I am looking for my first bike. But I'm not sure if I should get a Hybred or a road bike. I am 6' tall and weight 300 lbs. I just want to ride around town on our cycle paths. I was looking at the road bikes with the curved handle bars but I am wondering if this bike is going to bother my back being bent over all the time. That is why I am thinking about the Hybred or a cruiser. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks...

try to find some bike rentals in your area and try them out

# 1 Priority is good fit. I highly recommend getting on a bike to test it out.

Hybrid will put you into a more upright position, which is good for being able to see your surroundings and comfort

drop bars are better for long commutes as you can get better leverage on the pedals, areo dynamic position and mutiple hand positions as your arms or hands get sore.

I'm an odd duck, but I think you should find the lowest costing commuting bike you can find, around $500 is a good range for combination of decent components and reliability. Why do I recommend that? Because about 93% of all people who buy a bike or join a gym, etc quit within 6 months, (this is how gyms can overbook their memberships). Get yourself a nice $500 range bike, then if you decide riding and commuting is not for you then you won't have a $2,000 piece of garage art. If you do decide cycling is your thing then in 2 or 3 years or so you can upgrade to a much nicer bike and still use the old one for commuting and the new one for training rides. Before someone gets off on how unreliable a $500 bike will be it simply is not true. There are people in this world who commute everyday on cheaper Walmart bikes without worry, so I think a $500 LBS bike should last for quite awhile if taken care of.

Don't forget if your commuting and will be parking the bike outside to get a decent lock and not some Walmart lock. Learn how to fix flats in your sleep, I'm not kidding about that. If you arrive to work late too many times due to flats your job could be placed in jeopardy, or they will demand that you take your car. Leave earlier then you think you should in case you do get a flat so you have the time to fix it. There are ways to prevent the majority of flats but nothing is flat proof, and sooner or later it will happen.

Great advise! I would just add, that you find a popular model so if you do loose interest, you won't take a big hit on resale.
Surly, Salsa, Trek, Specialized are just a few examples of quality, popular commuter bikes.

At your weight, including the advice above, I'd start with an upright hybrid, or even a mountain bike. The unfortunate equation is that you need to move your weight plus the bikes weight, and the bike isn't going to contribute much to that.

The one thing to really avoid though is the department store BSO (bike shaped object). It looks like a bike, it may ride like a bike, but it just isn't a good bike. Go to a real bike shop that sells brands like those listed above, and I'd include Giant, Cannondale, Felt, and a few others. DO NOT go to Walmart or Toys r Us or any similar store. You won't go wrong with a low priced Giant or Cannondale or Specialized or Trek. They make low end bikes that aren't crap. Also, don't buy a bike with suspension. Unless you want to spend a lot of money the suspension won't be any good.

My wife wanted an upright bike last year, so I spent a lot of time looking at higher end bikes (same brands as mentioned) and found what I thought would be the perfect bike for her, the mid-range Specialized Vita. When we went to the store, she ended up getting the low-end model of the Vita instead. Why? She tried them both and she could not tell the difference. The shifting was still smooth, the ride was the same, and it cost a lot less.

Thanks to everyone for the great advise. It sure makes looking for a bike a lot easier.

I'll just toss this into the mix: touring bike.

If you want a road bike (which is fun for longer rides), and are worried about your weight, get a road bike built to carry a load. As an added benefit, it'll have attachment points for a rack (or maybe come with a rack) to carry clothes, files, etc. during your commute.