Recreational & Family - What kind of bike is right for me?

Hey all

Just recently I've been interested in getting a bike for recreational and leisure rides with friends. Most of my riding will mostly be on roads with possibly the occasional path and such, but I thought it would also spend a little bit of time learning to be a little adventurous (probably no mountain riding or anything, but something like hopping curbs and other obstacles and such...if that's considered adventurous).

I've been looking at either a mountain or a hybrid style bike, but I have no idea which one would be right for me. The side of me that wants to hop and jump with the bike says I should look more into mountain bikes, but I'm willing to bet that about 80% - 90% of the time I will most likely be just riding on paved roads, so perhaps a full on mountain bike might not be what I'm looking for. Would it be safe to hop around lightly on either wheel of a hybrid? lol

Does anybody have any advice on where on the bike spectrum I should be looking? I don't quite want to head in the road bike direction since I'm not too keen on having to get down constantly, so a more relaxed upright position would be nice for me. I'm probably going to be getting a used bike, and so far have been most interested in a Trek 7200 hybrid. I've also looked at a Trek 4500 MTB and an older looking Specialized Crossroads hybrid. Came across a Bridgestone MB-3 that might have been nice, but it was sold already lol.

can anybody offer any advice on Trek vs Specialized vs Muddyfox?
The three I'm currently eyeing are a Trek 7200 hybrid for roughly 150, a Specialized Hardrock mtb, and a Muddyfox hybrid both around 200...

I'm also not quite certain what size bike I should be getting. A miniscule amount of research suggests that for my 5'6 - 5'7 height, I should be riding a bike that is around 17-19", stepover around 27-30" for a mtb/hybrid bike?

Sorry for all the questions, as it says under my name, I am a newbie lol

All bikes in the $150-$200 are basically the same and are only a half step above an x-mart bike.
Buy what you like. After you decide what type of riding you enjoy (a few hundred miles down the road), spend some cash on a good quality bike.

As far as sizing, stop by your LBS and find out for sure what size you need.

You can learn a lot by simply googling on the bike brand and model. You can determine the original price of the bike and read reviews of how people liked the bike after buying it. Be sure to check the Consumer Product Safety Council site to see if it has had any recalls. When I was in the market for a used MTB a few years ago, two of the ones I looked at has serious safety recalls. The first thing I do is lift the bike and check the weight. Lighter is always better. Then look at the components or ask someone who knows bikes to help you decide if is a decent bike. Sometimes it is amazing at how good a deal you can get (Cannondale SM800 MTB for $20 at a local Savers store).

I ended up getting an older (I think) Bianchi Boardwalk for $180. Lugged steel, 21 speed, new shifters, new Shimano Acera rear derailleur, new chain, new seat. Some small chrome parts are rusted (quick release levers and i think some screw ends), but it doesn't look like it'll have any problems...I hope... Did I do ok?

So far she rides pretty smooth and is very quiet. The shifters are pretty smooth also. The grips and seat kind of hurt after riding for a little bit though, so I might swap them out, seat first probably. I've been looking at some comfort saddles lately. Does anybody have any opinions on the Avenir Groove Dual or Avenir Groove Lite? I was thinking it's either that or the Schwinn adult ergo saddle.

Some time down the road if see one pop up I might get a Bridgestone CB-zip, just because I really like the look of some of the ones I've seen online lol.

You can learn a lot by simply googling on the bike brand and model. You can determine the original price of the bike and read reviews of how people liked the bike after buying it. Be sure to check the Consumer Product Safety Council site to see if it has had any recalls. When I was in the market for a used MTB a few years ago, two of the ones I looked at has serious safety recalls. The first thing I do is lift the bike and check the weight. Lighter is always better. Then look at the components or ask someone who knows bikes to help you decide if is a decent bike. Sometimes it is amazing at how good a deal you can get (Cannondale SM800 MTB for $20 at a local Savers store).

just ran "Trek, Giant and Kona" through their data base and Kona has next to no recalls, Trek was in the middle and Giant had tons. What's that tell us?