Hello everybody, figured I'd join because I want to get back into biking and want a place to chat about it.


A bit of history about myself:
Up until I was 16 I biked all the time. I am not kidding, I would go out and do 10-20 miles of riding a few times a week. Trail riding, road riding, even stunt biking. I went threw bikes like they were cheap shoes. Bent forks, broke frame welds, broke handlebars, everything. I beat the heck out of big-box bikes until I had the money to buy a Schwinn Mesa in 1995(?). After I turned 16 and started working part time my biking slowed a lot, then stopped when I was around 20 years old. Partly due to working full-time and partly because I totaled my jeep (not my fault and I was uninjured) so couldn't easily take my bike to the local parks. I gained a lot of weight due to the lack of activity and was up to 280+ pounds a few years ago.

But more recently in the past few years I've had some new jobs requiring intense physical activity that put me on the path to getting fit.
I cut soda out of my diet, stopped eating so much junk food and as of 2 weeks ago I am now under 200 pounds for the first time in maybe 10 years and lost 5 inches off my waist so far.

I want to get back into regular biking now to help continue the weight loss. I miss biking, I loved biking, I want to bike again.

I still have my old bikes:
21 speed schwinn mesa, front shocks, solid rubber inner tubes (had gotten tired of flats every week, lol)
21 speed Mongoose XR250 (got it 5 years ago when working at walmart as a bike assembler, failed attempt at getting back into biking)
10 Speed Peugeot street bike (20+ years old)

The Mongoose is in the best shape, only rode it a few times then it sat in my shed.
The Schwinn I don't know about. I think it might be worth scrapping besides the frame.
The Peugeot is in excellent shape still, just needs a shift lever. Have yet to see one for sale though as they mount on the frame just below the handlebars.


Anybody got any good tips on getting back into biking after a 10+ year hiatus?
Anybody have any thoughts about how these bikes compare to newer models?