Introductions - hello from las vegas!

hello all my name is jason!

im looking to buy my first bike. i live in las vegas and plan to ride mostly on the street. handling sidewalk curbs, flights of stairs and other ordinary city obstacles is a must. i would also like to occasionally do some light off roading over mostly dry dirt and rock. i figure ill ride maybe 10 miles a week at first and if i start to get really into it ill go from there. i was hoping some of you more experienced riders would be able to give me some suggestions..

im looking to spend just under $400 but could be convinced to drop slightly more. ive done a little bit of research and have come up with 3 models that sound like they might suit me well..

kona dew

kona fire mountain

gt nomad ltd

i was thinking id pick up a 2005 model as january 06 would be the perfect time to bargain on those. what do you all thinkof those 3 models? of course im totally open to other suggestions as well and any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance, looking forward to becoming a participant in your community!

Welcome...............there are plenty of people here to help you choose which is right for you!

Jason, I hope you can find any of those bikes in a local bike shop (lbs). If you can, get the bike there. The sale supports your lbs so it will still be there when you needs parts, service, more stuff, advice, . . . If these bikes are only sold mail-order or at a big box store you may get it as some assembly required. Best, if a lbs has it you can try riding it.

The urban guerrilla type riding you describe calls for heavier tires with mild tread patterns. Jumping curbs and going down stairs can be hazardous. My Bianchi Volpe was trashed by a young dude riding down a set of stairs onto the Huntington Beach bike path directly in front of me. Just do not try it. A girl in my town was killed recently when she rode off of a sidewalk and landed directly in front of a truck making a turn.

I have ridden in Vegas. Well I rode south out of town on my recumbent trike on the way to southern California. The state bike coordinator warned me to stay off those roads Sunday afternoons when, ". . All the pissed off drunks and losers are headed back to LA."

Enjoy

well unfortunately there is only one dealer in NV that sells kona, i think im going with the 05 blast. they said that they cant get the bike from kona because theyre out of stock but i seem to be able to order it off of konaworld.com... their loss i guess, sucks that i wont be able to support an lbs but im not gonna go with a bike im not into just to buy from lbs...

problem is im not sure which size frame to buy, maybe some can give me an idea... im bout 6ft 140 pounds tall and thin, thinking 19 inch frame would do me well what do you all think?