Need a bike for commuting - Please Help!

BeagleEyes

Hello All-
I am interested in commuting to work by bicycle. I have found a route that will be less treacherous than the main roads. My question is, which bike do you feel is the best for commuting? I went to a bike shop last night and was shown several bikes. A $300 Raleigh, a $600 Cannondale and a 2001 Rocky mountain bike that was marked down from $1300 to $650. The salesman gave me WAY too much information and I have no idea what any of this means. He told me all about brakes, gears, drives....blah, blah. My head was spinning!! (Mind you, I have only owned Huffys all my life and know NOTHING about bikes) I really want to learn about all this but certainly don't want to be "taken for a ride". Anyway, a friend has offered to give me their 1998 Trek Hybrid until I find what I like. Do you guys have any suggestions? I really want to start commuting by bike.....and plan on starting some trail riding and possible mountain riding this summer. I have always been interested and am now in the position to purchase a higher end bike. Ideally, I would like to spend no more the $700. Please offer whatever advice you can on what to look for on a new bike as far as equipment, and price.
Thanks all!

Have a great weekend!

tacomee

First off, welcome to the cycling universe. It's a really big place and you'll meet a whole lot of different people, many of who disagree with each other. It can be a little overwhelming to get started....


Question #1-- have you tried riding you friend's Trek yet? If that bike feels OK to ride, try it for a month or two. I'd say it's worth oh, about a $100, so if you like it, make them an offer. There's no need to spend a lot of money right off-- or ever if you don't feel like it. I've never spent over $500 on a bike in my whole life, don't currently own clip in syle pedals or biking shoes or any other fancy bike gear. And I ride over 5000 miles a year.

Question #2. How far are you going to ride everyday? The shorter the trip, the less the bike matters. For a trip of 1 > 4 miles on flat ground-- some old heavy one speed Shwinn you can pick up at goodwill for 10 bucks will be just fine. For 20 miles with hills, you'll need a better bike with derailers and gears. For most people, hybrid bikes work really well. Of course you'll read tons of negative posts about them here, but this is just dumbass racer types who think that plunking down thousands of dollars in equitment is the only way to enjoy cycling. It isn't true (although racing and club riding are super fun in there own way)

Question #3. How much gumption do you have? It really doesn't matter what kind of bike you have-- do you have the willpower to get out of bed every morning and pedal to work? What if it rains? What if you're tired? Gumption is the most important thing. You can buy a $3000 bike but it still works the same way that a $300 or even a $30 bikes does. You have to petal!

Here's the only web link you need to start out with.

<http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/index.htm>

Everything you want to know is at this site AND believe it because Mr. Kifer isn't trying to sell you anything. Anything you pick at a local bike shop is tainted just a little.