Beginner to biking
 

A couple people at work have been talking, and now I wanna start biking. The problem is, I have NO idea where to start. My main goal is to lose some weight(I'm a bit of a bigger guy), and just to be active, which has been hard due to recent knee surgery. I've been told to look into Commuter bikes, but like I said, no idea what I'm looking at. Do you guys have any tips for a newbie who's interested in this, and perhaps some direction as to where to find a CHEAP bike that's going to last me a bit? As a reference, I'd LIKE to get away with a bike under 200 bucks, but again, no idea what's a good deal or what's just garbage being sold as gold.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

You can likely get a good bike in your price range on Craigslist (or some other similar site), but knowing what you're looking at is going to be tough without some experience. A cheap bike can turn expensive quickly if you end up buying someone else's problems. If you have a friend/colleague that has some expertise, and is willing to help that would be very beneficial. If you have some knee issues already, definitely get a bike with a triple chainring (3 front sprockets), it will help to minimize pressure on your knee joints, so long as keep your bike in a low gear. Also, browse these forums. There is a great deal of good information out there, and you'll read some threads that help as you navigate your way into cycling. Mosty, have fun. If it isn't fun, you aren't going to keep doing it. Keep your initial goals to a minimum other than to keep on keepin' on. Don't worry about speed, weight loss, etc. All of that will come so long as you stay with it. If you need a day off (from riding) take it, but don't let it become a trend. Let it slide a week and it'll be tough to get your momentum back. Good Luck.

Quotin' dis.

Also, depending on your height you might have a problem finding a cheap bike of Craigslist. I'm 6'7", and the only things with the right frame size were high end racers going for $2K+ on craigslist.

You can get away with a cheap bike, but you can get an okay bike for around $500-$600(I ended up getting a low end Cannondale Hybrid for $550). Go visit your local bike shop(s), test ride some of their bikes, get some advice. Buy the basics of safety gear to start out with(Helmet, lights if you'll be in the dark) and just ride. You can upgrade or buy new things piecemeal from there.

A lot of commutes aren't through interesting places, or even necessarily pretty ones, but if you're like most of us you'll find that the sense of just being outside and connected to the world is as much of a reason to ride your bike as weight loss, or saving money on gas, etc.

I start looking at craiglist and reading the "C&V What it's Worth" forum.They seem pretty quick to respond. I suspect that at your price point, you'll have to be pretty patient.

http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...-and-Inquiries

Mike

I can definitely get the feeling of just being outside. I get that way when riding a motorcycle. There are a plethora of reasons I want to get into biking, and I've got a feeling nothing is going to stop me, except maybe the price of everything. The wife is pregnant, and being in the military, our pay isn't exactly great, so money is tight. Spending 300+ on a bike right now just isn't going to happen. Maybe later down the road, but not right now. I've been told by experienced bikers that I work with to stay away from places like Walmart and Target for bikes, but I know bikes there are cheap, and I'm pretty sure I can upgrade them with things I'll need. Also, this will be my first commuter, so spending a bunch of money when I'm just starting out doesn't seem like a good idea in my mind.

I do appreciate the advice, I'm going through the Newbie Thread right now, and getting some good info.

Just be patient with CL, then. $500 isn't a lot of money for a bike, but if you don't have it, you don't have it. Find what works best for you, though I do recommend a trip to the LBS. Sometimes they have sales, or used bikes for sale that have been looked over by a bike mechanic. If nothing else, you can try a few on and get sized for a bike so you know what to look for on CL. Might be a bit dirty to the LBS, but make it up to them by buying accessories and stuff later.

The "Stay away from Walmart bikes" advice is pretty common and not without some merit but people have budgets that they have to stay within. Craigslist is a great option if you know something about bikes. Another option is to search for used bikes at a bike coop or bike shop. Depending on how popular cycling is your area you may have several places to look. It's worth a shot. At least you'll get a bike that's had a good going over even though it's used.

If you live relatively close to work and don't have to deal with a lot of hills then you have lots of choices for suitable bikes. If you do get a bike from Walmart and have relatively good roads stay away from the ones that have suspensions. They're not necessary for street use and for a Walmart bike especially, just something else that can go wrong.

One of the main purposes of your first bike is helping you understand what you want your second bike to be. That's not to say you won't like your first bike, but the more you ride, the more you'll know what you really want, so it makes sense to go cheap at this point and think about resale value.

The bike I'd recommend is a late 80's or early 90's mountain bike with a rigid front fork. These bikes are plentiful in the used market, sell for around $100 and are generally very tough. The best part is that you can buy one of these and ride it for two years and then sell it for around the same price you paid for it. Look for something from Specialized, Trek or Giant. I'm particularly partial to Specialized Rockhoppers. There are some other brands that will be as good, but these are the most common so sticking with them simplifies your search.

