major newbie

Hi all-

I am a major newbie, never really ridden at all. I would
like to take it up for fitness purposes....or at least I
think I would like to. I guess my question is, how do I go
about finding a decent bike that I can find out if I really
want to get into it. I would only be riding paved
neighborhood roads...not like long distances..maybe light
trails..nothing major. What sort of bike should I be looking
at to start out on without having to spend a lot of money at
first...road bike? MTB? or am I way off?! I would appreciate
any input.

Thanks! lil ivy

 

Ivy,

I just asked the same question more of less... have a look
at thread below.."Advice on buying bike" - might give you
some hints..

Dulcie.

"lil_ivy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi all-
>
> I am a major newbie, never really ridden at all. I would
> like to take it up for fitness purposes....or at least I
> think I would like to. I guess my question is, how do I go
> about finding a decent bike that I can find out if I
> really want to get into it. I would only be riding paved
> neighborhood roads...not like long distances..maybe light
> trails..nothing major. What sort of bike should I be
> looking at to start out on without having to spend a lot
> of money at first...road bike? MTB? or am I way off?! I
> would appreciate any input.
>
> Thanks! lil ivy

 

[email protected] (lil_ivy) wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> I would only be riding paved neighborhood roads...not like
> long distances..maybe light trails..nothing major.

That's exactly the kind of riding that hybrid bikes are
designed for. They have lighter weight frames than mountain
bikes (no suspension), but fatter tires than road bikes for
the off-road stuff.

 

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (lil_ivy) wrote:

> Hi all-
>
> I am a major newbie, never really ridden at all. I would
> like to take it up for fitness purposes....or at least I
> think I would like to. I guess my question is, how do I go
> about finding a decent bike that I can find out if I
> really want to get into it. I would only be riding paved
> neighborhood roads...not like long distances..maybe light
> trails..nothing major. What sort of bike should I be
> looking at to start out on without having to spend a lot
> of money at first...road bike? MTB? or am I way off?! I
> would appreciate any input.
>
> Thanks! lil ivy

The answer is, it depends, even given the riding you will
do.

The easiest, cheapest way to start is probably to go to a
local bike shop (rather than a department store that happens
to sell bikes), poke around at their cheap bikes, and ask
them for some advice.

They will probably steer you towards a "comfort" or "hybrid"
bike, which will have lightly treaded tires, flat bars
probably a suspension fork, and maybe a suspension seatpost.
It's not my idea of an ideal bike, but the flat bars will be
less intimidating than drop bars, and while the front
suspension won't be terribly important, it won't harm
anything either.

Most importantly, they will make sure you fit the bike and
hopefully let you test a few models. Just pick the one that
feels nicest and looks good to you. The latter is
frighteningly important, because you'll want to ride the
bike more if you like the looks of it.

Plan to spend a couple hundred, plan to keep it for a year.

After a year, you'll either hang it up on the wall (or sell
it), or you'll be using it a lot. If the latter, you may
eventually run into this bike's limitations, but we'll talk
about that later.

If you have less money, mechanical aptitude, and are
confident you can achieve proper bike fit on your own, haunt
garage sales and scavenge an old road bike or no-suspension
mountain bike.

Now, this advice begs a question: almost nobody here
actually rides a bike like I've suggested for you. What
gives? Well, we're experienced, and our bikes are
specialized.

A road bike would be the fastest choice over the terrain
you're talking about, for example, but riding on a drop-bar
is a bit intimidating as a first bike, and the advantages
only come up at faster speeds and longer distances. But test
ride a road bike (or 'cross bike; they're often a bit less
expensive than low-end road equipment, and have no
disadvantages until you're into organized racing) If you
like the feel of the drop-bar, go for one! Just ask the shop
to set the handlebar a little higher than they would like
to. They'll make faces, but it will be easier on your body,
at the cost of a small amount of aerodynamics.

A mountain bike is really a wonderful, specialized tool.
Modern decent-quality MTBs only come into their own when a
trail becomes truly rough: significant roots, 1' or greater
drops, heavy mut, etc. Outside of such conditions, they can
be used, but the sacrifice in performance when taken on-road
(mostly down to tires that roll slowly on pavement) or even
when used on light trails makes them a poor choice for your
usage. Full suspension: when you start dropping more than 2'
or doing multi-hour serious trail rides, then you can
consider such a beast.

