Bike recommendations

otho11

Member
Feb 16, 2011
117
22
81
I am looking to get a bicycle to ride a few miles to the gym and back. I know next to nothing about bikes other than I like to ride in a more upright position. I would prefer something that is undesirable to thieves as I do not live in a particularly nice area. Thanks in advance.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
25,704
24,051
136
don't get a mountain bike. they are extremely inefficient on roads/sidewalks. get a hybrid. upright position, geared more towards road riding.
 

_Rick_

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2012
3,943
69
91
Get a city bike.
Then get two locks, so you can lock both wheels to the frame.
 

Chrono

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2001
4,959
0
71
don't get a mountain bike. they are extremely inefficient on roads/sidewalks. get a hybrid. upright position, geared more towards road riding.

Do not get a hybird. They are horrible. They're mountain bikes with thinner tires that are just bad ( I have one ). If you plan on going off road get a mountain bike... if you plan to ride on paved surfaces get a road bike.

Your best deals are buying a used bike from craigslist... You can go to a LBS but you're going to be forking out some $. If you are mainly using this for exercise... you can really go with any bike tbh.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
25,704
24,051
136
Do not get a hybird. They are horrible. They're mountain bikes with thinner tires that are just bad ( I have one ). If you plan on going off road get a mountain bike... if you plan to ride on paved surfaces get a road bike.

Your best deals are buying a used bike from craigslist... You can go to a LBS but you're going to be forking out some $. If you are mainly using this for exercise... you can really go with any bike tbh.

sorry to say but you have no idea what you are talking about. maybe you bought a crappy hybrid, but there are bad mountain bikes, bad road bikes.

he wants to ride upright, so why recommend him a road bike? no sense.

good hybrids are perfect for what he wants. they have higher gears than a mountain bike to go faster, they are generally lighter at the same price point as a mountain bike, they have thinner tires taht are both comfortable and faster on pavement than a mountain bike. a hybrid is only a bad choice if you want to take it on anything but the most casual off-road trails. but for road? excellent.

i worked in a bike shop for 8 months last year. i sold a lot of people good hybrids.

i do 30-50 mile rides in the city on a hybrid and it's extremely comfortable. once i get into bike shape, i can do close to a 20mph average for 10-15 miles straight. ON a road bike I can do better of course, but he doesn't want a road bike.
 

artemicion

Golden Member
Jun 9, 2004
1,006
1
76
If you're doing it strictly for exercise and the route to your gym is relatively flat, you might try a fixie. They're cheap since they have less parts (no derailleurs, shifters, brakes, etc.). Easy to maintain. I imagine they aren't attractive to thieves since they are cheap and don't have those extra parts/components, but who knows. The downside is that people might think you are a hippie.
 
Oct 19, 2000
17,860
4
81
I have no advice to give, just a story that doesn't help. My wife and I were looking for bicycles to start riding, nothing special, just get some exercise. I walked into a bicycle shop here in town and told the guy what I was looking for, he asked my budget. I told him about $200-$300 per bike. He just shook his head and told me I was in the wrong place.
 

Chrono

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2001
4,959
0
71
sorry to say but you have no idea what you are talking about. maybe you bought a crappy hybrid, but there are bad mountain bikes, bad road bikes.

he wants to ride upright, so why recommend him a road bike? no sense.

good hybrids are perfect for what he wants. they have higher gears than a mountain bike to go faster, they are generally lighter at the same price point as a mountain bike, they have thinner tires taht are both comfortable and faster on pavement than a mountain bike. a hybrid is only a bad choice if you want to take it on anything but the most casual off-road trails. but for road? excellent.

i worked in a bike shop for 8 months last year. i sold a lot of people good hybrids.

i do 30-50 mile rides in the city on a hybrid and it's extremely comfortable. once i get into bike shape, i can do close to a 20mph average for 10-15 miles straight. ON a road bike I can do better of course, but he doesn't want a road bike.

