Advice for newbie
 

Hello everyone.

I'm sure this question has been asked 1,000,000,000 times, and there are 1,000,000 right answers.
But I'd like to get everyone's opinion, which hopefully will help me make the right call.

I'm looking to get a new bike for me and my significant other; mostly for weekend riding in the park, or on (busy) New York City streets, or the boardwalk, or etc etc etc. You get the idea.

Do you have any suggestions, as far as manufacturers, features to look for, features to stay away from, etc?

Thanks!!

Trek's FX (fitness) line seems right up your alley. Road bike geometry, flat handlebars, and componentry that doesn't drive up the price of the bike.

go to a bike shop, see what catches your eye, ride it and a bunch of other bikes, go to another bike store and repeat. then buy the one that fit and rode the best.

My son just bought the Trek 7.5 FX for his commute to work and he loves the bike.

People can make more specific suggestions if you give us an idea of how much you are looking to spend. My answer to you would differ dramatically if you want to spend $500 or $1500.

Riding in serious city conditions (I used to ride in Boston) can be very tough on a bike. The theft concern also goes up dramatically in NYC.

An open ended question like that on this forum may get you those 100,000 possible answers you alluded to, depending on how enthusiastic everyone is feeling at the moment. You may want to narrow this down by price, etc.

As far as manufacturers, I personally prefer Fuji. I think (opinion) that they make a quality bike that also has more for your dollar than most of the more glamorized name manufacturers.

Check out the Newest 1.0 or 2.0

+1 on the Trek FX. Another option might be a used roadie. There is a shop near me that specializes in older roadbikes. He has several nice Trek, Puegot, and Schwinn bikes, mostly 80's model. They range in price from about $150 -$450. I've been tempted to get one myself as I'd kind of like to have a nice lugged steel frame to play with.

+1

If you live somewhere with a lot of used bikes, particularly older steel lugged frames, you should most definitely consider those. They can be more affordable and you'll probably get more bang for your buck. Just because a bike is new doesn't mean it's better.

Also, if you're looking for something easy to maintain, you might want to look at a singlespeed bike. Having no gears can remove a lot of the complications of maintaining a geared bike.

Redline makes the 925 which a lot of people are enjoying.

I like the look of the Trek 3900.
I know it's a mountain bike, but what is your opinion about it? Sturdiness, comfort, quality of manufacturing, options, etc?