John Smith
I want to start cycling to lose weight. I'm 6' and 300 lbs. I live on Long Island, NY. I know road bikes have narrower tires and you have to ride with your torso almost horizontal. Would a mountain bike be better? I have also heard of hybrids, that combine the best of both bike types. I plan to ride mainly on paved roads, maybe sometimes on grass, but not off-road or anything. The most important thing for me is balance and handling.
I haven't owned a bike since the 6th grade, so any and all info would be appreciated. I also like to tinker and build stuff, so I really like the idea of bike maintenance. What websites/retailers/resources would you recommend?
Thank you!
Answer
You want a Performance Hybrid. Also called a Sport Hybrid, Sport Performance hybrid, Fitness hybrid or even sometimes a "City Hybrid".
The small tires on road bikes will not be good for your weight. The hybrids will do you good.
Find a good reputable shop in your area and go speak to them about what you're considering. Don't buy a comfort bike or anything with a suspension saddle. You don't want anything with suspension, it's unnecessary money and weight for you. It's not good for someone like you trying to get a good workout from riding. Skip all suspension.
Sport hybrids:
Giant Escape, Cannondale Quick 4, Trek 7.2FX, Raleigh Cadent FT1, Specialized Ariel, Ariel Sport, etc.
Bike maintenance:
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/bike-maintenance.html
Are you near Westhampton Beach? Have you ever heard of "Bikemanforu"? You could visit his shop Bike N Kite. He knows a lot about bikes and really stands behind what he sells. I know he sells Giant Escapes but they don't do a whole lot in new bike sales so they don't have a great selection of new bikes but good entry level bikes at fair market price that he stands behind.
Lastly, make sure you are prepared to spend on other things that will be really needed for your riding.
Things you should purchase right away with your bicycle:
Helmet
Padded Bike Shorts (I feel that 2 is the magic number) wash every 2 days.
Water Bottle Cage
Water bottle
Bike headlight and taillight - if you're going to do any riding at night.
Multi-tool - basically for all the needed allen key sizes. A good multi-tool will take care of the basic adjustments you'll need to do.
Floor pump w/ gauge - You want to inflate your tires to maximum PSI before every ride. Important to have a good pump.
Bike jerseys or wicking tees (I feel like 2 is the magic number and wash with the shorts every 2 days. Maybe 3 would be even better but I don't like having them sit around without being washed for longer than a day or two.
Other things to consider:
Bike computer (with cadence)- Something I hesitated on buying at firstbut it is something very nice to have to know how far you rode and that you're riding at a high enough cadence for you to be getting a good enough workout. Very important to keep your cadence up and to not mash on the pedals. You don't want much resistance on the pedals.
Repair stand - for doing your own maintenance. Then you need some brushes, lube, etc.
*IMPORTANT* Road cycling shoes (not MTB shoes) and Clipless road pedals - These two things are pretty essential. I would get these right away. Get used to riding for a few days and then put them on. Be careful to find out how they work too. If you want to ride for fitness then you need the pedals and shoes or else you'll be wasting time.
Mini pump to install on your bike in case you need to fill up while out on the road. In case you get a flat. You'll probably want a spare tube and tire levers so that you can repair a flat on the road also.
Saddle bag - or any kind of bag for the bike - Great to hold your phone, keys, multi-tool, tube, and whatever else you feel like bringing with you.
Safe riding. Enjoy
You want a Performance Hybrid. Also called a Sport Hybrid, Sport Performance hybrid, Fitness hybrid or even sometimes a "City Hybrid".
The small tires on road bikes will not be good for your weight. The hybrids will do you good.
Find a good reputable shop in your area and go speak to them about what you're considering. Don't buy a comfort bike or anything with a suspension saddle. You don't want anything with suspension, it's unnecessary money and weight for you. It's not good for someone like you trying to get a good workout from riding. Skip all suspension.
Sport hybrids:
Giant Escape, Cannondale Quick 4, Trek 7.2FX, Raleigh Cadent FT1, Specialized Ariel, Ariel Sport, etc.
Bike maintenance:
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/bike-maintenance.html
Are you near Westhampton Beach? Have you ever heard of "Bikemanforu"? You could visit his shop Bike N Kite. He knows a lot about bikes and really stands behind what he sells. I know he sells Giant Escapes but they don't do a whole lot in new bike sales so they don't have a great selection of new bikes but good entry level bikes at fair market price that he stands behind.