Have fun,
--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected]
http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/ President, Fabrizio
Mazzoleni Fan Club

 

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (lil_ivy) wrote:

> Hi all-
>
> I am a major newbie, never really ridden at all. I would
> like to take it up for fitness purposes....or at least I
> think I would like to. I guess my question is, how do I go
> about finding a decent bike that I can find out if I
> really want to get into it. I would only be riding paved
> neighborhood roads...not like long distances..maybe light
> trails..nothing major. What sort of bike should I be
> looking at to start out on without having to spend a lot
> of money at first...road bike? MTB? or am I way off?! I
> would appreciate any input.
>
> Thanks! lil ivy

The answer is, it depends, even given the riding you will
do.

The easiest, cheapest way to start is probably to go to a
local bike shop (rather than a department store that happens
to sell bikes), poke around at their cheap bikes, and ask
them for some advice.

They will probably steer you towards a "comfort" or "hybrid"
bike, which will have lightly treaded tires, flat bars
probably a suspension fork, and maybe a suspension seatpost.
It's not my idea of an ideal bike, but the flat bars will be
less intimidating than drop bars, and while the front
suspension won't be terribly important, it won't harm
anything either.

Most importantly, they will make sure you fit the bike and
hopefully let you test a few models. Just pick the one that
feels nicest and looks good to you. The latter is
frighteningly important, because you'll want to ride the
bike more if you like the looks of it.

Plan to spend a couple hundred, plan to keep it for a year.

After a year, you'll either hang it up on the wall (or sell
it), or you'll be using it a lot. If the latter, you may
eventually run into this bike's limitations, but we'll talk
about that later.

If you have less money, mechanical aptitude, and are
confident you can achieve proper bike fit on your own, haunt
garage sales and scavenge an old road bike or no-suspension
mountain bike.

Now, this advice begs a question: almost nobody here
actually rides a bike like I've suggested for you. What
gives? Well, we're experienced, and our bikes are
specialized.

A road bike would be the fastest choice over the terrain
you're talking about, for example, but riding on a drop-bar
is a bit intimidating as a first bike, and the advantages
only come up at faster speeds and longer distances. But test
ride a road bike (or 'cross bike; they're often a bit less
expensive than low-end road equipment, and have no
disadvantages until you're into organized racing) If you
like the feel of the drop-bar, go for one! Just ask the shop
to set the handlebar a little higher than they would like
to. They'll make faces, but it will be easier on your body,
at the cost of a small amount of aerodynamics.

A mountain bike is really a wonderful, specialized tool.
Modern decent-quality MTBs only come into their own when a
trail becomes truly rough: significant roots, 1' or greater
drops, heavy mut, etc. Outside of such conditions, they can
be used, but the sacrifice in performance when taken on-road
(mostly down to tires that roll slowly on pavement) or even
when used on light trails makes them a poor choice for your
usage. Full suspension: when you start dropping more than 2'
or doing multi-hour serious trail rides, then you can
consider such a beast.

Have fun,
--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected]
http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/ President, Fabrizio
Mazzoleni Fan Club

 

On 9 Mar 2004 06:06:46 -0800, [email protected] (lil_ivy) wrote:

>Hi all-
>
>I am a major newbie, never really ridden at all. I would
>like to take it up for fitness purposes....or at least I
>think I would like to. I guess my question is, how do I go
>about finding a decent bike that I can find out if I really
>want to get into it. I would only be riding paved
>neighborhood roads...not like long distances..maybe light
>trails..nothing major. What sort of bike should I be
>looking at to start out on without having to spend a lot of
>money at first...road bike? MTB? or am I way off?! I would
>appreciate any input.
>
>Thanks! lil ivy

Along with everything else people have said-

Shop for a bike shop. Visit a few stores. Ask some
questions. At some point you will realize that you are
talking to a shop that is actually listening. Being new, you
will probably be returning to the shop again and again over
the months. You want it to be a place where you are
comfortable.

 

On 9 Mar 2004 06:06:46 -0800, [email protected] (lil_ivy) wrote:

>Hi all-
>
>I am a major newbie, never really ridden at all. I would
>like to take it up for fitness purposes....or at least I
>think I would like to. I guess my question is, how do I go
>about finding a decent bike that I can find out if I really
>want to get into it. I would only be riding paved
>neighborhood roads...not like long distances..maybe light
>trails..nothing major. What sort of bike should I be
>looking at to start out on without having to spend a lot of
>money at first...road bike? MTB? or am I way off?! I would
>appreciate any input.
>
>Thanks! lil ivy

Along with everything else people have said-

Shop for a bike shop. Visit a few stores. Ask some
questions. At some point you will realize that you are
talking to a shop that is actually listening. Being new, you
will probably be returning to the shop again and again over
the months. You want it to be a place where you are
comfortable.

