What bike should I bike

[nickicha]

<adding to my post as this is more interesting>
I went to two bike shops today, and looked at:
Norco Olympia for $309 - not bad, but felt rather cheap
Rocky Montain something 5, for $499
and Rocky Mountain something 10, for $539, decent bikes with lighter aluminum frames, but I didn't like riding them much, don't know why..



Giant Cypress R 19" frame - $329, no front suspension, a bit heavy, silicon seat - nice and soft (is that good?) ,with rear derailleur Shimano Altus (second from bottom up from a list I saw somewhere, but decent). The moment I tried this bike - I loved it.. Plus I get 2 years free tune-ups... awesome.. Can't even compare to Costco bikes assembled by the guy who assembles the barbecues :)

So I'm thinking to buy the Giant one.. I'm only worried it may be on the heavy side.. I'm now planning to do 23km (and subsequently 32km) each way trips to work with it.. Once or max twice a week. It's a bit hilly here, and going back home will be a bit going uphill.

Do you think this bike would be decent for doing such trips to work (only in good weather)?


------------
<here's my old post>:
Hi,

Sorry for the silly question...
What bike should I buy? I'm about 5'11, would rather not bend too much .. Will not go to wild areas, just in the park / to the store .. Rarely more than 10km each way.. I'm north of Toronto, so not in a very big city either..

I was thinking some hybrid, but was not sure what the frame size should be..

Any ideas?
:)

[nickicha]

By googling, I found that the frame should be around 24".. Does this sound reasonable?

[katmu]

What's your budget?

If you can, I would stop by your LBS to get fitted.

[Andy_K]

By googling, I found that the frame should be around 24".. Does this sound reasonable?

Not really. I mean, it depends on what type of bike you're talking about, and it will vary somewhat with the model bike you choose. I'm 5'9" and I've got a 17" hybrid and a 52 cm cyclocross that both fit me pretty well.

What I'm saying is, go and try some bikes and you'll get a much better feel for what size you want.

A hybrid souns like a good choice for you. Get it from a bike shop, not a department store. Do you know what brands are available in your area?

[nickicha]

No idea about brands.. but I can take a look..
I'm not ready to spend more than 300 for a first bike.. But I don't want the cheapest walmart bikes either..
Other than supporting local business, what's the difference between a chain store and local bike store? Does the LBS have better bikes in this price range?

[masiman]

Not really. I mean, it depends on what type of bike you're talking about, and it will vary somewhat with the model bike you choose. I'm 5'9" and I've got a 17" hybrid and a 52 cm cyclocross that both fit me pretty well.

What I'm saying is, go and try some bikes and you'll get a much better feel for what size you want.

A hybrid souns like a good choice for you. Get it from a bike shop, not a department store. Do you know what brands are available in your area?

+1

24" sounds way to large if that is a frame measurement. Maybe they meant 24" rims, but that is an odd size and meant for smaller riders (I think wheelchairs use that size).

In any case, as Andy K stated. You'd be best going to a bike shop (LBS) or two or three, seeing what they have, test riding and fitting. By comparison with Andy K, I have a 15" and 16" MTBs, 54cm and 55cm road bikes. However, those measurements are only a small part of getting the bike to fit. Get ye to a LBS!

[katmu]

My son is 5' 11' and his bike is a 21", so I think the 24" big be a bit too big for you.

Buying at the LBS will get you a professional to put the bike together and get it ready for you to ride. The LBS would also usually have a bigger selection of hybrid bikes.

[Podolak]

I would stick with the brands your LBS of choice has available. The support you get from them is worth more than the manufacturer of the bicycle. Trek, Specialized, etc are fairly comparable.

Your LBS will give you a lot in the long run. Most offer free adjustments for life.

[st0ut]

Trek 820
more bike then you need NOW for the right price.as your taste cement you might find you want to get into something else.

[nickicha]

Trek 820 has some impressive reviews.. hopefully some shop has that bike..
What about quick release wheels? Does it really help against someone stealing the bike (or other uses?)?

[deraltekluge]

The size number depends on the style of the bike. Mountain bikes and road bikes are very different as to what the size means with respect to how the bike fits you.

A 20" mountain bike would be "large", while a 51 cm (~20") road bike would be "small" because of the differences in frame geometries.

[bab2000]

Other than supporting local business, what's the difference between a chain store and local bike store? Does the LBS have better bikes in this price range?

That is a smart question.

The best answer I read, but can not recall where, here or another bike forum.

"The Big Box retailers want to sell you a bike, any bike, the Local Bike Shop wants to sell you a bike as well, they want to sell a bike you will RIDE."

That is the difference, as simple as I think you can get.

[st0ut]

I started on a 820. it died of neglect when my 5200 became a stable mate.

