Condorita

I did a half century barely 3 months after I got into riding again, on a Giant Cypress. Put somewhere around 3000 miles on that bike before Beanz and Gina gave me the Bianchi. Turned that into an upright riding style. Now most of my riding is on the Allant, also very upright.

"Comfort" is a very personal matter, and there's nothing comfortable, from my perspective, about drops.

marmot

Comfort bikes -- good ones -- aren't bad at all, and might be all a lot of people will ever want. I rode road bikes in the '70s and '80s, then dropped out of cycling entirely. I'd never even heard of a comfort bike when I bought one. It was a deeply discounted 2004 Specialized Expedition Sport that I bought on impulse after a quick test ride. I loved it from the start, and rode it happily for five years before "graduating" to a drop-bar light tourer. Being solid, affordable, reliable and fun to ride, that Expedition renewed my love of cycling. A quality hybrid or comfort bike could do the same for the OP's friends, as a more gentle initiation than they'd get from some $4,000 sliver of butt-in-the-air carbon fibre.

Barrettscv 

I also have no regrets about starting on a comfort bike. Road bikes are like a designer suit, if it fits perfectly, a road bike is comfortable and fast. If the fit is wrong, they're problematic and unacceptable.

A comfort bike is like a pair of khakis and a sweatshirt, a loose & comfortable fit you can buy "off the shelf".

alanknm

Yep. A comfort bike is like casual wear.. you don't need bike shorts, and you can ride with any footwear that suits you if it's just a quick run out to the store.

Kazzy

I got back into cycling 4 years ago at the age of 46. I started out with a Trek Navigator. I wasn't at all sure I would stick with cycling and I didn't want to spend a lot of money. I had never been able to stick with any kind of exercise regimen for any length of time before. But I rode that Trek enough to remember how much I loved riding a bike. When I started I could never have imagined riding as many miles as I do now. (It's not a huge amount in cycling circles but it was a lot to me and it impresses my non-cycling friends.) I thought a larger saddle would be more comfortable. It didn't take too long for me to realize my mistake. A few months later I bought a touring bike with trekking bars and disc brakes. It's still a heavier bike and not as fast as a roadie but I love that bike and I'm riding it into the ground. I've also picked up a steel frame road bike along the way but I'm not quite ready to graduate to that one yet. I keep the Trek around so I can drag friends and family out on short rides with me when they come to visit.

Yen

This isn't necessarily a hybrid. It sounds to me like one of those bikes I see at the beach with the big wide bars, no gears, big fat tires, and the rider sitting bolt upright. Not all hybrids fit that description. Even so, the big squishy pillow saddle on a hybrid can be swapped (which I did). Hybrids are fun bikes for anyone [re-]entering cycling. Just make sure it fits!

Philipaparker

Hey, if your friends want to start cycling. Let them, they soon figure out if they like it or not and what kind of bike they are most comfortable on.

I have a friend at work that wanted to get into cycling and take his daughter out with him, his friend convinced him to buy a nice new carbon frame Giant road bike with clip in peddles, professional fitting, etc. etc. First thing he did was fall down. Now he doesn't ride the thing at all, his daughter is still waiting to have her dad show her how to ride a bike.

He should have gone down to the local bike store and bought him and his daughter a bike and they'd be riding right now and he'd probably gotten into road biking or mtn biking or something.

So if your friends want to buy big squishy tired bikes let them. Once they feel the wind in their face they'll want to go faster and farther.

ModeratedUser150120149

What a biased, almost bigoted, framework for a thread. Why is it "graduated" to change to a different style bike than one starts with? What is there to support the idea that one style or price range bike is any better than another? Even the term "better" is more suited to a personal judgement than anything else. That is one of the reasons retailers are often using that term to say: "My XXXXX product is Better than anyone else's".

A more appropriate question would be: "How can I encourage other people to try my hobby?" Or: "How can I help others feel why I'm so passionate about my hobby?"

