What type of Bicycle should you buy?

[snubbyfan]

When I met the woman that was to become my wife, we went to the local bike shop to pick out a bike for her. We got her a Gary Fisher Wahoo mountain bike. 6061 T6 frame and rigid fork.
One day she mentioned that she had trouble with the reach on the brake levers. Alright, upgrade time!
Avid Speed Dial brake levers. Shimano XT shifters and cables. ODI narrow lock on grips. Salsa rear brake arch. Profile Design riser bars and a Delta riser stem. She stopped me there. At least until recently. She had an operation for carpel tunnel in both of her hands and asked if there was anything I can do to her bike to make it more comfortable on her hands With stuff I already had. We tried gloves, bar angles, an adjustable rise head set but nothing really helped.
Then I thought of bar ends. Now, I used to be kind of a hard core mountain biker and the one thing ya never did was to put bar ends on riser bars. They're fine on flat bars but never on riser bars.
Well, because I love my wife, I put bar ends on her riser bars. They really did help by giving her grip options. Then she asked if I could point them straight up.
Sorry baby, there's some things I just can't do. I'll angle them up a little but there's no way I'll point them straight up. She admitted that she was just seeing how far she could push me.
I'm still trying to convince her that she needs a suspension fork and upgraded derailleurs.

 

[johngalt]

I highly recommend going to a real bike shop and get the bike fitted. A bike that doesn't fit is miserable. The "ride around the parking lot" isn't enough.

Got a 2013 Trek Domane 4.0 (carbon frame) earlier this summer, but customized it by replacing the Shimano equipment with Campagnolo equipment from my old bike.

My old bike was a 2000 Lemond Tourmalet (steel frame), the frame got bent and wasn't worth reparing. I'm getting older, and the fit wasn't right for me any more - too aggressive.

The new one is much more comfortable and the ride is very nice. I still miss something about the old steel frame though.

 

[pineappleshooter]

Have this one.

That seat looks a little uncomfortable!

 

[dpowers311]

My current mountain bike is a 2013 Yeti SB66 Carbon Race.

My current road bike is a 2013 Trek Madone 5.9 with Shimano Ultegra Di2 electronic shifting.

(Don't do the math, you'll think I'm crazy. Caveat: I work in the bike biz and I live in the Rockies -- cycling is kind of serious here.)

How do you like the electric shifting? Any problems?

Dave

 

[Bill Bates]

I highly recommend going to a real bike shop and get the bike fitted. A bike that doesn't fit is miserable. The "ride around the parking lot" isn't enough.

I'll give a big plus 1 to this. Having your bike properly fit saves on pain and real possible joint, tendon and muscle damage. Most better shops will have a tech or two that have an idea how to fit someone and get you started. Once you've been riding awhile start asking around who does the best fit. Most areas will have a tech or two that are true artist when it comes to fitting. They will understand the subtleties of different riding styles and body types. They may even have a special try bike setup, video and computer they can take measurements from and really get you and your bike dialed in for max performance and comfort. The expense of a good fitting is well worth the price charged.

Oh, one other minor hint; saddles with lots of padding sound like a good idea but they aren't. Those scary hard looking little saddles really are more comfortable especially when the distance and time in the saddle gets long. A good saddle is worth its weight in gold, really they cost about their weight in gold. Soft, cushy saddles wear on soft tissue in places you would rather not have worn.

Clipless pedals ( okay unless you've been riding a since before the 1980s when pedals had toeclips you will not understand why pedals you clip onto your shoes are called clipless but they are) Clipless pedals are scary at first. You will fall down. Tradition is you will fall down in front of a crowd and not when your alone. We've all been there. We'll laugh a little but we all can relate. Clipless pedals and good shoes are another very helpful thing.

By and wear a good helmet, always. Your head is worth it. If you show up to a ride with me and you don't have a helmet, you don't ride. Crashes happen.

I'm an old fat guy and I do look silly in spandex but it works. Good shorts with a decent chamois (the pad in shorts again you need to have been around a long time to know why it is called a chamois) are nice. I prefer bibs but to each his own.

Oh and about crashes. Crashing on your bicycle is kind of like jumping out of a moving car; in only your underwear.

See how much fun we have on our bicycles.

 

[mr.jbk79]

Maybe something like this?

This must be the bike of choice if you ride through the ghetto on your way to work?

 

[snubbyfan]

I'll give a big plus 1 to this. Having your bike properly fit saves on pain and real possible joint, tendon and muscle damage. Most better shops will have a tech or two that have an idea how to fit someone and get you started. Once you've been riding awhile start asking around who does the best fit. Most areas will have a tech or two that are true artist when it comes to fitting. They will understand the subtleties of different riding styles and body types. They may even have a special try bike setup, video and computer they can take measurements from and really get you and your bike dialed in for max performance and comfort. The expense of a good fitting is well worth the price charged.

Oh, one other minor hint; saddles with lots of padding sound like a good idea but they aren't. Those scary hard looking little saddles really are more comfortable especially when the distance and time in the saddle gets long. A good saddle is worth its weight in gold, really they cost about their weight in gold. Soft, cushy saddles wear on soft tissue in places you would rather not have worn.

