The last bike I bought was around 20 years ago. It was a cheap $100 mountain bike from Wal-mart. There was a lot I hated about it, but I did have a lot of fun riding it in between mechanical BS. The fundamental thing is that my friends all rode BMX bikes, and I wanted to copy them. I did as much as I could. If they went off a 3 foot drop, I went off a 3 foot drop (thank God for that front suspension!). If they did a wheelie, I did a wheelie. I was also obese (like 55+ BMI obese) and they were all normal size. That poor bike got the **** beat out of it by my fat ass.
20 years later, and 10 years after abandoning that bike in a move, I am looking to get back into biking. Probably 90% of the bike's life will be spent riding on paved surfaces, but I wouldn't say I want a road bike purely because I absolutely will cut across the grass, or a gravel lot, or a road with potholes, if I decide that's the path I want to take. A hybrid bike is probably closest to what I want, but a cruiser might be acceptable too. I am also no longer obese, so the bike doesn't have to contend with that problem either.
So, my main questions are:
- How much should a bike cost? When I look at wal-mart and target (no I don't plan to buy a bike from there, but, lowest common denominator) it seems like bikes basically start around $500 now. Is that accurate? Has 20 years of inflation really been that bad?! If you asked me how much a PC should cost I could answer that question, but I can't answer it for bicycles. I'm aware there is just as much nuance to a PC as a bike. I tend to put PCs into buckets "cheapest you can go / do not go below here", "Not cheapest, but you'll appreciate the QoL improvements / longevity / performance", and "Money? What's that?". For example, I can tell you that building a reasonable gaming PC for less than $500 is going to be hard, but building a PC for $2000 is going to be something that will crush games for the next 5+ years without upgrades (or maybe 1 graphics upgrade 3-4 years in).
- One thing I hated about my mountain bike was the brakes. They were some form of rim brake, but I forget what specific kind. The thing I hated was tuning them. Having to pull on this metal cable while simultaneously tightening a nut to get them to the exact proper force so that they engaged enough to stop but didn't rub constantly. Bleh! Hated it! Are disc brakes any better, or are they just as fiddly? In the 10 years I rode my bike I probably went through something like 10 pairs of brake pads (wore them down) so...the brakes are an area worthy of concern. Note: I always tuned my brakes so that if I fully engaged them I would lock my tires. I am the ABS, and I'm calm enough under stress to not throw myself over the handlebars, even though my brakes are setup to absolutely allow me to do that.
- What works well in the shifting department? Derailleurs were a bane of my existence, but they were also being asked to do a lot. Are bikes with CVTs any good? Are there any geared transmissions that are worth considering? One limiting factor I'd read about on geared transmissions was that you had to declutch them (stop pedaling) to shift. Is that still a thing, or have they gotten around that problem finally? Or is the derailleur still the king of shifters, and why, if so?
- Frame materials? This bike will be riding off ledges (think 4"-10" drops), ridden over potholes, ridden over grass at high speeds, wheelied (unless i get a CVT
), and generally treated like it's a tank that is expected to just bulldoze over whatever I ride on. I feel like that sort of abuse would preclude carbon fiber and possibly aluminum due to such a hard life creating stress fractures in the metal. Am I right? Or is steel just as likely to crack as aluminum? The $100 steel frame walmart bike never cracked, FWIW. So...maybe that datum will help you reply.
- How universal are frame sizes? I'm 5'8 and I have a 30" inseam. That seems to indicate I'd want a 16-17" bike frame (mountain/hybrid). Is that right? If I get a medium from most companies is it going to be the right size, or is it like clothing where you really should always try it on first?
So...let's start with those and see what happens / go from there.