Hybrid Bike...recommendations please!

2stepscloser

After 18 months of consistently going to the gym, I've decided that I want to ride on the road; however, I haven't been on a bike in like 20 years! I want a bike that I can use when we take family rides, an occasional long ride with my club, and to possibly use for a sprint triathlon. We visited a few local bike shops and looked at bikes (Jamis, Trek, and Diamondback) anywhere from $350 to $800+. There are a few more shops locally, but my head is already spinning from reading reviews. This is a rather large purchase and I'm fearful of making the wrong choice. I'd love recommendations for specific bikes or things to really look for when deciding on the right one.

(P.S. I've been looking on Craigslist and there is nothing available in a men's 20-21" frame. I'm 6ft tall with a 33" inseam)

wellfordmike

You might check out the Cannondale Quick and Quick SL Series

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GetSoda

Consider a cyclocross bike instead.

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rachelg145

Mine is a Marin. Hybrid, women's frame, bought it 10 -12 years ago and keep up with tune ups, truing wheels, etc. I ride in the city and don't ride as often anymore but long rides would be 10 miles of city. It is stored inside. I've never gotten a flat, it handles very well, I can keep up with my 6'4 husband on his road bike without a problem. Worth test riding one. I probably paid 300-400 bucks new. Good luck! If you really like riding and you live somewhere that has a winter season you can get crazy and buy a portable bike trainer so you can ride your new bike indoor for exercise. It's a great workout.

Please be sure to get appropriate accessories (lights, helmet, etc) - have fun!

canadianlbs

you're just going to hate this . . .

i got my first serious bike around 8 years ago, after six months of testing my commitment by commuting a 20km round trip on a box-store generic . . . i love love LOVE the jamis coda. still do, and i'd be on my third one if they hadn't switched up their selling/shipping patterns and made it so hard to find one in a store . . . i have this Thing about buying a bike sight-unseen. just about my only complaint about the two that i owned was their tapering handlebar shape that make it hard to get a headlight settled. there isn't a lot of 'flat' real estate on the bar for someone who wants to mount more than a couple of lights. but it takes racks, standard knobbies, and probably a few other things that i never needed.

what you like depends on what you like and your riding patterns/lifestyle, unfortunately. codas are tough. i bike a lot but i treat bikes the way you used to when you were 10 years old . . . i'm not out there every second saturday polishing mine or fine-tuning its bits. mine was good for smooth and rough roadway, very flexible and responsive (steel frame, more give), light enough and with enough gears to be pretty much easy to work with over any surface and on almost all gradients without my having to fear for my knee joints and ligaments (i'm a wimp).

i used to stick studded tires on it in the winter and kind of surf my way over churned up car-snot and snow on that bike, so imo it probably would have been good for trailing as well if i were that kind of girl. i did take it through the odd cedar-chipped jog/hiking track with the ups and downs and the turns, and it was great. i'm just lazy about the extra rolling resistance on trails ;-) and not so much of a recreational rider, really.

i dunno. i just loved my first one especially. codas to me are like those old brick-shaped volvos that just go and they go and they keep on going . . . and they've got that kind of feel to them without being all land-yachtish and logy to move around.

i'm riding one of the louis garneau sc bikes now and i like it fine, but . . .

Linnaea27

My #1 recommendation would be to make repeated trips to the bike shop where you plan to purchase your bike, and try out the options there over and over; compare them and spend lots of time trying each one out, sometimes more than once in one trip. That is super important for choosing a bike that is really comfortable for your body and that has good ergonomics. I did not do this for my first bike purchase (more on that in a minute) but did when I bought the bike I use and love now. That was the right thing to do. Don't be afraid to use the bike shop people's time; that's what they are there for, and usually they enjoy chattering and/or flirting with customers who they see often!

