New guy from Wisconsin
 

Greetings. My wife and I recently retired and are getting back into bicycling after a few years of layoff for a variety of reasons. We are currently on about 23 year old Fuji Tahoes and are now dazed and confused about trying to buy new bikes. No shortage of opinions out there and what they're trying to sell you. So, I joined this forum in hopes of getting some information to help us through the chaos of buying a bicycle. Nothing wrong with our old bikes really except severely outdated and wife wants to modernize. We have a major bike trail going through our town and we ride the country roads around our home. So we ride mostly asphalt and crushed limestone of the state trails. We're going to a big bike expo in Milwaukee the first week of April to further confuse us.

Welcome to BF! Before you go to the expo... It’d probably be helpful to spend a little time doing info gathering and window shopping local bike shops in your area. I think you’ll get a better exposure to reality there than in (what for me usually is) a disorienting, glitzy, high-pressure show/expo environment. Good luck with your efforts!

Welcome. I am also from SE Wisconsin. Which bike trail do you plan to ride? There are so many good bike shops in and around Milwaukee to choose from.

What sort of riding do you plan to do, and what is your budget? You can find a quality bike for $500, an even better one for $1,500. But if you just plan to ride occasionally, $1,500 will get you more bike than you need. On the other hand, if this will become your thing, then maybe a few bucks spent now will save you a world of hurt later. Do you want to just take leisure rides on a paved MUP or is it crushed limestone? Do you feel like you might want to tour, do some longer charity rides, or join a biking club?

I say go to the expo, but don't buy there. If you see something you like, you can get it any time you want from your local Trek dealer. It is fun to look around, but generally there are no great deals there.

I guess we would buy something in the 6-800 range. Mostly asphalt and crushed limestone riding. Not necessarily committed to Trek

Fuji Tahoes are nice bikes. If you are interested in both pavement and trails I would recommend a hybrid of some sort, but it really depends on what style of bike you are looking for, and what style of biking you plan to do more.

One option would be to take your Tahoes in to a LBS and have them do a quick tune-up. Ride them around for a while until you get an idea what type of biking you would prefer to do. At that time you can narrow down you new bike specs.

Another option would be to save your Tahoe for the trails and get a new road bike for the days you want to venture on asphalt. That way you can have the best of both worlds. Keep in mind a road bike is, for the most part, a more aggressive riding style (position) than a trail bike.

Yet another option (as MRT2 mentioned) check out a few local bike shops (LBS), they will let you try a few different models out to see which one may fit you better than the other.

What ever you do...take your time and think it through. There are many bikes out there that can fill your needs, but it may take you a little time to figure out what that specific need is.

As Bill Clinton once said, "That depends on what 'is' is."


Good luck on your quest,
John S

Plenty of excellent choices in that price range, from hybrids, both with and without suspension forks. In the hybrid range check out the Jamis Coda, specialized Sirrus, , Giant Roam and Escape, and Trek 7.2 Fx and 8.2 bikes. And the Cannondale Quick. You might even try entry level drop bar road bikes in that price range, so long as it is a relaxed geometry model with clearance for 28 mm tires or wider. I bought my wife a steel Jamis Satellite road bike (renamed Quest thus year) and switched to 28 mm tires for greater versatility. (We like to ride both roads and trails in Wisconsin but she likes to do longer distances (30 Miles or more) in comfort, hence the drop bars). This is not an exhaustive list. Some other bike may speak to you. Just make sure it is a quality frame with decent Shimano or SRAM components. The right bike for you is the one you love to ride.

I prefer bikes without suspension forks, but have ridden gravel and dirt trails trails on rented suspension fork bikes. I rode Sparta Elroy on a rented Specialized hybrid. It was ok, but I wouldn't buy it. Rode Peninsula State Park on a rented Trek hybrid. It rode nice, but again, it wouldn't be my first choice. But if that is the sort of riding you do most of the time, I could see going with a suspension fork bike. If you do paved trails and roads most of the time, I would suggest going with a solid fork.

Plenty of great LBS in the area. I have done business with Cory the Bike Fixer on the East side. Great guys. Highly recommended. They sell Kona, Raleigh Surly, Salsa, and Jamis. Bike smiths is a smaller shop on Locust that sells mainly Cannondale. Also nice guys and the place if you like Cannondale. Erik's is a chain that just opened shops in Whitefish Bay and Grafton. They sell Specialized. Rainbow Jersey in Shorewood and wheel and Sprocket sell Trek, as does Extreme Ski and Bike in Mequon. North Shore wheels in Shorewood sells Giant. I have heard good things about emery's, though I have never done business with them. Ditto with Bens Cycles on the South side.

This is not an exhaustive list. I am sure there are other good shops.

Thanks for all the input guys. Regarding this bike expo at State Fair Park the first week of April, I see it's sponsored by Wheel and Sprocket. Will other dealers be there or is it just W&S's thing?

Wheel and Sprocket all the way. More than 90% of the bikes will be Trek and 100% of the staff will be Wheel and Sprocket. As I said, go, but don't buy.

Well, then I'm not going to go. I can look at Treks at most bike shops. Thanks for the info.

There are other bike related things going on. Bike federation of Wisconsin, bike clubs, bike tours, etc...

I'm going to the bike expo not to buy a bike I'm going for all the other things going on.

I think that the secret to happy biking is properly accessorizing your bike, and then ride it :)

Here is my accessory https://www.facebook.com/BarneyTheBikingBird

Hope to see you out and about. Mostly on the New Berlin trail and Oak Leaf in Waukesha/Milwaukee county areas.

Herb