Originally Posted by
Peach14
Having not ridden for over 20 years, I am in search of a good sturdy "road or touring" bike. At least that was what they were called back in the day. After reading many of the threads on these forums I realize I need to relearn just about everything about bikes! I am 67 years old, 6' tall and have about 65-70 lbs to loose. I used to ride at least 20 miles a day, but haven't done that for years! I would love to get some good suggestions on bikes that would be comfortable and easy on the knees. I am not sure I want to invest in a new bike, once I saw the prices, until I have gotten back into riding. Maybe a used bike, but not on Craig's List as it would be hard to get any good advice from a seller there. Not sure if that is a smart move of if I should go for a cheaper new bike.
I am open to ANY SUGGESTIONS.
Thanks,
Peach14
There are some general pieces of advice that have served me well once I discovered this forum and got back into cycling myself about 4 years ago.
1.You first bike will tell you what you need in your next bike. In other words in most cases you will not pick the perfect bike until you get back into cycling and see what you like and need.
2. Try before you buy. ignore this advice at your own peril. What makes a LBS worth its weight is that you can ride a great number of bikes, try different saddles, and get your future bike serviced.
3. Once you zero in on what you want get a bike you will want to ride. You can ride anything but if you look at most of the garage sales in your area you will notice a trend in that people that try to start with a cheap bike normally end up letting it sit in a garage after only a few weeks.
4. Expect it to take quite a while before you can ride 20 miles on a bike saddle and not have a sore bottom. (Times very between riders)