Clipless pedals ( okay unless you've been riding a since before the 1980s when pedals had toeclips you will not understand why pedals you clip onto your shoes are called clipless but they are) Clipless pedals are scary at first. You will fall down. Tradition is you will fall down in front of a crowd and not when your alone. We've all been there. We'll laugh a little but we all can relate. Clipless pedals and good shoes are another very helpful thing.

By and wear a good helmet, always. Your head is worth it. If you show up to a ride with me and you don't have a helmet, you don't ride. Crashes happen.

I'm an old fat guy and I do look silly in spandex but it works. Good shorts with a decent chamois (the pad in shorts again you need to have been around a long time to know why it is called a chamois) are nice. I prefer bibs but to each his own.

Oh and about crashes. Crashing on your bicycle is kind of like jumping out of a moving car; in only your underwear.

See how much fun we have on our bicycles.

Good tips, if the bike's fitted correctly it goes a long way in biking comfort and enjoyment. Frankenbikes seat's one of those expensive, hard little seats. It has a kevlar cover and titanium rails. I got tired of trashing my seat whenever I crashed.

Back when I used to ride a lot there was a difference between going for a ride and going on a ride.
Going for a ride is just that, just jumping on your bike and going for a ride on a nice day.
Going on a ride is when you'll be gone for a while and putting many miles under your tires.
When I'd go for a ride, I'd wear whatever. sneakers, tanktop, cotton shorts, whatever.
When going on a ride, I'm wearing the spandex shorts, biking shoes with rotational cleats, helmet, gloves, sometimes a jersey usually just a tanktop or no shirt at all. Pack some Power Bars and lotsa fluids. I've gone on multiday rides with buddies wearing a backpack and wearing layers.

No matter how far you're going or how long you'll be away, always be prepared to make trailside repairs. I carry enough tools to disassemble and reassemble my bike except for the bottom bracket, extra chain links, spare tube, patch kit and high volume tire pump. I usually end up helping people with trailside repairs and I've been the official bike mechanic on bike tours.

 

[Wee Hooker]

When I got into riding for exercise and enjoyment some 12 years ago, I bought a Schwinn hybrid that was comfortable but heavy ( at over 30#). I loved it and it got me hooked on riding. After eight years I was ready for an upgrade. My criteria was that I wanted something lighter, faster but still durable enough to bounce my 200# butt over curbings and pot holes without blowing tires on narrow rims. I also liked the idea of lowered handlebars to help buck the wind (I ride near the ocean allot) but I didn't want my butt over my head either. I struggled with studying rims, tires, gears, frame specs and test for near a whole summer. Road racing style bikes were light but uncomfortable, punishing and fragile for my needs. Yet hybrids tended to trade speed ,weight and riding position for their durability. Finally I found my love in a heavily discounted cyclocross racing bike that a local bike shop had pulled out for their end of year sale. It was 18 # , had a semi upright riding position and was built to take off road punishment. Best of all, it fit me like a glove! I don't race it but it does everything I want it to do very well. Still in love with this bike even though my riding time has dwindled due to other commitments.

TCX (2007) - Bikes | Giant Bicycles | United States

 

[BigBill]

I want one with three wheels. With a cart in the rear for lunch and my cooler. We had these in the shop and we raced them after the shift ended.

 

[GaryS]

My bike guy had me test a Cannondale, a Giant, and a Felt. Of the three, the Cannondale felt the best. It's incredibly better than the Specialized I had. I just love the thing.

I also bought an ISM Adamo Century saddle. Very comfortable for my 220# Clydesdale body.

When I got into riding for exercise and enjoyment some 12 years ago, I bought a Schwinn hybrid that was comfortable but heavy ( at over 30#). I loved it and it got me hooked on riding. After eight years I was ready for an upgrade. My criteria was that I wanted something lighter, faster but still durable enough to bounce my 200# butt over curbings and pot holes without blowing tires on narrow rims. I also liked the idea of lowered handlebars to help buck the wind (I ride near the ocean allot) but I didn't want my butt over my head either. I struggled with studying rims, tires, gears, frame specs and test for near a whole summer. Road racing style bikes were light but uncomfortable, punishing and fragile for my needs. Yet hybrids tended to trade speed ,weight and riding position for their durability. Finally I found my love in a heavily discounted cyclocross bike that a local bike shop had pulled out for their end of year sale. It was 18 # , had a semi upright riding position and was built to take off road punishment. I also loved the fact that duel lever hand brakes were std. Still in love with this bike even though my riding time has dwindled due to other commitments.

TCX (2007) - Bikes | Giant Bicycles | United States

 

[Black_Sheep]

I ride a Schwinn Cruiser like this one:

It's very low tech as far as bikes go and not exactly a featherweight, but I started riding to exercise so the extra weight and rolling resistance aren't all bad.

 

[Leatherhead23]

Here are my Schwinns....

 

[Nico Testosteros]

Bikes are like guns. You can get one to serve all your needs but it's better to have lots of them.