Advice on buying a bike

REI (if you have one near you) is a great place to go for a solid entry level bike. They also have a no questions asked return policy, no matter what condition or how long you have had the product so that is nice. I would say you are on the right track though, trek makes a great bike.

My fiance and I originally bought hybrid commuter bikes and were disappointed that within one year of riding we wanted to do longer rides and we really needed a road bike. I would HIGHLY suggest you spend a little more money and go ahead and get a good road bike. They will last forever. Any of the major brands are really good (specialized, trek, giant, etc). DO NOT go purchase one somewhere like walmart or ****'s sporting goods. It will benefit you to go to an actual bike store and they can fill you in on lots of good advice. I used to only ride 5 or so miles at a time, but I love it so much that we usually do a 30 mile ride each weekend if it is warm enough! Don't make the same mistake I did and buy a cheaper bike only to turn around a bit later and buy another one!

we went to a local bike shop. I have a Marin Terra Linda. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this bike!!! (mine is the 09 version)

http://www.marinbikes.com/2011/bike_specs.php?serialnum=1152


We started off on mountain bikes with street tires, but decided that was not the way we wanted to go. Honestly, go to a bike shop and talk to the people about your needs. They will also help you get the right fit and proper adjustments to your seats and pedals.

I have a Trek 7.5FX and I love it! My best advice is to go to the bike shop in some riding clothes and test ride it for a while. Any good bike shop will let you. Make sure they do a good fitting for you.

My boyfriend used to work as a bike specialist, so when I was looking for a bike he was my source of knowledge. Of course, me being me, listened until he got technical and ended up with the bike that he didn't want me to get :laugh:

I have a Carrera Zelos which I got on our cycle to work scheme and it cost around £700 (but of course the STW scheme meant I only paid around half that). It's a fully suspensionised mountain bike, very lightweight and i love it!

It really depends on the type of cycling you're going to do... I cycle round a local park, which has a variety of different surfaces (tarmac, gravel, etc) so the mountain bike worked for me

Well of course bike brands depends on what kind of bike your looking for and seems like your looking for a road bike or a hybrid so here is how I would go

Trek, Cannondale, Cervelo, Quintana Roo, Specialized, Ibis

Now keep this in mind these are the top brands so you pay top dollar.

So what I would do if I was you I would find some cheaper bikes $250-$300 a piece and even look for used bikes at your local bike shops/craigslist/ect and try to find something cheaper and use those for 6 months if your still biking 6 months later then go look to upgrade and you can still sell your old bikes

I just bought a new bike last week. First, will you ONLY be riding on paved roads? If so, you probably won't need a mountain bike. Second, are there any hills? My mom has a cruiser (no gears to shift) that works perfectly for her on the flat coast of Charleston, SC. A comfort bike may work best for you, usually for paved roads and a few gears (optional). I got a hybrid (for paved raods and mountain trails) because of the hills and also to pull my daughter on the child bike trailer. So I needed to option to shift gears. Most of the bikes now have the handle bar gears that you shift like on a motorcycle. I played with a few of those and absolutely hated it. I then read the comments and almost everyone said it was difficult to operate. I decided on a Schwinn bike from Target. I went to a couple of bike shops too and with the those guys. I explained what I thought I wanted, how much riding and where. They were very helpful and knowledgeable. So far, I'm loving the bike.

The first thing to do is determine how much cycling you're going to do and what you want to accomplish with it. That would pretty much dictate the type of bicycle and how much you should spend on it. Over the years, the types of bikes have expanded from road and mountain to hybrids, comforts, touring and commuters. True road bikes have drop bars, narrow seats, narrow tires and a tight geometry. Not real comfortable for light recreational riding. Mountain bikes have straight handlebars, wide treaded tires and a lot of shock absorbsion capabilities--again, not real useful on smooth bike paths. Hybrids combine road and mountain characteristics - straight or slightly angled bars, wider tires, easier geometry. Comforts tweak certain things - fluted handlebars, padded seats, wide tires and bigger pedals for more of an upright stance in riding and stability at slower speeds. Tourings and commuters generally add aspects to road or hybrid types based on their uses (fenders, brackets for saddlebags, beefed up wheelsets for city streets etc.)

You'd want to considering the drive train as well. Again, light riding over mostly flat or slightly rolling bike paths would not require the kind of gearing that a lot of speed work or hill climbing on open roads would. I've got a road bike with dual action shifters. I've also got a commuter with twist shifters. The former are great but expensive and expensive to repair. The latter are not but go out of alignment more often and require monthly tweaking.

I assume you'll get helmets. Never ride without them. I've had two bad falls over the years and in both cases mine saved me from more serious injury. Gloves are a good idea if you are going to ride intensively or in hot weather. Get a good pair of biking shoes. You expend less energy with a hard flat sole than with flexible running or cross trainers.

Trek is a good brand. I have a road bike that has 4 years and about 5K miles on it and it runs just as well now as when I got it.