Hybrid's are horrible. Don't listen to this guy. He knows nothing even though he worked at a shop.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
25,704
24,051
136
Hybrid's are horrible. Don't listen to this guy. He knows nothing even though he worked at a shop.

i worked at a shop with some of the most experienced riders working there.

you are totally clueless. if you want to ride road, a road bike is definitely the fastest and most efficient. but a lot of people want to ride upright, like this guy, on the road. a good hybrid is the best answer in those cases.

recommending a mountain bike for someone who just wants to ride on the road but upright is totally stupid. they have lower gears, knobby fat tires that are stupidly inefficient on the road, etc... now that is horrible advice.

just cause you made a crappy choice on a hybrid, doesn't make the entire category a bad one. stop spreading such stupid advice. it's really bad for potential bikers because for many, a good hybrid IS their best choice.

what kind of hybrid did you get?

and to the OP, you need to spend approx $500 to get a decent bike. from one of the major brands like Jamis, Cannondale and Trek for example. don't do walmart specials, and don't do Schwinn, they went downhill quality wise.

the Jamis Coda series of hybrids are good, being steel they absorb a lot of the bumpiness from the road compared to an aluminum frame. the coda series has 3 bikes at 3 price points - $540, around $750 and at around $1k.

Cannondale Quick hybrids are good, and the Trek FX series is good. start with those. a used one would be fine too.
 

_Rick_

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2012
3,943
69
91
Okay, let me give a deeper analysis.

If you want to do a dedicated workout on the bike (i.e. 60-120 minute rides), get a road bike. Don't bother with hybrid, it's pointless and mostly unergonomic. The riding position on a road bike can't be matched, even though it may look less comfortable at first glance. Uprightness gives you less control at speed, worse braking, etc. It's a bad idea.
If you want to ride more upright, add a spacer to the steering tube of a road bike.

If you plan on riding both on-road and off-road, a cyclocross bike will give the best experience, unless you plan on doing big jumps or rocky/sandy trails. The latter require a mountain bike for the wider tire that can cope better with rutted or very soft surfaces, as well as the suspension to deal with harsh bumps.

BUT! If you want to get the bike to...you know... get to the gym, then this is the type of bike you should get, and you should not pay more than 300 dollars on it:

And anyone telling you anything else has no idea what they're talking about.
For any ride shorter than 15 miles, that is all the bike you'll ever need, it will work off-road, it will work onroad, you'll be upright and relaxed, and you'll have something to get out of the shed for when getting into the car seems pointless, and going by foot seems exaggerated.

From my experience, it doesn't matter what a bike looks like, with regard to how likely it is to get stolen. In fact, old cheap bikes are far more likely to disappear, than are relatively new ones, mostly because they're an easier sale on Craigslist, compared to something that should be going for a few kilobucks, but has to be sold at a price that makes it sell quick, and thus makes it appear fishy. People are also more likely to check expensive bikes for telltale sings of stolen goods.

A set of good locks, and intelligent bike storage will massively increase the probability that your bike will still be where you left it.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
25,704
24,051
136
Okay, let me give a deeper analysis.

If you want to do a dedicated workout on the bike (i.e. 60-120 minute rides), get a road bike. Don't bother with hybrid, it's pointless and mostly unergonomic. The riding position on a road bike can't be matched, even though it may look less comfortable at first glance. Uprightness gives you less control at speed, worse braking, etc. It's a bad idea.
If you want to ride more upright, add a spacer to the steering tube of a road bike.

including myself, i have spoken to many hybrid riders who feel very comfortable doing 1-2 hour rides or more. good seat height and proper handlebar placement are key.

while volagi has broken the ground with disc brakes on road bikes, finally major manufacturers are finally following suit this year with disc brakes on a model or two of their road bikes - disc brakes are an option on a ton of hybrids. not so much road bikes.

not only do disc brakes work better in dry weather, they destroy rim brakes in any kind of wetness. which is why you see them on all good mountain bikes - cause disc brakes>rim brakes. period.

i guarantee you i can stop faster with my disc brakes going the same speed as you on a rim brake road bike. easy peasy.

there are various definitions of upright. yes if you are on a super upright bike, you have less control. however performance oriented hybrids keep you more upright than road, but still in a pretty aggressive stance. i flipped my stem, i can turn on a dime and have no discomfort riding for hours. there are many types of hybrids - from super laid back casual to pretty aggressive ones like the trek carbon FX series one or the Cannondale Bad Boy 1. the people in this thread just saying hybrid are ignorant, because there are hybrids from way upright comfort cruiser style ones to fast aggressive riding position ones. that's why you shouldn't listen to people who just dont know.

i would go performance oriented, which is what i own now. soon to be added by my steel Jamis Quest Elite road bike.

again, you people making vast generalizations is just ridiculous. so much ignorance in this thread.
 
