Originally Posted by jethro56

I'm 55 and in my second season of riding. Even though I was in fairly good shape from 14 months of regular training at the Y, I didn't have anywhere near the core strength to handle a roadbike. So I started out with an upright style hybrid bike. It had 700c-35mm tires to handle my then 280 lbs weight, 32 spoke wheels, and a 8 speed rear and a triple front. It was a little less than $600. After realizing that wide seats really don't make for a comfortable ride I put a Brooks B17 seat on it that I still ride on today.

As my core strength improved I started realizing the benefits of drop handlebars and got a Carbon Fiber Roadbike. It's a fast ride but the courseness of the Oil and Chip roads I ride on left me longing for a return to the 35mm tires of that first bike. So I bought a Surly Cross Check frame set and built a cyclocross/light touring bike for those long rides where I'll encounter mixed surfaces. I don't ride the hybrid anymore but it did get me riding. I'm not sure if I started out with a roadbike I would have stuck with it.

The mileage breakdown is 2500 miles on the hybrid, 2700 miles on the roadbike, and 1500 on the cyclocross bike. I only started riding the cyclocross bike in May and it gets 75% of the miles now. The Roadbike is still a blast to ride but I only ride it on known to be smooth surfaces.


My point in the above is that no single bike style will suit everyone or every riding condition. The cyclocross comes close but IMO it's not for the beginning cyclist. My vote for you is for a bike similar to this.http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...ness/fx/7_2_fx