Where, oh where, do I start?

[SouthernBelle]

When I decided I wanted to start road riding last spring, I knew that I didn't know enough to chose a bike. I bought a 2nd hand bike (a bianchi) from a shop owner which I had a lot of fun on and helped me to figure out what was important on a bike. Then when I bought my Giant I was a happy girl.

Even after you buy a good bike you may feel like you need or want to tweak some things. I swapped out the stem for a shorter one and will soon be swapping out the bars too. Almost everybody seems to swap out the saddle at some point. Go down to the gear and accessories section of the forum and read the saddle threads. Don't go too cushy, you will probably live to regret it.

BTW, I'm 51.

[indysteel]

Scotdeerie, if you decide you want to go the hybrid route and are in the short side, I have a 2006 Trek 7.5 FX with about 300 miles on it that I'd be happy to sell you for a reasonable price (it retailed at over $600). I live in Indianapolis so it wouldn't be hard at all to arrange for you to try it out. Not long after buying it, I decided that I wanted a road bike. Despite promised to myself that I'd ride both, I haven't ridden the Trek again. The 7.5 FX is a great bike though, with top-of-the-line components. The FX is billed as a "fitness" bike. It weighs less than most hybrids because it doesn't have a suspension seat post or fork and is fitted with somewhat skinnier tires (it came with 32 cc tires but I changed them to 25 c).

The bike is a 15-inch (small) frame (I'm 5'4). I had a couple of inches taken off the handlebars since they were too wide for my shoulders. I also added some spacers to raise the handlebars up a bit. The saddle is a Serfas women's specific saddle. It's not too narrow, not too wide and has some cushion to it without being pillowy. It's easy, however, to change the saddle if it's not to your liking.

It also has a Cateye Astral 8 computer on it and double sided pedals (one side is clipless; one side is a regular platform). Again, those are easy enough to change out. I would also suggest putting the wider tires back on too.

Anyway, it's just a stab in the dark. I'd love for the bike to find a good home!

I'm not familar with bike shops outside of Indianapolis, but on there are several shops in the city you could try. I'm not familiar with them, but A-1 Cyclery on West Washington Street is probably closest to I-70. I also like Nebo Ridge off of 106th Street and Michigan Rd. (near Zionsville) and Bicycle Garage Indy South right off of I-65 South and Countyline Rd. If you go there, ask for Bob and tell him I sent you.

Good luck getting back into cycling.

Kate

[Bikingmomof3]

Welcome to TE. You will find this to be a wonderful, informative, and very friendly forum.