New to biking - which hybrid?

i made the mistake of buying a diamondback wildwood from sports authority. i won't make that mistake again.

if you're riding 48 miles/wk, maybe "cheap" and comfortable isn't such a bad way to go. i ride about 150 miles per week and i'm on my 3rd wheelset....i'm upgrading bikes after only 5 months. my diamondback will be relegated to "if i have to" duty.

atomship47 said:

i made the mistake of buying a diamondback wildwood from sports authority. i won't make that mistake again.

if you're riding 48 miles/wk, maybe "cheap" and comfortable isn't such a bad way to go. i ride about 150 miles per week and i'm on my 3rd wheelset....i'm upgrading bikes after only 5 months. my diamondback will be relegated to "if i have to" duty.

Check out atomship47's thread cyclingforums.comt365603.htmlOpen ↗

I agree that spending the extra to get a bike that will last (Trek, Specialized, Giant, Cannondale, etc) is better than saving a few dollars on a bike that you will need to replace within a year. As to which bike, there are so many things to consider, many of which are covered in atomship47's thread.

I'm not sure that I agree, Rick. The OP doesn't out-and-out say he's a newbie, but you can infer it from his post. That means he doesn't have the experience to know what part of the sport he really wants to support. Will he actually *do* off-roading more than once or twice? Will a bike commute turn out to be too big a hassle? (E.g. Is the ride long enough to need a shower and/or change of clothes and all that implies?)

I suggest a minimum expenditure until he gets some miles on his legs.

If you are commuting, one of the main things that you are going to be interested in is reliability. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get it. In a big box store bike you can definitely run the risk of getting less for your money in terms of reliability than you will ever be happy with.

Do your homework on the Trek and Specialized hybrids. Pay a visit to some good local bike shops. Do some test rides on them and get a feel for what you would be getting for your money in their models. It will make comparison of the big box store bikes a lot easier. You will learn a lot in the process and give yourself a much better chance of ending up with a bike that will continue to work for you.

While the guys in this and the other thread are giving you some great guidance, also take a look at the info in the commuting forum to get some first hand info from folks who actually commute. There are a whole lot of folks who answer commuting questions who never do it, or would even be caught dead doing it. Some of the information they pass along can be pretty useless. YMMV of course. But I have learned a ton about commuting by talking to other commuters, just like I learned a ton about racing by talking to other racers.

Just FYI. Hope this helps. 😉

emyerson said:

Hello all.

I'm looking into getting a bike so that I can ride to the office a few days a week (about 8 hilly miles each way), and also do some light trail riding on the weekends (nothing too rugged). So I think a hybrid is the way to go.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good hybrid? There's a sale at Sports Authority on their Diamondback Edgewood hybrid, but I really have no way of knowing whether that's a good bike at all. What features should I be looking at?

Any help at all would be much appreciated by this enthusiastic newbie.

Like all things bike related, make sure the bike fits you and what you want it to do. If you are going to be commuting, then I suggest you should also be interested in bikes that offerer the ability to mount fenders and possibly a pannier rack to take the load off you.

As far as bikes go, I love my C'dale Road Warrior 500. I also looked at Specialized Sirrus Comp, Fuji Absolute 2.0, Trek 7.5FX, and Giant Cypress.

You should also discuss with your LBS (local bike shop) your options for carrying gear (change of clothes, laptop (maybe) or ???), lights (fall is here and winter is coming) etc.

Also ask about kevlar lined tires, Specialized Armadillos, Continental Gatorbacks, etc. Depending on where you live and your climate, you might also consider the abilitity to mount knobbies.

Are you sure you want a hybrid (flat bar) and not a traditional drop bar?

Have fun! Make sure the bike you choose fits.

Quoted post said:

I suggest a minimum expenditure until he gets some miles on his legs.

good point. that was my feeling when i bought the diamondback. in that respect, i don't regret my decision. it's good that i didn't spend $500+ on a quality bike after changing my mind on how/when/where i ride it. however, i do regret the decision in terms of value, customer service, quality and reliability.

if i were to do it all over again, i'd go to an lbs and say, "here's how far, how often and where i plan to ride. what price point do i need to look at to get a comfortable, reliable bike for my intended use?" then i'd try all the bikes out in that group.

all that being said, if you are new to riding, be prepared to have it become part of your soul not just a way of getting around. when that happens, what you expect out of a bike may change drastically. you'll be right back at the lbs when that happens.

Thanks all,

I guess I should have provided a little more detail. I'm basically a bike newbie. I haven't been on a bike in probably 15 years (I'm 32 now). I'm looking to start riding for fitness and as an alternative to burning fossil fuels. I live in Tucson, AZ, where we have great riding weather most of the year.

I'm committed to riding to work twice a week, and I'd _like_ to be able to do some off-roading, but I don't see that as a big part of what I'll do. I'm not convinced that a hybrid is what I'll need, but based on what I've read and what my buddy the serious rider has told me, a hybrid is the way to go.

I'm off to my LBS this afternoon to talk with some experts. Hopefully that'll help me start narrowing down my (seemingly endless) choices. Thanks, all for your continued help with this.

Ethan

atomship47 said:

if i were to do it all over again, i'd go to an lbs and say, "here's how far, how often and where i plan to ride. what price point do i need to look at to get a comfortable, reliable bike for my intended use?" then i'd try all the bikes out in that group.

