When Considering Getting a New Bike...

[sunrunner]

HOw do you decide what to get? i mean, are there websites out there that you can go to and look stuff up? Do you go and talk to you friends who ride? Or do you go and talk to the local bike shops? I'm in the market for a new road bike, and being a beginner getting back into biking, but more seriously, i'm interested in knowing where you start. I'm not asking what bike to buy, but rather where do i find info out about which one to buy

Thank you for your help...I am posting this here as I was not sure where to post it...I apologize if it is not the right place.....

[Kalidurga]

Hi sunrunner,

I think you've made a good start coming here and asking your question. There are a lot of different types of riders here who own a lot of different kinds of bikes. I'm sure you'll get a ton of advice, though your questions indicate that you're probably on the right track already.

Before I found the forum, I learned a lot from reading bike magazines. Bicycling, in particular, is full of information. If you can get ahold of one of their annual buyer's guides at the library, you'll get a chance to look at specs on a lot of bikes at once. I also spent some time googling different brands/types of bikes on the internet. That way, you can check out manufacturer's websites and bike reviews.

Another option that you yourself mentioned is to just start hitting as many bike shops as you can find in your area, talk to the folks in the shop, and take as many test rides as you can. When you find "the one", you'll probably know it

[pikato]

When I got my bike(back in May) I went to the 2 local bike shops & talked with them first. Truthfully, the Specialized dealer was extremely unhelpful & only gave me one bike to try. The Giant/Trek dealer was much more helpful in explaining the various types of bikes & letting me try out different models.

I went online and looked at reviews(and found this site) and ended up going with a Giant OCR3, primarily because it was in my price range, but also cause I didn't want to deal with the rude LBS.

[MomOnBike]

The standard reply in the recumbent world is to get yourself to a bike shop and start test riding. Then do it again a week or so later, after you've had a while to consider what you rode.

I think that's probably a good idea, whatever kind of bike you're looking at.

[KSH]

Well for me, I had a budget... and my budget pretty much dictated what I could look at.

The Trek 1000 was the only bike at my LBS that fit my budget... so that is what I took home.

So, here are some things to think about when starting your research:

1) What is your budget? What is the MOST you will spend? And keep in mind that you will spend an extra $200-$400 if you want to upgrade to clipless pedals/shoes, upgrade the seat, and buy some shorts, etc.

2) What do you want your bike to be made of? Aluminum? Carbon Fiber? A mix? Titanium?

3) Do you care who makes the bike? Are you only going to purchase a Trek? Etc.?

4) Go do as many test rides as you can. And, you probably only want to test ride bikes you can afford *smile*.



I know, it's all very confusing! Where does one start? Keep doing research, and it will all come together.

Good luck!

[Geonz]

And of course recognize that what somebody else is SURE you need... might not be what you need. The other really tough part is that until you start riding it's hard to tell what kind of riding you'll like best, and what will be more important. You want to try to find people who like the same kind of riding you want to do and talk to them/ watch them.