Originally Posted by
Crawfish
I would like to start off by saying that you folks are awesome. Many of you are already quite an inspiration to me. I weight 280 pounds and resently found out that my cholesteral and triglycerides are WAY too high. So, I need to change some things. Mostly my eating habits and I need more exercize. I've been eating much better and working out at night so far. My wife and I have been talking about getting bikes for 4 years. I think it's the perfect time to "get off the pot" and make a purchase. I want to be ready to ride once the snow is gone. I have no idea what to get so the process has only begun. We are going to check out the local bike shops and hope I can get something decent to start with. Just wanted to say hello. I look forward to spending a lot of time here.
The three most important things in a bicycle purchase, whether it's new or old, whether it's cheap or expensive, are these:
1) fit.
2) fit.
3) did I say fit.
This is most important, because a bicycle that doesn't fit is like a pair of shoes that don't fit, you quickly quit using it and then it becomes wasted money. There are a couple of other things to keep in mind, first is tire clearance, if you go with a road oriented bicycle, and in a later post you say you do, some are designed for only 23mm or smaller tires, forget those, you want a frame clearance for a 35mm tire, the wheel rims need to be wide enough for a 35mm tire as well. Wider tires are better able to handle heavier loads and can be more comfortable in that they require lower pressures to handle that load. Still with tires, if you live in an area with a lot of road hazards, a puncture resistant tire and thicker tubes can be helpful. Nice thing about thicker tubes, they tend to be cheaper.
You buy the shop as much as you buy the bike, this is where you get your service, equipment and tools. The minimum equipment needed, a spare tube for each bike, a set of tire levers, a bike mounted pump (or CO2 inflator) for each bike, a good floor pump (with gauge) a helmet for each rider, a seat mounted bag for the tube and tire levers. Always figure that by the end of the year you will have the same amount (or more) invested in equipment and tools as you do the bike.