That's my plan. Thanks.

Ethan, I'd concentrate more on the road side of the equation. Riding on and off road are two quite different things from the point of view of bike design and setup. Biggest differences are the gearing and the tires/wheels.

What we call a hybrid is a bike that tries to do both things, and as a result does neither of them well. In that respect your buddy is dead wrong about that being the best choice for you. (Does he ride one? Heck no.)

You should be looking for a 'commuter' or a 'touring' version of a road bike. I'd lean more toward touring since I'm sure you'll be doing more riding than just commuting. A touring bike will be set up for a more upright position with a comfortable saddle, is not so concerned about weight, will have fairly wide gearing (for a road bike), and will have attachment points for fenders, bags, and a rack (and might have some of those mounted). Might also include lights.

While you're at the LBS, check out shoes and clipless pedals, helmet, and cycling clothes. Try not to get sticker shock. 😉

Once you've done enough research to know what you think you need, and especially what size (there's more to fit than nominal "size", particularly top tube length), consider the used market. Especially thrift stores and craigslist. There's always eBay, but I'd try to stay local at first.

DMF said:

Ethan, I'd concentrate more on the road side of the equation. Riding on and off road are two quite different things from the point of view of bike design and setup. Biggest differences are the gearing and the tires/wheels.

What we call a hybrid is a bike that tries to do both things, and as a result does neither of them well. In that respect your buddy is dead wrong about that being the best choice for you. (Does he ride one? Heck no.)

You should be looking for a 'commuter' or a 'touring' version of a road bike. I'd lean more toward touring since I'm sure you'll be doing more riding than just commuting. A touring bike will be set up for a more upright position with a comfortable saddle, is not so concerned about weight, will have fairly wide gearing (for a road bike), and will have attachment points for fenders, bags, and a rack (and might have some of those mounted). Might also include lights.

While you're at the LBS, check out shoes and clipless pedals, helmet, and cycling clothes. Try not to get sticker shock. 😉

Once you've done enough research to know what you think you need, and especially what size (there's more to fit than nominal "size", particularly top tube length), consider the used market. Especially thrift stores and craigslist. There's always eBay, but I'd try to stay local at first.

Thanks for the advice. The wife and I are going to the LBS this weekend. They rent bikes on a daily or weekly basis, so I think I may go that route to try out a few options before I buy.

it's a good time of year to buy. the '07s are out (or coming out soon for some brands). in my search, i found that most lbs have '06 left-overs that they are trying to unload. one shop had the bike i wanted for $387 (msrp for the '07s is $470). that shop didn't have the color i wanted so i called another shop and they were selling the one i wanted for $429. i told them about the sale at the lbs closer to my home and they readily matched the price.

so...another couple tidbits of advice;

once you narrow down your search to a few models, go to the mfrs' websites and find all the dealers in your area. find out if they have in stock what you're looking for. find out what the price is. i was surprised at the wide range of prices between dealers. that will give you an idea on what you can get the bike for.

also, the cost of the bike isn't all to consider. i upgraded my saddle and will upgrade my pedals. the dealer where i bought my bike readily swapped the stock saddle evenly for saddles under $40. for more expensive saddles, they gave a significant credit. another dealer i went to offered me a $10 credit for the saddle and $5 credit for the pedals.

customer service is more important to me than $. right or wrong, i got a better feeling about the dealers who were more flexible with me. another way i was judging dealers was by looking at the floor models. at the dealer that i really didn't like...every bike i tried, i had to tighten the saddle post. i saw that at a few dealers. i also ran across some crooked/loose stems and poor brake adjustments. if they just slap floor models together, it makes me wonder how much attention to detail they pay to setup, etc. of customers' bikes.

i realize that many customers' hands are on the floor models. i considered that before i was too critical about the state of the floor models.

getting back to what style you should buy...i'd say don't rule out hybrids. don't rule out much of anything until you try them. almost no matter what you buy, if you get more serious about cycling, your first purchase most likely isn't going to fit all of your needs down the road. if your commute involves pot holes and lots of curbs, durability is a MAJOR concern. smaller-diameter, wider and more durable wheelsets/tires might be what you need to look at.

happy hunting

so did you buy a bike yet?

atomship47 said:

so did you buy a bike yet?

We're waiting for the bike shop to receive the Diamondback Edgewood. Should come in this week or next. Stores don't tend to carry bikes in my size (I'm 5'6", so I need a smaller bike). Looking forward to finally getting it.

after quite a few upgrades, i actually like my dback wildwood now. i definitely could have gotten a much better bike after all the $ i've sunk into this bike. however, the geometry on my bback is more comfortable to me than that of my trek 7300.

ends up, i had a bad tire which caused my spokes to flex and break. i'm on my 3rd wheelset now. dback upgraded both to mtb sets. i've had no problems since then. also, the design (on the '05 models) of the saddle post and brackets suck. the grooves were smoothed out within a couple of months. i'll need to upgrade that soon. another upgrade i STRONGLY recommend is the bottom bracket. i had constant problems with the stock bracket. i've got a sealed 1-piece bracket on order.

luckily, dback picked up the tab for wheels sets. otherwise, my upgrades would have far exceeded the cost of the bike to begin with. overall, an expensive lesson, but now i finally have a reliable, comfortable back-up bike.