Questions about bikes...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Also, you say you suffered a "fairly severe back injury". That would definitely effect what kind of bike you'd be wanting. I would suggest you go to a good bike store and test ride the differences between "hybrid" bikes and "road" bikes. Your body position will be quite different on the two types. Try them out- that's way better than just listening to other people's suggestions or bike store sales pitches. Once you've test ridden 10 various bikes, you will know first hand a lot more about what people are talking about. And it's free!