Well believe it or not, but a lazy fat guy wants a bike. The low impact excercise will be good for me, so I'm looking for a bike to support my cumbersome butt.

Any suggestions as to what to get? I like the Cruiser style and have been told to get high pressure slick tires + lots of spokes, which makes sense.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a brand/model of bike I should be looking at?

Any help is appreciated.

I started with a used Schwinn Woodlands mountain bike and I road about 500 miles on it until I gained enough miles and experience to consider a road bike. Your first (Starter) bike should be well adjusted, reliable and cheap. Find a LBS that takes trade ins and ask for one that they think will match your body size. The place that wants to sell you a Trek 1000 in the first 5 minutes is not for you. Find the LBS that has old bikes on the floor as well as new. Find the LBS where poor folks shop.

I hope you come to love the sport/activity/hobby/passion as much as I.

I was in your shoes a few years ago. I started out with a mountain bike (mtb for short) and I would suggest the same for you. The 26" wheels are build stronger and will support your weight.

Definitely go to a local bike store (lbs for short) and ask to see hard tail mtb's. A hard tail is a mountain bike with no shock in back. The shock in front is ok but I would suggest not having the shock to start out. The shocks absorb your energy and rob speed, unless you are going to do a lot of trail riding. The cheaper bikes with shocks are just that - cheap, a good shock (in front only) bike starts around $500.

DO NOT BUY A BIKE FROM WALMART OR SPORTING GOOD STORE - ONLY FROM A BIKE SHOP. Those other stores have inexperienced people assembling the bikes and they often come needing tuning right off the bat. A lbs will support you, gives advice, free tuneups, and will stand behind the products they sell.

If you ride mainly on paved roads and such, ask to have the knobbie tires of the mbt switched with smoother tread road tires but stick with a bike that has 26" wheels. Speed will come later, you'll get better exercise peddling the heavy mtb around, and when you have fallin in love with cycling and lost some pounds, then go looking for a hybrid, cyclocross, touring or road bike.

I bought a cyclocross / touring bike after getting more fit and really loving cycling. The road bikes have too small tires (23c and 25c tires) for me, I like the smoother ride of the 30c to 35c tires that you can put on a cyclocross / touring bike. Plus, the cyclocross / touring bikes are built to carry heavier loads and handle rougher conditions.

But for now, get a new or used mountain bike from a local bike store. And don't forget the accessories - a good ventilated helment and cycle shorts to start. Add jersey's, gloves and bike shoes later.

Mark