Getting back into riding; bike suggestions

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5/16/2015 1:00 PM

Long story short, I used to ride years and years ago and got the itch recently to get back into it. I was going to dig out my bike from my parent's garage and clean it up, but the wheels and chain are in very rough shape. Overall, most of the parts are garbage, maybe a couple of keepers, so probably not worth salvaging. Especially with how cheap and light bikes/parts have become. I think my ride was probably like 35 lbs...those alex triple wall rims were probably overkill.

I'm looking at bikes and came across the Sunday brand. Really digging their specs, but curious if the 2015 AM series is decent? I was looking at this particular model:
https://www.danscomp.com/products/102506/2015_Sunday_AM_Bike.html

Probably looking to spend around 400-500 on a bike and have something I can ride casually and not fall apart quickly.

Some specs:
I'm 5'5" about 155lbs - would 20.5" frame be fine?
Looking to ride some street and a little bit of trails and parks.

I'm mostly overwhelmed by how many brands are out there with bikes that seem to have very similar specs. Just wanted to get some info from people more tuned into the scene than myself. Thanks.

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5/16/2015 1:16 PM

Don't get that Sunday. Get something decent like a Kink whip, Kink Liberty, Fly Nuetron, Fly electron, Fly proton or something else with a chromoly frame.

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5/16/2015 1:35 PM

The flybikes completes are cool, their 3 models have all frame / bar / fork full cromoly you just have to pick your favorite geometry (I advice the 20.6" neutron).
The wethepeople completes are also really good completes since the "crysis" model (under models like the reason aren't full cromoly) upper models like the trust are good too but more expensive..

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5/17/2015 9:06 PM

Check out the DK Helio, $450 and all chromoly.

http://www.dkbicycles.com/dk-helio-gloss-black-2015-model

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If you find yourself digging a hole you cant get out of, stop digging.

5/19/2015 3:43 AM

Thanks for the great suggestions guys. Don't know how I missed the lack of chromoly on that Sunday bike...been awhile since I looked at bikes I guess hah

Goofyfoot, that Helio looks pretty rad. I totally forgot about DK! I was looking at that bike and then started browsing their other stuff and saw the X-Model, which looks awesome.

I've think i've narrowed it down to 2 bikes:

http://www.dkbicycles.com/dk-x-model-matte-blackcopper-2015-model

or

http://www.cultcrew.com/hardgoods/signature-dakota-roche-4074.html

A little more than I wanted to spend, but the builds look awesome and will probably last me for a long time.

A couple of questions:
Since i'm 5'5", will the 20.75" be on the longer side or would it be okay?
The DK bike has a 28 : 9 gear ratio vs 25 : 9 on the Cult. It seems like 25 : 9 is more common, so what's the advantage or reason for using 28 : 9?

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5/19/2015 4:35 AM

25/9 might be more common on completes, but I think the vast majority of riders are running 28/9 or 30/10 now. I bought a complete for my 11yo son awhile back and the first thing I did was switch it to 28/9.

oh, and I like the Fit completes a lot. They have really dialed geometry for newer riders. (e.g., shorter chainstays), and a decent amount of cromoly for the price point.

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