AndrewClaycomb

Well, I haven't ridden a bicycle in nearly a decade now and have decided I would like to pick it up again. I've been riding motorcycles (standards) for the last few years and love it. I'm hoping the motorcycle experience will help with bicycle safety as ideally I would like to commute to school every day as well as maybe go to the grocery store/errands. My trip is only about 5 miles one way and it seems ridiculous to ride the motorbike such a short distance. I'm not sure that I've even regenerated the energy lost from starting the bike in such a short trip.

So here I am, eager to start riding the other kind of bike. My problem is like everybody else in this section, I'm not a thin 130lb rider. I'm 6'5" and weigh about 270 lbs right now. I'm always my heaviest at the end of winter, and often will lose 15ish lbs over a summer. I don't own a scale, so I only get weighed if I'm getting a physical usually.

I'm looking at different bikes, and I'm not sure what will work best for me. My gut feeling is that I want a road bike, but because I'm so used to riding standard motorcycles I keep looking at Hybrid bikes with 700c wheels. I like the combination of upright riding with a relatively fast drivetrain and the bigger wheels make me feel like they will support more weight. I've been looking at the Trek 7000 and I think that's around the price I'm willing to pay right now. ($350ish) Ideally I would go used but my local craigslist is full of small stuff, non if which is brand name. A friend of mine said he might sell me an old (I'm guessing 80s) Fuji road bike cheaply, but I'm still not sold on a road bike. I know if I don't feel comfortable, then the bike will end up in the garage collecting dust. With that said, if I feel slow on the road then the same thing might happen.

Any recommendations around $350? Also I've been looking at some of the Schwinn Hybrids and from research they are really hit or miss. The reviews on the actual shops websites (such as Target) are often 4 out of 5 stars, however on forums like this I'm sure they aren't as well liked. I also figure $250 for the bike in store, then another $50-150 to have it setup at a bike shop and I might as well of bought the Trek. Another thing, is I'm not sure what sizes I should be looking at.

Sorry about this mammoth of a post.

Also, last summer I did a motorcycle trip from Wichita, KS to Los Angeles and up the coast and back and it was a blast. I know this is ambitious (especially since I'm not riding yet), but someday it might be fun to attempt a smaller scale trip on a bicycle.

Thanks

Andrew