not good on gravel or black top They are made for off road, sand and fine dirt ,mud and might be OK in fine gravel and a Tire tube that has a steel filler nipple is better then all solid rubber ones, Speeds , If you live in a place that is flat you don't need 18 or more speeds most people can't use more then 10 (or don't know how) . If you are going up steep grades maybe you can use 18 or more speeds.One more thing 18 speeds are real hard on the chain as well as sprocket teeth and must be shifted right or you can EZ ly brake the chain Read the bikes manual on how to shift and save were on the chain. In flat aires 10 speed are best ( I have road them all and unless you live in the Rocky's you do not need more then 12 speeds ) .Twist type Plastic Shift controls are the bottom of the line Junk ,found on most discount store bikes as well as a few better bikes like GT Triple not a bad bike but not good either  . Levers are better ,all steel better yet but hard to find . Two lever up and down locking systems are vary nice to use ( found on most Trek Bikes ) ,but not as tough as old Chrome plated steel shift levers found on Old Schwinn,s,Raleigh,s and Japan Concord,s also look for Stainless steel chains and sprockets as well as SS shift cables The cheaper steel ones will rust and brake fast (if you get all steel chains clean and oil often ,motorcycle chain lube vary nice on bikes as well ,and if you have Stainless clean and oil also use light clear oil , dry lube ,3 and 1oil ,wd40,or ATF fluid Ford or GM paint on and wipe off extra with rag . Durt is also known as grinding compound .Dirty dry chains brake faster then clean oiled chains.Look at most of todays chain guards they are cheap brake off plastic now ,If you can't get a good Chrome steel one ie old Schwinns , you may as well not have a chain guard . Check that item to see if its riveted on or screwed on ,Screw on plastic is best plastic one can remove fast if broken .(all made out of plastic parts brake ).As for the Front drive sprocket .Thin is bad Thick is good .If you have Three drive sprockets(at peddles) they tend to get thin if you only have one it should be a thick and vary strong .If it is thin it can be bent if the chain jumps or locks up ,Alloy Steel and Stainless best . The worst sprocket I know of is on a Giant low end 18 speed MT bike its so EZ to bend up I can look at one mean and its bent ,Concord ,Raleigh ,Schwinn ,Trek,s ,lower end Bikes all have nice Sprockets .  Ok I am naming brands now so to finish up like this I will tell you! Some names of bikes. I would have ,Almost any older made in the USA Schwinn ( Suburban 5 speed best one )and none of the imported from China or the ROC bikes. Taiwan Schwinns not to bad ,Quality seems Good . Any Japan made Concord (10 speeds best buys ) might need to look for used . USA made 3 speed Columbia (good cheap bike ) again used ,check for bent rims .A almost good buy would be a top of the line Huffy made in the USA and a few of the older Huffy were made to compete with Schwinn bikes check to see if they have alloy foot peddles that is a key .they can be had real cheap and will get the job done . USA made Trek Bikes are Vary nice ,most need a better seat . 950 useable Cross over trail mt bike well made (best with heavy tread road tires) .I would have a mid price range Trek any day over a lot of other bikes . Cannondale over priced but nice bikes,but if it has twist type shifters Don't buy it botten of the line over priced junk .Two leaver indexing shifters are best ,But I still like the index one lever all steel Dinosaur best. Over priced is the key word on Cannondale . Moto Becane (French Bike) Best of the French "over priced as well " but well made,light weight ,find a used one cheap and install new tires . Sachs bikes (German ) built like a Tiger tank , could be a little heavy in its class ,but its the Benz of bikes. Raleigh (British & U.S.A. as well as India, HongKong & Taiwan and China ) Old British made;Best Bike ever made for the Street and maybe everything else in its day. Not over priced .USA  made vary good also and good buy .And a Rudge is a copy of same , As well as a Road King all built Tough .next A Hero- Majestic;(Raleigh ) from India is a super Heavy duty Tank ,made to be walked (not to ride)and carry pigs to market . Asia Raleigh bikes are not bad but are getting a little cheap built . Forget made in China unless you don't care about Quality at all .I have seen copes of vintage bikes made by Felt (made in china) sold at Bike shops for high bucks  ,They are stupid buys why not buy a Vintage bike and have something worth having (even if you must clean it up) Option Schwinn still sells a repop of the old Beach Cruser nice buy. Almost every country on earth, people have and make bikes, But if you live in North America it pays to buy a bike made in North America with as many parts that can be made in America . The same would be true for people that live in China or India . I would rather buy a old used USA made Schwinn and put new tires on it then buy a Roadmaster from Wal-mart "New "at the same price and toss it in the dumpster  when the plastic pedals brake off .Buy something worth repairing and keep it forever , Maybe put it in your Pyramid when you go to Gods. PS just added to the list of neat bikes is one from Yokota .a mod called Challenger . Looks vary well made. vary well thought out top frame bar.Also just worked on 2 Bikes called Giant. The air shocks leak down fast and the rear derailers self destruct and can not be changed to a different brand (high buck bike to be made like so ) Did not see sticker may be China import but not sure yet looks not that well made and I would spend the extra few bucks for the Terk anyday or A USA made Raleigh Once more avoid Made in China Raleigh's ,to many cheap short cuts  .Please vote press yes or no if you liked or not .

You can stop now or go on !

