bakerjw

Yay!
Great to see someone getting into the sport. Earlier this year when I started riding a MTB on the road, I impressed the heck out of myself with 8 to 9 mile rides. I thought I was really doing something impressive. Now it takes me 10 miles just to get warmed up. You will get there too.

If you stick with it, you will lose weight. If you watch your diet, you will really lose weight. The more you lose, the faster and farther you will go. Once that starts to happen, you will upgrade your bike. I realized this need in about 2 weeks and bought a Schwinn Circuit. It is a solid and on the heavy end of the scale as road bikes go. Everyone wants me to upgrade to a better bike as my capabilities are greatly exceeding the bike but my goal is to be under 200# before I upgrade. That will be in the middle of next year I suppose.

The good news is that my contract goes away in February which means I will be unemployed. The better news is that I have enough in savings to cover all of my expenses for next year.
The best news is that I will be able to ride every single day next summer.

b_young

I got back into riding seriously about 6 yrs ago. I bought a Mongoose MTB at Wally World on clearance for $90. I gave it to a nephew a couple of years ago when I bought my Sirrus. I really miss it. Just keep the pedals rolling in a circle and enjoy.

kenseth03

Good luck with the new bike. Don't worry about where it came from. You have taken a positive step towards creating a healthier life for yourself. Thats what matters!

CliftonGK1

Eventually those winter storm warnings will just be an excuse to put the studded tires on your bike and go ripping around in the snow. I used to live a bit north of ya, up in Cincinnati. Riding in the snow around there was awesome. Really freakin' cold sometimes, but awesome.

gapwedge

Forget about where you got it, just make sure you are fitted for the bike. Nothing worse than a bike that is too small or etc. Knee problems, and stiff neck and shoulders. Even if you cannot find a friend to help you fit it yourself take it to a LBS and pay to have it fitted. Hopefully, you got the right frame size. Regardless of the price of the bike, if it fits it will be fun to ride.

jordanb450

That is the same bike that got me into cycling I put on slicks (really helps!)...I was only able to ride 500 miles before it was stolen The thing is...I didn't have ANY trouble in those miles. No maintenance, no gear-shift problems, no wheel/tire problems...pretty awesome for something that cost $150. I've attached a picture...it's an older model, but Corvette colors! I absolutely LOVED that bike.

I think you'll be happy with the Schwinn. Congratulations!!

-Jordan

robertr70

I'm already looking at road tires on ebay for it, I bought a a Cateye Opticube the other day and a new seat that has motion activated LEDs on it. I'll post pics this weekend.

dlester

My first one was a Huffy mountain bike, which I still have in the garage. I don't really like riding it like I did when it was new, but it served its purpose and it still gets used occasionally when there is something bike-related I need to do but may not be so good for my nicer bike (the latest use being a hookup to one of those trail-a-bike deals for pulling the kid).

What a few others have already said is probably going to be true. If you actually ride the Schwinn regularly, get back into shape, and actually start to wear it out, the wife will be more supportive of your next purchase and won't consider it 'a phase'.

My wife is nagging me to go out and buy a new one. I just can't decide what I want to get. So many choices. When I started riding at the park, she thought it was a phase. When I got strong enough to ride to work and started commuting, she thought that would last no more than a week. Now I am shaped a lot more like the guy she originally married and she supports it completely. I even have a trainer in the living room!