pitchersduel

appreciate that. duly noted

jmls1994

I was exactly where you were at a few months ago. I wanted a bike mostly for getting fit, but also rail trails, vacation, etc. I rode the Trek 7.1, Specialized Sirrus, & a Giant Escape 3. I didn't want spend a fortune in case I didn't use the bike, or on the other hand fell in love with it and would want to upgrade to something nicer. I ended up with the Giant. So far I really like it but that's coming from a new biker. I really agree about picking the LBS. One shop I visited had both Giant & Specialized. Rode the Sirrus but asked about the Escape. They only had a medium Escape, but said they would order both a L & XL Escape for me to try, no strings attached. Ended up with the Escape. I'll always buy from those guys now. After a few weeks of riding I'm sure a road bike will be in my future, but with only spending $350 on the Escape I won't feel so bad upgrading down the road. On the next bike I'll probably go a little higher end. Good luck!

Jarrett2

pitchersduel, the more info you provide, the more assistance we can offer.

Getting the right bike and right fit for you is really important. Before we met, my girlfriend bought a beat up, $75 huffy cruiser at a garage sale. When we met, I asked her if she rode and she said she had a bike, but didn't enjoying riding. After some time of her seeing the enjoyment I got from riding, she went with me to a LBS, got sized and tried out a few bikes.

She didn't want to spend enough to get a new one, but once she knew what size of bike she needed, we started hunting Craigslist and found one for about $250. She now has a 2007 Specialized Sequoia road bike and loves riding. She did a 26 mile ride with me recently and is training for a century. Once she got the right bike, fitted to her, it changed everything for her and cycling became something she enjoys and does multiple times a week now. She even rides without me now some

pitchersduel

appreciate the response, loved hearing your experience. enjoy!


can i ask what type of info you need/want?

i am confident a LBS will be able to get the proper fit, i've seen that mentioned in just about every article about biking i've been reading about.

plan on hitting a few LBS this weekend...just to ask questions, see what i can learn. i'll report back with what i was told/suggested.

Jarrett2

Yep, LBS will take care of you.

Wanderer

Steer clear of "comfort bikes"................. After a few miles, they aren't...... Fitness or Dual Sport Hybrids are the way to go. MHO

pitchersduel

ok...

checked out a few LBS today...

first one: seems to be basically a trek dealer (had a few other brands, but most everything on the floor was trek), told em price range around $500-$600...that i'm looking to mainly ride paths/roads for exercise. directed right towards the trek FX series without me saying anything. showed me the 7.1 7.2 and 7.3. pointing out a lot of what i had seen/read online. they actually had a 2014 7.2 on the floor was like $450, they mentioned the 2015 were starting to be phased in. they seemed to realize i had done some research before going in. they did point out to me they said trek only deals with bikes as a company, that some other brands, i want to say giant or cannondale, one of those two actually build other stuff as well (office chairs/desks/supplies) ...which i think they tend to think is something to take into consideration. the 7.3 was $599 if i wanted to go that route, i guess the cables are internalized on the 7.3

they offer a year free of tuneups....warranty is a year i think...said trek offers some sort of program you get entered in, in which if something goes wrong and you want to replace the bike they'll give you 20% off new bike.

second one: person i talked to seemed to really know his stuff...not to put down the person at the first shop....not looking too much into this...my guess is this dude has done this type of stuff a bunch and just goes above and beyond. anyways...same thing, told em my price range/same usage...this shop though dealt primarily with giants and cannondale bikes. so right off the bat he directed me towards giant escape series, talked about the giant escape 1, 2 and 3. think he said giant 3 was one the stores top sellers, if not the top seller.

these were pretty similar to the treks. he showed me some road and mountain bikes but just to look at difference between tires on bikes. essentially ruled them out since he knew those weren't suited for my needs. then he showed me a giant cypress...again very similar to the trek and escape series.

in terms of the cannondales, she showed me a cannondale quick, he basically said its just cannondales version of the escape. he did have a couple of books which again he referred to the ones he showed, but did talk about a cannondale bad boy which was a little more expensive than my price range $600+ but said it might be something too look into when they have a spring sale in march.

this store he said does 90 days free tuneups, but he said thats very loose and non- committal...basically he said whenever you bring it in for the first tune up it will be free of charge. that unless i had ridden it like crazy in the first 90 days it wouldn't need a tune up, so they just give you 1 free whenever it is you bring it in.

umm thats about it...both shops obviously said i can test ride any and all bikes.

whats everyones take on this? anything that sticks out too you? anything they or i missed?

thanks everyone.