 

On 9 Mar 2004 06:06:46 -0800, [email protected] (lil_ivy) wrote:

>Hi all-
>
>I am a major newbie, never really ridden at all.

Do I understand this to mean that youv'e *never* ridden a
bicycle, *ever* before in your *entire* life?

This is just for clarification, since, believe it or not, we
do get a lot of posts on here from people who have never
actually thrown a leg over a top tube, ever, and the advice
that you give to an absolute rank beginner is different even
to the advice you give to someone who hasn't ridden a
bicycle in 40 years....

>I would like to take it up for fitness purposes....or at
>least I think I would like to. I guess my question is, how
>do I go about finding a decent bike that I can find out if
>I really want to get into it.

Others have suggested it, others will suggest it. Find a
nice local bike shop and poke around their "cheap" bikes. A
good shop will talk to you, find out what you intend to do,
determine your skill level, and help you find a bicycle that
will suit you.

Stay away from the sporting-goods or department-store bikes.
Leaving aside the quality of their construction and
assembly, none of these outlets will have anyone on hand who
can really help you.

> I would only be riding paved neighborhood roads...not
> like long distances..maybe light trails..nothing major.
> What sort of bike should I be looking at to start out
> on without having to spend a lot of money at
> first...road bike? MTB? or am I way off?! I would
> appreciate any input.

If you have *never* ridden a bicycle before, I would
definitely not suggest a road bike. Road bikes are
specialized beasties--a lot of truths about them are
counterintuitive (narrow saddles good, high saddle position
good, drop bars good, hands on tops not so good, hands in
drops good only sometimes, etc). Not for the novice, but
the best thing going this side of a recumbent for distances
on pavement.

Likewise, a trail-spec MTB is overkill for the beginner. The
shopdude will steer you towards a "hybrid" or "comfort"
bike. These will probably suit you just fine.

You will discover that as you ride more, your idea of "long"
distances will change slowly....

-Luigi

>
>Thanks! lil ivy

 

On 9 Mar 2004 06:06:46 -0800, [email protected] (lil_ivy) wrote:

>Hi all-
>
>I am a major newbie, never really ridden at all.

Do I understand this to mean that youv'e *never* ridden a
bicycle, *ever* before in your *entire* life?

This is just for clarification, since, believe it or not, we
do get a lot of posts on here from people who have never
actually thrown a leg over a top tube, ever, and the advice
that you give to an absolute rank beginner is different even
to the advice you give to someone who hasn't ridden a
bicycle in 40 years....

>I would like to take it up for fitness purposes....or at
>least I think I would like to. I guess my question is, how
>do I go about finding a decent bike that I can find out if
>I really want to get into it.

Others have suggested it, others will suggest it. Find a
nice local bike shop and poke around their "cheap" bikes. A
good shop will talk to you, find out what you intend to do,
determine your skill level, and help you find a bicycle that
will suit you.

Stay away from the sporting-goods or department-store bikes.
Leaving aside the quality of their construction and
assembly, none of these outlets will have anyone on hand who
can really help you.

> I would only be riding paved neighborhood roads...not
> like long distances..maybe light trails..nothing major.
> What sort of bike should I be looking at to start out
> on without having to spend a lot of money at
> first...road bike? MTB? or am I way off?! I would
> appreciate any input.

If you have *never* ridden a bicycle before, I would
definitely not suggest a road bike. Road bikes are
specialized beasties--a lot of truths about them are
counterintuitive (narrow saddles good, high saddle position
good, drop bars good, hands on tops not so good, hands in
drops good only sometimes, etc). Not for the novice, but
the best thing going this side of a recumbent for distances
on pavement.

Likewise, a trail-spec MTB is overkill for the beginner. The
shopdude will steer you towards a "hybrid" or "comfort"
bike. These will probably suit you just fine.

You will discover that as you ride more, your idea of "long"
distances will change slowly....

-Luigi

>
>Thanks! lil ivy

 

In article <[email protected]>,
luigi12081 @cox.net says...

...

