What kind of bike to get?
 

I'm 5'8'', 238 lbs

I'm a total newbie when in comes to biking...
I have an excercise bike at home and I use it regularly but I have no experience in extensive road or mountain biking yet(I do know how to ride a bike)...

My question is,
What would be easier for a beginner like me? a mountain bike or a road bike?

My primary reason for wanting to start is because I wanna lose weight and I'm kinda looking for a hobby that's fun and healthy at the same time...

Thanks for anyone who'll reply!

Do you want/plan to ride off-road? If not, a mountain bike isn't necessary. If you do want to, then it or a cross bike is pretty much mandatory, unless you'll just be doing smooth paths, in which case even some hybrids will do. If all you want to do is ride on pavement, then look at road bikes and hybrids. Find a shop with a good selection and test ride every kind you can get your hands on.

Thanks for the answer. I'm in a city so it would make sense to buy a road bike. Unfortunately, urban riding will be tough because of the extensive number of cars and the pollution...I will probably need to drive to trails in order to bike so I'm leaning more towards a mountain bike...My only concern w/ a mountain bike is that it may be too tough for a beginner like me....I'm trying to build up my legs as some sort of preparation for biking...

PLENTY of gears on a Mtn bike. When I started riding, I bought a mtn bike. I hadn't ridden in 20 years. I never felt like I needed "another gear" while on the mtn bike.

On pavement, there's nothing physically harder about riding a mountain bike than any other bike, other than the stock tires, which will be large enough to have a little more rolling resistance on pavement than a narrower tire will. You can talk with the shop about swapping out to narrower, more street-friendly tires when you buy the bike. If you want to go very narrow, it'll probably require different wheels, and when you get to that point, a hybrid might be a more cost-effective solution for you.

oaba09, If the trails are more like groomed foot paths a Hybrid will be fine. A mountain bike with road tires is a very versitile machine. Find either one that fits and you'll be fine.

Brad

Thanks for the tip guys! I'll probably get a hybrid for the versatility...

I have to STRONGLY recommend that you visit several bike shops and discuss your needs and goals with the guys there. First, you will get a feel for which bike shops you are more comfortable with (very handy when, later on, you need advice and service.) Second, no amount of advice on this forum can replace actually getting on several bikes to see how they feel. One option you may want to discuss at the bike shop is a hybrid, as craigb mentions. It depends if the bikepath you want to ride is paved or not. My hybrid came with tires that were too narrow for me dealing with the pot-holed roads in my city. The bike shop sold me some wider tires (they look like really skinny mountain bike tires) that did the trick. This year, I wanted a road bike. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted. When I talked about my needs and goals with the guys at the bike shop, I ended up purchasing something completely different than I had intended; and am happy I did. Driving to a bike path to ride is a good idea. That is how I prefer to ride when my wife comes with me. No matter what you get, the important thing is to get out and ride.

One thing about "road bikes:" Many people use the term to refer to any bicycle that doesn't have flat handlebars. People here tend to use it in a more specific way to refer to a bicycle designed (or that is supposed to make you think it's designed) for road racing. This would exclude touring bikes, cyclocross bikes, commuting bikes, single-speeds with drops, etc., all of which would be called "road bicycles" by non-cyclists. And some of these might serve your purposes better than a hybrid.

And as above, you can always put smooth tires on a mountain bike, which makes it a lot more versatile and comfortable.

If you don't know anybody to give you advice, a bicycle shop is the place to start, but it is a good idea to get some idea what you want first. Perhaps you could even borrow a bicycle from a friend to try out for a few weeks. You might find riding on the road is better than you think, or that you want to try more serious mountain bike trails.

I'd say, in addition to all this good advice, consider the position you want to be in when you ride. Leaned forward, or more upright?