Hello.
I am 50+ and now getting into cycling.
Can you suggest a Men's Medium Hybrid Bike , 7 speed or more to buy for daily exercise?

Much appreciated.

Best suggestion is head to a local bike shop and look at what they’ve got in your price range. As a beginner I suspect you want what is known as a hybrid, looks like a mountain bike, doesn’t have suspension (not needed on pavement or gravel bike paths), has the larger 700c wheels and somewhat wide tires. A Trek FX2 would be a typical type, has disc brakes, is a 9 spd, cassette with 2 gears on the crank, flat bar (not a drop bar like on road racing bikes), runs about $750 or so. Tons of options, just find one you feel comfortable on. Note that if the saddle doesn’t feel great, you can swap easily.

Thanks so much for the suggestions here.
What about the 2023 Roll 3.0 bike?
How is it compared to the Trek?
Any places that have good hybrid bikes on sale I can order online?

Thanks again and looking to your reply.

Lots of online sources I won’t name. That’s for when you’ve got years of experience and really know what size fits you. You dont know that currently and the only way to find out is ride a few out of some local shops. You might save money online but the chance of getting the wrong bike is high,

I have already done that with respect to trying a local bike shop.
Size needed is a medium hybrid bike.
Tried the Roll 3.0 2023 Hybrid bike and it fits right up. Just a bit expensive.
If cheaper somewhere else or on sale or Anything similar you'd recommend I could potentially get online for cheaper but as good,?

A question. As a newbie, with few if any specific bike repair tools or knowledge, where are you planning on taking this for service ??

And yes you can spend less on a hybrid. The Roll has a suspension seatpost which I would skip,

Online

Bikes Direct
Bike Nashbar
Performance
Universal Cycles
Cambria
Jenson
R&A Cycles

In my town, there is a place alled Orange Cycle where everyone takes their bikes to be fixed/repaired/etc...
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Thanks for sharing these other places online.
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What other bikes similar in terms of comfort to the Roll 3.0 that you'd recommend but without the suspension seatpost?

And as note that this is a Specialized bike. They do not allow mail order so you won’t be finding a deal getting it shipped you your house. The Spec. website sometimes has deals, but you are only going to see a lower price when they are running sales.

But know that there is nothing special about this bike. Trek, Cannondale, Giant all make similar bikes.

Any thoughts on the Giant Escape 3 Hybrid Bike?

It is a low initial cost hybrid. If I was going to buy one it would be because I can only ride a couple times a year. Having sold the Escape 2 for a few years it was in for service more than the other bikes we sold the Escape 3 is a step down from that model so it really doesn't bode well.

We are in the 12 speed era now so 10 speed and above is going to still be of decent quality as you go below that the quality can drop quite significantly.

The Roll 3.0 in general is decent though the shifting was better and has gone down slightly however amongst the lower end stuff the Microshift Advent is a little better and not as bad as the bottom end Shimano offerings.

what would be a good hybrid comfort with 10 speed and above with similar large tires as the Roll 3 (no skinny tires) you'd suggest?

A bicycle is another form of transportation. For me its a back up transportation device when the car or motorcycle is not working. Dont forget that when you are selecting a first bicycle. Everyone should have a basic, simple, back up, for those times that the ship hits the fan.


Even though I have never toured just about all my bikes could easily be set up for touring. They are kinda like a Geezer, Gravel/Ravel, Touring, set up... Ha

Yes... Definitely look a Touring possibilities in your bike.

The Roll is hard to beat in that category there aren't a lot of bikes like it. I would say in terms of a normal hybrid the Sirrus X 4.0 would be a neat option but it is not quite as upright (though you could swap to a swept back bar and a different stem) and the tires aren't as wide but you do get a decent width and a carbon fork to help dampen vibrations. I would give both a test ride and see what you think. Jamis makes the Sequel which is a pretty neat steel bike with wider tires but again not quite as upright as the Roll but a really nice ride.

