For the past year, I have been riding using my sister's old mountain-bike (don't worry...it was blue).
Now I'm interested in picking up new bike. I was potentially thinking about a road bike (although I'll consider any good bike). Does anyone have any suggestions?
Do you want to go fast down the street and get hit by cars?
Then get a road bike
Do you want to turn and twist and soar down some tight singletrack mountain trails, hitting some loose gravel and scraping the side of your calf against the rough dirt and rocks?
Then you'd probably be best off with a full suspension mountain bike
Do you want to launch off jumps or large drop offs and do pretty much anything god throws your way, regardless off the fact that you WILL faceplant into the ground one day?
then your probably best off with a free ride mountain bike
Do you want to just cruise around town getting from point a to point b?
then i guess someone out there makes a street bike meant for that....but whats the fun in that?
It also depends on your cash flow available. Say you like the tight singletrack mountain bike deal. If your short on cash, your money would be better off spent on a hardtail mountain bike as opposed to full suspension. Once you determine what kind of riding you like to do (there are more than what I listed), and have a price range in mind, then we can help narrow down some choices for you.
Thanks for the feedback so far BeachHead. In response to your questions:
Quote:
Originally Posted by BeachHead
Do you want to go fast down the street and get hit by cars?
Then get a road bike
Do you want to turn and twist and soar down some tight singletrack mountain trails, hitting some loose gravel and scraping the side of your calf against the rough dirt and rocks?
Then you'd probably be best off with a full suspension mountain bike
Do you want to launch off jumps or large drop offs and do pretty much anything god throws your way, regardless off the fact that you WILL faceplant into the ground one day?
then your probably best off with a free ride mountain bike
Do you want to just cruise around town getting from point a to point b?
then i guess someone out there makes a street bike meant for that....but whats the fun in that?
Well...I live on Long Island, so there aren't too many mountains to ride (although if there were mountains, I'd ride up them). I'm looking mainly at riding on roads, parks, etc (mainly for fitness and to get from point A to point B...the second point taking a more prominent role since I paid $2.91 per gallon for gas this afternoon).
Quote:
Originally Posted by BeachHead
It also depends on your cash flow available. Say you like the tight singletrack mountain bike deal. If your short on cash, your money would be better off spent on a hardtail mountain bike as opposed to full suspension. Once you determine what kind of riding you like to do (there are more than what I listed), and have a price range in mind, then we can help narrow down some choices for you.
My price range would be around $500. I know there are bikes that can go for triple or quadruple that, but I'm an underpaid banker who is getting his MBA (and my company won't paid for it ).
I'm relatively new to the different types of bikes out there, so I hope that is somewhat clear.
I could suggest a hybrid. I used to have a GT Cross that was okay. The only problem was that although it could do anything, it couldn't do anything well. A hard tail mountain bike with some semi-slick tires would do nicely for all around use. Here are some suggestions in your price range:
Giant Yukon $490.00
Or...
Gary Fisher Wahoo $429.00
Or...
Trek 4300 $489.95
These are a good place to start. Check out your local dealers and test ride for best fit. Any would be good bikes if they fit you right. Put a pair of these on it if you will be on pavement a lot:
Kenda Cross (about 20.00 each) I've used them in adventure races before for more speed on pavement and dirt roads. They can be riden off road on hard pack but will not be great when you get on loose or slick stuff. Hope that helps.
__________________
***
Today's mighty oak was once just some nut who held his ground!
I have the Trek model just before the disk brakes, the 3700.
If your just getting from point A to B and want to get your exercise you probably don't need the discs. Of course you'll be WAY cooler with them.
Og.
__________________ 2009: No races, No times. Slow year. So, now you're 96 cals short. You're now in starvation mode. Doomed. - LostDog
Blog entry: November 1, 2009, Pancakes LiveSTRONG daily plate log
ODB gave you some great suggestions. Personally, unless you are competing or trying to get somewhere (commute?) I think you are better off with a fat tire bike.
If you are in this for excercise a fat tire is going to push you more on the road, and allow you to tackle that sweet single track at the some time.
I ride that Trek on the mountain, and freaking love it. It's a great base bike, you can add stuff to it, and as far as Trek's go, the frames remain relatively the same until you start shelling out some serious cash.
I got my Giant hardtail for $600 and ride it mostly in an urban setting - works great.
I've got a semi-slick tire on the front and a rear tire with a bit more traction. Works great in most conditions, and if you ever do get out and do some singletrack territory then just throw some knobbies on there. Only about a $40 investment there.
__________________
Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
Ko's got a Giant (rode it today),great bike! I'll go check and see what it is exactly.
This past summer, we got mountain bikes and decided that that's how we'd get about town. Ko, as I mentioned, got a Giant and I got one by Kona. And I love my Kona; that's all these guys make, mountain bikes.
Oh, we did test ride a few other bikes before picking these two. We rode a couple by Trek and I did not like how they're built. They're certainly not for us short gals (5'4"). And Ko felt scrunched on the ones he tested. We performed a LOT of research before finally going out with the intent of purchasing bikes. And it's true in what they say: you'll know right away if the bike's right for you.
I got on that Kona and knew right away that this was the bike for me. The price was, I believe, around $750. I think Ko's Giant was around there if not nearer to $800.
Again, I gotta go and check exactly what models they are.
I'm the one who sold ODB on the semi-slicks in the first place. After doing some road rides with me on our mt bikes, he didn't like struggling to keep up with me, and figured out that his tires were adding a ton of drag.
I'm so out of shape now I probably couldn't keep up with him on a motorcycle!
I finally got to my Local Bike Shop and bought a bike. I bought the Giant Cypress DX. Its a hybrid bike, with plenty of goodies. The details, courtesy of Giant's website:
New Bike
). 
Linear Mode
