Hello from Louisiana
 

Hello everyone. I'm Alfredo from Kenner, LA. I'm new to the forum and joined to get more information on cycling. I don't own a bike right now but I'm looking to purchase one in the near future. I want to get into cycling, right now, mostly for health reasons. My wife and I both need to get more active. I'm hoping to get advice on what to look for in a bike and bike shop. I'm the kind of person that likes to read customer reviews and doing research on things I'm looking to buy. I hope that this forum will help me to learn what I need to know to become a happy bicycle owner, and a healthier person.

Howdy Alfredo

Welcome to Bike Forums.
Look around, ask questions, and have fun posting.

http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/howtobuyabike1.html

Hi Alfred. I am hanging my hat in Metairie right now. I will be delighted to help you in any way I can. The Levee trails in this area are a great place to ride. Welcome to the forum neighbor.

Thanks, the guy I talked to the other day at the bike shop told me about the levee trails to. What I really need is advice on where to buy and what to look for.

I am going to be out of town for a few weeks, otherwise I would be glad to get together with you and let you try out the various bikes I have. What's your budget per bike?

Wow. I just joined minutes ago. Haven't made an intro post yet. Only the above post in the hybrid section. I'm down the road in New Orleans.

I'm new to biking myself, mainly for fitness. There are plenty of bike shops around here. I visited quite a few before I decided. I recommend doing that and taking some test rides to decide on the style/brand you want and judging how much you like the bike shops themselves. Everyone reacts to people's personalities differently and you'll definitely see some interesting ones at the bike shops around here. I read many reviews of these shops online before visiting and didn't always have the same experience as the reviewers. Ultimately, I ended up buying from GNO Cyclery in Uptown as I had a good experience all three times I visited it. Some other shops to note are. . . Bicycle World, Bayou Bicycles, Gerkins Bike Shop, Mike the Bike Guy. . .even Dick's Sporting Goods and Massey's Outfitters. Depending on your price range maybe even check Craigslist for good deals. I ride mainly on the lakefront and city park area on paved surfaces with a few bumps here and there so I decided on a hybrid with more of a road bike tire. It's all in where you think you'll be riding and the riding conditions. If you are just getting into it like me for fitness maybe a nice hybrid or comfort bike would be a good fit.

Thanks, that's was very helpful. I think I'll be going shopping at some of the shops you suggested. I think my ridding will probably be about the same as you, mostly street/bike trails but I would like to go off road eventually. My goal is to get into better shape so i can leave my car and bike to work, not right away cause its 12+ miles.

I'm actually planning on commuting on my bike in the near future. I'm only about 7 miles from work so I could make the trip easily already but I'm going to wait for it to cool off a bit. Don't want to be too sweaty when I arrive.

Yeah it pretty hot out there right now. When it's not storming.