First real bike purchase?

[Norjak71]

So now that the weather is warming up and I have a little bit of cash saved up I'm thinking about going all in on an off-road bike as where I live there are plenty of back-road dirt roads that you can avoid city traffic and cars rather easily, so I am looking into a dirt bike.

I was honestly just looking for some general advice on whether I should be getting a really good one that will last a long time and consider it an investment type purchase, or perhaps start off with a low-end less expensive purchase.

When you got into biking whether it be for fun, exercise or sport did you make the initial investment knowing it would pay itself off in the long run, or buy one just for the summer and see how much you got into it?

 

[dabac]

"Dirt bike" and "off road" is more commonly used for motorcycles. This site is about human-powered, pedal-driven bicycles.
What are you asking about?

For bicycles:

Thing is, whatever you buy still has to be good enough to work, to perform the task requested of them.
You wouldn't buy a discount parachute only b/c you don't know if you're keep it up, would you?
But with department store bikes, that's pretty much where you're at. They're really only made for occasional, casual use - and that is assuming that they're put together well enough to have a chance of working at all.

If by "off-road bike bike" you mean MTB, I wouldn't get one for dirt/gravel roads.
You don't need suspension parts for that kind of riding, it'll only make the bike heavy and steal pedalling energy.
A little bit of riding skill will work better.
Also, The more features you want to get in a bike for a set amount of money, the poorer those features are engineered.
If you want to get good value for money, get the simplest bike you can for your kind of riding.
Hybrids are often good for fitness/utility type riding.

 

[OursIsTheFury]

Off road bike... like a mountain bike per se? Off road bikes sound more like motorcycles, than the ones with the pedals. And if you do, and it's your first, make sure you buy a really good one. Price is very justified, especially for the more expensive ones. I honestly think it is better to spend a lot on the initial purchase as an investment, as it will have warranties and you won't have to shell out for future repairs, in case there are any problems with the bike after you get it.