Edumacate me on bicycles...

[Z-man]

Ok - so I want to get back into bicycling. Years ago, after I got out of college and before I had a job, I would ride my bike during the day for hours on end -- 20 to 30 miles was the typical trip. I would ride on public streets to a set of interconnected parks that had paved paths, and back home. Really had fun doing it!

I had a pretty decent Schwinn 12 speed bike - it wasn't the lightest or the most advanced bike, but it did the job. Sold it a few years ago at one of our annual garage sales.

So I need a ride. What things should I consider?

At 6'2" and a hefty 230lbs, I need something to fit my size. I used to have a 27" bike -- I think the new measurement is 700c. Is that what I need?

I am thinking that a road bike would be the best bet, since I will be hitting the pavement 99.9% of the time. But what about a hybrid or mountain bike? Worth looking into or not?

Toe clips or the special click in pedals? I used to have toe clips, and never tightened the straps, allowing for easy removal of my foot.

Accessories - what do I really need? I think an odometer and speedometer would be helpful, as well as an H2O bottle, and emergency kit & pump. What else?

What do bikes cost these days? I don't need a bike made of unobtanium - and I don't need to make a fashion statement - just something that works well that I can rely on. There's a Schwinn 700c Carbon Fiber 1000 road bike that looks interesting - any thoughts on that particular model?

Thanks -- appreciate the feedback!
-Z-man.

[lendaddy]

One word....Spandex!

[Jim Richards]

Z-man, do not, I repeat, do not outfit yourself in spandex!

[JavaBrewer]

Toe clips are out. Go with a clipless pedal setup and a pair of dedicated cycling shoes. It makes a world of difference. For around town commuting a MTB style shoe with rubber sole would work great.

For shorter (10 miles) I would lean more towards a hybrid bike or MTB setup with thick street tires. No more concerns about dirt, road debris, or curbs.

New bikes are pretty pricy so I always suggest Craigs list. You can easily find a previously new $1K bike for the $500 range. It will have superior components, wheels, and frame over a $600 new bike. The key is getting something that is comfortable and "calls" you to ride it. Steel frames are generally more comfortable than aluminum or carbon.

[creaturecat]

no speedometer, no kickstand.
I would get a steel mountain bike, put some slicks on it.
Get a road bike if you plan on becoming a serious cyclist.
Craigslist is definitely a good resource.
Sizing is very important, make sure the bike "fits" you.

[scottmandue]

I got a Schwinn Mesa mountain bike $300

I'm 5'11" 220 lbs and that is all you need for putting around town

Sure I lust after the aluminum, titanium, CF, bike and all the cool hi tech stuff

But for tooling around town a $300 bike is all you need, anything with shimano is good

I do have the fancy snap on shoes/pedals and like them

I had a speedometer on a previous bike and it is a pretty good training tool

[gr8fl4porsche]

Roadies are fine if you want to put thousands of miles a year to the pavement and use the tool as a training device.

If you want to get a bike to 'ride' - roadies suck.

Get a nice mountain bike or what they call Urban bikes.

Urban bikes probably would be your best choice. Upright riding position, relatively lightweight with tires built for the street.

Mountain bike tires suck on roads.

Clipless is great but if you want to ride into town and stroll around for a while, make sure you pick shoes which clip in/out well and are comfortable to walk in.

[alf]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

no speedometer, no kickstand.
I would get a steel mountain bike, put some slicks on it.
Get a road bike if you plan on becoming a serious cyclist.
Craigslist is definitely a good resource.
Sizing is very important, make sure the bike "fits" you.

+1.

I prefer toe clips to click ins. Got both but do not like having to wear a certian shoe just to ride...and the helpless feeling of falling over when stalled

[89911]

More weight: cheap. Less weight: expensive. I have a Trek Mountain Bike that weighs much less then my 9yo daughers. I feel kind of sorry for her

[CORNICE6]

It is important to find the bike that fits you. You can easily measure yourself to find out the correct size of bike that would accommodate your size. Simply go here: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

Keep in mind that the size of the top tube length is equally if not more important than the size of the seat tube length. Most people tend to size bikes on the seat tube alone. In all honesty, each of the bike's parts and components make a great deal on how you are going to fit in a particular bike. For example, the stem length, saddle height, handle bar width, etc.