Recent threads advocate more cycling for health, for the environment and for the economy. In a very non-biased way encourage people to start riding. They'll find out on their own where they are happiest. Win-Win.

alanknm

My wife has a hybrid comfort bike and would never want to ride a road bike. It's really a matter of preference and on what sort of riding you like to do. I grew up riding road bikes and went back to them. My wife grew up riding the good old SA 3 speeds that bike manufacturers now pass off as "urban" bikes.

I can't imagine my wife riding a performance hybrid either, she's used to sitting upright and anyway it's a non starter with the arthritis problems she has in her neck.

As for having somebody "starting" with a full carbon road bike with clipless pedals... gee can he buy me one too ? Oh wait a minute.. I've got one of those... make it a cyclocross bike..

I would never suggest that to someone, not in a million years.

A good quality hybrid can suit the needs of a lot of people, probably for good, or like some of us, it was a great way of getting back into cycling. I generally recommend them over MTBs for people wanting to get started again because they are lighter and are generally closer to the style of bikes they rode when they were younger.

Road Fan

Similar story for Mrs. Road Fan: she started on a Breezer commuter/hybrid bike. Then she moved to a lightweight Cannondale Road Warrior. Now she has a Columbus-tubed Terry Classic vintage steel road bike with drop bars and all the trimmin's. So yeah, I'd say she graduated.

I left cruisers (actually American fat-tire bikes and UK 3-speeds) back in the late '60s, and started right in with road bikes on my returns to cycling.

Dellphinus

Yup. Started with a Specialized Expedition Sport.
Added Power Grips and MKS touring pedals.
Couldn't "get out of the wind", so replaced the swept bars with a flat bar and clip on aero bars, lowered the stem as low as it would go, replaced the stock saddle with a B67.
Better...
Replaced the "suspension" fork with a fixed fork, and locked the suspension seatpost- hill climbing got better (no more bouncing).
Rode it 4 years- numerous centuries, MS150s, etc.
Replaced it with a LHT- should've bought the LHT first, but didn't know enough about bikes yet, and wasn't sure I'd stick with it. The original plan was to get bikes to ride around the campground with the kids; got bigger than that REAL quick...

Timtruro

When I got back into biking a few years ago, I started with a low end Trek mountain bike, then went to a Trek comfort bike. Both were fine for the job they were designed to do. When I decided I wanted to do longer distances with some speed and comfort, I went to a flat bar road bike and ultimately to a cf road bike. it all depends on what you want to accomplish with your riding. I still use the comfort bike from time to time for short jaunts and errands.

Garilia

My wife was handed down a Jamis Boss Cruiser in excellent condition (it's a handle shift, 7 speed). It has very large, wide, cushioned handlebars. Now she hasn't really been on a bike in at least 15 years, so in riding the cushy cruiser around, while she enjoyed it, she did not feel comfortable in such an upright position. I'm playing around with other bikes to see if she wants a drop bar bike, or a flat bar hybrid style, where she could lean over a bit, but not be in the drops. She did enjoy riding again though, so that's neat.

sknhgy 

I still ride my Raleigh Passage quite regularly. I fills a need. I also have an MTB and a roadie.

marmot

Yeah, I keep my old comfort bike out at the cottage. It's a great shuttle vehicle for downriver paddle trips. It's no mountain bike, but it also does a fair job on logging roads, snowmobile trails and powerline maintenance roads.

mrodtoo

I too have the Giant Cypress story, but with a twist. I would get my exercise by jogging, but switch to riding a bike. Knowing my better half would want to try riding I found a great deal at a yard sale on a Le Tour Mixtie ($40 bucks and needed a little work). My plan was to not spend a lot of money on a new bike because I wasn't sure if I would stick with riding let alone my wife. The result turned out that we both wanted to ride and the wifie took ownership of my new Giant. I really like the le tour, but found that I wanted...no needed something more. So now I have a Giant Defy 1 (entry level plush road bike) and happiness is an hour or two riding it.

sknhgy 

I wouldn't have any problems doing a metric on my Raleigh Passage, or a quick 30-40 miles on my mtb, complete with xcountry tires. My bike use changes with the seasons. In the winter I ride the mtb almost exclusively. In the heat of summer I mostly ride my road bike. If it's wet out I like the Raleigh with it's fenders. The Raleigh also works well if part of the ride will be gravel or bad roads. I can't see my self using only one kind of bike, so I guess I'll never graduate.

