Hybrid Bicycles - Help Me choose a bike

Hello,

I want to know your thoughts on the following bikes.... I have already decided this is the style of bike I'd like based on riding one. I am 5'10" 307lbs and currently ride my pacific made mountainbike 8-12 miles per ride. I ride at roughly on average 10mph on my pacific. I ride neighborhoods and sidewalks. My butt an hands go numb on my current bike. I want something sturdy and comfortable.

Bikes I am checking into.

1) http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/cypress/9019/48868/

2) http://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes/town/recreation/hybrid/7300#

3) http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/street/citizen/12_citizen3.html

4) http://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes/town/recreation/hybrid/7100/#

5) http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/comfort/venture-4-0-12/

I will be test riding all but the giant bike soon. The nearest gaint dealer is 150 miles away. The rest of the bikes are at 3 different LBS in town.


Does anyone have any experience with any of the above bike? Also, if you have a similar bike that I might be overlooking, let me know.


Thank you for your time
Jason

I admit I didn't look at the spec's of any of these bikes but the Jamis looked the best by far.

One year ago (wow, where does the time go?) I started riding after a 20 year break.

I started on a Trek 7300 and w/in a month traded for a Trek 7.5 FX. I still have the 7.5 (along w/some other bikes) and it's still my favorite.

I like the Trek, Raleigh, and Jamis because the have 36 spoke wheels. You want 14 gauge stainless steel spokes. If a magnet will stick to the spoke it is stainless. At your weight I would want a heavy duty bike. The Jamis has says it has 14 gauge stainless steel spokes. The other 2 don't say. I am concerned about the adjustable stems that these bikes have. You might try googling the name of the Raleigh stem and see if you can find out who makes it, and e-mail them and ask about weight limits. Jamis makes theirs and Trek doesn't say who makes theirs, so you might try contacting Trek and Jamis and asking them for advise.
You might take your bike to a bike shop and ask for help adjusting the seat, that should keep your hands from going numb and possibly your rear. If it doesn't help your rear a new saddle might.
Another flat handle bar bike you might check out is a Specialized Hard Rock with 29" wheels, but see if they will let you take it for a 2-3 hour test ride to see if you get sore from it. You might ask if they have last years models in stock. They website is down to one 29" Hard Rock tonight. But they tend to be heavy duty bikes.
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/hardrock/hardrocksportdisc29#specs

Welcome To Bike Forums, Jason!

IMHO all of these bikes are wrong for you. They are all relatively inexpensive hybrids with cheap suspension forks. At your current weight, those forks won't last too long. Of course, I try to dissuade cyclists from buying hybrids with suspended forks anyway. I always say, if you need suspended forks that badly, then just get a mountain bike. However, if you insist upon a comfort hybrid with a suspended fork, then I would highly advise that you get one with the lockout feature. The Jamis Citizen is the only one that possesses that feature. However, if the suspended fork is more important to you than the style of bike, then I would suggest that you stick with a hardtail mountain bike. MTN bikes are tough and can endure many impulse forces. The decent ones come with strong suspended forks and have the additional lockout feature.

Alternatively, you could get more of a hybrid or urban styled bike, that will have little difficulty with your current weight and will offer you many future years of service, without the anticipated suspended fork problem. I would recommend something like the following:

1) The Giant Cypress.St ~ $350
www.giantbicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/cypress.st/9019/48871/ (http://www.giantbicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/cypress.st/9019/48871/)

2) The KHS Urban Xpress ~ $570
www.khsbicycles.com/06_urban_xpress_m_12.htm (http://www.khsbicycles.com/06_urban_xpress_m_12.htm)

3) The Marin Muirwoods 29er~ $750
www.marinbikes.com/2012/bike_specs.php?Muirwoods_29er&serialnum=2262 (http://www.marinbikes.com/2012/bike_specs.php?Muirwoods_29er&serialnum=2262)

4) The Marin Muirwoods ~ $630
www.marinbikes.com/2012/bikes_specs.php?Muirwoods&serialnum=2207 (http://www.marinbikes.com/2012/bike_specs.php?Muirwoods&serialnum=2207)

* I would seriously consider the Muirwoods models for the best in comfort! They're more like heavy duty rigid MTN bikes...



The Muirwoods 29er is currently being sold for $700 at REI in size 19 in.
www.rei.com/product/825657/marin-muirwoods-29er-bike-2012 (http://www.rei.com/product/825657/marin-muirwoods-29er-bike-2012)

At 5'10'' the 19 in. just might fit! ;)

Thats for the replies,

I was also worried about the suspension fork on one of these bikes, however they all have them. What I like about the comfort hybrids, and take my size into play, is the adjustable handlebar and stem so that I can change my riding position if one way does not feel comfortable, or is too upright. I have already gone the mountain bike route and my hands go numb from the forward position with my extra weight (which i am working on...down 40LBS).
The Jamis citizen 3 bike, with the lockout suspension) is on backorder and is not available in the US, so I cant check that out.

SlimRider....I will check your links.

The shop that sells the Jamis bikes wants me to ride this one...

http://jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/sportcomfort/explorer/12_explorer2_bl.html

You might want to check into the Clydesdale forum for some advice as well.

haha.....litterally just found that forum....and I am going to post in there as well.... thank you

Thats for the replies,

I was also worried about the suspension fork on one of these bikes, however they all have them. What I like about the comfort hybrids, and take my size into play, is the adjustable handlebar and stem so that I can change my riding position if one way does not feel comfortable, or is too upright. I have already gone the mountain bike route and my hands go numb from the forward position with my extra weight (which i am working on...down 40LBS).
The Jamis citizen 3 bike, with the lockout suspension) is on backorder and is not available in the US, so I cant check that out.

SlimRider....I will check your links.

Any local bike shop willing to make a sale, should be more than happy to switch out the handlebars for with no additional labor cost.

256779
Trekking Bars

256780
Bull Horn Bars

256781
North Road Bars