Help me buy a new bike.

[Arrmani]

My friends have been buying bikes from yard sales that were made in the 80s. The ones with the funny handle bars and the skinny tires. They take the gears off and just put the chain on the wheel. It takes a little getting used to, and going uphill is kinda hard, but its one of the best rides I've done and it costs less than $20.

[netz]

SEAT. The most important part of a bike. If the seat is cheap you will NOT like riding the bike. It has to have a good cushion. Retail bikes aren't gonna have these :/. They are gonna have the kind of seats where it will feel like you're sitting on a rock, making for a hellish ride.

Every road bike you buy, from the $650 low end to the $4000 high end, comes stock with those metal ass-killer seats. My mountain bike came with a somewhat decent, yet still too hard seat, and my road bike came with what feels like a piece of metal with some rubber slapped onto it. Amazingly, my ass got used to it.

miokomioko is right: the weight of the bike determines the price. The quality of the components also goes up as you throw more money at it. Go to your bike shop, though, and ask to compare the $700 bike to the $1500 bike. If you're totally ignorant of the difference as you ride each one, they'll probably tell you to get the $700 one.

Echoing a suggestion earlier in the thread: if you're just getting started on this, pick a mountain bike, and swap the tires for something more suitable for road riding.

Depending on the condition of the roads in your area, a road bike won't actually give a smoother ride, and hitting a really nasty pothole with thin little 120psi tires that typically come standard on road bikes might result in a blown tire, a bent-to-hell rim, and your ass on the ground (translation: watch what you're doing and this won't happen). The primary advantage of a road bike with their small tires is that they require a little less energy for you to pedal, and they are usually lighter than mountain bikes.

It is a bit nicer to ride a road bike on paved surfaces than a mountain bike, though. Saving on the weight and having the thin little tires means it's pretty easy to zip around with less effort than the mountain bike. They're not as smooth/absorbent of shock as mountain bikes with real suspension, but the frames don't do that bad of a job absorbing impacts -- it won't be a completely jarring experience to ride one on a slightly rough road, but I would avoid dirt/unpaved areas.

[Patb]

I live in Renton, on the hill above Ikea, but about a block from the Renton>Kent city boundary. I ride my bike to work every day On sunset boulevards very close to the New Castle area, so about 15 miles. I have a Trek 4700 (I think 7, its a 4000 series I know that) mountain bike with the normal tires still on it. I got my bike from Bicycle west in tukwilla. I am not that knowledgeable with bikes but its been great for riding to and from work (only have 1 hill each way) and the occasional dirt trail I like to ride on.

[Kurp]

http://velospace.org/node/7435

Notes:

The beast

[Boyiee]

The bikes we have at work for Police and EMS during events are about $1200-1500 onroad/offroad mountain bikes. Light, easy to ride 10-20miles in, and also easy to do sharp maneuvering low speed obstacles and dirt/grass whatever.

Really really nice bikes, I've always done BMX on 20" haro's when I was younger, and never really liked any other bikes, but if you want to be happy, it's a good price range for it. Most likely we are getting our bikes at cost though, however if you want a comfortable ride that you don't get tired of and actually want to stay in shape through it, don't be afraid to spend a few extra dollars. You'll regret not doing so in the long run. My friend has a 500$ bike and hates it, doesn't ride it, yet the ones we have at work he wishes he had bought to begin with. It's a good investment. Plus, they are durable as hell and will last you.

[netz]

The bikes we have at work for Police and EMS during events are about $1200-1500 onroad/offroad mountain bikes. Light, easy to ride 10-20miles in, and also easy to do sharp maneuvering low speed obstacles and dirt/grass whatever.

Really really nice bikes, I've always done BMX on 20" haro's when I was younger, and never really liked any other bikes, but if you want to be happy, it's a good price range for it. Most likely we are getting our bikes at cost though, however if you want a comfortable ride that you don't get tired of and actually want to stay in shape through it, don't be afraid to spend a few extra dollars. You'll regret not doing so in the long run. My friend has a 500$ bike and hates it, doesn't ride it, yet the ones we have at work he wishes he had bought to begin with. It's a good investment. Plus, they are durable as hell and will last you.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...ke/policebike/

I've seen the department around here rolling around town on those, they look pretty nice.

Hell, I've been pulled over by an officer on one D:

[octopus]

How about getting a Segway and look like a douche riding it to work? :D

[Elesirdur]

How about getting a Segway and look like a douche riding it to work? :D

You could get a ridiculously awesome bicycle for the cost of a segway.

[Norelco]

I plan on riding it on flat, paved surfaces in mildly hilly terrain.

May I then suggest a hybrid road bike. I ride on the same surfaces, and got a bike for around $400-500.

Called the GIANT Cypress: http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/...le/1268/29329/

edit: They can go on gravel, dirt, etc. Hybrid meaning road + trails.

[Elesirdur]

May I then suggest a hybrid road bike. I ride on the same surfaces, and got a bike for around $400-500.

Called the GIANT Cypress: http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/...le/1268/29329/

edit: They can go on gravel, dirt, etc. Hybrid meaning road + trails.

That looks really nice actually. The more upright riding position will be a lot more comfortable for commuting and general getting around, but it won't way 75 lbs like cruiser bikes do.

I kind of question the disc brakes for that kind of application though; seems a bit of overkill to me.

[Dalecia]

Bike with a speaker for audio, and a GRILL? Sign me up.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7...speakeris4.jpg

[Gere]

I live in Renton, on the hill above Ikea, but about a block from the Renton>Kent city boundary. I ride my bike to work every day On sunset boulevards very close to the New Castle area, so about 15 miles. I have a Trek 4700 (I think 7, its a 4000 series I know that) mountain bike with the normal tires still on it. I got my bike from Bicycle west in tukwilla. I am not that knowledgeable with bikes but its been great for riding to and from work (only have 1 hill each way) and the occasional dirt trail I like to ride on.

Wow, you're like in biking distance of my house.

[Norelco]

That looks really nice actually. The more upright riding position will be a lot more comfortable for commuting and general getting around, but it won't way 75 lbs like cruiser bikes do.

I kind of question the disc brakes for that kind of application though; seems a bit of overkill to me.

Yeah, the disc breaks are a bit overkill. My model has the disc breaks, but my wife got this year's model and it has the regular ones. Very smooth ride for not a ton of money.

edit: Here, this is the one I bought my wife: http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/...le/1268/29332/