One reason I bought my Iguana in '92 (which I am still riding) is that I liked the name--and a friend at work had a four-legged iguana. Another reason is that the Iguana in 1992 was highest rated in its price range by Consumer Reports.

The bike shop had ordered ten Iguanas, and received one, and had already had phone inquiries about it. The one they received happened to be my exact size. So I snapped it up....

Not that it matters, but I stated elsewhere on the Forum that I got that bike in 1993. I just discovered while researching this, that it was in 1992.

The Iguana does seem to pack alot of bang for the buck. I would like to look at a Yukon, but the shop didn't have one in. But they did have the Trek USPS team road bike, that thing was the lightest sonofagun.My dad, who once was a cyclist, can't understand why people would pay 1000+ dollars for a bike.

I recently helped a friend research his recent bike purchase and I have to say the Iguana is one of the best deals in it's price range. You really can't go wrong with that.

It's still a lot cheaper than a fighter plane, though! :)

I almost bought a Yukon last year, I think it is the best value in that part of the Giant lineup, as far as components, frame etc. go. I've also had extemely good luck with my Giant Inova hybrid.

The only reason I didn't get it, was that the LBS just couldn't get one in, and had no idea when they would be available. I ended up with a Trek 4500, which I am pleased with.

Aerobat, do you remember what the shifters were like on the Yukon? I was just looking at shimano EZ-fire and I really don't like it, it is over/under instead of under/under.

I just thought i'd throw in my opinion here. i think you're on the right path with the MTB. Modern road bikes for the most part just aren't versatile enough for utilitarian needs. You can always turn the MTB into a pretty good roadbike, but it's hard to turn the roadbike into a off-road machine.

So here's my thoughts. first have you considered a rigid MTB. You know, one without any suspension. I know their getting hard to find, as manufacturers tend to put suspension forks on even low-priced bikes. However for what you have to spend you could probably get better components if you went without a suspension fork. I doesn't sound like you're going to do a lot of off-roading so the suspension fork is probably not needed and might even be a hinderence on the road.

Secondly, if you can wait until the end of summer you'll probably be able to get a better deal at the bike shop. Okay, and you can all hang me if you want, but there are some good deals on bikes on the internet. Places like supergo.com and jensonusa.com have excellent deals on complete bikes and are quite reputable. if you know what you're looking for and know the size you need you shouldn't have a problem buying over the web. you'll have to pay shipping but you won't have to pay sales tax if the company is out of your state. It's just an idea. Of course, if you have a good LBS it's your duty to support it. The shops near me are pathetic. So i have no remorse in buying off the web.

Good thoughts. I have looked at some rigid frames at manufacturer websites but none of the bike shops I have gone to carry them.
The bike shop in my town is ok, the guy has really wierd hours though so its hard to catch him sometimes. And he has limited stock, but as far as bike knowledge he's one of the best guys I've run across.

Fubar,

Get all the components you want right up front. If you change your mind and replace them later, you will pay a fortune.

Well that's kinda tricky. To get what I want I would have to spend around 800 dollars. That's is not going to be possible do to the short time I am going to have this job, and I have some other things I gotta do with my money. So I just have to go with the best bang for my buck. Which is going to be either a Giant Iguana, or Yukon, or a Specialized A1 FS. The cool thing about the Specialized is that it comes with a body geometry saddle worth 50 bucks.

Hi Fubar, I can't remember what type of shifting arrangement the Yukon had, but it was last years model so it might be different now anyway.

Whatever is on it, though, your LBS should be able to change it out for you, so you can get the type of shifting you want. Within reason, of course.

Sounds like you're getting closer!

Very interesting posts! All I can say is, "BIG WHEEL"!!!! ;)

It's economical and a classic...might I also say, VERY inexpensive! :D

Actually, I ended up with a MTB on my quest for a bike the first time out. I've modified it quite a bit--added skinny tires and a rear rack. I agree with Mike...if you can get a inexpensive road bike to do some riding or running errands, that'll be cool too! I'm going to start looking for something like that in the fall...my MTB is sort of heavy...but not too heavy. :)

It all depends where and how you ride. I found a touring bike to be a good compromise for me. It has most of the efficiency of a road bike for the road (many gears, light, fast and efficient), yet it can also take a beating and supports almost any 700 tires from the skinny 23' to 38' so I works fine in muddy paths and in the snowy winter as well.

Then again I don't do really off-road riding

Mike, do you think making a round through some pawn shops would turn out a bike?

