1st bike for middle-aged clydesdale

[Bike Goddess]

For what it's worth, I'll chime in too.

I have a Jamis Quest- this is a steel road bike. I got it with Look-type pedals in 2003. I've ridden this bike probably 15-20,000 miles. Another friend of mine, Sarah, purchased a Jamis Quest a few years ago and loves her bike as well.

You can probably find out who sells these bikes by going to the Jamis site or just looking in Google under Jamis bikes. They also sell mountain bikes and perhaps hybrids as well.

The reason I am suggesting a road bike is because you are talking about doing some major mileage. 50 miles on a comfort-around town bike would not be pleasant to say the least! People do it, but I don't recommend it.

Also find out about the gearing on the bikes you are trying out. It's not expensive to change the back cassette to lower gears which you will probably want if you do hills. I put a mountain bike cassette on my Jamis bike as there is a mountain nearby that I had as a goal to ride. (I now ride my Jamis up that mountain about once a week) The bike frame will determine how low a gear you can get on the rear.

I also recommend that you get a triple chain ring on the front. This will give you more options on the hills and make it easier for you.

Now is a good time to look for a nice bike as it is the end of the season and the bike shops will often mark the 2008 models down to make room for next year's models.

One other suggestion- if you have a lot of wind that you have to deal with on your rides, it's good to get wheels that are stable in the wind. The bike shop people should be able to help you on that one

Try Specialized bikes as well. They have frames designed for women and that might be a good option for you.

$1200 would get you a very nice bike with some good components.

If you get the Look type platforms you can ride your bike with tennis shoes. I did that for the first month until I got used to the bike and the type of ride a road bike gives you.

Best of luck and let us know what happens!

[rij73]

My 2 cents...

Based on my research lately into bikes for a family member, the two best buys in the $1000 range are from Felt and Jamis.

Felt FW35 (women's) or F85 (unisex) are great buys.
Jamis Ventura Race in men's or women's model is great too.

Both of these bikes offer shockingly good components for the price and both are under 20 pounds. The Jamis has carbon seat stays which might make it a slightly better buy than Felt.

So, yes, the bike must fit, but these two are big winners if they fit you.