> If you have *never* ridden a bicycle before, I would
> definitely not suggest a road bike. Road bikes are
> specialized beasties--a lot of truths about them are
> counterintuitive (narrow saddles good, high saddle
> position good, drop bars good, hands on tops not so good,
> hands in drops good only sometimes, etc). Not for the
> novice, but the best thing going this side of a recumbent
> for distances on pavement.
>
> Likewise, a trail-spec MTB is overkill for the beginner.
> The shopdude will steer you towards a "hybrid" or
> "comfort" bike. These will probably suit you just fine.
>
> You will discover that as you ride more, your idea of
> "long" distances will change slowly....

... or quickly <GGG>:

When I got back on my bike 3 years ago after 2 decades of
not riding, my first ride was about an 8 mile round trip to
a local convenience store and back (I decided to turn
around there, that is), and I could hardly walk when I got
back home, nor for about 3 days after. Now I do that same
ride routinely to get ice cream or milk without even
thinking about
it. Last fall, I did a 62 mile ride with a friend and felt
fine except for a slightly sore neck the next day, and
I've been doing 20 to 35 mile solo and club rides this
winter just for fun and exercise.

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in
the newsgroups if possible).

 

> I would like to take it up for fitness purposes....

Take it up for FUN purposes and the fitness will come
naturally. Take itup for fitness purposes, and you likely
will not bike very long.

or at least I think I would like to. I
>guess my question is, how do I go about finding a decent
>bike that I can find out if I really want to get into it. I
>would only be riding paved neighborhood roads...not like
>long distances..maybe light trails..nothing major.

Famous last words. Biking is very addictive for many, and it
likely will not be long before you want a faster and better
bike to go new and exciting places!

http://members.aol.com/foxcondorsrvtns (Colorado
rental condo)

http://members.aol.com/dnvrfox (Family Web Page)

 

Wow!!! Thanks to everyone who responded so quickly and with
such great advice. Thankfully I have a coworker who is a
bike addict...when I asked her, she said the same thing that
pretty much all of you said. Go hybrid, she suggested a
local bike shop that I will most likely be comfortable
with...suggested the right time and such to go. Thanks again
for all of your replied, I reall appreciate it! Oh and by
the way, I have actually ridden a bike before, as a
kid/teenager and such..lol....it's just been a few years,
and it was never serious, just up and down the dirt roads at
my childhood home. One more question, what is the worst
terrain a hybrid bike can withstand? Say I start biking and
I like it, but wish to go on a few trails, no rough trails,
just some light bike trails.

thanks again!!

 

On 10 Mar 2004 05:52:38 -0800, [email protected] (lil_ivy) wrote:
>One more question, what is the worst terrain a hybrid bike
>can withstand? Say I start biking and I like it, but wish
>to go on a few trails, no rough trails, just some light
>bike trails.

The issues will be handling, off-road prowess, and long-term
durability. The hybrid will be fine for exploring semi-rough
trails, but won't handle well on very rough ones. You will
be a bit slower on semi-rough trails than if you were on a
proper MTB. If you end up using the hybrid for rough off-
roading constantly, you may have minor mechanical issues
somewhat often, and occasional major ones.

In practice, I would say to get whatever bike you want to
start out with. You'll use it to "find yourself" as that
cliche applies to bicycling; then you may end up with any or
all of a bunch of different bike styles...MTB, road racer,
tourer, cross, etc, and so on, and so forth......
--
Rick Onanian

 

On 10 Mar 2004 05:52:38 -0800, [email protected] (lil_ivy) wrote:

>Wow!!! Thanks to everyone who responded so quickly and with
>such great advice. Thankfully I have a coworker who is a
>bike addict...when I asked her, she said the same thing
>that pretty much all of you said. Go hybrid, she suggested
>a local bike shop that I will most likely be comfortable
>with...suggested the right time and such to go. Thanks
>again for all of your replied, I reall appreciate it! Oh
>and by the way, I have actually ridden a bike before, as a
>kid/teenager and such..lol....it's just been a few years,
>and it was never serious, just up and down the dirt roads
>at my childhood home.

as a kid, riding a bike on a dirt road is very very very
serious indeed.

I'll race you to the mailbox!

-Luigi

>One more question, what is the worst terrain a hybrid bike
>can withstand? Say I start biking and I like it, but wish
>to go on a few trails, no rough trails, just some light
>bike trails.
>
>thanks again!!