Things to look for . Rivets to hold seat cover on (not staples and or just glue) Steel under seat and padding Stapled seat cover vary bad !

Springs under seat . Alloy seat post . Fluted best !

Stainless Brake and shift cables  Stainless Chain and thick sprockets .

Ride on the road side walk, just off the road gravel safest tires are heavy tread road tires not mountain bike tires ,the same would apply on a motorcycle .The only place for Knobys is the dirt and loose at that .

Alloy Handle bars  . Avoid painted rustable steel . Chrome steel better but WD 40 once a year or after rain

Schwinn all Alloy (not plastic) hand brake levers best ,Alloy frame screwed to handle bar,and rugged alloy brake handles top of the line and copys of but not loose and flopy ones . Part plastic and part alloy not so good . All plastic JUNK and can be found on a lots of better bikes (to bad guys).

Shift Leavers Chromed Steel with index stops best   Avoid Twist type at all cost .

Light Steel alloy Frame . Raleigh composite AL nice high tek stuff .

Standard tire tubes are EZ to fill but can get cut if you ride almost or flat . Nut on stem type are hard to fill at a gas station but may do better in a almost flat ride .

Paint job Yellow Best ,Red Vary good , Silver good also .White OK and lots of Chrome better yet . Metal Flake last on list . Dark Bikes are out , DO YOU WANT TO BE SEEN AT NIGHT AND IN THE RAIN DURING THE DAY . Black bikes are hard to see by cars looking for for trucks not to hit .

Disk Brakes nice ,but not a must on non mountain bikes and to miuch weight on racers , Center pull with long arms almost as good and a lot cheaper ,any brakes made in Germany are fine , And even Old side pull Schwinn & Concord brakes not bad . The rest are junk

All Alloy (top of the line) and steel peddles with bearings are better than Cheap black plastic junk .But try to get some oil into all of them sometimes WD40 or like . Gray Plastic with steel pins for traction OK (used on Trek and Giant (but avoid China Giant brand bikes)

A small washer or seal where the spoke nut goes into the rim is first class all the way . After you ride for some time adjust the spokes ,just a fraction .1/16 to1/8 turn each clockwise (tight)with a drop of thin oil on spoke threads or back off and re-tighten to same .use a spoke wrench only (cheap item) mark the first spoke with red paint and stop before you when you go all the way around .

Flip cam wheel and seat locks are better then nuts and bolts ,And Flip cam locks with a safety locking button is BEST of all .( You can buy them as a add on for almost all bikes about $20 each at over priced bike shops .

Chromed Steel rims Hold up well for every day road use , Cheap ones have weld dents and you can feel the welds when braking and some look bent at weld and you can feel with finger.VARY BAD !

Almost anyone can feel a dip or crack with a height difference of .003 (thousands of a inch )with the tip of their index finger .Now thats real small any one can feel a dented or bent rim try it . A good safe cracker can feel .0001 and tumblers dropping as well . A sheet of paper is .007 to .013 and .009 will cut your finger (paper cuts)

The front steering yoke should not be loose , Hold front brake and push bike forwards and back if you feel any play its loose and needs adjustment .

If you think you might want springs and shocks on a bike Test Ride one then test ride a solid bike with large tires , Their is a big difference in rides and a full road racer . I don't like springs on the rear at all , and springs and shocks on the front with real good brakes on the front can lift thre rear wheel off the ground in a fast stop . You might not like this type of ride .And it could be a costly error to buy a bike you don't like to ride .

 Last of all look for solid used after checking prices at a bike shop of what you like ,I have sold good solid 1200 buck bikes for $200 or less just in need of a new seat or had a few paint chips , Paint chips are best , I got a good solid with good seat $1800 Moto becane that was painted with a spray cans ,looked like hell for $100. Spray paint came right off with Paint thinner ,OEM paint was un touched by thinner and rubbed ot OK what a deal .Nothing else was needed    the photo at the top  is a Hero Majestic !

Best oil to use on a bicycle chain is Motorcycle rear drive chain oil for off road motorcycles .A rusted bike chain is BAD very BAD take my word for that !

Aug 2008 up DATE , Working on many different Bikes I can report that a lot of better bikes use sequential shifters on the handle bars ,worst type are the twist type that act some what like a motercycle twist throttle (if motorcycles had twist throttles made as super cheap as this type of shifter most motorcycle bikers would be dead after one year of ownership) Twist type shift controls are just flat cheap junk . second worst are the shift push levers that have a extra lever to down shift that are part of the mount for the brake lever .Why are they second worst ? Firat of all all the systems that have plastic parts are unreliable as hell and do not last .And most of the parts inside these things are cheap made junk .one more thing when the lever system fails "And I Will "now you are in for extra work and money replacing the brake lever and shifter "STUPID" .Now I know that indexing shifters are kind of nice ,but if its just a little out of adjustment now the chain hits the derailer untill its adjusted . So in the long run the rotating levers that have a metal lever are starting to look not so bad .sure its not as slick as the up and down two lever ones . but over built things seem to fail big time . If you keep thing simple its more reliable . That would make the old long metal frame mount schwinn type just about the best Shift levers money can buy .simple and reliable ! And you can still get them .   I have seen lower end Trec Bike with Cheap twist plastic non repairable type shift controls I think they are 801 models ,they are as bad as Cheap China bikes .