Lastly, make sure you are prepared to spend on other things that will be really needed for your riding.
Things you should purchase right away with your bicycle:
Helmet
Padded Bike Shorts (I feel that 2 is the magic number) wash every 2 days.
Water Bottle Cage
Water bottle
Bike headlight and taillight - if you're going to do any riding at night.
Multi-tool - basically for all the needed allen key sizes. A good multi-tool will take care of the basic adjustments you'll need to do.
Floor pump w/ gauge - You want to inflate your tires to maximum PSI before every ride. Important to have a good pump.
Bike jerseys or wicking tees (I feel like 2 is the magic number and wash with the shorts every 2 days. Maybe 3 would be even better but I don't like having them sit around without being washed for longer than a day or two.
Other things to consider:
Bike computer (with cadence)- Something I hesitated on buying at firstbut it is something very nice to have to know how far you rode and that you're riding at a high enough cadence for you to be getting a good enough workout. Very important to keep your cadence up and to not mash on the pedals. You don't want much resistance on the pedals.
Repair stand - for doing your own maintenance. Then you need some brushes, lube, etc.
*IMPORTANT* Road cycling shoes (not MTB shoes) and Clipless road pedals - These two things are pretty essential. I would get these right away. Get used to riding for a few days and then put them on. Be careful to find out how they work too. If you want to ride for fitness then you need the pedals and shoes or else you'll be wasting time.
Mini pump to install on your bike in case you need to fill up while out on the road. In case you get a flat. You'll probably want a spare tube and tire levers so that you can repair a flat on the road also.
Saddle bag - or any kind of bag for the bike - Great to hold your phone, keys, multi-tool, tube, and whatever else you feel like bringing with you.
Safe riding. Enjoy
Mountain bike or hybrid bike question Trek/Schwinn/mongoose?
Jordan
I would like to buy a new bicycle and have been searching around on craigslist, ebay, and various bike shops. I can't decide what brand to get. So far I have noticed that Trek has been considerably more expensive than Schwinn and much more expensive than brands like mongoose, huffy....etc. you find in a walmart. I don't want to spend more than $400 and was wondering what the differences between the major brands like Trek and Schwinn are on the low entry level bikes like I am looking at.
Answer
What's the difference between bike brands?
Answer: The logo and the paint job.
Technology behind bikes hasn't changed in over 100 years. It's a well known secret in the biking community that nearly all bike frames made today are made in Taiwan by a handful of frame makers. Two of the biggest happen to be Giant and Kinesis.
The difference with the major brands such as Specialized and Trek is that they contract out their own proprietary designs for their frames from these companies. Regarding hard tail bikes (bikes without suspension) other than a change in the way the rear dropouts look and a few added curves for aesthetics and a variation in geometry they're all virtually the same. The major point of difference for off road bikes is suspension design, which we can talk about on another topic.
Additionally, if you've been following the industry closely you'll also notice an upward trend in the price of bikes and parts as the popularity of biking increases while the technology remains the same and manpower to build these bikes is reduced from economies of scale. Of course if I were in the business I would never tell you this.
You can buy a good bike for around $400 that will perform about the same as a $4000 bike, the only difference you will probably see is the more expensive bike will probably be lighter and have more expensive components.
What's the difference between bike brands?
Answer: The logo and the paint job.
Technology behind bikes hasn't changed in over 100 years. It's a well known secret in the biking community that nearly all bike frames made today are made in Taiwan by a handful of frame makers. Two of the biggest happen to be Giant and Kinesis.
The difference with the major brands such as Specialized and Trek is that they contract out their own proprietary designs for their frames from these companies. Regarding hard tail bikes (bikes without suspension) other than a change in the way the rear dropouts look and a few added curves for aesthetics and a variation in geometry they're all virtually the same. The major point of difference for off road bikes is suspension design, which we can talk about on another topic.
Additionally, if you've been following the industry closely you'll also notice an upward trend in the price of bikes and parts as the popularity of biking increases while the technology remains the same and manpower to build these bikes is reduced from economies of scale. Of course if I were in the business I would never tell you this.
You can buy a good bike for around $400 that will perform about the same as a $4000 bike, the only difference you will probably see is the more expensive bike will probably be lighter and have more expensive components.
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