Pape, what bike is this? I'm looking for something like that!

Fubar, I'm on the same boat as you. I want a bike that can take some abuse from the city, but I like the speed of a road bike. I've looked into several bikes, but it's pretty hard to decide.

I don't want a mt. bike because the most off roading I'll be doing is in Central Park (which a hybrid can do quite easily).

Before you make up your mind, have you thought of flat bars vs. drops? Someone had brought this to my attention and says drops will be your choice if you do most of your riding on the street. It offers more hand positions and you will be more comfy.

But goodluck to you. It's good to see a responsible kid earning hard earned cash (I was in your shoes just a few years back...but it was for a car). :beer: Opps, sorry, you can't drink yet :eek:

Well... this thread is about a year old...

As I've said elsewhere, I think a cyclocross bike is an excellent choice for an all-around bike. The question comes down to how much you want to spend. Having said that, there are some models in the sub-$1000 price range, but you have to look for them.

I never go the pawn shop route. Pawn shop stuff is either stolen or it has been lost at great and often miserable expense to the owner.

Neither case has good feng shui.

Try a place like this (I don't work here)
http://www.recycledcycles.com/

Get a nice fast Mt bike and a fixed gear road bike ... and you will become strong as heck.

Get the lightest hardtail frame you can afford. Then get a pair of slicks. An addition option would be a very light set of 26 in wheels to use on the road with you slicks. This will give you a faster ride.

i agree that a pawn shop is not a good idea - it's either stolen or junk...

but you can find a good used bike in the paper or asking around at your local shop - i bought 2 of my bikes from guys who work at bike shops -- one was my current road bike which was the bike shop owner's training bike in great shape as he's a bike mechanic too - he bought a new bike and transferred the new components onto the old frame (he had super-nice Campi) and sold it to me and spend $900 instead of $1700 for my aluminum race-ready road-racer (OK snobs, it's only a Raleigh R700 with Sachs/Campi new Success but it works for me).

for your budget i would DEFINITELY recommend a used bike b/c you will go so much more for your money. there are always guys upgrading who want to get rid of their 'old' bike that is still in great shape. When i was poor in college i bought my 1st 2 bikes used and got great bikes at great prices - $300 for my first road-racing bike (Giant road-racer - this was 1990 pre-MTB mainstream) and then in '92 my first MTB for $350 ('89 Stumpjumper w/ all XT - it was 3 years old for an original proce of about $1200) ... with inflation, $500 should buy you about the same thing now i think.

as for which bike... i agree with almost all of the comments and it's a personal decision depending on what you want to do - and even harder b/C you don't know if you want to ride trails or tour or road-race or what...

i personally would recommend a MTB b/c it's the most versatile. you can use it for touring, commuting, road-riding and of course off-road. basically the only real disadvantage would be if you start doing tons of miles on the road and training and road-racing in which case you'll probably want/need a better road-racing bike than what you'll get for $500 (OK, not necessarily as i raced on my $300 used Raleigh with old stryrofoam helmut and got laughed at at all the races b/c i didn't have any fancy 'roadie' gear until i passed most people on my squeaking piece of crap - i was poor and couldn't afford any upgrades and just buying lube for the chain was breaking my budget so my bike was always squeaking and in crappy condition as i did all the maintainence w/o tools or knowledge or replacing broken part - i made them work)

if you buy a road bike, it will be a less-ideal commuter(potholes, curbs, rack-mounts), not good for touring -- tires too thin, gearing too high (yes it can be changed), and no rack-mounts, etc... and you obviously cannot ride offroad as knobbies won't fit on a road bike and the brakes suck

a cross-bike it an option... but harder to find. a good mountain bike for cheap should be easier to find.

buy a good MTB hardtail now with a decent frame, quality components (Shimano Doere or LX mix or better), quality suspension fork (just no super-heavy or walmart-special that looks cool but doesn't do anything), with vbrakes... after you know more what you want to do you can maybe buy a road bike or cross-bike or whatever...

for almost everything except racing you can use the MTB and you'll just be a little slower... the gearing thing isn't much of a factor unless you're racing and you can buy a set of high-pressure slicks for pretty cheap to make the MTB pretty road-worthy.

P.S. i still have my '89 Stumpjumper i bought in '92 although my first road bike got stolen... and i still have my last MTB ('97 Norco Torent) which would be a great bike for you in your price range except i'll never sell it...