Cycling?

[medea]

Does anyone in here cycle?
My best friends both go out together all the time and my wife and I would like to join in. I'm thinking I want a hybrid but I was hoping someone could make some recommendations on brand/model etc. I can't afford a $1000+ road bike right now and I'm just a beginner so I'm looking to spend under $300. I know I can get a good deal on a used bike on eBay, such as a Klein I was watching that went for under $200, but I'll probably purchase a lesser model new.
Thanks in advance.

[emw]

There are several good models out there in your price range. For a hybrid, take a look at the Treks, which can be fairly reasonable (the 7100 runs about $300, maybe less). We have an older version of the 7100 for casual riding that have worked out well. Comfortable. Nice features (handle shifters, nice seat). Reasonable price.

Before you buy, however, what do your friends ride? If they're out on a road bike, especially if they've been training for awhile and you're just starting, it'll be tough to keep up on a hybrid.

You can find reasonable road bikes for $400 - $500 dollars, and many bike shops have great deals on previous year's models (much like car dealers). The hard part is deciding what type of pedals you want. I love my "clipless" Look pedals, but it takes a little practice learning to get in and out of them with the cleats. But they're much easier to ride with.

And don't forget the accessories. If you're going on any rides over about an hour (less when you first start), you're going to want bike shorts (padded), perhaps special shirts (don't ride in the heat in a cotton t-shirt), water bottles, etc. You may also want cycling gloves as it will help maintain your grip (and makes a nice sweat mop). This adds up, but is important.

Oh, and the helmet. And cool cycling sunglasses. And a seat bag to store your wallet, keys, phone, spare tire, etc.

You'll find that cycling is expensive...

[gwuMACaddict]

what kind of riding are you going to be doing? road bikes and hybrid bikes are very different when it comes to posture and feel.

with your budget, i'd go with something used. ask around your local bike shop, usually an employee or two have a few old bikes that they're looking to get rid of.

[gwuMACaddict]

Originally Posted by emw

The hard pat is deciding what type of pedals you want. I love my "clipless" Look pedals, but it takes a little practice learning to get in an out of them with the cleats. But they're much easier to ride with.

i certainly wouldn't advise someone to buy a set of pedals that could very well cost just as much as the bike once you factor in shoes... $100 for the pedals + $100 for the shoes...

seems kinda silly to me...

[zarathustra]

I have a hybrid, amongst other bikes, and it's my favorite to zip around. the road bike is nice to take for serious rides but my fiance and I ride often and that's when the trusty hybrid comes in handy.

I have a Raleigh and it has served me well. It came with aluminum frame and rims, front shocks and suspension built in the seatpost because I wanted a hardtail. Overall nice Shimano equipment.

Because it was a last years model, I saved over $250 to bring in the total at $450. I know that you are looking for less, but that just gives you an idea about savings with old models.

I wouldn't worry too much about accessories at this point, just get in the saddle and ride.

[irmongoose]

I wouldn't call myself a bike enthusiast or anything of that sort, but yes, I do cycle. I go about an hour to two everyday during the summer, and two hours every weekend during the school days.

In fact, just two days ago I went on a bike trip with two of my friends up the Tama river here in Tokyo. We went to 50km, then turned around and came back 50. So 100km in total (about 62 miles).

We made a lot of pit-stops on the way to drink water in order to keep ourselves from getting dehydrated in the 30ºC (86ºF) heat. We must have made about 6 or 7 stops, and in that time I consumed 5L (1.3 gallons) of Aquarius (a sports drink).

In all we biked for 5 hours, excluding the pit-stops. So it was fun, and in my opinion really good exercise.

Right now I'm in the midst of planning a Cycling team for our school. Hopefully things will work out before it's too late for me to receive any recognition from the school for my efforts.




irmongoose

[emw]

Originally Posted by gwuMACaddict

i certainly wouldn't advise someone to buy a set of pedals that could very well cost just as much as the bike once you factor in shoes... $100 for the pedals + $100 for the shoes...

seems kinda silly to me...

Guess it depends how serious you want to be. I started out recreational, but it took about 2 rides with my buddy and his road bike to make me decide to switch. Besides, you can get a good used or clearance road bike for $300, pedals for $50-80, and shoes for $50-80. All told, not too bad.

You're right, though, road cycling gets expensive (hence my previous comment). Leisure cycling is pretty much a bike, a helmet, and go. But if your friend is road biking, you're not going to have a lot of fun keeping up with a hybrid, if they're at all serious riders.

[medea]

No my friends both have hand me down bikes, and mtb's at that, though everyone has shown interest in doing serious riding. Thanks for everyones input so far, we are going to go to a local bike shop this weekend and I'll see what fits me and see what they have in past year models or used.
What does everyone ride on now? Obviously someone here rides a Cannondale.