Last edited:

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
39,027
19,711
146
What's the roads like between you and the gym?

I got a Specialized HardRock 29er. I live out in the sticks, no sidewalks, roads aren't the best. I run 4-8 mile rides, very hilly, and the bike handles it great. You could always spray paint it flat black to fend off the thieves

If the roads aren't too hilly, a single speed isn't a bad idea (someone mentioned a fixie earlier, I don't like fixie's all that much, but single speeds I like).

I say if it's not too hilly, because I hate getting off the single speed if I can't make it up a hill.

I second the disc brakes, love 'em.
 

spacejamz

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
10,922
1,572
126
If you are only riding a few miles to your gym, then just get a cheap Walmart/Sears where you sit upright (probably a mountain bike)...if you do get a mountain bike, put some new tires without knobbies if you want...the knobbies will make you work harder, but maybe that is a good thing if you want more of a workout...

The only reason to get a more expensive bike is for comfort and higher end components for a better ride which really only matters on longer rides (which obviously don't apply to your case)...

By getting the cheapest bike possible, you won't be out as much if something happens...

Make sure you get the RIGHT SIZE bike for your size though...read up on it (plenty of good stuff on the internet about that)...
 

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,024
118
106
Yeah everybody here seems to be missing that this guy is just riding a few miles back and forth to the gym. Anything will work for that. Just get a simple single speed or maybe 3 speed if you have some hills, city bike. The things that look like something your grandmother would have ridden. Nobody will bother stealing it and it will be comfortable for the few miles you are on it.
 

otho11

Member
Feb 16, 2011
117
22
81
Thanks for the responses.

The route is about 3 miles on a 40 mph city road with little incline. Grandma bike would be fine with me if it would prevent theft. After reading various message boards online a common recommendation was not to buy used unless you know what to look out for. Given my lack of mechanical skills I would probably have to pay for repairs. Any tips on what to look for in a used bike?
 

biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
19,424
6,450
136
Yeah everybody here seems to be missing that this guy is just riding a few miles back and forth to the gym. Anything will work for that. Just get a simple single speed or maybe 3 speed if you have some hills, city bike. The things that look like something your grandmother would have ridden. Nobody will bother stealing it and it will be comfortable for the few miles you are on it.

This.
 

Chrono

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2001
4,959
0
71
Do not get a hybird. They are horrible. They're mountain bikes with thinner tires that are just bad ( I have one ). If you plan on going off road get a mountain bike... if you plan to ride on paved surfaces get a road bike.

Your best deals are buying a used bike from craigslist... You can go to a LBS but you're going to be forking out some $. If you are mainly using this for exercise... you can really go with any bike tbh.

I'm pretty sure I said above that any bike will do. Hybrids are an abomination. Don't listen to what "I worked here and fixed bikes for x amount of years say".
 
Sep 7, 2009
12,960
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This thread confirms that cyclists are some of the most elitist group out there, probably only surpassed by the e46 m3 crowd.
 
Sep 7, 2009
12,960
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This post has been reported.



OP asks for suggestions on a bike to ride a 3 flat miles in an area with extremely high crime, and says he is prepared for it to get stolen.

Suggestions: giant, jamis, 29er, LBS, trek, cannondale, disc brakes required. No hybrids cuz they aren't hardcore has to be full out MTB or dedicated road bike don't look at any other options.

If you don't find that hilarious then I don't know what to tell you.

He/she needs a cheapo walmart/sporting goods $100 bike. Not a worn out LBS craigslist $300 bike that's going to get stolen anyway.



The m3 analogy is a sort of ubiquitous term for this type of elitist attitude..

3 kids trying to get to waitress job = e46 m3 and do maintenance yourself
Commuter in snow = e46 m3 with 2nd set of tires
Gravel road = e46 m3 with strut brace
Camping car = e46 m3 with roof rack
 
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