[cooker]

If you want to sit fairly upright and will ride only on pavement and packed, fairly smooth trails, you probably want to consider a hybrid like the Trek 7000 series bikes. You probably will want one with no suspension, since that isn't necessary on pavement and it does slow you down. The Trek 820 is not a hybrid, it is a mountain bike, but not a hardcore one, so it will work for your purposes as well. I don't like the front suspension, but it's not a huge deal.

Adult bikes usually come with 700c wheels (most hybrids) which are a bit larger and usually skinnier, and work well on pavement, or slighly smaller 26" wheels (mountain bikes), which usually have fatter tires intended for dirt. However you can get street tires for mountain bike wheels, and offroad tires for hybrids with 700c wheels, so there is some flexibility.

To see what size you want go to the bike store and try them out and get some advice. The old fashioned way to get an approximate idea of the right size, is simply to stand over the bike and see if the top tube is an inch or so below your crotch. However that is a very rough measurement and a bike store can fine tune your fitting better than that.

[nickicha]

I went to two bike shops today, and looked at:
Norco Olympia for $309 - not bad, but felt rather cheap
... forgot the brand(red something?).. something 5, for $499
and something 10, for $539, decent bikes with lighter aluminum frames, but I didn't like riding them much, don't know why..



Giant Cypress R 19" frame - $329, no front suspension, a bit heavy, silicon seat - nice and soft (is that good?) ,with rear derailleur Shimano Altus (second from bottom up from a list I saw somewhere, but decent). The moment I tried this bike - I loved it.. Plus I get 2 years free tune-ups... awesome.. Can't even compare to Costco bikes assembled by the guy who assembles the barbecues :)

So I'm thinking to buy the Giant one.. I'm only worried it may be on the heavy side.. I'm now planning to do 23km (and subsequently 32km) each way trips to work with it.. Once or max twice a week. It's a bit hilly here, and going back home will be a bit going uphill.

Do you think this bike would be decent for doing such trips to work (only in good weather)?

[cooker]

Twenty three km each way? That's very helpful information and it changes things a lot.

Twenty three km each way is a very long bike commute for a beginner. It will probably take at least 90 minutes each way at first, but eventually you will probably do it in under an hour. An upright seating position is not ideal for a long commute, since it creates extra air resistance that adds to your workload and lowers your average speed. The ideal bike for a long commute would have you in approximately a 45 degree forward leaning position with your handlebars about level with your seat or maybe an inch lower. Bike racers and fast sport riders often have the bars several inches below the seat, but that's probably too aggressive for you at this point.

You will definitely want a bike with road wheels or tires. Most road bikes and many hybrids have 700c wheels, but as I said earlier if you get one with 26" mountain bike-type wheels with fat tires, there is always the option of switching to skinnier tires

The Norco Olympia could work, although personally I would replace the suspension seat post with a solid one to eliminate the bounce.

Not sure if the others were Redline bikes? Their hybrids range from fairly upright "comfort bikes"' to more agressive "fitness" bikes, and you definitely want to be at the fitness end of the spectrum for the distance you plan to cover.

The Cypress looks a bit too upright for my taste. It would be fine for a 5 or maybe 10 km ride but for 20 or 30 km each way my feeling is it will just be too slow.

However, other posters may feel okay about it.

[st0ut]

A jump from 10 km to 23 - 235KM does change things dramtically. And the 820 would no longer be a vialbe rad frame. Now you are looking at a commuter frame.

And since you have a giant LBS near you might want to look at the Trans Send DX.

[nickicha]

Thhe Tran Send DX looks pretty good but much more expensive..

I got the Giant Cypress R, it was the only one in the sub-400 range, and if I get good results I'll give this one to my wife and buy a new one next year.. The bike is pretty good on a trail (not very fast though)..



The front shifter (speeds 1-2-3) are a bit problematic for switching to 1 or to 2, very often it wouldn't engage from 1 to 2, or 2 to 1.. It just becomes noisy.. I'll talk to the LBS to see if it just needs some adjustment..
The rear shifter (1-7 speeds, speed 5 is a bit noisy, don't know why, otherwise all is decent for a first bike)

90 minutes for 23k is fine for me at the moment.. I'll try a 20km run this weekend, to see what happens..
I just did like 16km today (measured it with google earth), going around stores, so I was taking plenty of breaks/stops..

Is there some software/site where you keep track of how much biking you do? I could use excel otherwise..

Other than that I'm looking at some way to lock the bike, I've gone through some of the topics here.. quite interesting stuff..

Thanks again!!

[st0ut]

Glad to see you got wheels more than me at the moment.

[cooker]

I got the Giant Cypress R, it was the only one in the sub-400 range, and if I get good results I'll give this one to my wife and buy a new one next year..

Congrats, enjoy!