I would avoid Trek as they have odd proprietary stuff that I would not recommend like thru-skew which is a standard nobody asked for and nobody needed and doesn't really solve any issues that actual thru-axles didn't already solve a long time ago and that a normal quick release skewer didn't have when properly installed which isn't hard.

What about Cannondale and other Specialized bikes?
Any specific models with hydraulic disc brakes and the bigger tires?

Here are some options I picked from Bikes Direct (BD) :
motobecane jubilee8-disc-brake-comfort-hybrid-bike
gravity-xrod-super-hybrid-bikes/xrod-8-speed-bike
gravity-xrod-super-hybrid-bikes-xrod-10-speed-bike
windsor/dover1

In the order of 1 - 4, how would you rank the above options with 1 being the best option?

Please advise and thanks.
Looking forward to your replies.

Cannondale's copy/version of the Roll is the Adventure, similar but maybe a bit heavier and some silly features but also a dynamo which is super awesome especially for commuting. I would probably stick with the Roll but the C'dale for the dynamo is nice but you can add it to any bike but getting it from the factory is usually cheaper. In terms of other Specialized bikes the Sirrus X is probably the closest and still a touch far. Otherwise you are looking at mountain bikes (or bikes that are designed to look like them) and road and gravel stuff. If you want electric then the Como would be a really great choice. I personally love the older version of the Como but the new one is still quite nice but a tiny bit heavier.

I think pretty much all of the Specialized flat bar disc brake bikes are hydraulic at this point except maybe the absolute bottom end stuff. Hydro discs are pretty low cost and easy to spec. Even the bottom end of Shimano's hydro brakes are decent enough.

In terms of the faux brands of BD I wouldn't really recommend anything from them. The fake sales and names bought to give faux prestige kind of kill it for me. Plus you don't get a chance to test ride anything so that sucks. However if that is somehow the only option for you they aren't great bikes but they sometimes have a mix of decent components here and there so I guess but I would want to make sure I knew how to assemble and maintain the bike if that was my only option because obviously a shop is going to be a very long distance away.

Thanks so much for this feedback and suggestions.
So, I did some research and came up with the following: Cannondale Trail 7.1 - 2023 ; Cannondale Trail 8 - 2023; Cannondale Trail 6 - 2021/2023/2024; Sirrus X 3.0 -2022; Specialized Rockhopper Sports 27.5 - 2022; Haro Beasley 27.5 DLX - 2021.
Which one of these would be the best option?

Again, many thanks, and looking forward to your replies.

The Cannondales are all the same sort of lower end bikes with slight minor little upgrades. Basically out of all the lower end bikes on that list maybe the X 3.0 or Haro seem like the top of the heap. In the end look for a higher end set up. 9 speed and up ideally but 10 speed is the real place to start if you can.

what would be the recommended 9 or 10 speed bikes with wider tires?

If you are more interested in comfort and just cruising on pavement: https://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/2023-stinson-2

This is also really nice: https://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/2024-kentfield-2

Just a few ideas anyhow.

thanks for sharing.
I'd prefer hydraulic disc brakes .
I do not care for a step-through/low entry frame either.

Curious why no low entry frame? They are quite nice.

The Marin Larkspur 2 is a neat bike.

The Sirrus X. 4.0 or Kona Dr. Dew would be cool as well.

low entry bikes look more like a female bike to me.

Ahhh so super outdated silliness. Bikes have NO GENDER they are inanimate objects. A low entry bike is easier to get on and great for stopping because you can get off easily without hitting the top tube plus your back will thank you.

Having an old binary on everything is tiresome and doesn't advance anything. You are literally not wanting to look at bikes because of some silly binary that people assigned over 120 years ago. If you are worried about your own personal binary you have forced upon yourself nobody is going to care and if they do they don't matter. Ride a bike that is practical for you don't go by what they did well over a century ago.

OK. Got it.
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Looking at the Cannondale Quick 6 Hybrid, it says it has a microSHIFT 3x7 shifter. What does that mean?

thanks.