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