There are a ton of bikes on craigs that are of different materials, be it steel, aluminum, carbon or ti. Depending on your budget, I would personally look for a road bike with the type of riding you intend to do and find the best (and the lightest)bike you can afford.

To maximize power transfer and efficiency, I would strongly suggest clipless pedals as oppose to toe clips and straps. In addition, spare tubes, patch kit, pump or C02 pump, H20 cages and a tool bag would be ideal.

A cycling computer is nice to have but certainly not necessary. I prefer it, just to know how much distance and time I've put in.

Good luck!

[HardDrive]

I have a Marin Larkspur for pulling the kid in the trailer. Its a street hybrid. Lots of rubber on the road. This might do the trick for you. It was around $350.

[island911]

Originally Posted by lendaddy

One word....Spandex!

...in Technicolor!! (j/k)

Originally Posted by gr8fl4porsche

...
If you want to get a bike to 'ride' - roadies suck.

Get a nice mountain bike or what they call Urban bikes.

Urban bikes probably would be your best choice. Upright riding position, relatively lightweight with tires built for the street.

Mountain bike tires suck on roads.

Clipless is great but if you want to ride into town and stroll around for a while, make sure you pick shoes which clip in/out well and are comfortable to walk in.

Originally Posted by alf

+1.

I prefer toe clips to click ins. Got both but do not like having to wear a certian shoe just to ride...and the helpless feeling of falling over when stalled

+1 ...or is that +2?

Anyway, I have Continental touring tires on a mountain bike,(front suspension). This makes for a reasonably efficient ride, which isn't likely to break. (I weigh 205 and bike 28 miles/day thru Seattle (potholes and curbs))

For water, get one of the "camel-back" water bladders (wear on your back in a pack, w/ a tube for sipping.)

[island911]

Originally Posted by CORNICE6

...
To maximize power transfer and efficiency, I would strongly suggest clipless pedals as oppose to toe clips and straps. ...

This is what don't get. If you are doing this for exercise then what does it matter? as long as I can go fast enough to keep cool I'm good, ...No need to chase that last few percentage of efficiency. ...unless you Think you are racing Tour de France. ...in Technicolor spandex.

[kqw]

Bianchi Volpe....

[MichiganMat]

I bought a Cyclocross bike. Tough as nails with a road-bike look. Redline Conquest. But I race, so it may be overkill for what you're after.

Save some money for a good helmet and gloves, they are no-compromises required gear for cycling.

Clipless pedals are the way to go, go Shimano SPD. Cheap MTB shoes are a good combo too, roady stuff is too expensive.

Good sites for parts and gear:

http://www.jensonusa.com
http://www.pricepoint.com

Pricepoint has by far the best prices on little stuff, their Sette brand is killer.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I used to bike commute all the time in Chicago (it was literally months between times I'd drive anywhere) and used an old steel Peugeot that I added RockShox to the front of, a Blackburn rack and some other stuff. In my case it was an early mountain frame with 7 speeds in the rear and two in the front. I changed the gearing to be a bigger spread (lower lows and higher highs) and put slick tires on it. Ended up being a kickass commuter bike, albeit a tank, weighing in at about 35 pounds. I still have it (fixing it up now to use for daily trips to the office in lieu of driving & burning $5-a-gallon gas).

I'd recommend a hybrid-style bike with a limited-travel suspension. A full-blown mountain frame with a ton of travel in the suspension is great for trails but horribly inefficient for street/path use. You'll end up working extra hard to go the same distance. Also, true mountain gearing is typically too low; you want something with a little bit higher gearing on the big ring (either buy it that way or swap on a slightly larger big front ring - either method should work okay). Point is you want to be able to get the thing up to speed and cruise on flat, paved roads at higher speeds than a mountain gearing would normally allow.

Also (important) get lights - lots of 'em. I recommend LED front light packs with a quick release (which you take off & remove & take with you EVERY TIME you park) and a LED "cateye" type rear flasher light. And light, reflective clothing if you'll be riding at night or dusk. Anything you can do to make yourself visible will help. Don't neglect this. Cars will kill you if you let them. Reflectors are a good idea too - and reflective 3M tape on the bars, your helmet, etc. Improvise & get creative. Have fun with it.