As for evaluating a used bike, this is a general procedure: Look at the bike to make sure it doesn't have any significant rust on the frame or the moving parts. Lift the front wheel and make sure the handlebars turn smoothly back and forth. Give it a shake to see if anything is loose. Lean on it a bit side to side to see if anything creaks. Spin front and back wheels to make sure they spin freely and don't wobble. The front wheel should keep spinning for around a minute before it stops. Finally, take the bike for a ride. Start by adjusting the seat height until you can barely touch the ground. Make sure the bike is comfortable for you. Give the brakes a try before you go far. Make sure the brakes work well and the shifting is functional for all gears. Don't worry too much about the condition of the tires, as you'll probably want to replace them anyway (especially if they're knobby). Replacing the brake pads is pretty cheap and usually worth doing. Everything else should be in ready-to-ride condition. If the bike passes all these tests, you should be OK.

Andy_K gives good advice. I also had a mid 90's Rockhopper, - makes a very solid commuter. Decent components and reasonably light for a vintage steel off-road bike.

There are plenty of similar bikes from other manufacturers of the same vintage that would be good choices too. Especially if you take the approach that you can always get something different down the road.

There is a guy near me that restores vintage road bikes and sells them on Craigslist for less then $200. So check your local Craigslist and look for a deal.

Ok, I'm looking through craigs list at the bikes Andy_K mentioned, and I'm noticing that everyone is putting like 16", or 18" in their listing. Call me a FNG, but what does that mean? Obviously it's inches, but from where to where? And if I'm 5'11", what size bike(best guesstimation, I know ya'll wouldn't be able to fit a perfect bike lol) should I be aiming for?

Before you're seduced by the low prices of X-mart bike, do a web search on "Bicycle Shaped Objects."

That's the size of the frame. Generally on a mountain bike you want 2-3'' of standover, and on a road bike 1-2 inches. Meaning you can stand over the frame and that is the amount of clearance you have from your groin to the top tube. More then that and the bike is probably too small, less and it's too big.

For your height, I would guesstimate that a 19-20" mountain bike frame and a 56cm road bike frame would be 'in the ballpark'. It's not just about height though, some people have longer legs and shorter torsos, and vice-verse. It does vary even among individuals that are the same height.

It's inches, yes, and usually it's the length of the seat tube. But bikes geometry varies a lot, and so do people's proportions. If you're thinking about a road bike a rough guesstimate might be your inseam ( crotch to floor) minus ten inches. So if your inseam is 32 inches, a road frame of roughly 22 inches might suit. But the only sensible advice on sizing is to sit on the bike, preferably watched by someone who has a clue, and see what works.

Do you have a friend or acquaintance who rides? One of the people at work, perhaps? Could you get them to talk to you, or maybe accompany you to a bike shop to help you hey an idea? I know you won't be buying, but it would help you figure out what might be useful.

This is true except in the case where you're using a mountain bike for road riding (or even mostly smooth paths). The older mountain bikes didn't have as much top tube slope as the new ones do, so it's often best to use the road bike standover rule of thumb (i.e. 1-2 inches). Use the frame size (if offered) as a rough estimate of whether or not the bike will work for you and then try out the ones that seem like possibilities.

I just stopped into one of the bike shops close to where I live, sat on a few bikes, had some things explained to me. The one that I felt comfortable on(without riding) was a Raleigh, but when I check their website, they don't have any prices. The one I looked at was 295 out the door, which is above what I want to spend, but it was pretty comfy to sit on at least. Are these decent commuter bikes(in general of course), and worth spending the money on if I can grab one?

It's hard to say without knowing more. Often the cheapest bikes are cruisers and hybrids. They're fine for short to medium distances. How far do you need to go? What's the terrain like? Hilly or flat? How much stuff do you need to bring along?

Raleigh makes a lot of bikes, so it's not quite enough to go off of.

Oh and one other thing. What's comfortable sitting in the shop and what's comfortable after 10 miles may end up being quite different. ;)

I figured as much. I'm not ENTIRELY sure of the exact distance, I know it's 12 miles one way by car, garage to parking lot at work, so no more than 15 by bike. I live in San Diego, so the ride will be a lot of street, though with as early as I'll be riding, I doubt it'll be very busy, and I'd have to drive the route to determine hills, but I don't think there's many of any significance.

My things would be limited to stuff like wallet, keys, phone, with possibly a uniform every monday and friday. Nothing I couldn't fit into a backpack.

San Diego = Nice climate for biking.

The distance is probably too far to go on a cruiser/comfort bike, at least on a regular basis. I mean you certainly could but I wouldn't recommend it.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a terribly long commute, but it's not a short one either. If your commute was really flat, a single speed might work well and not be too hard on the wallet. Something like a Giant Via. It's a little more upright than you might want for that distance though. It's far enough that I'd be thinking of a road bike but new ones are hard to come by in that price range.

Honestly, I've never been on a bike where I've had to learn forward that far, and it looks REALLY uncomfortable on your back. Though, I suppose it could be comparable to riding a crotch rocket, minus having something to support my gut.

From talking to people at work, my goal isn't to get anywhere particularly FAST, but just to get there. Hence why I was pointed in the direction of a Commuter. If you don't mind my asking, why wouldn't I want to be sitting upright for that long of a ride? Or why is leaning forward better?

