I'm in the market for a decent bicycle. I really don't know much about them at this moment but I'm looking around and researching them. I really havn't ridden a bicycle in like 5 years or so, but I want to start up with cycling.

I've been on a running binge this summer. I'm sure it can't compete with what some of you guys do on a daily routine, but I've been doing 3 miles every night for the past 2 months now and I kicked it up to 6 miles last week (which is probably a little too much for me and I'll tone it down once I hit a week of it--just so I can have it in my head that I did it for a week, lol).

I'm not getting sick of running, but I'm just itching to try something else out for my daily act of exercise and long bike rides seems very appealing to me. I don't know how far is far on a bike, but I'd probably be doing distances that take ~an hour or so or maybe more if I find an hour not all that taxing. But like I said, I can't really gauge how far is far and I really havn't a clue how much of a work out it is so I guess I'd have to try it out to get an idea.

I would probably be sticking to roads, paved trails, and maybe some not-so-rough non-paved trails. I was looking around and have concluded there are three main categories of bikes: Road, Mountain, and Hybrid? From the description of what each is suited to, I think a Hybrid or Road would suit me the best?

I really don't have a clue what spending more money on a bike would get me (lighter? nicer ride? massaging seat with magic fingers?) so when I look at their line up bike line-up's I don't really know the difference between the bikes. I'm thinking about taking a trip to some of the bike stores in Madison in a few days and maybe testing them out (you can test them, right?) for feel and stuff... The price I have in my head is around 500 bucks but I may be willing to go a bit higher if the price is worth it. I don't want to spend too much money on something I've never really done before. Down the line if I find that I really enjoy it I'll probably buy a nicer one... Any suggestions, comments, etc? Oh, and I'm 6'1" and 190 lbs (plan on being in the 170-180 range within a month or two) if that helps out...

danke. I'm lost and confused, lol...

I'm in the market for a decent bicycle. I really don't know much about them at this moment but I'm looking around and researching them. I really havn't ridden a bicycle in like 5 years or so, but I want to start up with cycling.

I've been on a running binge this summer. I'm sure it can't compete with what some of you guys do on a daily routine, but I've been doing 3 miles every night for the past 2 months now and I kicked it up to 6 miles last week (which is probably a little too much for me and I'll tone it down once I hit a week of it--just so I can have it in my head that I did it for a week, lol).

I'm not getting sick of running, but I'm just itching to try something else out for my daily act of exercise and long bike rides seems very appealing to me. I don't know how far is far on a bike, but I'd probably be doing distances that take ~an hour or so or maybe more if I find an hour not all that taxing. But like I said, I can't really gauge how far is far and I really havn't a clue how much of a work out it is so I guess I'd have to try it out to get an idea.

I would probably be sticking to roads, paved trails, and maybe some not-so-rough non-paved trails. I was looking around and have concluded there are three main categories of bikes: Road, Mountain, and Hybrid? From the description of what each is suited to, I think a Hybrid or Road would suit me the best?

I really don't have a clue what spending more money on a bike would get me (lighter? nicer ride? massaging seat with magic fingers?) so when I look at their line up bike line-up's I don't really know the difference between the bikes. I'm thinking about taking a trip to some of the bike stores in Madison in a few days and maybe testing them out (you can test them, right?) for feel and stuff... The price I have in my head is around 500 bucks but I may be willing to go a bit higher if the price is worth it. I don't want to spend too much money on something I've never really done before. Down the line if I find that I really enjoy it I'll probably buy a nicer one... Any suggestions, comments, etc? Oh, and I'm 6'1" and 190 lbs (plan on being in the 170-180 range within a month or two) if that helps out...

danke. I'm lost and confused, lol...

For what is sounds like you want to do and how much you want to spend a hybrid is the way to go.

Good luck and get out a ride. Check for "C" paced group rides in your area.

C-Y-C-L-O-C-R-O-S-S
Kind of an off-road road bike if that makes sense. Just a thought as you seem to be an athletic person who will probably want more than a hybrid can offer.

You can ride a hybrid on the road, paved trails and some offroad trials. A hybrid gives you a more upright riding position than a road bike. But if you are competitive or if you want to ride fast, a hybrid may not do. I mountain biked for several years and then decided to get into road riding to help my mountain biking. Over a year later and I haven't mountain biked at all, only road now. I bought an entry level race bike for about $800. You can find something a little less expensive as well. It's hard to drop cash on something you're not sure you're going to like. Perhaps your local lbs can rent you a bike for several days to see if you like it, or you can find a used bike, then move up if you find you enjoy road riding. Good luck.

I started with a $308 Raleigh hybrid about 4 years ago and that was the best biking investment I've made. I used it to be sure biking was what I wanted to do and to find out what kind of biking I liked. I did road riding, a century, a ton of dirt path riding and serious mountain biking (i.e. 10" logs, streams, etc.) until there was no more crap left in it to beat. Wore it out in about 4 months, but then I knew what I wanted and spent the money to get the right bikes (note plural). Good luck.

TF

Jumping on the bandwagon, I recommend a hybrid as well. Unless you are awash in money, you won't want to purchase a pricey road bike and then find out you don't much like riding in traffic or (God forbid) riding at all. I started with a Trek hybrid that ran me about $300 new and rode it consistently for a year. I upgraded to a road bike after a year, but the hybrid is still very useful for trail riding with the kids.

A hybrid is a good deal faster than a mountain bike. (I bought a mountain bike to replace a road bike (Really old) last year and am not looking for another road bike, as I like to go faster (But will keep the mountain bike for trails.). If you find yourself riding more on the road, you can put different tires on it, or pick up a set of wheels and tires. If you have not ridden much the upright position is more comfortable.

Try some different bikes at the shops. Try a road bike, and a mountain bike as well.

Jeff

Been lurking on this forum for a bit now. I'll interject my .02 cents.

I rode a free - beat up - 10 year old - Haro Hybrid for about 4 months in some neighborhood streets and paths. Went for a 25 mile ride with a hard core roadie friend of mine. Loved the road riding experience so much, 2 weeks later I went out and dropped a wad of cash on a '05 LeMond Tourmalet. Went on a 22 mile ride on Sunday on the new Tourmalet and absolutely loved it.

So my suggestion is, get a free/cheap hybrid and ride it around. Ride it on the street and off road to see what you like. Once you decide, go buy something that will last you a long time (usually will cost a bit of money) so you don't have to visit your LBS to upgrade to different bicycles.

If you will spend any amt. of time on non-paved trails and/or very bad roads...a cyclocross bike is worth considering. If you are in any loose gravel/dirt etc. a "road" tire i.e. 23-25c is very difficult and/or dangerous. A cyclocross bike can be 30 to 35c or even 38c in width, giving you alot more control and safety margin on any loose surface (2.54cm=1in.); so a CX tire is in between a road tire and a MTB tire.
IMHO a CX bike will be higher quality than a hybrid with similar width tires (30-35c) If you choose to ride on the road, a set of 23 or 25's to switch out will give you a road bike -with a couple of lbs. weight penalty.
Try the CX board on this site and see what they say...