I'd also get rid of any/all quick releases for the wheels or seat unless you take them off & with you EVERY TIME you park. If you don't, you can bet your bottom dollar that someone else will avail themselves of the quick releases. I replaced 'em all with standard nuts/bolts and put a couple of wrenches in my bag. If a potential thief happens to have a wrench with them, it ain't your day. 99% of the time they'll move along to an easier bike with a quick release wheel that they can steal with no effort.

STEEL CABLE lock. Not a U-lock (those things are junk and a thief can open one with a ball-point pen case - yes you can. I've done it).

SLICK tires. Not knobby mountain tires. They're good on trails, they suck on pavement.

Put a mountain rack on it or panniers if you don't mind taking them with you (if you leave 'em on the bike while parked, assume they'll disappear).

Have fun.

Check out bikeforums.net too - they have a good section on commuting.

[Laneco]

Z-Man

Welcome to yet another "slippery slope"... The 27 you mention wasn't the bike size, it was the wheel size - currently 700c for a road bike. Mountain bikes in adult sizes have 26" wheels except for a "two-niner" which is a 29" wheelset. Those are cool but not that common, so let's call it 26" for mountain bikes.

The frame sizes on mountain bikes are normally in inches or rough sizes of small, medium, large, x-large. Road bikes are occasionally measured in rough sizes but usually in centimeters. Example for me, I ride a 16" mountain bike but for a road bike my size varies from 47cm to 50cm. Depends on where they measure the frame. A bike shop will give you a good fit.

Now let's talk about the first bike you get. Get something you will ride. The first time out of the block it might be a mountain bike with or without slicks. Second hand craigslist etc., can offer great deals. Just get something that fits and go riding. You'll probably have to replace the seat - don't get cheap here as you can always take the seat to the next bike.

There are available great looking loose fit mountain bike type shorts that have a nice discreet spandex liner with a comfy pad. The perfect choice for someone who does not want to go the spandex route. (Though I am a complete sexist pig, I think guys look fabulous in spandex).

So here's what you "need". Bike, good helmet, gloves, some type of short that won't chafe, flat repair items and a water bottle. It would be nice to get shoes and clipless pedals, speedometer etc. But you don't need to those to start out.

Go find a fun place to ride!
angela

[RWebb]

Any pedal that locks in - no matter how - will balance out the exercise to the leg muscles - you can pull on the upstroke that way.

The newer U-Locks can NOT be easily opened and not with a ball point pin case.

Most important thing to do is to go to a GOOD bike store.

We have tons of stores here, and the one I like the best always goes around and buys last year's models up from other stores. Then they resell them at a discount here. usually, there are very few changes or any importance and you get a nice fat discount.

To save even more, haunt the police/sheriff sales of recovered stolen bikes.

You will likely end up with a "city bike" - a hybrid between a Mtn. bike and a road bike.

Watch out for Cars! Good Luck.

[rusnak]

Find a good bike store that sells both new and used bikes, and plan to move up eventually after you have some miles under you. A lot of Triathalon guys sell their bikes in used bike stores. I like the pedals that snap onto your shoes. You don't want to wear street shoes anyway because they are not rigid enough to distribute your down stroke to the crank. I like elliptical cranksets. I think Shimano makes the biopace or something rather, which is great. I need to get back into bicycling, but the air around here sucks, and the drivers are crazy. Too many people on bikes actually get killed around here.

[dd74]

At 6-2, 230, I'd be wary of a used bicycle. Who knows where it's been and the true condition of the components. That leaves you with new, which is better. If you're interested in road bikes, check out the American brands like Trek and LeMond. Usually at year's end, there are very good sales on these bicycles. You should also check out each manufacturer's website. Also, they come complete with wheels, gears, brakes, etc. Bianchi is good, Raleigh, Giant and Specialized as well. These companies also make cycle-cross bikes (hybrids), which, in the end, will be more comfortable than standard road bikes (because of the hybrids' longer wheelbase and more shallow angles).

Also, don't get caught up in the level of components. Middle-grade Shimano or Campagnolo components are fine for moderate to hard riding.

Pedals: very important - for example, if you have knee problems, you should look at Speedplay. Remember that the level of bike you're looking at will not include pedals.

You'll need spandex. The bikes I suggest to you will not feel good in standard clothing. Shorts, jersey, gloves, helmet and shoes. You'll need that with any performance road bike.

The point is this: if you used to ride 20-30 miles a day, you're going to want to do that again, and very well could. You'll need a higher-end bicycle for that, which is new, with modern components.