ciocc_cat

+1. I'm 56 and my first bike (early 1960s) was a bright red, fat-tire, single-speed Western Flyer - a Cruiser in modern terms. I put a LOT of miles on that bike and have many fond memories of riding it, so I can understand a desire to have something familiar (and comfortable) to ride - especially if you didn't ride lightweight derailleur-geared bikes for many years. However, modern frame geometries and saddles only LOOK uncomfortable . . . perhaps a test ride would convince otherwise?

Recycle

+4
I rode a Giant Cypress for 3 years ... and a lot of 60 to 70 mile trips ... before deciding that the best bike for what I wanted to do was a steel touring bike.

Edit: The Cypress is now used for trips to the store or riding in wet weather.

rydabent

I guess I take exception to using the word "geezer" being applied to comfort or recumbent bikes. The attitude of some fully kitted roadies is pretty much overbearing. Just because someone is smart enough not to endure pain to enjoy the sport we all like is no reason to belittle them. No matter what kind of bike you ride we are all cyclist. Also some people have aches and pains when they get older that demands they ride a comfort or bent to be able to ride at all.

Everyone should ride what suits them and not worry what some eliteist thinks. That one advantage of being older, "stylin" and conforming really doesnt mean squat!!!!!

Spiduhman

"...enjoy the sport we all like..."

Just doing that!

Just do that!

I'm more comfortable leaned well over. My back mostly, and a few other parts, protest after a few miles in an upright position.

cyanemi

I have an Electra Townie which is great on my back. I didn't think I could ride a road bike but got the Fuji and really love it. It does bother my back at times though. I'm glad to have both to trade off. Next I want a Mukluk after the brutal winter we're still having!

lighthorse

I still have the Trek 7500 Hybrid that I began riding some years ago. Once in a while I ride it but not often any more. I use it for friends/family that are visiting and want to ride. It is easier to fit different size bodies, and with the road wheels, tires I have fitted, it goes quite nicely. The seat on this bike is several iterations from the original equipment. Usually I just show all of the spare saddles I have lying around and let the visitor choose what they want. Most beginners choose a gel saddle that I got at a yard sale but have never used myself.

I am sure that we all have similar experiences as velo with friends asking us what their first bike should be. My response is that they can go to Walmart and buy a beach cruiser that will do all they want to improve their fitness and ride around their local neighborhood. Actually, a stationary bike is fine for fitness as well. It is only when we begin riding and decide that we want to go faster and accomplish longer distances that we decide that we need to get a road bike. At least that is my view.

Keith99

Long ago I started on a Mountian bike. when I found I was riding almos exclusively on hte road I swapped out the tires for slicks. I found I ran out of gears at the top end all the time. Got a decent racing bike. Never looked back.

I now know the overly wide, overly padded saddles are comfortable as long as your legs are not moving. Otherwise there is more discomfort, only in a different place.

outwest5

Velo, I bought a hybrid when i wanted to start riding again. It only took a few months of lugging that thing around to start to pine away for a real road bike. When I bought the hybrid, I had not ridden in 20 years. I wasn't even sure I could still do it and thought my drop bars days were over. It took a while to realize I wasn't as ancient as I thought. There is sense in not paying a lot of money to buy something you may not use. On the other hand, riding those comfort bikes is tiring (!) and harder to do than a road bike. That could scare someone off from the hobby.

What happened with my husband and I was we ended up riding a lot. The limits of what I could do on the hybrid started to bug me. I started to whine a lot, "I want a real road bike...pout, pout." He didn't think he could even use drop bars because he has back issues. It turned out that a well fit road bike actually felt better on his back than the upright hybrid.

Buying a cheap beginner bike has its merits. No way would I have spent the money I did on my bike a couple years ago. Can your friend buy a used road bike to start out with? That way, he and she can see if they want to fork over the bucks.

A hybrid has it's merits. I use mine to run to the store and throw stuff in the basket, for example.