Introductions - Hello from Georgia!

About ten years ago I use to ride a Walmart special on a ten mile route five or six times a week. On weekends I could do thirty miles or so at a time. The bike was a 47 pound sort of Mountain bike with only ten speeds that was so slow, children on tricycles use to pass me. The last time I rode it was before the young ones took over.

I am a bit older now and planning on getting back into the fray. I originally wanted a road bike. But, I have a pinched nerve in my neck and though it does not hurt at the moment I am sort of afraid of aggravating it with the hunched over position of a road bike. Is there is a Road bike that have a front stem that adjust high enough to not be hunched over so much?

So I am also looking at Hybrids. My only problem with a Hybrid is whether it is enough to satisfy my ‘Inner Roadie” desires.

Price is not that important. I have been around bikes enough to know that anything less then $500 or so is more for a casual rider. But I am not going to convince the better half to go with anything much beyond $1000. $500 to about $800 would be ideal. I plan on religiously riding three or more times a week on a loop of roads around my house of at least ten miles. (This will be after a training period of course because it has been a few years.). My goal is to someday do a century and I want a bike that is up to that kind of riding.


I live in Marietta, Georgia.

Any advice for a new guy would be appreciated?
Thanks for listening.

Great intro. Thanks, and welcome to the forums!

If you have questions about bikes, it may be a good idea to head over to the Road Cycling forum or the General Cycling Discussion forum. People don't usually look in the Introduction forum, unless it's to read about a new person, but they do spend a bit of time in the specialty forums. So repost your question there- create a new thread, and let's get you on your way to your new bike!

Out you go! :D

Koffee

Welcome to BikeForums from a neighbor in Decatur. :beer:

Have you visited Free Flite Bicycles (http://freeflite.com/site/intro.cfm)? IMHO they are one of the best shops in the Atlanta area.
Tell them about your neck problems and they can most likely set you up on a road bike with the stem/handlebar high enough so you won't have any neck problems.

Good luck and let us know what bike you get.

greeting from east tennessee as well! :-)

-- michael

Bought a 2004 Trek 1200C on closeout. I have about five or six rides in. Already up to a max of 33 miles. But the speed is oh so slow. Hills are killing me. But everywhere around me is hills so I have to get the hang of them. My first ride was all hills and I got very discouraged. It has been ten years so I am a bit out of shape. I almost took the bike back but the second ride I added a flatter road and it started to feel like old times.

My girlfriend's daughter lives close to Free Flyte. It's a neat shop. I am in Columbus. Why don't you aim to get ready for the "Wheels of Fire" ride next March in Hamilton (Harris Co). It's a great ride and goes to a good cause, the local fire department...

Welcome!

You're right near the Silver Comet Trail - very flat, very easy riding. Just be careful of the little kiddies on trikes and roller-bladers who feel the need to ride right down the middle of the path!

Hi New!

Glad to hear you are getting back into cycling. I would think that a hybrid would be a great bike for you at this point. I am returning to cycling after a several year layoff also and recently went through the same decision process..road bike or hybrid. After much agonizing I decided on the hybrid. I am rationalizing that if I really get hooked, there is no reason why I can't buy a road bike later. I belong to a club and a lot of the members are riding hybrids and really like them. I chose the Giant Cypress SL and am anxiously awaiting its arrival :) Here is a link to it if you'd like to check it out.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/030.000.000/030.000.000.asp?lYear=2004&bikesection=8836&range=147&model=10876
Good luck and let us know what you decided on!

Hi newskinnedknee,
I'm about to buy a 1200c, last bike was in 1989-a 10 speed Schwinn steel. For at least 2 years i managed
at minimum 200 miles a week and am still usually very comfortable with 35-50 though I'll start feeling hand and upper neck pains. Over time my mileage tapered off. Getting back to the scene i realized I
needed some easier gears and more choice in positions. Bike shop suggested trek c series and they do seem nice. I ride a moderate pace 12-18 mph and want a bike I can ride for 4-7 hours at a moderate pace with comfort. Recently borrowed a straight handle bar bike with suspension seat and forks and felt rather uncomfortable. It was like a soft cushy cadillac ride and I prefer a tight volkswagon ride.
So what's your review of the 1200c. Any complaints?

Sorry I did not see your reply earlier. Illness in the family. So far I like the Trek 1200C. The gears shift pretty well and the bike rides very smoothly. Since I bought the bike to do some light touring someday my only complaint is the gearing. It is geared just like most road bikes out there. For me that means that the granny gears are not low enough to help on the hills I have around here north of Atlanta. This results in me having to stand to get it up a typical hill around here. When I wear out this cassette I might well change it to a more touring like set up. But this is a very individual thing and I am sure I would not have known what to look for until I rode a bit. There are a few other bikes I looked at but the comfort features and the adjustable stem sold me. Plus I got it on clearance. I think it will do me for few years at least. The new Trek 1200C for 2005 has better running gear than the 2004 but it is also a bit more expensive. They phased out the 1800C and made the 1200C a bit better. The 1000C got upgraded too but it still has Sora shifters.

I believe Gary Fisher is producing a bike with 700 cc road wheels but more hybrid style upright handlebars, you might check their website out. Welcome.

You also might want to try out Atlanta Pro Bikes, it's on Monroe just north of either Ponce or North (it'a been a while since I've been down there).

You also might want to try out Atlanta Pro Bikes, it's on Monroe just north of either Ponce or North (it'a been a while since I've been down there).
They've moved. Here's their (http://www.atlantaprobicycle.com/apb_templates/mainframeset.html) new address: 632 North Highland Ave. (near Manuel's Tavern).