Hello! I'm a newly minted member and I'm quite excited to become a part of this community. I've been reading through the forums whilst researching what new bike I should buy and there is just such a wonderful wealth of information here. I hope at some point I can ADD something here - starting out I think I'm just going to have lots of questions.

I'm a pretty casual rider. I don't ride particularly fast (I probably average about 14 MPH or so and I'll brake on hills) and I only ride about 10-15 miles a day about 5 days a week. My current bike is a 16 year old Mongoose Hybrid 12 speed bicycle. It is completely adequate for the way I ride (mostly on pavement, paved bike paths and hard packed bike paths) but I could use some lower gearing and well, to be honest, I just want a new bike! I think I probably like to think I'm a more accomplished rider than I am - I really am a novice and I don't have any grand ideas of doing a full out tour or a road rally. I just enjoy riding both by myself and with others. It is a big help in managing stress and I like to think it is good exercise (although at my speed and distance I'm not sure about that).

I'm pretty sure that one of my first posts will be looking for advice about what I should be looking at and opinions about what has been recommended as I hit bike shops. So hello!

Welcome to the forums. 50-75 miles per week is very respectable mileage. What kind of tires are you running on your hybrid? Going to thinner, high pressure tires if you have not already done so will make the bike more efficient, but might hurt the ride quality a bit. Your bike shop should be able to assist you in changing out your freewheel for one with lower gears (more teeth) also.

Hi! I'm glad to hear that distance is respectable. It sure feels like a lot to me!

Here is where my newbie news comes out - I don't know what sort of tires I have presently. The tires on my bike are the ones it came with - and I'm not sure what they are. They're not super skinny and they are pretty well treaded. They are sturdy too - the roads I ride on are rough and potholed and I've not had a puncture. At one bike shop they showed me a Jamis Explorer 2 and a Trail DX - my tires are bigger and thinner than what comes standard on those bikes.

If you look on the tyres there should be an indicator which tells you what size tyres you've got. Or you could take it to the LBS and have them tell you.

Welcome to BF, and feel free to PM me with any questions !

East Hill
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