Well, when I say road bike, I'm not talking about a racing bike necessarily. There are lots of bikes that fit into that category including "flat bar" road bikes which typically have you sitting up a bit more. There are also traditional drop bar road bikes that place the bars level with the seat or sometimes higher.

People's opinions vary so I hope some others will weigh in on this too so you can get other perspectives. Imagine yourself sitting bolt upright for an hour. At 12 miles, my guess is that you'll be on the road about that long. How comfortable is your back going to be? If you can lean forward a bit, your arms can help support some of your weight and just as importantly, help your body absorb some of the bumps. If you're sitting straight up, all the bumps are going to be felt in your back.

The other problem with sitting more upright is that you're increasing wind resistance, - making yourself work harder to maintain the same speed. If you're not going particularly fast it's not as much of an issue, - unless there's a headwind.

I'm not recommending that you get a bike that has you hunched over like a racer, just something in between that and a cruiser.

Also, all the bikes I see people using where you're leaned over, look really thin and frail. I'm not a small guy, 5'11", 240lbs at the moment. Something about those bikes freaks me out, I honestly feel like if I hit something wrong, I'm gonna bend one of those thin tires lol. I know I can get bigger, but even the frame just looks like it's gonna just fold up randomly. Probably an unwarranted fear, but it's there anyways.

This probably isn't what you picture when you imagine a road bike but it is one all the same:

http://www.bicycletouring101.com/get...LoadedBike.jpg

I think it can handle a 240 lb. rider. ;)

Problem is that bikes like that aren't cheap. Again, I'm not saying you need a road bike. A hybrid is more in your price range anyway. But a hybrid is sort of a cheap cross between an offroad bike and a road bike. If you get one, you want one that's more of a road bike than an offroad bike.

There it is, and HOLY CRAP! I don't even pack that much crap into my car! And I'll start looking into Hybrids as well, thanks for that :-D

It's not that I think that a hybrid is the ideal choice, but they're less generally less expensive than other types of bikes and would be better than a cruiser or comfort bike. Often times bikes that are categorized as commuters have a lot in common with hybrids anyway.

A good used 90's rigid mountain bike like Andy_K suggested might serve you better than a hybrid if you swap the stock tires out for something with a smoother tread.

That's mainly what I'm looking for, something cheap to start me off with. If Hybrids are cheaper than most, I'll look into those, or if a mountain bike with smooth tires will work almost as good as said hybrid for possibly cheaper, then that's what I'll do.

I had no idea a bike would could 1000+ when I first went in the LBS. A 15 mile ride might be bad for your knees. No matter what way you look at it your going to spend a bunch. Thing to consider most is comfort for 15 mile ride. Your hands and butt should be comfy. At an upright position your body would act like a sail and slow your riding a bit. I don't know much about tires but my CX ritchey tires take 75 lbs and at 195 I flatten them a bit, hence slow my riding. So if your heavier you might need tire that'll support your weight.

Go to the LBS and test ride every thing for a while. You'll be surprised how frames and components feel on the body. Even if your not going to buy one try them out. You might in the future.

Don't forget you'll need a pump, helmet, and pedals. Don't be turned off at old road bikes if you can get a functional one for your budget.

Yes, it's an unwarranted fear. Think of it this way; there's probably no more than a pound or so difference between the lightweight road bike and the heavy mountain bike frames that you're looking at. You can either have big diameter tubes in the frame that look fat and strong, and are the thickness of a Coke can, or you can have smaller diameter tubes that have about the same amount of metal, but they resist denting much better than the empty Coke can.

There are two other reasons for a "leaning-over" bike tjspiel didn't mention. First, by leaning a bit, you can engage your hip and back muscles in pedaling. That lets you ride further, faster, and with fewer aches and pains, than sitting bolt upright. Second, if there are potholes or rough pavement where you live, leaning over lets you absorb some of the shock from riding over them with your arms and shoulders, rather than feeling 100% of that shock in your tush.

When you go back to the shop, arrange to take a 1-3 mile test ride on all the models that interest you. Ask them where to ride; if it's a good shop, they'll hold a credit card or driver's license and give you directions. (I caused near panic when I bought a bike from REI. Only my daughter's continued presence kept them from calling the cops to look for me!)

Lemme just say that the generosity, expertise, and attention to detail revealed in this thread are the biggest reasons I love these forums.

One thing you'll want to keep in mind when driving your route, nothing seems like a hill when you're driving but small hills can feel like mountains when you first start out. Really pay close attention to the topography while doing your scouting.

Not long after I first met my wife, we were going to a friends house for Thanksgiving dinner. He lived about 40 miles outside of town. I knew the route to the town where he lived was steadily uphill, meaning I was going to be tired and hungry when I got there. I asked my wife-to-be if there were any hills between the main highway and our friends house so I could be mentally prepared if the last little bit was going to be a tough go (I had never been there before). "No, it's pretty much just a flat curvy road". Perfect I thought. Well seems there was this 1.5 mile 8-9% grade climb on the "flat" curvy road that she never happened to notice in the times that she had been out there which is why I never rely on a driver when I'm curious about how hilly a ride might be.