stearel

I moved to Venice, CA two days ago and decided that I NEED a bike yesterday.
I will be using the bike to ride to the beach and back and to ride around town, but I also would like to start getting into mountain biking. Hopefully I can find one bike that can serve both of these functions. What kind of bike should I look for? How does a mountain bike do on the beach and on road? How does a hybrid bike perform as a mountain bike?

I am 6'4, 180lbs, 21 years old in good shape. What size bike should I be looking for? I do not want to go bankrupt because of this bike, but I want something that I will be happy with and will last for a while.

I plan on visiting a local bike shop soon, but I want to have some basic info before I go. Does anybody recommend a bike shop near Venice, CA?

Thanks for everything.

MattP.

YOu could look into getting a mountain bike, buy a set of slicks (skinnier tires for mtb bikes, generally around 1.5"). Whenever you know you are just going to ride around town and on roads mainly, throw the slicks on. Then when you decide to go actual mountain biking, switch to the fatter tires. That's what i do at least.

-Matt

MichaelW

Any decent brand of entry level MTB will do the job. At the low end, a little extra will buy a lot more bike. If you can get into the mid-range , the bike will be much lighter and more durable.
You can make the bike much more useful if it has threaded eyelets for a rear luggage rack. You dont have to fit a rack but the option will be there.
The beach is pretty hostile for bikes. Sand gets into bearings and gears.
For easy local road riding, you can still use off-road tyres, or better still, mixed use ones with inverted tread. If you decide to ride longer distances then slicks will be worthwhile.