bike suggestions?

[sadlebred]

Go read the link below. You need to give us more info. Do you want to road ride, mountain bike, ride on the bike trail?

[sadlebred]

Lots of road bike buying advice in the link. The BEST advice I can give you is to go to several local bike shops and try out bikes. FIT is the most important thing. A cute bike you will not ride is worthless. Road bikes start at about $600 and go up. "Nice" (IMO) road bikes begin at about $1200. Road bikes have more technology than hybrids, so they are more expensive. I recommend buying your first bike from a local bike shop. They will fit the bike to you. Most stores offer a 12 month or maybe even a lifetime for minor adjustments (adjust the brakes, shifting, etc. Major work like replacing parts is not included). Plus, you get a warranty from the manufacturer.

Don't forget to budget for a helmet and a pair of bike shorts.

[sadlebred]

...and whatever you do, DO NOT BUY A BIKE AT TARGET, WALMART, KROGER, ETC!!!!

I'm sure every cyclist on H&F is with me on this point.

[Deleted]

I'll just echo sadlebred for emphasis - try a bunch of bikes and find one that fits you. I'm funky-shaped for a female, short legs long torso, but still wide hips and narrow shoulders so I had to find a women's specific bike that would give me the torso fit I wanted. It was trial and error process, but I ended up with a Specialized Ruby Apex. I love love love my bike.

[sadlebred]

Go to your local bike shop. See what they have. Road bikes start at $600. Can you save up for a few months? The 2014s will be coming out in late summer. You may be able to find a deal on "last year's" model. I'd call around to your local bike shops and ask. You might even find a 2011 model at a deep discount.

I DO NOT recommend a new rider buy a bike on CL or randomly. Like I said before, a cute bike or a bargin bike is useless if you don't ride if it doesn't fit.

[aurora]

May 12, 2013 20:54:54 GMT -5 @stpete said:

I just can't drop even $600 on a bike now. but I don't want to feel like I just can't ride at all because my budget is half that. Should I try used or cl?

I know it's tough, but when I was getting into mountain biking I doubled my bike budget after test riding a bunch at all my local shops.  You might want to go try some before deciding you really can't spend $600.  It really will make a huge difference compared to a $300 piece of crap bike that will fall apart two rides in and weighs more than you do to start with.

I ride a lot and on very rough trails and my doubled-budget mtb has lasted 8 years (I'm just finally starting to shop for a replacement).  It really was 100% worth it.

In other words, I agree with sadlebred.

[trigal]

With bikes, you get what you pay for. A cheap bike will be, well, cheap. Follow sadlebred's advice and you won't be sorry!

[Susie]

Don't not go to an LBS because the new bikes are out of your price range. A bunch of girls in my tri club upgraded from Al frame road bikes to carbon this spring, and their traded-in Al frame road bikes were available used for a pretty great price. You never know what you might find.

[finallykrisb]

May 13, 2013 8:07:34 GMT -5 Susie said:

Don't not go to an LBS because the new bikes are out of your price range. A bunch of girls in my tri club upgraded from Al frame road bikes to carbon this spring, and their traded-in Al frame road bikes were available used for a pretty great price. You never know what you might find.

Yes.  You can find local bike shops that sell used bikes on consignment.  That way you can still get a bike that fits what you need.  It may take more time to find one than buying one brand new.

[tuggyruns]

I am going to go against what everyone else is saying here... I went to my LBS and was given the "How tall are you..okay then you are this size" reply. It was pretty much no help and I won't go there again. I knew that Women's Specfic bikes fit me well and what size I needed, so I found it on CL.

Don't let your limited budget deter you from having the ability to fall in love with cyciling. Research can help you a good bit! Take someone who knows bikes with you to look at the bikes if you go the CL route.

ETA: Sadle and the others prob know a lot more about bikes than me, but my humble opinion comes from being in your shoes just a few months ago.

[Deleted]

I asked this exact question last year. I ended up spending way more than I had intended to originally (in range with what Saddlebred said was the sweet spot when I first asked) but I LOVE the bike I ended up with and don't regret the expense at all.

I have long legs so I needed womens specific, and ended up with a Trek Madone 4.5 WSD, but also looked at the Trek Lexa (the entry level women's road bike). I did find I could really feel a difference between the components, and got more of the running sensation (as if the bike was actually part of me) from the bike I bought. I don't know if that's because it was the most expensive one I tried or if it just happened to fit the best. Anyway, I think if you are looking for a substitute for running, you should wait a few months, save some money, and buy a higher end bike. If you just want something to mess around on with your kids, then you can go less expensive and get a hybrid. I do not think you can get a road bike for under $800.

I went through a long process, starting out with a $200 bike, then buying a $600 hybrid that I upgraded to a $900 hybrid when I went to pick it up, that I rode for 2 weeks before deciding I really did want a road bike and ultimately taking the hybrid back and buying the Madone. I know it sounds like people are being bike snobs, that's how it felt to me too, but then when I went rough this prolonged process of trying different bikes and then ultimately ending up where Saddlebred told me I ideally wanted to be, I realized I should have taken it on faith and started where I ended up. That said, if you just want to bike around town or try biking, you don't need to spend a ton, but if you are going to be into it the way you are into running (and do it as a meaningful substitute for running) then I would wait and just make the investment.

Also, very important, do not pay sticker price. I found I was able to get a discount anywhere from 15% to 30% by negotiating with the LBS and buying the prior year's model.

Link to helpful post on Old Nest in which people identified the entry level road bikes: community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/64949149.aspx?MsdVisit=1

Bike I road while convincing myself I didn't need an expensive road bike (this bike was a mistake):
www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/town/dual_sport/neko/neko/#

Bike that I considered and probably would be fine as a road bike had I not been spoiled about it:
www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/sport/lexa/lexa_slx/#/us/en/model/details?url=us/en/bikes/road/sport/lexa/lexa_slx

Bike I actually bought and LOVE:
www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/race_performance/madone_4_series/madone_4_5_wsd_h3_compact/#