Buyers Guidance

[KRob314]

I bought a Diamondback Sorrento a couple years ago. I bought it just to ride around town and to get back into shape. I came across a trail near me, Fountainhead Regional Park, and decided I would give it a try. I really had a great time, and have since went there about 6 times.

I was riding around town about a month ago, and my left crank arm came off. I tightened it back on when I got home, and it came off the next time I went riding around town. I tightened  it on again and used loctite this time, but it came off the next time I went riding. Looking at the square where the crank arm attaches to the bottom bracket axle- it is starting to round out, so I probably need a new crank arm. My plastic stock pedals cracked, so I need new pedals. I need new tires, and it is probably about time for tuneup also.

I bought a used crank arm and new pedals, but failed to figure out how to get the pedal on the crank arm. I thought they would just screw on, but I will have to read up on that, because that was not the case when I tried. Worst case, I will have to take it to the local shop. I estimate it will probably cost me around $200 to fix and get back on the trail again. The bike was $360 new, so not sure if it makes sense to put that kind of money into it. I only ride a few miles around my home for cardio and get out to the trails twice a month, so buying a bike more than $1,000 doesn’t make sense to me either.

TL;DR

This bike has fit my needs so far, but I am not sure how well it will do when I feel comfortable enough to go on more advanced trails. I have been looking at the Diamond hook, and Diamondback Line. Any opinions on these bikes? What questions do I need to ask myself when buying a new bike? Looking at reviews for them, I see something about they don’t have a tapered fork, so finding parts to upgrade them will be challenging. The Sorrento did fine on the beginner trails,  so not sure that I will ever need to upgrade my fork in the near future anyway.

 

[Jeff Barber]

I bought a used crank arm and new pedals, but failed to figure out how to get the pedal on the crank arm.

Are you sure you’re screwing it in correctly? The left pedal is reverse threaded to prevent it from coming undone while pedaling.

Based on what you need for this bike, I think you can get away with spending less than $200 and upgrade in the process. Hopefully the used crankset will work out, but if not you can find a really durable Stylo for around $100. I recently saw a set of metal pedals at Walmart (I think they were Diamondback brand actually) for about $10. As for tires, you get what you pay for but if you just want something similar to the stock tires that came with the bike, you can find these for about $20 each. Or, look for closeout tires online; it’s not uncommon to find $60 tires on sale for $20.

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