New to Biking

Probably the best approach would be go to a good bike shop and talk with them. Some even have bikes you can try out.

Bike shop for sure!! They will fit you with the right size and for the type of riding you do. I have a Hybrid which is a cross between a road bike and a mountain bike. Mine is a Giant....I love it!! I bought last years model, it was still brand new....just a little cheaper. How long is the ride for MS and when is it?

edup1975 wrote: »

Any info on what type of bike and equipment ?

If you're going to ride it on the roads, get a road bike. If you're going to ride on trails, get a mountain bike.

After you figure out what basic type of bike you want, the most important thing is that it fits you properly. It has to be the right size for you. You might want to adjust things to make that happen.

If you have a friend who's a cyclist, you'll get a much better deal on a used bike. They depreciate like cars, but a good bike is also very reliable and will last forever, so a used one isn't a problem. Also, we have no idea what your budget is, but it's probably what most avid cyclists would think of as pretty low. One of two things is going to happen: you're going to enjoy cycling a lot, and probably want to upgrade down the line, or you won't fall in love with it. Either way, it makes sense to have a low-ish budget right now.

Budget for a helmet, lights, and a kit to fix a flat while you're out (especially for road).

If you have a smart phone, get a handlebar mount and run Strava. Use it as a speedometer while you ride, and use Google Maps if you want to navigate.

Go to a LBS {Local Bike Shop} and talk to them. They do make Endurance Frames which are typically more relaxed and easier on the neck and lower back that all out race machines.

As far as budgeting into the cost. Get a saddle pack, one big enough to fit a multi tool, tube, patch kit in. Then decide if you want a CO2 Inflation device or a pump to mount on the water bottle mounts. I would also recommend a rear light and a front light. The better you are at being seen the safer you'll be over all. And get a helmet. All helmets must meet some sort of standard set by the local government. So the more expensive ones will just be lighter and allow more air to flow through the helmet keeping you cooler.

Personally I love doing Sportive style rides. I do the Ride Cincinnati for Breast Cancer, and the Sunflower Revolution every year here..... hope you enjoy it.

Get thee to a bike shop!

You're going to come back and post photos of your new bike (when you have it), right?

Like they said, go to a bike shop. If you can get a bike fit there, they may give you a small discount off a new bike. And do your research. A good bike shop will sort you out. I thought I went to a good shop to get my first bike. It was a Dawes Giro 300. Not bad to start off. A little heavy. The shop didn't mention anything about a bike fit. Didn't do a proper measurement. I went on to suffer knee pain after doing 50 mile rides. I couldn't get up or down the stairs. The first time I did the Tour of Pembrokeshire someone asked me I'd had back pain or knee pain while riding. I said knee pain. He told me to get myself down to Pembrokeshire Bikes for a bike fit. Since then, I've upgraded my bike, i've done a few 70m+ rides. And the following day it feels like it never happened. I've lost weight, my average speed is going up, my lung capacity is going up. I feel great. Cycling is addictive. A great stress reliever.

idk . . . i mean, yeah bike shop. and you'll need a real bike, as opposed to just finding something at k-mart that 'seems okay'.

but my initial experiences of trying to buy a 'real' bike were quite challenging. i'd been commuting 20km daily for at least a year, and i still found it extremely hard to get people to understand what my requirements were. i finally came across a place that introduced the word hybrid to me, but i had to visit literally every bike shop in my city in order to find that one place. i've bought two or three replacement bikes since then and at least i know the names of the types of bike i don't want.

so it may vary depending on where you live. and maybe also depending on who you are. but in my area, bike shops seem to have frustratingly rigid-minded people. they slot you hard - dutch-citizen bike, armstrong groupie, 'commuter' tank. so if you try to find something outside of the categories that they're familiar with it can take some time and some stubbornness. don't buy anything you feel uncertain about, is my point. it's a whole lot like shoes: any little niggle that seems trivial at the time can become a great big deal when you're riding a lot every day.

fwiw, i was a diehard jamis person until it became (apparently) impossible to buy codas in any actual store. now i own a louis garneau aluminum bike as well, which i still don't really want to admit i may like even more.

lodro wrote: »

Remember though, a frame that's too large can't be adapted to fit a smaller size

so much this. that first coda of mine was 19.5". i'm 5'4" on a tall day, so only love could have kept me riding it for two years.

love and not knowing any better back then.

^^^ that. a bike that has you stretched all the time can make you pretty uncomfortable in the long term.

Before dropping $200-$300 on a bike fit, talk to a few season cyclists in your area (local bike/race club) and/or LBS. A general fit will get you in the ball park. Once you are serious about the sport, get a true fit done. For novice, a true bike fit may not be that beneficial as one's body is not accustomed to the demand of the sport. Subtle difference in the body's alignment can make a big change in how you feel on the bike. It's a delicate balancing act between comfort and power delivery, and is subject to change. See https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/01/bike-fitting-philosophy-basic-premise/. If you are luck to be in the same continent, get the fit from Steve Hogg.