[gwuMACaddict]

cannondale mountain bike: tricked out for xc racing, cost more than my car

cannondale road bike: old school, but aging like a fine wine...

i still stand by trying to pick something up used. road and hybrid bikes don't typically see the abuse that mountain bikes do, and a model that is a few years old should ride good as new after a good tune up.

[medea]

Today we bought my wife a bike, it is an '04 Glen Fisher Zebrano. Since the dealer wanted to clear out stock for an '05 shipment we got a great deal @ $340 plus 10% off all accessories. All in all the dealer was a great guy and he made our day, he was so good in fact I told him if he carried the model I planned on getting I'd buy it from him on the spot. I had been looking at a Giant Cypress SX and was waiting on a different dealer to let me know if he had my size available at one of his other stores until I spoke to the guy we bought my wife's bike from. He told me about this Felt SR91 he had still in the box and told me to just check out the Felt website and look at the bike and if I was interested he would have the bike built sometime that week so I could come back and check it out and I was definitely interested in what he told me about the bike. I checked it out online today and it's an awesome set of wheels so I definitely am going back to ride it this week. The great thing about it is it's comparable to the Giant yet the lowest I've found the Giant is $600 and at that price I'm unsure if the dealer has my size and the only other Cypress SX I found in my sixe was thirty dollars more but this guy will give me the Felt for $500.

Anyways, anyone have personal experience with either bike?

[pseudobrit]

Speaking from personal experience, I'd avoid hybrids and mountain bikes. If the roadie bug bites you, you'll be sorry you wasted the $300 on a new bike. In my experience, the hybrid tries to combine both the ATB and road bike experience and ends up doing neither nearly as well. While designed for instant comfort to sell bikes, riding 50 miles a day on a hybrid is an exercise in discomfort and inefficiency.

Check eBay for good deals on these and similar bikes ($300-400, 2-3 years old):

Cannondale R400
Giant OCR3
Trek 1200
LeMond Nevada City

Fuji also makes a $400 bike called the League that may be right up your alley. Just remember that the more you spend up front, the less you'll spend down the road. Cheap bikes use cheap components and cheap components often become junk in short order. Usually by the time your components wear out, you're either disillusioned (bike sits in the basement collecting dust) or completely smitten (you'll want -- no -- need a better bike anyway).

Right now the 2005 models are about to roll out, so you can find deals now or very soon. If you're going the ATB route, it's hard to go wrong with a $300-400 hardtail, but it's not a very good way to cruise around town.

[Apple //e]

Originally Posted by gwuMACaddict

cannondale road bike: old school, but aging like a fine wine...
.

the words "cannondale" and "old school" just dont go together

old school for me is lugged steel..... wool jerseys... .drilled out components... 6sp friction shifting.. maybe im just old

anyways...for the original poster....just get a used bike that fits. anything but a road race bike is good for starting. id recommend a mountain bike with adjustable stem. put 1.5" slicks for the road and youre set

if you decide to stick with the sport, buy another bike more suited to your particular interests.

[bousozoku]

I've been using a 1999 DiamondBack (before they went cheap) Sherwood hybrid for street and a 2000 Kona Lava Dome for off-road riding. The DB is available, if you want it.

If you want to go faster, there are several bikes around $600 new that would get you there. Hybrids just aren't fast bikes.

[Neserk]

anyone ever hear the word "cycling" as a euphemism for sex?

[medea]

Unfortunately I don't think you guys are that familiar with hybrids at all as there are many types of hybrids and to call them slow is inaccurate, both the Felt and Giant are performance hybrids which means they have a road bike frame with flat handlebars.
An MTB is not an option as there are few mountains in Florida, heh, and they are way to heavy for commuting.

[selloutvixen]

I had a crappy mountain bike until about a month ago. I live in Boston, but also travel around to different kinds of terrain, so I decided I wanted something versitile like a hybrid.

After reviewing both Trek's and Specialized's options and visiting a few different bike shops, I decided to go with a lesser known brand; Marin. (www.marinbikes.com) Because it's not as well-known as Trek or Specialized, it needs to offer a whole lot more bike for the money you're spending.

There are models that range from 300-500, depending on what you want. I opted for the San Rafael which has both front and seat shocks. It rides like an absolute DREAM. Actually, it doesn't ride.. it glides. However, if you're looking for the cheapest option, the Kentfield is right in your price range. It's pretty similiar, but the frame is steel instead of aluminum, (makes the bike slightly heavier) the shifting system is slightly different, and there aren't any shocks.