My first new bike purchase was a $400 Trek hybrid. I did not spend enough time trying out the various options and was afraid to try road bikes with drop handlebars, and I later found that the bike I'd purchased was incredibly uncomfortable for me! Road bikes are wonderful because of the dropped handlebars which allow you to change positions, working different arm and back muscles and giving your neck muscles a break; this is especially important if you will be racing since being able to bend over lower down is far more aerodynamic and faster than the upright position used on a hybrid bike. For what you're hoping to use the bike for, I'd actually look at touring road bikes or cyclocross bikes able to take slightly fatter tires than standard road bikes.

For brands, I'd recommend Trek (I now have a lightweight Trek road bike I LOVE and ride even on rough dirt roads), Specialized, Cannondale, and Raleigh. And Bianchi is wonderful and drool-worthy to bike fans, but very expensive!

2stepscloser

Thank you all for the feedback. I think I am going to try to stop by two other bike shops this weekend who sell Giant and Specialized. I totally agree that I must see, feel and ride it before I purchase anything. I've also read that Shimano components are the top of the line. Just want to make sure that I don't spend $500+ frivolously and end up hating the bike.

RiverBug89

You can get a fantastic bike for under $600. Each bike from those big brands comes from a series that gets progressively more high-end: I think 98% of people are happiest in the long run when they pick the 2nd or third bike from the bottom in the lineup. So... not the cheapest, but it doesn't make any sense to go high-end with a hybrid bike. That's really for if you get seriously into biking one day and pick either a high end mountain or road bike where the application requires you to really squeeze everything you can out of your bike.

So... don't worry about carbon vs steel forks, it won't make any difference. Pick a bike that's light enough, has good tires, and THE RIGHT FRAME GEOMETRY FOR YOUR BODY.

As a woman, I HIGHLY recommend getting a good saddle (that doesn't mean a soft saddle- that means a correctly proportioned one!! you should be sitting on your seat bones, no soft tissue pressure). Biking is excellent, low impact exercise- the only danger is numbing or damaging your sexual organs. With a hybrid, you sit more upright, so this dangers is mostly averted.

Personally, I loved the Cannondale Quick and the Trek FX 7.2, and I bought the trek because I'm attached to the brand and I preferred the look of the bike. The Giant Escape was great, just didn't have the same ease of ride for me.

GOOD LUCK!!! JUST RIDE THEM ALL, AND PICK THE ONE THAT MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE FLYING

LaPeanut

I purchased my first-ever brand new bike in February: a Trek FX WSD 7.2. I love it and from late February to mid May I was able to ride over 700 miles on it. I find it a very comfortable style (but you might want to change the grips on the handlebars) good for both road and packed path riding. As mentioned above, a bike fit is a really good idea to be sure your bike is right for you.

OhioCXgeek

As a bike shop employee, the fact that you are at a bike shop and looking is the important thing. As long as those employees are doing their job, you will get a quality bicycle. Best way to decide?

Ride every stinking bike you are considering and pick the one you feel MOST comfortable on. Many people quit cycling because they are uncomfortable on the bicycle they are riding. Make sure you are fit to the bike. If anything feels "off" bring it to the staff's attention before purchasing it.

Also, a good pair of bike shorts goes a loooonnnngg way to making it fun! You don't need the fancy spandex kind. There are more and more shorts made to look like "normal" clothing.

Give your body time to adapt. Like exercise, those first few rides can and probably will leave you sore. And like exercise, you just have to work through it.

Welcome to cycling!

jbee27

. i love love LOVE the jamis coda. still do, and i'd be on my third one if they hadn't switched up their selling/shipping patterns and made it so hard to find one in a store . . .

This is awesome to read as I just bought a Jamis Coda last month. I'm loving it, and it seems like the loyalty to this bike runs deep among bike enthusiasts. :-)

OP, I am a newbie biker, but I did what other posters have recommended. I went to a local bike shop, explained what I was looking for/type of riding I wanted to do, rode a bunch of bikes that they recommended, then picked my favorite. As stated above, I'm loving the one I chose.