Help me choose a bike

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

A few months ago I started riding my bike as a form of cross-training for a half marathon. I've discovered I love to ride and would like to pursue it further. Problem is, my bike is a 10-year old piece of garbage from Costco which weighs a ton. I need a new bike but am totally uneducated and a bit overwhelmed with all the choices.

I live in a fairly hilly area, I ride on a combination of road and packed gravel, and I occasionally have my son and his friend in the trailer in back (an extra 70 pounds), so I'm pretty sure a hybrid is right for me but other than that, I'm clueless.

What are some tips to help me select the right bike?

bwogilvie

Oh, your profile says you're in Vancouver. I had a reasonably good impression of the Comor shop at West 4th and Burrard, and Dizzy Cycles and a branch of Reckless are not far away, so if that's a convenient spot to go, I would check out the offerings there. For a decent bicycle, the first thing to look for is a shop with which you feel comfortable. If a sales clerk tries to steer you to a particular kind of bike without asking what kind of riding you intend to do, what you ride now, and how experienced you are, thank them for their time and find another clerk or another shop.

For your kind of riding, and depending on your budget, the bikes I would consider are:

1. Hybrid. Advantages: relatively inexpensive, good gearing range for hills. Disadvantages: upright riding position is less comfortable on longer rides; often heavier than road bikes; sometimes has front suspension, which is unnecessary and adds weight.

2. Touring bike. Advantages: drop handlebars offer multiple positions for comfort on long rides; low gearing so you can haul a load or a trailer up a long hill; usually come with bar-end shifters, which are more durable than integrated brake/shift levers ("brifters"). Disadvantages: heavier than other road bikes (but usually comparable to a hybrid).

3. Cyclocross bike. Advantages: drop handlebars; designed to work with wide tires, which are good on dirt and rough pavement; relatively light. Disadvantages: gearing can be high for casual riders (though it's lower than road racing bikes); usually comes with knobby tires, which are overkill on roads, including gravel.

I would stick with a steel or aluminum frame; carbon fiber is trendy but it is rare to find a carbon bike that can take wider tires, which are essential for comfort on gravel.

Fit is important. You want a bike that doesn't leave you feeling stretched out or cramped. This article by Peter J. White sums up the key aspects of bike fitting better than I could: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

Whatever bike you get, the proper choice of tires can make for a much more comfortable ride. Jan Heine, publisher of Bicycle Quarterly, has done a series of tests on tires, and finds that wide tires with supple casing, run at moderate pressures, are faster and more comfortable than skinny road tires at high pressure. (They don't *feel* as fast, but tests show that they are.) A good, inexpensive 700C tire with a relatively supple casing is the 700Cx35 Panaracer Pasela. The various Compass tires sold by Compass Bicycles (www.compasscycles.com) are quite good, though more expensive (Jan owns the company that sells them, but he had them designed after doing his tests.) For a bike with 700C wheels, a 32, 35, or 38 mm tire is probably the optimal width.

You might also consider going to one of the social rides that the Vancouver Bicycle Club organizes (http://vbc.bc.ca), and ask other riders what they like and dislike about their bikes. I went for a ride out to Belcarra with the VBC when I visited Vancouver this summer, and found them to be a welcoming, friendly bunch.

This page provides a decent overview of different bicycle types:
http://centurycycles.com/buyers-guides/bicycle-types-how-to-pick-the-best-bike-for-you-pg9.htm

I have a strong bias toward bikes that can accept wide tires and fenders/mudguards. I hear it rains from time to time in Vancouver. :laugh:

Feel free to PM me if you have a specific question. I rode a road racing bike in the 80s, a hybrid and the occasional mountain bike from the 90s through 2008, and since then, a touring bike, an upright city commuter, a brevet bike (designed for riding comfortably all day and all night over long distances), and a couple of folding bikes, so I have experience with most of what's out there, except for full-suspension mountain bikes, recumbents, and trikes.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

^^ this is all fantastic advice, thank you so much for taking the time. I will print this off when I go to the shops

Yes, it rains a little here :laugh: mud guards are a definite must. Thanks for the offer to PM you with further questions, I may take you up on that.

bwogilvie

P.S. A good bike shop will be willing to swap parts without much of an extra charge. So, for example, if you decide you really like the feel of a cyclocross bike, but the lowest gear isn't low enough for the hills you need to ride, they could put a larger cassette in back, or even replace the double crank with a triple. Beyond a certain point, that can get expensive, but small alterations usually don't cost that much.

OneGoodBean

I'm from Seattle, so a very similar terrain. I got a hybrid and absolutely love it. Mine is a 2012 model, but light weight and still does the job great. If you're in the Seattle area ever, check out Greggs Cycle.

Missjulesdid

Find a friendly, helpful, knowledgeable bicycle shop and take it from there.

Capt_Apollo

I'd go to a local bike shop to get set up. Yeah, it might be more expensive, but the bike is assembled by pros, and you deal with them directly in case of issues and warranty. My brother bought a bike from Sports Authority, and when it broke nine months into the one year manufacturer warranty, they made him ship it out to the manufacturer. When I had a similar issue with my bike, the owner of the LBS just handed me a new one and took care of the broken one himself.

Based on what you say the terrain is like, you'll want a hybrid. Something you can do some distance on while able to go on Zune different types of roads.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

Great advice from all of you, thanks. I will definitely go to a reputable bike shop, and am aware of the ones bwogilvie mentioned (I run by one of them often). I don't want to end up with another piece of junk that I have to replace in a couple years so spending the extra money to get good quality is a good plan.