Possible New Roadie, but Stuck in the Mud..!

[Biking Bella]

Hello ladies!

I have recently moved and want to take up cycling again, but I'm very stuck about what bike type I should look into. Case-in-point, I will probably bike on mostly road/paved surfaces, but there might be times where I want to ride the Great Allegheny Passage (look it up! its pretty awesome) which is a more light gravel path.

So therein lies the question of which bike type to look into an research...road bike? hybrid? mountain with hybrid tires?

Help! I just don't know where to get started....
Thanks in advance!

[Biciclista]

what kind of biking did you do before? how long a ride do you envision doing?

[zoom-zoom]

Cyclocross bike? I think that's what I would do in your position. My next bike will be a 'cross frame. We live in an area with probably 1/3 unpaved 2-tracks and I'd like to try a few races, too.

[TsPoet]

I suspect cyclecross is a great idea.
But, what I did back in the dark ages - a MT bike with 2 wheelsets, 1 for road and 1 for off-road.

[m.eliza]

+1 for a cyclocross bike

[ny biker]

but there might be times where I want to ride the Great Allegheny Passage (look it up! its pretty awesome) which is a more light gravel path.

How likely is "might" and how often would those times be? Do you live near enough to ride it frequently?

[warneral]

what a neat trail. looks like fun!!!

[indysteel]

I just bought a Jamis Aurora--a touring bike--for a trail similar to the GAP. My other bike is a road bike; I'm not sure I'd want to use the Aurora as my primary bike. It's almost 10 pounds heavier.

[Biking Bella]

Ladies,

Thanks SO MUCH for taking the time to try and help me in this infancy stages of my education. Let me see if I can answer all of your questions. If I miss anything or think of more questions/suggestions, let me know!

I used to bike everyday after high school on my mountain bike....wanted to see how fast I could lap the town before I collapsed. haha. I would say that at the time I would easy push out 5-6 miles.

I would venture to say that the cyclocross bikes would be a good option (or the road frame with different tires/wheels) seeing as though I would probably be on a paved surface for at least 75% of my biking career. The GAP is about 25 mins up the mountain, but its not convenient on week nights.

I hope this helps, and thanks in advance!

[JennK13]

My cross bike is pictured below (the Fuji), and I love it and use it for those kinds of trips. It came stock with 700x32 tires which weren't bad for riding on the street (I wore them out and have since switched to 700x34 for racing cross). I do have a second, lighter wheelset with a wider range cassette as the cross bike doesn't have as wide of a range of gears for climbing as I'd like on the road (I'm in Colorado). Dh and I rode the Mickelson Trail in South Dakota earlier this year, and it was perfect for that. I highly suggest a cross bike - mine has done everything I've needed it to without having to get another bike; I have done well in triathlons and am a group ride leader on road rides by simply switching out my wheelset to the slick tires.