Job Discussion Forums

[lauren3821]

Today, the rainy day, is not the ideal day for it, but I enjoy bike riding and would like to purchase one. Does anyone know of any stores that sell them relatively cheap? So far everything I�ve come across has been a bit pricey. I�m not looking for anything fancy, just something to ride.

[-Stu-]

The market at Bio Bio/Franklin is the place for secondhand bikes.

[eileen]

I wouldn't really recommend buying a bike second hand at bio bio, unless you know a fair bit about bikes. People usually keep bikes on hand until they are falling apart in Chile, and I do actually know someone whose bike fell to pieces as they rode, that was bought from biobio. It fell apart at the solder, between the headset and the toptube, in case you were wondering. Hubs can also be crappy and need to be replaced without you knowing, unless you know a bit about bikes.

The dept. stores sell some bikes for around 80-90 lukas, but you could do better by going into stores on San Diego (this is the continuation of Bandera on the other side of the alameda). There are a couple of stores that sell slightly junky bikes for more like 40 to 50 lukas. I think Vargas is one of those (big store, on the right walking towards avenida matta) The cheapest mass market brand is Lahsen, and the second is probably bianchi. I know bianchi is a good bike in the states, but they sell their crappiest ones in Chile. This all starts about 6-7 blocks off the alameda on San Diego. There are tons and tons of stores, selling everything from beater beachy bikes to really top notch. anyone that tries to build you a bike is going to probably charge you more than you want to pay.

Depending on where you live and where you're going to go, I'd probably splurge for a slightly better bike, or at least one with okay gears and not too heavy (and decent brakes), because all of Santiago is slightly hilly, and there are some fabulous rides you could do if you decided you really liked it, short stuff from riding up Cerro San Cristobal (up pio nono, down pedro de valdivia, or up and down p de v.), to longer stuff like Quebrada de la Plata in Maipu or Santuario de la Naturaleza in Arrayan, or long long stuff, like to Valparaiso or Isla Negra.

Be super careful! Helmet and lights are a must! I use both but was in an accident anyway. Been biking around since I landed in Chile and am having a great time (except for the accident, and the months of physical therapy that followed)! Any questions/problems let me know.