As far as other equipment you would need, definitely invest in a helmet. You can get cheap options such as a Bell or a Giro for around 40. Gloves are also nice to have if you can spare the cash to protect your hands in a fall. I'm recovering from a maginally bad fall with road rash on my hand; not fun! A water bottle cage and bottle is probably a good idea. (maybe 10 for both) Other than that, make sure you wear comfortable clothes and have fun.

I hope this helps.

[medea]

Marins are pretty nice, but not what I am looking for. I am set on either the Giant Cypress SX or the Felt SR91. Check them out, they both look killer though I think I like the geometry of the Felt more. I'll know for sure once I ride it.

[medea]

Here is my wife's bike, hers is a women's frame though. Not as sporty but it suits her well and I rode it and it gets plenty fast for her needs. If it comes down to it later on I can replace the tires and a few components when she wants, but I don't believe that will happen anytime soon.

[Apple //e]

Originally Posted by medea

Unfortunately I don't think you guys are that familiar with hybrids at all as there are many types of hybrids and to call them slow is inaccurate, both the Felt and Giant are performance hybrids which means they have a road bike frame with flat handlebars.
An MTB is not an option as there are few mountains in Florida, heh, and they are way to heavy for commuting.

hybrids are great for general city riding. i have one that i use for riding around town. its fun and is as fast as i can make it go. its upright position makes me see the scenery more than my race bikes

just because fl has no mountains doesnt mean you cant have a mtb.the fat tires and versatility make it a good choice for beginning riders. i dont see why a mtb weighs more than a hybrid. my hybrid weighs much more than any one of my mtbs

weight is not too important for a commuter bike, especially in flat florida - unless youre going to be lugging it up and down stairs.

for a commuter, think if you want to attach fenders and/or panniers and make sure the frame can accommodate them

jamis makes good bikes at a good price. and theyre a fl company too.

[fuzzwud]

i have a Jamis Quest road bike that I bought online from www.bicycleblowout.com. I bought it at the end of 2002 for $200 less retail with no tax and no shipping. That was saved me a great bundle of money. It cost $1300 locally and I bought it for $1100. (I happened to get some clothes at a big discount from bicycle blow out b/c UPS had lost the bike; and i waited 4 weeks for the replacement).

I want to emphasize how important it is to get the right size bike. I went to a local bike shop to try the various bikes and to see what size fits me the best. there's various tests and measurements they do. it's really really important for comfort and injury prevention sake. after i got the bike, i had it fitted where they adjusted the handle bar, the seat, etc. if you buy it locally, they should offer to do that as a part of the bike purchase.

before i got my bike fitted, i had a nerve injury to my 4th and 5th fingers on both hands. they became numb b/c of the position i was riding in and b/c the bike wasn't fitted yet. it took a couple weeks for them to get back to normal tactility. i've heard of worse stories about some lady injuring her leg b/c it got numb and couldn't walk for a while afterwards.

also, the seat is very important. make sure it's comfortable. i imagine mtn. bikes are more bulky and cushioned, but road bikes have small saddles. and it's a matter of time b4 you feel the pain in you know where. i hear it's trial and error, but i suggest a center split or butterfly type of saddle. it allows circulation and you'll be a much happier cyclist.

[Apple //e]

Originally Posted by medea

Marins are pretty nice, but not what I am looking for. I am set on either the Giant Cypress SX or the Felt SR91. Check them out, they both look killer though I think I like the geometry of the Felt more. I'll know for sure once I ride it.

definetely choose the better frame. components can be swapped but the frame remains the same. those two bikes have completely different geometries. the giant is more casual and the felt is more of a roadie.

for me its a nobrainer. opt for the pedigree of the jim felt. it is a much more capable frame than the giant.

good to see felt is back in business

[pseudobrit]

Originally Posted by medea

Marins are pretty nice, but not what I am looking for. I am set on either the Giant Cypress SX or the Felt SR91. Check them out, they both look killer though I think I like the geometry of the Felt more. I'll know for sure once I ride it.

If you're set on those two, I second the Felt with its road geometry.

[LeeTom]

I just got my first bike in 10 years, and ended up going with a Cannondale Adventure 400 hybrid. It put me back about $450 or so.

here's the product link, but this is the 2005 model. it's great, because it's all silver, like the powerbooks [chortle chortle]).
http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/05/cusa/model-5AS4.html

Lee Tom

[AmigoMac]

Trek (I had 2, very nice )
Giant (Used one for racing, wow)
Cannondale (I always wanted the one that Tinker Juarez had 9-10 years ago) ... Of course things have changed a lot and now I'm also looking for one but surely won't be out of those 3

[medea]

I just joined bikeforums.net and was wondering if there was anyone else from macrumors on there? Any other bike forums you guys frequent?