Which bike is better for exercise?

lovemy4boys79

ok need some advice... about to get a bike for my birthday..undecided with which one I will get the best workout with and also has to be able to fit a child seat the one that sits in front of you...a cruiser or mountain bike and not fancy smancy cause I can't afford that I'm talking $150 or less...thanks in advance = )

contingencyplan

Provided it has gears they both will give you the same workout. That being said I personally HATE road bikes because the thin wheels are too easily upset by debris/imperfections in the road. That's all personal preference though.

omma_to_3

I'd look for a hybrid, but I can't speak to how it would work with the child seat.

lforner46

Get a hybrid with a bike trailer. I would check craig's list and get a good used Trek bike .

omma_to_3

The trailer will work if your child is at least 1. We use one for our 2 year old and he LOVES it.

wellbert

Hybrid with solid front fork if you can. Mountain if you need to go on trails/rocks.
Go used.

You can't buy a decent bike for $150 new. "just ok" starts at $300.

Hellbent_Heidi

Hybrid with solid front fork if you can. Mountain if you need to go on trails/rocks.
Go used.

You can't buy a decent bike for $150 new. "just ok" starts at $300.

I agree with this....if you get a cheapie bike, its going to be a tougher ride, and you won't end up using it as much. Go to a bike shop and tell them what type of riding you plan to be doing and they should be able to help direct you. That's what I did (6 years ago) and I ended up with a bike I still absolutely love, have used a ton, and I actually spent less than I thought I was going to have to spend.

contingencyplan

Hybrid with solid front fork if you can. Mountain if you need to go on trails/rocks.
Go used.

You can't buy a decent bike for $150 new. "just ok" starts at $300.

Going to be honest: Every single bicycle anyone in my family ever owned came from a Kmart or Walmart, they were ridden long and often, and no bad experiences there. Maybe it's because I've just never actually owned a high end bike so I have nothing to compare it to, but my personal experience would suggest that something you can pick up at a Kmart or Walmart would be just fine for the average person.

wellbert

Hybrid with solid front fork if you can. Mountain if you need to go on trails/rocks.
Go used.

You can't buy a decent bike for $150 new. "just ok" starts at $300.

Going to be honest: Every single bicycle anyone in my family ever owned came from a Kmart or Walmart, they were ridden long and often, and no bad experiences there. Maybe it's because I've just never actually owned a high end bike so I have nothing to compare it to, but my personal experience would suggest that something you can pick up at a Kmart or Walmart would be just fine for the average person.

Hmm, maybe. The biggest problem with them is quality of assembly/adjustment, the other is parts.

contingencyplan

Hybrid with solid front fork if you can. Mountain if you need to go on trails/rocks.
Go used.

You can't buy a decent bike for $150 new. "just ok" starts at $300.

Going to be honest: Every single bicycle anyone in my family ever owned came from a Kmart or Walmart, they were ridden long and often, and no bad experiences there. Maybe it's because I've just never actually owned a high end bike so I have nothing to compare it to, but my personal experience would suggest that something you can pick up at a Kmart or Walmart would be just fine for the average person.

Hmm, maybe. The biggest problem with them is quality of assembly/adjustment, the other is parts.

I wouldn't know about that. My father always purchased them unassembled (they give you that option) and assembled them himself.

wellbert

Hybrid with solid front fork if you can. Mountain if you need to go on trails/rocks.
Go used.

You can't buy a decent bike for $150 new. "just ok" starts at $300.

Going to be honest: Every single bicycle anyone in my family ever owned came from a Kmart or Walmart, they were ridden long and often, and no bad experiences there. Maybe it's because I've just never actually owned a high end bike so I have nothing to compare it to, but my personal experience would suggest that something you can pick up at a Kmart or Walmart would be just fine for the average person.

Hmm, maybe. The biggest problem with them is quality of assembly/adjustment, the other is parts.

I wouldn't know about that. My father always purchased them unassembled (they give you that option) and assembled them himself.

That's good. I would hate to trust my life or dental work to a walmart employee's bicycle assembly skills.

contingencyplan

Hybrid with solid front fork if you can. Mountain if you need to go on trails/rocks.
Go used.

You can't buy a decent bike for $150 new. "just ok" starts at $300.

Going to be honest: Every single bicycle anyone in my family ever owned came from a Kmart or Walmart, they were ridden long and often, and no bad experiences there. Maybe it's because I've just never actually owned a high end bike so I have nothing to compare it to, but my personal experience would suggest that something you can pick up at a Kmart or Walmart would be just fine for the average person.

Hmm, maybe. The biggest problem with them is quality of assembly/adjustment, the other is parts.

I wouldn't know about that. My father always purchased them unassembled (they give you that option) and assembled them himself.

That's good. I would hate to trust my life or dental work to a walmart employee's bicycle assembly skills.

The way it works is this: The bikes you see assembled up on the rack for display were delivered, along with a bunch of other identical ones kept in the stock room, unassembled. They assembled 2-3 units of each bike n the store upon delicery to put on display. If you specify you want it assembled they give you the display model. If you specify you want it unassembled they give you one of the many unassembled kits from in the back. My father mainly bought them unassembled because back in the day they used to charge an additional labor fee for selling you an assembled one, and he wanted to save money. They don't charge that fee anymore, but considering all the horror stories I've heard from people who bought preassembled bikes from outlet stores, I'm thinking what my dad did was a win/win situation. Safety AND saving money.

omma_to_3

Toy store type bikes are OK if you're on a bike path in a park, away from car traffic, and on a paved path. I would NOT trust one where brakes matter - like on mountain bike trails or while riding in traffic. I thought my cheap bike would be OK mountain biking, but I bought a new Gary Fisher bike anyway (this was about 14 years ago). First time I took it on mountain bike trails I was SO happy I spent the money on it. I may have killed myself on the other bike!

mss_anthropy

personally, i think the type of bike should depend on your personal preference and terrain ..... i have a road bike which is whatever BUT my boyfriend just changed my free wheel to a fixed gear and it takes away your ability to "coast", meaning you are constantly pedaling, which is a real workout.