Need help figuring out what kind of bike to buy

CLL1001

I'm new to cycling, only been riding for a couple months and I'm loving it more and more every time I get out. It's not in the budget to go out and get a new bike right now but I'd like to start researching and saving up a bit. I've been riding on my local (paved) bike trail about 5 days per week. My plan is to continue riding/training as much as I can and my ultimate goal is to participate in the MS150 in September 2014.

Right now I'm riding an old, cheapo walmart mountain bike that I bought about 5 years ago just to have if I ever wanted to get out for a leisurely ride. I've been having some trouble with the brakes and gears and I just feel like it's holding me back. I just also figure now that I'm getting more serious about it I'd like to try and upgrade my equipment but I'm completely clueless. I've gone on a couple different websites for info and to be honest the selections of different types of bikes and price ranges are a little overwhelming when you don't really know what you're looking for.

I'd appreciate any advice...I don't plan to buy online, I realize it's best to go into a bike shop and test out some different bikes but I'd like to be a little bit informed before I head into a shop. TIA

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Well you definitely don't need a mountain bike for what you are doing. You want a road bike. But I know nothing of road bikes...

TheBigYin

well - some idea of budget might be an idea - to be honest, under a certain threshold, the bikes targetted at women tend to not be particularly changed much from the mens bikes - it's generally a "shrink it and pink it" exercise. Once you get past the £500 or so mark in the uk there is a bit more tailoring going on, using narrower 'bars, shorter stems, shorter reach brakes, and shorter top-tubes to take account of the (usual) proportionally shorter torso and longer legs compared to men.

You'd definitely be best served with a roadbike of some sort if you're looking at 150mile rides though...

Dahamac

Do you have a budget in mind? That greatly affects the choices.

The type of bike is also dependent on where you plan to ride and how much you plan to ride. I bought a Cruiser style bike for my wife and I when we started riding and if I had it to do over again then I would have bought us both flat-bar road bikes instead of the cruisers.

Something along this line for a lady:
http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/fitness/alysa-ft2-13/

If you think that you are going to really get serious and ride a lot of miles at a fast pace then a true road bike is a better choice. Something like one of these:
http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/road/endurance/capri-3-0-13/
I would pay extra for the Shimano 105 drivetrain.
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/sport/lexa/lexa_slx/#/us/en/model/features?url=us/en/bikes/road/sport/lexa/lexa_slx
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/road/ruby/rubycompact

Maybe this will at least get you started. BTW, A budget of $800-1000.00 US$ for the flat bar road bike and a budget of $1,500-2,000 for the drop bar road bike.

Espressocycle

Sounds like a quality bike shop hybrid in the $500 range is what you are looking for. Plenty of people ride the 150s in them even, although in a flat bar bike it's nice to get some bar ends for $20 to add an extra hand position and at any distance, I suggest a leather Brooks saddle/seat - they are $100 or so, but I'd rather have a Brooks on a beater than a nice bike with a lousy seat.

Here are some good $500 hybrids:
http://www.fujibikes.com/bike/details/traverse_13_st
http://www.myjamis.com/SSP Applications/JamisBikes/MyJamis/consumer/bike.html?year=2013&model=Citizen 2&cat_grp=recr_1
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/town/fitness/fx/

If you do decide on a road bike, I think the best value for a non-pro is a good steel frame bike from Jamis. At $700 (or $950 for the next better set of parts), you really can't beat this:
http://www.myjamis.com/SSP Applications/JamisBikes/MyJamis/consumer/bike.html?year=2013&model=Satellite Sport Femme&cat_grp=fem_5

Possible_Infinity

My Advice would be a Flat bar road bike or a low end road bike... Best bet really is a used road bike...


Hybrids are nice but they tend to put Mountain bike gearing on them which in my case I outgrew/never use...

ghost15026

Go to Amazon and get Bicycling Magazine's New Cyclist Handbook for about $10.50. After you read it then read the rest of this post

Determine what type of bicycling you want to do. This let's you narrow the category/type of bicycle. Wikipedia - > List of Bicycle Types. You need to know what you're shopping for before you shop.

A good bike is one that fits. That is your first priority. If the bike doesn't fit, it's automatically a bad bike for you regardless of specs. A good bicycle shop should ask if you know your measurements and try you on different bikes. A distant second priority is getting a bike for the right purpose (unless you buy a dedicated road bike and try to off-road...)

Next, visit several local bicycle shops. Treat them somewhat like car dealerships. They may have helpful personnel or staff that tries to up-sell. You want someone helpful, first. Then, you want a bicycle that fits and suits your purposes without breaking your bank. You may want a bicycle you can upgrade to higher quality components later on so watch out for gimmicky shifter systems. Talk. Talk some more. Leave. Go to another shop. Talk. Then another shop. Then sleep on it. The salesperson is more important than the bicycle for a novice at this particular stage.

By the time you realize your first purchase wasn't everything you want or you think you "grew out of it" then you graduated from being a novice. Shop on Craig's List at that point The money is less of a factor - it's all about whatever gets you riding. It's normal.

The best values for bikes are used bikes on Craig's List. However, if you're not familiar with bike fit, components, types, then you really need to go to a shop. Remember, if it doesn't fit properly then it's worthless to you. You're paying a premium at a bike shop for fitting.