MRT2

Proof is in the riding. Trek, Giant, and Cannondale are pretty similar. Ride them and pick the one that speaks to you.

The sales pitch from the Trek dealer about the Trek brand sounds like BS.

fietsbob

Again, First, Pick your Favorite shop to do business with , then test ride the bikes they have there.


what brands does your favorite bike shop sell ?

pitchersduel

guess my main question now is///out of the series of the bikes so: Trek FX, giant escape, giant cypress, cannondale quick.

all pretty solid bikes considering the price range i'm working with? right?

so next step is to get out to the shops and test ride.

MRT2

On paper, the Giant Escape line are slightly better values than either the Trek FX or the Cannondale. That said, it isn't necessarily about something being $50 or $100 cheaper on a new bike, as if you get the cycling bug, you may find yourself spending that every time you set foot in a bike shop. So test ride the bikes and go with the one that speaks to you.

Jack Lorington

In my opinion there correctly question of the guy, because I was faced with an exemplary situation - not getting the correct information about the bike in the shop. For the same reason I pixel on the forum to get valuable advice.

MAK

Here's my two cents...First, great bdecision to start biking. You'll see things along roads you've traveled hundreds of times for the first time. One thing I don't think I saw above is to think about the future. Once you start cycling it can get addictive and even if you're not competitive, you'll still grow with the sport. I was in your exact position about ten years ago. In addition I had been diagnosed as diabetic so a nonimpact exercise became important. I decided on a hybrid because it was solid and versatile. I figured I'd just tool around for exercise. Then I decided to join a local club and soon bought a cheap road bike to better keep up and enjoy myself. Then the more expensive road bike because I was suddenly doing 80-100 miles per week. Then came the single speed/fixie which was just for fun. Then came the touring bike for the week long cross state rides that the road bike wasn't appropriate for. Think of it as the right bike for the right job. I'm not saying that you'll need four or five bikes (look at the responders above and how many have multiple bikes) but just think ahead to what you possibly might be doing in the future and don't pidgeonhole yourself.

They say that owning a boat is like having a hole in the water you throw money into. Cycling can easily become a moving hole. Cycling, like most addictions kind of creep up on you. Good luck with whatever you choose.

pitchersduel

haha i've been browsing the boards for a few weeks now and i've noticed this trend. seems people have numerous bikes, and not just going through them every few years...but numerous bikes at once! crazy.

i haven't hit back up a shop yet to test ride...hopefully get to that within a week or two. i think i've narrowed my bike selections to:

trek fx 7.2 or possibly 7.3

giant escape 2 or 3

i think my next series of questions now is mainly in terms of maintenance...but think there's another sub forum for that so i'll post those questions there.

Jeff Wills

Over on the Classic & Vintage forum there's this saying: "The correct number of bikes is N + 1". (N being the number of bikes you currently have.) I have 3 running bikes now, plus 2 "projects". Each has a different purpose, so they get ridden in at the appropriate time.

There are lots of posts about maintenance on the Bicycle Mechanics forum. Hang out and read, or just search the forum if you have a question. Chances are it's been asked a few times before. (Just don't ask "what's the best chain lube?". Those are endless debates.)

pitchersduel

*bump*

so finally decided to take the plunge...went to few LBS around test rode few bikes...ended up going with the trek 7.3 fx.

pretty excited about it...can't wait to log some miles on it. a new activity to do and the weather is turning nice. good stuff. i'm sure i'll be on the board quite a bit.