As new as you can get

[pistol]

Hi, thank you for the welcomes. I'm sorry I didn't give more info before. I'm 29, and while I'm definitely not in the best shape of my life, I'm in fairly good shape, since I do other forms of exercising. I live in Utah, and our winters are not good for riding, so I'm looking for a nice weather bike, probably. I would say the terrain is definitely not flat, there are hills. Also, at this point, I'm not planning to do any mountain biking.

I hear you about getting comfortable before I pull my son in a trailer. That does make sense. We've got a nice, long walking/biking trail near my house that I'll be taking him on with a trailer before I ever go on the road with him.

I'll not be buying a bike at Walmart, if I can help it. Fastdogs, my husband likes guns, and he has no problem paying lots of money for them, even though he actually only uses them a few times a year. I plan to use that as my bike buying angle.

I've been thinking about getting a hybrid. How would that do on longer rides? I know it wouldn't be as fast as a road bike, but I'm not too worried about speed. I know I'm all over the place with what I want, which does make it hard to give me advice.

I was looking at the website for a bike shop near me, at their hybrids, and they had some bikes starting at $269 and then up into the low $300's. Specifically, a Diamondback Kalamar, a Giant Cypress ST, and a Raleigh Detour 3.5. Are those bikes complete crap?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hi, thank you for the welcomes. I'm sorry I didn't give more info before. I'm 29, and while I'm definitely not in the best shape of my life, I'm in fairly good shape, since I do other forms of exercising.

I hear you about getting comfortable before I pull my son in a trailer. That does make sense. We've got a nice, long walking/biking trail near my house that I'll be taking him on with a trailer before I ever go on the road with him.

Most excellent!

I'll not be buying a bike at Walmart, if I can help it. Fastdogs, my husband likes guns, and he has no problem paying lots of money for them, even though he actually only uses them a few times a year. I plan to use that as my bike buying angle.

Good plan. Plus, you can add the health angle for extra leverage!

I've been thinking about getting a hybrid. How would that do on longer rides? I know it wouldn't be as fast as a road bike, but I'm not too worried about speed. I know I'm all over the place with what I want, which does make it hard to give me advice.
I was looking at the website for a bike shop near me, at their hybrids, and they had some bikes starting at $269 and then up into the low $300's. Specifically, a Diamondback Kalamar, a Giant Cypress ST, and a Raleigh Detour 3.5. Are those bikes complete crap?

Hybrids are great all around bikes- they can do a lot- except maybe racing and triathlons, etc. Many people have happily ridden 100 mile rides on hybrids. Hybrids are (usually) less expensive than road bikes and are often more comfortable for new riders because you are sitting a little more upright. Also beginners really like the numbered gears on the hand grips, and they like the straight handlebars. An aluminum hybrid would be a good price and would be ideal for hauling a kid behind as well, and for putting racks on for shopping, etc. They can take very wide tires too, which gives a new rider added confidence. You can do a lot of long distance fun road riding on a hybrid. There is a lot of variety within the hybrid group- and I'd say you'd want to make it clear that you are not looking for a heavy 'comfort cruiser' type bike but rather more of a 'zippy' hybrid. Don't let some sales guy try to sell you a super heavy beginner's hybrid intended for riding only to the corner and back on flat terrain.
Many many people start with a hybrid and put thousands of miles on it, then decide to get a road bike for intense fast riding and voila!- they decide keep their beloved trusty hybrid for commuting or hauling kids and groceries.
If you do a lot of different kinds of riding it makes sense to have more than one kind of bike....but a hybrid is an excellent first bike choice for your situation, especially if as you say you are not too concerned with speed yet.

All this is just my own opinion.

[pinkbikes]

I'll second that - a nice "zippy end" hybrid would be a good choice for you at this stage.

And I know people who have done sprint distance triathlons on zippy hybrids without any drama. So as long as you are not taking yourself too seriously a hybrid would be fine to test the waters in a tri. Go for it!

[tulip]

My zippy hybrid is Jamis Coda Comp (2003). If you can find a used one that fits you, be sure to call and try it out.

[PamNY]

I agree with everything Lisa said about hybrids. As a novice, I had no idea what to buy, but decided on a hybrid. I found a good used Trek on Craigslist last summer and I love it. I guess it's zippy -- the Raleighs I tried out felt more clunky and less zippy (but take that with a grain of salt; I haven't ridden that many bikes). Index shifting is nifty when you're new, and sitting a bit more upright is easier.

Good luck with your choice!

Pam

[Crankin]

I second the Jamis Coda. I bought one for $400.00 as my "second" bike. While it feels heavy to me, compared to my super light road bike, I love riding it. It carries panniers well and I use it to do errands all of the time. I got the "femme" version and it actually came in a size small enough to fit me.
Not a lot of shops carry Jamis bikes and I always get compliments on it when I have it locked p outside of the coffee shop!

[Grog]

I'd second checking out hybrid bikes, they are good starter-bikes. You may want to upgrade to a road bike, but the curve will be less steep by then.

Check our the Trek fx 7.2 (around $430 USD I think), a pretty zippy hybrid.

And welcome to TE!